Why You Should Think Twice Before Buying the Shmyak Series

I recently made a pretty impulsive purchase on Wildberries, buying a bunch of books for my two-year-old son. I chose four different literary directions and picked the ones that were on sale.

As a result, our library ended up with a mix of Russian fairy tales, Kornei Chukovsky's poems, a dinosaur encyclopedia, and a speech development textbook.

Out of everything, my little one only fell in love with the textbook.

I, on the other hand, didn't enjoy any of the books. I've linked to reviews from other moms at the end.

The Shmyak series is touted as a global bestseller. That's all I know about it.

Parents are offered a complete collection of 41 volumes:

Kotenok Shmyak and the mouse brothers.The reviews from customers on Shmyak are glowing.

Stores also rave about the cat.

In all the enthusiastic descriptions, it's said that the author of the books is Rob Scotton - the best British illustrator.

Well, such a person does exist.

Here's what Wikipedia says about him:

Rob Scotton is one of the most well-known illustrators in England. His work is released in massive print runs as postcards, ceramics, fabric prints, posters, and illustrations. He was born in 1960.However, it turns out that he has a rather indirect relationship to the authorship of these 'works'.

Rob Scotton only came up with and illustrated cute, unusual kittens.

And then just sold them.

The illustrations were done by other artists who mass-produce the characters created by the famous Brit.

The texts for all the books were written by completely different authors.

When I got home and took a closer look at the books, I discovered the author team behind this edition.

Kotenok Shmyak and myshki-brothers.At first, I noticed that the prices for individual books varied from 147 to 477 rubles.

I sorted by discount and ordered 3 books for 150 rubles each and one for 300 rubles. The others were pricier.

Kotenok Shmyak and myshki-brothers.I assumed the price depended on the number of pages.

It turned out that all these books have the same size and consist of 32 pages.

Later, I realized that for 300 rubles, I didn't need to buy the WB book from this store – I could find it on other platforms for 150 rubles.

That's the real value of the product.

But the stores are setting inflated prices, hoping that customers will buy the missing volume and pay 500 rubles.

I recommend: don't fall for marketing tricks – 40 Shmyaks aren't necessary!

Buy a couple of books and see if you and your little one will enjoy them.

The format is certainly appealing. The illustrations are great.

However, there are some drawbacks:

The text is printed fairly large, but the font is thin and elegant. Unfortunately, it's not very readable, especially on the background, and the paper reflects light. I have trouble reading it without my glasses:Kotenok Shmyak and myshki-brothers.The stories in these books are pretty boring, with no real excitement. Even a two-year-old wouldn't be that interested. And yet, these books are supposed to be read independently. I think a six-year-old could handle more engaging and interesting stories.I have to say, the one book that really caught my kid's attention was 'Moon Cat'. I ended up spending $3 on it, and it was worth it.

Two other books were just okay.

But the mouse brothers just didn't do it for us.

First of all, I was really disappointed by the change in writing style within the same series. It was like a completely different author took over.

And then, out of nowhere, Jacqueline Resnick breaks into poetry:

Moon Cat and the Mouse Brothers.And then, later on:

Moon Cat and the Mouse Brothers.And by the end, she's even switched to five-foot iambs:

Moon Cat and the Mouse Brothers.It's just not readable, with awkwardly phrased sentences that don't make sense.

I had trouble reading it out loud myself, and it's supposed to be for beginners.

Maybe it's just a translation issue.

But as a translator, I wouldn't prioritize literal translation over making sense...

I don't know why, but my kid just isn't into poetry.

He prefers short, punchy sentences without any extra fluff.

I was a bit taken aback by these clunky poems in the middle of the story.

And it's clear that Jacqueline really went all out to come up with an original plot.

Moon Cat is waiting for a mouse guest and decides to give him a gift... ta-da... a frozen sculpture:

Mischief and the Mice. I was expecting a gift from the cheese, but it turned out to be from the ice.

Of course, the gift had melted...

Mischief and the Mice.

Mischief looks at it with a tinge of sadness and exclaims, 'This is a sculptural portrait! A double, icy one!'

Triumph of idiocy.

The only thing that saves this piece are the wonderful illustrations:

Mischief and the Mice.

I think the thoughtful British artist must have included a clause in the contract that prohibits mocking his charming characters by altering their appearance and style.

But he didn't mind writing rubbish. A shame...

This book, the most disappointing of the four in terms of content and writing style, deserves three stars for the quality of the publication and the excellent illustrations.

But to bring Mischief's rating down from bestseller level to a reasonable level, I'm giving it two stars.

Here are the descriptions of the other books about Mischief:

The Moon Cat

Amusement Park

And here are my scathing reviews of children's books:

Language Development

Fairy Tales

Dinosaurs