When Nadya met Cheburashka
I bought the first Cheburashka plushie in 2014. It was one of those rare Decembers when I had some spare money in the bank. sirius20_81 and her family had a pretty tough year, and I wanted to get something nice for her youngest daughter, Sera. I couldn't get anything too fancy, but I figured I could get something unique, something she wasn't likely to get from anyone else.
If you grew up in Russia, or in many other parts of the former Soviet Union, or Japan, chances are pretty good that you've read the books about the adventures of Cheburaska, an adorable "creature unknown to science," or seen the iconic stop-motion Soviet cartoons. Little Sera, would, of course, have no idea about any of that, but I hoped that she would at least be intrigued by a strange toy, and appreciate his cuteness. Which she did.
The next year, I got another Cheburaska for randirogue's (then only) daughter, Song. She wasn't as keen on, which disappointed me some, but I figured that this is a chance you take when you give a child a strange toy which doesn't come with a cartoon in a language she can understand.
When my niece was born, annanov made it pretty clear what she wanted me to get her - Russian-language books. Which I got her last Christmas, and for her very first birthday. But I had started thinking about getting Nadya a Cheburashka. After all, I got two American girls Cheburashki - it wouldn't be right if I didn't get one for my own, half-Russian flesh-and-blood.
I did run it by mom, who wondered if Nadya was old enough for one. But I figured that she wouldn't be that much younger than Sera was when she got hers, so why not?
Which was easier said than done. The bookstore where I bought the last two Cheburashki didn't stock them anymore. So I decided to hit up two Russian bookstores further out into the suburbs, ones that were harder to reach by public transportation. Thankfully, the first one I went to - a store in Wheeling, tucked away, in Koshey Bessmertian manner, inside a pharmacy that was inside a grocery store - had several options to choose from. Aside from a few bath toys, even the cheapest one was more expensive than the two Cheburashki I bought before. I grumbled about the Cheburashka inflation, considered and rejected the pink and white ones and bought the one closest to the official design.
(I looked for a book to go with it, but the only one I could find had the characters so ridiculously off-model that I left it where it was).
Nadya got the Cheburashka, along with the other presents, on the evening of December 24th, when both sides of her family gathered in Anna and John's house in Madison. She seemed to like him well enough, but we'll see. He's certainly not going to replace her loyal Mr. Bun.
I was surprised and kind of touched by how touched Anna was that I got Nadya a Cheburashka. Part of me wanted to say that it wasn't that big of a deal... but then, maybe it was. I allowed Anna to share a piece of childhood with her daughter. A fluffy, huggable piece of childhood.
Childhood nostalgia is a powerful thing. I mean, there's a reason why, soon after we opened that present, my mom, Anna and I wound up singing Cheburashka's signature song.
Now I know what I'm getting Nadya once she's allowed to watch TV :)
I can't post any pictures of Nadya with Cheburashka in a public post. But I can share a shot I got of Cheburashka with another iconic toy - this one from her fraternal grandparents.
It was kind of... right. A toy representing the Russian side of her family, and a toy representing the American side of her family.
Hopefully, Raggedy Ann and Cheburashka will become good friends.
If you grew up in Russia, or in many other parts of the former Soviet Union, or Japan, chances are pretty good that you've read the books about the adventures of Cheburaska, an adorable "creature unknown to science," or seen the iconic stop-motion Soviet cartoons. Little Sera, would, of course, have no idea about any of that, but I hoped that she would at least be intrigued by a strange toy, and appreciate his cuteness. Which she did.
The next year, I got another Cheburaska for randirogue's (then only) daughter, Song. She wasn't as keen on, which disappointed me some, but I figured that this is a chance you take when you give a child a strange toy which doesn't come with a cartoon in a language she can understand.
When my niece was born, annanov made it pretty clear what she wanted me to get her - Russian-language books. Which I got her last Christmas, and for her very first birthday. But I had started thinking about getting Nadya a Cheburashka. After all, I got two American girls Cheburashki - it wouldn't be right if I didn't get one for my own, half-Russian flesh-and-blood.
I did run it by mom, who wondered if Nadya was old enough for one. But I figured that she wouldn't be that much younger than Sera was when she got hers, so why not?
Which was easier said than done. The bookstore where I bought the last two Cheburashki didn't stock them anymore. So I decided to hit up two Russian bookstores further out into the suburbs, ones that were harder to reach by public transportation. Thankfully, the first one I went to - a store in Wheeling, tucked away, in Koshey Bessmertian manner, inside a pharmacy that was inside a grocery store - had several options to choose from. Aside from a few bath toys, even the cheapest one was more expensive than the two Cheburashki I bought before. I grumbled about the Cheburashka inflation, considered and rejected the pink and white ones and bought the one closest to the official design.
(I looked for a book to go with it, but the only one I could find had the characters so ridiculously off-model that I left it where it was).
Nadya got the Cheburashka, along with the other presents, on the evening of December 24th, when both sides of her family gathered in Anna and John's house in Madison. She seemed to like him well enough, but we'll see. He's certainly not going to replace her loyal Mr. Bun.
I was surprised and kind of touched by how touched Anna was that I got Nadya a Cheburashka. Part of me wanted to say that it wasn't that big of a deal... but then, maybe it was. I allowed Anna to share a piece of childhood with her daughter. A fluffy, huggable piece of childhood.
Childhood nostalgia is a powerful thing. I mean, there's a reason why, soon after we opened that present, my mom, Anna and I wound up singing Cheburashka's signature song.
Click to viewNow I know what I'm getting Nadya once she's allowed to watch TV :)
I can't post any pictures of Nadya with Cheburashka in a public post. But I can share a shot I got of Cheburashka with another iconic toy - this one from her fraternal grandparents.
It was kind of... right. A toy representing the Russian side of her family, and a toy representing the American side of her family.
Hopefully, Raggedy Ann and Cheburashka will become good friends.