Grigory Oster is a Soviet-era and Jewish poet, screenwriter, and humorist, best known for his humorous children's books.
Early Life and Education
Grigory Bentsionovich Oster was born on 27 November 1947 in Odessa. He spent his childhood in Yalta, growing up in a family where books played an important role. His mother worked as a librarian and actively encouraged her son's interest in reading.
From an early age, Oster was fascinated by literature. He studied Ukrainian and read classic children's books in Ukrainian translation. As a young man, he also developed an interest in science fiction, particularly the works of the Strugatsky brothers. He began writing poetry during childhood.
After finishing school, Oster attempted to enter a teacher-training institute in Stavropol but eventually returned to Yalta. He was later drafted into military service and served as a sailor in the Soviet Northern Fleet. He received his higher education at the Maxim Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow, graduating through its correspondence programme in 1982.
Beginnings of His Literary Career
Oster's early poetry publications, including the collection Your Time (1974), brought him little recognition. He subsequently turned to screenwriting. His debut in animation came with the screenplay for A Kitten Named Woof (1973).
He later created a series of stories featuring a Parrot, a Boa Constrictor, a Monkey, and a Baby Elephant. These characters became the basis for the book How Wonderful It Is to Give Presents (1975) and the popular animated series 38 Parrots (1976–1991).
Like many other Soviet writers, Oster found in children's literature a creative space that offered greater freedom from ideological censorship.
Literary Maturity and Bad Advice
Grigory Oster achieved his greatest popularity with Bad Advice (1990), a collection combining humour, satire, and playful reversals of conventional moral instruction. The book became a landmark in children's literature, marking a transition between Soviet and post-Soviet approaches to writing for young readers. It addressed subjects that had previously been considered inappropriate or taboo. 
Through deliberately absurd recommendations, Oster satirised undesirable behaviour among both children and adults. He mocked childish whims, disobedience, and petty grievances, but also exposed adult hypocrisy, broken promises, and double standards. Frequently, he reversed the roles of children and adults to demonstrate how similar their behaviour could be. Regardless of age, his satire challenged dishonesty, the tendency to justify inconsiderate behaviour, excessive dependence on other people's opinions, and the neglect of psychological well-being in favour of material concerns.
Oster once remarked:
"I have never yet met a child who failed to understand the irony in my advice."
According to an account associated with an anthology of children's literature published in Canada, Oster's Bad Advice achieved a circulation of 12 million copies, while other authors' works generally reached no more than 300,000–400,000 copies. The book inspired several sequels, including Bad Advice for Parents of Children (2009).
Oster also developed a distinctive genre of humorous, pseudo-scientific writing for children. His books The Upbringing of Adults and Dad-and-Mom-ology, along with later works presented as studies of adult behaviour, turned familiar family relationships into subjects of comic investigation.
By treating adults as curious creatures whose habits needed to be studied, Oster challenged traditional assumptions about authority and childhood.
Bibliography
Selected works by Grigory Oster:
● Your Time● How Wonderful It Is to Give Presents● A Boy and a Girl● A Garland of Little Ones● Beware of the Monkeys!● How the Gosling Got Lost● He's Been Caught● Caught, the One Who Bites● The Mysterious Disappearance● How the Gosling Hunted the Fox● Squeal Culture, or the Funny Gym● The Magic Computer● Bad Advice● Bad Advice 2● Bad Advice 3● Mathematics Problem Book: An Unobtrusive Guide to Mathematics● Physics Problem Book● Legends and Myths of Laurel Lane● An Unobtrusive Guide to Mathematics● Petka the Microbe● Nasty Problems● A Fairy Tale with Details● The Cannibal's Book of Tasty and Healthy Food● A Funny Questionnaire for Enemies● A Kitten Named Woof● Exercises for the Tail● Domestic and Feral Adults● Wild and Tamed Adults● 38 Parrots● Dad-and-Mom-ology● The Upbringing of Adults● Escado Island● Candy Eating● The Boa Constrictor's Grandmother● Fortune-Telling by Hands, Feet, Ears, Back, and Neck● Children and the Others● School of Horrors● Bad Advice for Crooks and Corrupt Officials● The Adventures of Pif
Later Years
Oster's works have repeatedly been the subject of calls for prohibition in Russia. Following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he left Russia for Latvia and settled in Riga.
Grigory Oster's literary legacy is distinguished by its inventive humour, irreverent treatment of authority, and unusual ability to address children as intelligent readers capable of recognising irony. Born in Odessa, he developed a literary voice in which absurdity, satire, and playful storytelling became ways of questioning the conventions of everyday life.