The book is published in such a way that you can either just read it or use it to stage a home-theatre production based on a folk tale about a girl who went to the forest on the eve of Ivan Kupala to look for a fern flower to find treasure and make everyone rich. The book also contains E. Smirnova’s loose rendering of the fairy tale, and a complete script with all the important details and comments.

At the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, theatrical and theatrical-decorative art flourished in Russia. All the leading artists of that time took part in theatrical productions. For artists from the ‘Mir Iskusstva’ (the World of Art) movement, which included Alexandre Benois, theatre was a very important place where they could apply their creativity. In addition, home theatre became a very popular phenomenon among both adults and children.

Teachers came to see theatrical productions as a vital tool to improve understanding of the text’s meaning. E. Smirnova, the author of the book, believes that children can better understand the moral of the fairy tale ‘In the Kingdom of the Fern’ through active emotional engagement, rather than through passive empathy.