Irina Tokmakova was born in Moscow to Perch Manukian (an Armenian, whose Russified name was Pyotr Manukov), an electrical engineer, and Lidia Diligenskaya, a paediatrician at a local orphanage.
[1] She had been writing poetry from her childhood onwards, but feeling that she lacked a literary talent, she decided to take up a career in languages.
Initially, the translation was meant for her son, but Tokmakova's husband took it to a publishing house, which then printed it in the magazines Merry Pictures and Murzilka.
[3] The writers Samuil Marshak and Agniya Barto saw Tokmakova's works in Murzilka and encouraged her to write and publish more.
[1] To join the Union of Soviet Writers, Tokmakova needed sponsorships from three members; Marshak, Boris Zakhoder and Valentin Berestov recommended her.