The Bureaucrat on the Pear Tree

A children’s book for younger readers (a satirical fairy tale). Plot: officials want to restructure the City and destroy all the trees in it. The residents of a small street, Marmelander, protect their cozy world, their pear tree in the world. Horizontal ties, uniting citizens of different ages, social layers, and professions to pursue a common interest, a cozy world and happy childhood—everything as it should be.

This story was written in 1971 in Sweden. But, unfortunately, it’s still relevant in many places and even today.

It is especially worth noting the 1980 edition. Wonderful book! Excellent translation (T. Tumarkina) and beautiful pictures! The illustrator, Rafaïl Adolfovich Volsky, was also a theater artist, and you can feel it. Each character has their own vivid look; you can see their character in each of them, and yet the whole book has a single common mood. You can find it online with illustrations, and recently it was reissued in paperback.