In the Forest of Raised Hands

On Nov. 18, Eugene Yelchin, a Russian author and artist for children story books, shared some of his story with Redlands locals. His book, "Breaking Stalin’s Nose," was awarded the Newbery Honor in 2012 along with other awards such as Washington Post Best Children’s Book of the Year. During his presentation, Yelchin spoke of his life before he immigrated to America. In Russia, his family shared a small room and he and his siblings loved their father’s library. As a child, Yelchin developed a love for his father’s books and read and drew stories about them under a desk. When his father died in 1970, Yelchin was given the library. He had to sell the library for a visa so he could immigrate to USA. After learning about his past, the crowd took turns asking the author questions about his success and hardships. The two main books showed in the presentation provided to be a source of Yelchin’s past. “Reading is a communal event,” Yelchin shared with the crowd.