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Read the original to my daughter.
A thoroughly absorbing children's novel indeed. A lot of scientific names and facts along the way provoke curiosity and extra research, realism of certain details is very entertaining.
And even though it was written in USSR in the notorious year 1937, under communism, by an author with a rather blurry biography, I seem to see a hidden Christian message in it. Could it be a coincidence? May be:
Karik and Valya betray professor's trust and drink the forbidden liquid. They then descend into a lower world, naked, without knowledge and experience, full of regret for their "sin". But the professor does not leave them alone, takes the same form and goes down to walk with them and guide them home. Whenever they fail to follow his directions or wander away from him they get in trouble. Even the famous fable about one set of tracks can be remembered when professor carries Karik on his back.
Overall, it is a must-read for kids. However, it seems the last English edition was over a half century ago, which is a shame. It seems to be the case with a lot of international children's classics:it is either never translated into English, or by chance translated once and never published again. No wonder children's shelves in bookstores are such a disaster.