★ *Stray Cat Shamayka* is a profound and moving work of children's literature that tells the survival story of a stray kitten. It steers clear of sugary childishness, instead facing life's complexities and cruelties head-on—yet it is still filled with warmth and hope.
★ The book features sorrowful yet satirical illustrations that will shake young readers to their core, helping them come to terms with difficult themes such as death, separation, and poverty.
★ Suitable not only for lower- and middle-grade elementary students, but also for adults who will find in it a testament to life's resilience and beauty.

*Stray Cat Shamayka* is a classic by the renowned Soviet children's author Yuri Koval. It follows the journey of a gray-and-white tabby kitten named Shamayka. Black stripes ripple across his back; white speckles dot his nose, ears, and tail tip. Born into a world of danger, Shamayka watches his siblings torn to pieces by a pirate tomcat called “Rip-Ear.” His mother, fleeing a vicious half-bulldog, leaps onto a fishing boat and drifts away. Orphaned, Shamayka wanders alone until he reaches the Japanese shopkeeper Mari’s store, “Birds, Beasts and Canaries.” Mari isn’t actually Japanese—he simply squints on purpose so people think he’s from Hokkaido. There, Shamayka meets Jim, a Black man who saves him from a fox. Jim and Mari become the two most important people in the kitten’s life. Jim names him “Shamayka” and rescues him time and again; Mari later invents the breed “Royal Analostan Cat” to sell the beautiful stray for a handsome price.

Shamayka survives a world riddled with contradiction and hostility, escaping the most hopeless corners unscathed. He endures life in the slums, meets stray cats (including an upright rogue), and faces a hardware yard bristling with hooks and pitchforks, a menacing half-bulldog, Mr. U-Tulin with his small-caliber rifle, and heartless cat-catchers. Though life is harsh, Koval still leaves Shamayka with the hope of a normal life. The book is more than a survival adventure; it is a literary work about love, hope, and freedom. Far from simplistic, it abandons the saccharine sweetness of conventional children’s books. Its sad yet satirical illustrations will shake young readers ready to wrestle with complex realities: death, separation, poverty, the yearning for freedom, the loneliness of living beings in an indifferent world.

**Author**
Yuri Iosifovich Koval (1938–1995)
A multitalented Soviet-Russian children’s writer, poet, screenwriter of animated films and movies, painter, sculptor, and singer-songwriter. His works were reprinted often and translated into many European languages, as well as Chinese and Japanese. Several were adapted into films and cartoons. Awards include the All-Union Children’s Literature Competition (1971), an A. P. Gaidar Honorary Certificate (1983), the Hans Christian Andersen Certificate from the International Board on Books for Young People (1986), the All-Union Best Children’s Book Competition (1987), and the “Wanderer” Prize of the International Congress of Science-Fiction Writers (1996, posthumous). In 2008, *Kolokolchik* magazine established the annual Yuri Koval Children’s Literature Prize in his honor.

**Illustrator**
Ruben Artyomovich Varshamov (1936–2000)
An outstanding Soviet and Russian animal painter and children’s book illustrator, and chief editor of *Funny Pictures* magazine (1977–2000). A master of Russian book illustration and one of the country’s finest animal artists. After graduating from the Saratov Suvorov Military School, he studied at the Moscow Red Banner Army Command College. Following two years of service as a major in the Taman Division, he left the army and entered the Moscow Printing Institute. From 1962 onward, he illustrated and designed more than seventy books for publishers such as “Children’s Literature,” “Malysh,” “Raduga,” and “Rosman.” Among them are works by N. Sladkov, S. Sakharov, V. Bianchi, Y. Koval, G. Oster, E. Uspensky, and Stanisław Lem. His collaboration with Irina Yakovleva produced such perennial best-sellers as *Illustrated Paleontology*, *Dinosaur Tracks*, and *Following the Traces of the Past*. Varshamov also authored and illustrated four books and several coloring books. His solo exhibitions were held in Paris, Moscow, and Krasnogorsk. His illustrations have been published in Bulgarian, Mongolian, Persian, Spanish, Czech, Tamil, Kyrgyz, and other languages. Blessed with extraordinary visual memory and a true love of animals, he consulted regularly with scientists, ensuring his illustrations were both expressive and scientifically accurate. He also created etchings and lithographs inspired by Shakespeare, Poe, Hemingway, Cervantes, and others. A champion yachtsman, he won numerous medals in Moscow, Russian, and Onega regattas.