The book includes the stories “Childhood” (1852) and “Adolescence” (1854), the stories “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1872) and “After the Ball” (1886). The reader meets Nikolenka Irteniev, a kind, affectionate boy who loves his parents and everyone in the world and interested in absolutely everything that surrounds him. The writer explores the behavior, thoughts and feelings of a child at various moments of his life, shows the stages of his growing up and personality development. The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” about the Russian officers Zhilin and Kostylin in captivity among the mountaineers is partly based on real events that happened to L.N. Tolstoy during his service in the Caucasus. The story “After the Ball” is based on the events that happened to L. Tolstoy’s older brother Sergei. Sergei Nikolaevich was in love with the daughter of a military commander and visited their house. But after he saw the beating of a fugitive soldier under the leadership of the girl’s father, the lover’s feelings quickly cooled, and he abandoned his intention to marry her.