The picture book Cockroach the Great aims to introduce young readers to the children’s poem, Tarakanische, (Cockroach), written by Korney Chukovsky (1882–1969), a Soviet children’s writer and poet. The poem, usually perceived as a playful and harmless rhyme, became an official Soviet children’s classic, however many scholars believe that it was disguised as a political satire on the Soviet regime in its early stages.

My interpretation of the narrative takes the reader into a made-up city from the period of the New Economic Policy in the USSR (NEP), in which city inhabitants experience a wave of terror from a new dictator—Cockroach the Great. The playful and theatrical nature of the project along with the bold, inventive illustration style will make this book highly desirable not only to small children but to their parents while emphasizing the importance of independent thinking and personal freedoms.