Inside The Rainbow reprints for the first time in English a unique compendium of Soviet picture books from the 1920 and 1930s a highpoint in the history of children s literature. In the dark and dangerous world of revolutionary Petrograd, a group of Russian poets and artists, among the greatest of the century, came together to create a new kind of book for children about to enter a Brave New World. These artists and writers dreamed of endless possibilities in a new world where children and grown-ups alike would be free from the bitterness of ignorance. For a time, when children's publications still escaped the scourge of state censorship, their books became a last haven for learning, poetic irony, burlesque and laughter. In this book 250 examples of illustration and design are complemented by some translations of poems and stories as well.