There's a similar author in Russia, Nikolai Nosov [1]
He wrote most heart-warming stories for children or about children during WWII. If you read Russian, here's a great article about him: [2]
--- quote, Google translate ---
And the truth is that Nosov began writing stories shortly before the war (the first publication was in 1938), but the most famous, the brightest and most memorable were written in the most terrible years. Forty-first to forty-fifth.
The most important thing is that when you know the answer, annoyance immediately wakes up - well, of course, it's understandable! All young heroes have only mothers, where the fathers have gone is not clear. And in general there are not many male characters for the entire cycle: a rather elderly, apparently, "Uncle Fedya" on the train, who was all indignant at the recitation of poetry, and the leader Vitya, apparently, was a high school student. Ascetic life to the limit, jam with bread as a delicacy ...
But still there is no war there. Not by word, not by hint, not by spirit. I don’t need to explain why. Because this is for children. For children to whom life has already measured so much that God forbid us to find out.
It's hardly hardcore communist propaganda. It's some of his best work. It is anticapitalist propaganda, for sure, but hardly hardcore communist propaganda, and is very prescient of many issues (well, hard to be prescient about something that was always the case).
Moreover, Dunno on the Moon uses concepts and ideas that a person in the USSR would have no to little idea about (e.g. stock markets, negative campaigning etc.), or concepts that didn't even exist at the time of writing (police batons with built-in electric discharges first appeared in the West after Nosov's death).
If you just show worst bits of one side, make them define the side as a whole, and then show idealized version of the other side, that is pretty much propaganda, even if these worst bits are described accurately.
Dunno and His friends is sort of naturalistic kids book.
Dunno in the Sun City is the communist propaganda promoting a statist view.(the anti-hooligan bits). Lots of cool tech will solve everything. Self-driving cars.
Dunno on the Moon is a biting satire of free market.
Some of the bits are still relevant.
-The big seed startup that Dunno creates with the shady partners.
-The stock market schemes on the barge.
-The pay for everything(key,blanket,tv etc) business model hotel.
-The police corruption.
-The collusion at the highest level.
-The dog walker profession. (the walker's condition is markedly worse than the dogs they care for
- the role of mass media
-The salt startup and the salt market dumping and crash.
He wrote most heart-warming stories for children or about children during WWII. If you read Russian, here's a great article about him: [2]
--- quote, Google translate ---
And the truth is that Nosov began writing stories shortly before the war (the first publication was in 1938), but the most famous, the brightest and most memorable were written in the most terrible years. Forty-first to forty-fifth.
The most important thing is that when you know the answer, annoyance immediately wakes up - well, of course, it's understandable! All young heroes have only mothers, where the fathers have gone is not clear. And in general there are not many male characters for the entire cycle: a rather elderly, apparently, "Uncle Fedya" on the train, who was all indignant at the recitation of poetry, and the leader Vitya, apparently, was a high school student. Ascetic life to the limit, jam with bread as a delicacy ...
But still there is no war there. Not by word, not by hint, not by spirit. I don’t need to explain why. Because this is for children. For children to whom life has already measured so much that God forbid us to find out.
--- end quote ---
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Nosov
[2] https://www.gazeta.ru/culture/2008/11/27/a_2897371.shtml