Vera Vasilievna Chaplina (; 24 April 1908 – 19 December 1994) was a Soviet children's literature writer and naturalist.

Biography Vera Chaplina was born in Moscow, her grandfather, Vladimir Chaplin, was an engineer, professor and educator of the architect Melnikov. After the Revolution of 1917, 10-year-old Vera was lost and spent several years in an orphanage in Tashkent. In 1923 she returned to Moscow. Her career at the Moscow Zoo began when she was sixteen years old. Chaplina visited the zoo as often as she could and was particularly attracted, as many children are, by the cubs. She appeared so often and stayed so long that she finally attracted the attention of professor Pyotr Manteifel, the zoo's principal naturalist, and he asked her if she would like to become a junior helper. She gladly accepted the offer, and from that time worked daily in the zoo.Bess Demaree. Lions and Lambs in Moscow // The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, 18.12.1935.Pets' Corner in Moscow // The Manchester Guardian, 08.06.1938, p.8. In 1924 she entered the Young Biologists' Circle at the Moscow Zoo.

Vera Chaplina's special interest was the baby animals, and in 1933 she was put in charge of the zoo's motherless youngsters.Chaplina, Vera. Zoo babies. Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1956. pp. 11, 13. In 1937 she became chief of one of the zoo's largest departments, the wild animals section Moscow Zoo.

Over the years Vera Chaplina and her family played host at home to a number of animals — wolves, a leopard, a lynx and a lion cub named Kinuli. Kinuli in Russian means “was abandoned”, as the cub had been abandoned by her mother. Vera Chaplina saved the cub. She took it home. fed it from a bottle, nursed it through its first days. And so Kinuli came to be raised in a Moscow apartment in the middle 1930s with Chaplina, her husband, young son and brother — and an assortment of neighbors and their children the growing lioness. Kinuli's story glows with Mrs. Chaplina's love of animals, and her desire to unstill something of this feeling in her readers.Chaplina, Vera. Kinuli. New York; Henry Z.Walck, Inc., 1965. p. 6, and annotation.

Vera Chaplina's first book about baby animals Cubs from the green enclosure (Malyshi s zelenoĭ proshchadkiCatalog of the Cornell University Library.), was first published in Russian in 1935. Since then, she wrote many children's books about animals, including My animal pupils (1937; Мои воспитанникиCover: Мои воспитанники.), Four-legged friends (1949; Четвероногие друзья), Pupils of the Zoo (1955—1965; Питомцы зоопарка), Casual encounters (1976; Случайные встречи). “Chaplina`s writing is affectionate, but is not sentimental.”Bulletin of the Center for Children`s books. June 1965, Vol. XVIII, No 10. The University of Chicago, Graduate Library School. p. 144. “The writing is straightforward and simple, the author`s attitude toward the creatures she cared for both tender and practical.”Bulletin of the Center for Children`s books. April 1971, Vol. 24, No 8. The University of Chicago, Graduate Library School. p. 119.

Vera Chaplina worked at the Moscow Zoo until 1946, writing stories when she could find the time. Since then she has devoted more time to literary pursuits and became a full-time writer. Chaplina's stories were translated into English, German,Catalog of the German National Library. French,Catalog of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Spanish,OCLC WorldCat. Portuguese,Catalog of the Library of Lisbon. JapaneseCatalog of the National Diet Library. Chinese,OCLC WorldCat. Hebrew,Cover: My friends-animal`s cubs. Tel Aviv, 1961. Polish,Catalog of the National Library of Poland. Czech,Catalog of the National Library of Czech Republic. Hungarian,Catalog of the National Széchényi Library. Latvian,Catalog of the National Library of Latvia. Estonian,Catalog of the National Library of Estonia. Romanian,Catalog of the Russian State Library. Danish,Catalog of the National Library of Estonia. Swedish,Catalog of the National Library of Sweden. and Serbian.Catalog of the National and University Library in Zagreb.

Selected works My animal friends (1939) London; George Routledge & Sons Ltd. P. 255 (translated by Stephen Garry)Cover: My animal friends. Zoo babies (1956) Moscow; Foreign Languages Publishing House. P. 208 (translated by Ivy Litvinova)Cover: Zoo babies. Scamp and Crybaby (1959) Moscow; Foreign Languages Publishing House. P. 24 (translated by Ivy Litvinova) Kinuli (1965) New York; Henry Z.Walck, Inc. P. 95 (translated by Ivy Litvinova)Cover: Kinuli. True Stories from the Moscow Zoo (1970) Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, Inc. P. 152 (translated by Lila Pargment, Estel Titiev)Cover: True Stories from the Moscow Zoo. Forest travelers. A film story (1972) Moscow; Union of Soviet film workers. P. 24 (translated by Faina Glagoleva) The birds in our wood (1984) Moscow; Malysh Publishers. P. 10 (translated by V.Korotky)

Script author Kinuli — documentary film (1935, Кинули; Mostehfilm) Adventures of a bear cub — comedy film (1936, Похождения медвежонка; Mezhrabpomfilm) Instinct in animal behavior — documentary film (1940, Инстинкт в поведении животных; Mostehfilm) Forest travelers — animated film (1951, Лесные путешественники; with G. Skrebitskiy; Soyuzmultfilm) In the Heart of the Forest — animated film (1954, В лесной чаще; with G. Skrebitskiy; Soyuzmultfilm)

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External links

Forest travelers — IMDb entry In the Heart of the Forest — IMDb entry Omsk Vera Chaplina Library (in Russian) Mon amie Kinuoli // Ce Soir, 26.03.1939 / BNF (in French) Antje Leetz. Four-legged friends. A Russian children's book and its history – Radio SWR2 (30.12.2010) (in German) Kristina Safonova. ‘Why didn’t you show me the lion?’ The forgotten story of Vera Chaplina — the Moscow zookeeper who raised a lion in her communal apartment – Meduza (23.03.2021)