The stories and novellas in this collection were written about boys and for boys almost half a century ago. But the truth about boys never grows old. It does not bend and seems to resemble a horseshoe. The truth is always pure white, like a snow fortress or a puppy. The truth sounds like the words "friendship," "duty," and "bravery." And at night this truth smells like the wasteland beneath the parachute tower—like mugwort. Yes, even fifty years later.
"Sticks for Vaska's Drum," one of Vladislav Krapivin's most striking early books, was first published in 1965 in Sverdlovsk. The years have only made it better.
