is referred to as 'Uncle Fyodor' because he appears serious-minded, self-reliant and responsible. After his parents don't let him keep Matroskin, a talking cat, Uncle Fyodor leaves his home. With the dog Sharik, the three set up a home in the country, a village called Prostokvashino (Простоквашино, from the Russian for buttermilk, простоквашa). After finding a treasure, Uncle Fyodor can afford to buy a tractor that runs on soup and potatoes, and a portable sun to do the heating during the winter. The book was made into a successful animated film, Three from Prostokvashino (and its two sequels). Uspensky continued with Uncle Fyodor in other books, which have not, however, been as successful. Uspensky published other books with human-like animal characters. Selected books Crocodile Gene and His Friends (1966) Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat (1974) on archive.org The Little Warranty People (1975) Selected screenplays Gena the Crocodile (1969) Happy Merry-Go-Round № 1 (1969), № 3 (1971), № 19 (1988) Cheburashka (1971) Shapoklyak (1974) Three from Prostokvashino (1978) Uncle AU (1979) Holidays in Prostokvashino (1980) Plasticine Crow (1981) Along Unknown Paths (1982) Cheburashka Goes to School (1983) Winter in Prostokvashino (1984) About Vera and Anfisa (1986) Investigation Held by Kolobki (1986–1987) The Fixies (2010) Cheburashka (2013) References External links 1937 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian screenwriters 21st-century Russian male writers 21st-century Russian screenwriters People from Yegoryevsk Moscow Aviation Institute alumni Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Male screenwriters Russian children's writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male poets Russian male writers Russian people of Polish descent Russian radio personalities Russian television presenters Soviet children's writers Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male poets Soviet screenwriters Deaths from cancer in Russia Deaths from prostate cancer Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery