Dunno facts for kids
Dunno (in Russian, Neznayka) is a famous character from children's books written by Nikolay Nosov in the Soviet Union. His name comes from the Russian phrase "ne znayu," which means "I don't know." Dunno is easy to spot with his bright blue hat, yellow trousers, orange shirt, and green tie.
He is the main character in a series of three popular books: The Adventures of Dunno and his Friends (1954), Dunno in Sun City (1958), and Dunno on the Moon (1966). These books have also been made into several movies.
Contents
Dunno's Adventures
The stories are about tiny, childlike people called "shorties" or "mites" who live in a place called "Flower City." They are about the size of a medium cucumber! But the fruits and vegetables in their world are normal size, so the shorties have to be very clever to grow and pick them. Each shorty in Nosov's world has a special job or personality, and their names often match it.
The Adventures of Dunno and his Friends
In Flower Town, Dunno often finds himself in funny situations. Once, he thought the sun was falling and scared many people until Doono, a very smart shorty, explained what was really happening. Dunno tries different hobbies like music, art, and poetry, but his attempts usually cause trouble for his friends. He even crashes a car into the Cucumber River!
Later, Doono suggests building a hot air balloon for an adventure. Everyone helps prepare, except Dunno, who mostly gives useless advice. Finally, the balloon is ready, and Doono, Dunno, and fourteen other shorties take off. They fly high above Flower Town, and everyone cheers.
The balloon eventually crashes near Greenville, a town where only girl-shorties live. The girl-shorties take the injured balloon travelers to the hospital. Since Doono isn't there, Dunno pretends to be the leader and the inventor of the balloon. He convinces his friends to go along with his story. But soon, Dunno's lies are found out, and his friends tease him. Luckily, the girl-shorties are still kind to him.
Dunno in Sun City
In this story, Dunno gets a magic wand from a wizard. He uses it to wish for a car, and then he, Pee-Wee, and Pachkulya Pyostrenkiy go on a road trip to Sun City. This city is full of amazing technology, like futuristic cars, strange buildings, and smart televisions.
Dunno causes some trouble with his magic wand. He accidentally turns a shorty into a donkey! Then, he tries to fix it by turning some donkeys into shorties. It's a very magical and sometimes messy adventure!
Dunno on the Moon
Doono discovers that a special moon rock can create a no-gravity zone when it's near a magnet. He uses this idea to build a rocket ship that will be almost weightless, making it easier to travel to the Moon. Dunno and Roly-Poly are not allowed to go because Dunno is often naughty, and Roly-Poly eats too much.
But the night before the launch, Dunno and Roly-Poly sneak into the ship and accidentally launch it! When they arrive on the Moon, they get separated. Dunno falls through a cave and finds a hidden society of mites living inside the Moon. These Moon mites have small food, unlike the giant food on Earth.
The Moon society is very different. Rich people control everything, while most citizens are poor and struggle. Dunno gets into trouble for not having money and ends up in jail. There, he meets Miga, a clever schemer, and Kozlik, a kind worker. They decide to start a company to sell shares and raise money to get "giant seeds" from Dunno's rocket.
The shares sell well, and they become rich. However, some wealthy Moon business owners worry that giant food will make poor workers richer, and they might lose their power. Their leader, Spruts, tricks Miga and Zhulio into stealing the money, leaving Dunno and Kozlik poor again.
Meanwhile, Roly-Poly also finds the cave and goes inside the Moon. He discovers salt (which Moon inhabitants don't know about) and starts a successful salt business. But he loses his money when the price of salt drops too low.
Dunno and Kozlik work odd jobs and live in poverty. Kozlik gets sick. Dunno finds a job as a dog nanny for a rich woman, Mrs. Minoga, and earns enough money for Kozlik's doctor. But when Mrs. Minoga finds out Dunno took her dogs to a bad place, she fires him. Dunno and Kozlik end up living on the street. They are sent to Fool's Island, a place where people turn into sheep because of the air.
Eventually, Dunno's friends from Earth arrive on the Moon with giant seeds. This helps end poverty and creates a fairer system for everyone. They also rescue Dunno and Kozlik from Fool's Island.
Main Characters
Here are some of the shorties you'll meet in Dunno's adventures:
Flower Town Shorties
Flower Town is full of flowers, and its streets are named after them. It's located by the Cucumber River.
- Dunno (Незнайка): The main character, known for being curious, kind, and lucky, but also a bit lazy and rude.
- Gunky (Гунька): Dunno's best friend.
- Doono (Знайка): A very smart scientist and often the leader of the boy-shorties.
- Bendum (Винтик) and Twistum (Шпунтик): Clever mechanics.
- Trills (Гусля): A musician.
- Blobs (Тюбик): A painter.
- Pee-Wee (Кнопочка): A girl-shorty who becomes good friends with Dunno.
- Daisy (Ромашка): Another girl-shorty.
- Swifty (Торопыжка): Always in a hurry.
- Scatterbrain (Растеряйка): Often loses and forgets things.
- Dr. Pillman (Доктор Пилюлькин): The town's doctor.
- Roly-Poly (Пончик): A very chubby shorty who loves sweets.
- Treacly-Sweeter (Сиропчик): Another chubby shorty who likes sweet drinks.
- Shot (Пулька): A hunter with his dog, Dot (Булька).
- Posey (Цветик): A poet.
- Pachkulya Pyostrenky (Пачкуля Пёстренький): A shorty who gets dirty very easily.
- Grumps (Ворчун): Always complaining.
- Mums (Молчун): Always quiet.
- Glass-Eye (Стекляшкин): An astronomer.
- Kapelka (Капелька): A girl-shorty who cries when it rains.
Greenville Shorties
This town is full of trees and is home to only girl-shorties.
- Honeysuckle (Медуница): A doctor and head of the Greenville hospital.
- Cornflower (Синеглазка): A pretty girl-shorty with blue eyes.
- Snowdrop (Снежинка): A fair-skinned girl-shorty.
- Blossom (Самоцветик): A poet.
- Bunny (Заинька) and Chippy (Белочка): Girl-shorties with animal designs on their dresses.
- Minny (Галочка): A girl-shorty with long black hair.
- Fluff (Кубышка): A chubby girl-shorty.
- Kitty (Кисонька): A girl-shorty.
- Thistle (Соломка): A smart girl-shorty who grows watermelons.
Kite Town Shorties
This town is known for its many decorative kites and is home to only boy-shorties.
- Nails (Гвоздик): A boy-shorty who causes a lot of mischief.
- Pretzel (Бублик): A boy-shorty who drives a car.
- Taps (Шурупчик): An inventor.
- Slick (Смекайло): A boy-shorty writer.
Sun City Shorties
Sun City always has sunny weather and is famous for its amazing technology.
- Listik (Листик): A boy-shorty who loves to read and was magically turned into a donkey by Dunno.
- Bukovka (Буковка): A girl-shorty who loves to read and is Listik's best friend.
- Liliya (Лилия): The director of a hotel.
- Pegasik (Пегасик), Brykun (Брыкун), and Kaligula (Калигула): Donkeys who were magically turned into shorties by Dunno.
- Kubik (Кубик): An architect.
- Klyopka (Клёпка): An engineer.
- Fuksiya (Фуксия) and Selyodochka (Селёдочка): Girl-shorty scientists.
- Nitochka (Ниточка): A model maker and chess player.
- Karasik (Карасик): A clothing factory worker and actor.
- Igolochka (Иголочка): A clothing factory worker.
- Figura (Фигура): The Sun City chess champion.
Moon Dwellers
The Moon has its own unique shorties and cities.
- Spruts (Спрутс): A powerful millionaire, like a giant octopus controlling things.
- Miga (Мига): A quick-thinking trickster who meets Dunno in jail.
- Zhulio (Жулио): A friend of Miga, also a bit of a trickster.
- Kozlik (Козлик): A smart but poor Moon dweller who becomes Dunno's friend in jail.
- Minoga (Минога): A rich Moon dweller who hires Dunno to care for her dogs.
Other Characters
- Tsirkul (Циркуль): A tall, famous bicyclist.
- Wizard (Волшебник): The one who gives Dunno a magic wand.
Movie and TV Shows
The Dunno books have been made into many animated and live-action movies:
- Dunno is Studying (1961) - an animated movie.
- Dunno in Sun City (1977) - a stop-motion movie.
- Dunno From Our Neighborhood (1983) - a live-action movie.
- Dunno on the Moon (1997) - an animated movie.
- Dunno on the Moon 2 (1999) - a sequel to the 1997 movie.
- Dunno and Barrabass (2004) - an animated movie with a new story.
Images for kids
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Russian stamp with the image of Dunno (1992)
