Every day, the ten-year-old Sasha looks out of her window at the tracks that "lead" to a new life. Her father calls her "Koukoutsi," and she seeks answers to the thousands of questions that pop up like little mushrooms in her head. Who will solve her queries? Her mother and Dounia, who has worked in their home for years, don't have much patience for explanations. Her only hope is her father, who listens to her carefully and, in his limited free time, explains what she is eager to learn. Susamis - as his daughter calls him - is a doctor who doesn't distinguish patients as rich or poor, Russian or Polish or Jewish, Christian or of other faiths. With these values, Sasha grows up in pre-revolutionary Russia, managing to stand up to injustice and learn what it means to be a true hero. She observes what happens around her and waits with the eagerness and excitement that only children can have for the great change knocking at her door. "Without ever using verbal and literary fireworks, the author captivates her audience with the unparalleled power of her observation, with her discreet yet evocative contemplation, with her effortless humor. Her books are among the most substantial texts that reach the hands of both children and adults." Zoe Valasi