- Tanja Nathanael
Ukrainian Children’s Books to Watch For
For this post we are proud to showcase a selection of 12 international children’s books from and about Ukraine. Of particular interest is Maya and Her Friends, first published in Ukraine in 2017 and currently updated and forthcoming in the UK in April 2022. All proceeds will be donated in support of the children of Ukraine. Stories like The Ladybug and Mox Nox emphasize the ability of small characters to make a difference. Reactors Do Not Explode remind readers of the sobering history of the Chernobyl disaster, while Sonia Delaunay celebrates one Ukrainian artists life with color. Miracles and magic save the day in The Miracle in the Lyceum Lane and Tukoni Tribe, while science and mathematics engage the curious in Sapijensy and Stars and Poppy Seeds. The Pirate Tour and Where To and Where From highlight the thrill of world travel. Most poignantly of all, in light of current events, My Little Kiev provides a guidebook for children throughout the Ukrainian capital. One wonders if this little text will become a treasured artifact of the city as it once was.
We hope you will join us in sharing these stories—some delightful, some somber, some magical, some moving—but all timely in their support of Ukraine.
MAYA AND HER FRIENDS
Author: Larysa Denysenko
Illustrator: Masha Foya
Publisher: Bonnier Books UK, forthcoming April 2022
Language: English, Ukrainian, more
ISBN: 9781800784147
Maya and Her Friends by Ukrainian author Larysa Denysenko and illustrator Masha Foya is forthcoming from Bonnier Books UK in support of the children of Ukraine. It will be published simultaneously with Bonnier Books UK’s sister companies in Sweden, Finland and Poland. All the publisher’s profits from the sale will be donated to UNICEF.
First published in Ukraine in 2017, Maya and Her Friends tells the story of nine-year-old Maya and her 16 classmates, all with different backgrounds and upbringings. It is the story of ordinary Ukrainian children and their families, and lives lived in the shadow of the constant threat of war following the occupation of Crimea in 2014. This book explains how Ukrainian children’s lives have been affected by war for many years, from the annexing of Crimea up to the current occupation, the focus is that all children deserve safety and love, no matter their circumstances.
Larysa Denysenko is a well-known Ukrainian writer, lawyer, human rights activist, TV and radio journalist in Ukraine and a member of the Ukrainian PEN. She is serving as a UN Goodwill Ambassador to increase tolerance in Ukraine.
From The Guardian:
Denysenko remains in Kyiv – and from there she’s determined to get her book out. “I believe that cultural diplomacy, the language of books, can help people to empathise, to fight for other people’s lives,” she says. “With this book, I want to appeal to the people of the democratic world: we are here, not far from you, we are people of freedom and peace. […] I can’t fight with a weapon in hand, but the word also matters in these circumstances.”
To pre-order, go to Booka Bookshop (UK)
THE LADYBUG
Сонечко
Author: Dzvinka Torokhtushko
Illustrator: Alexandr Kurylo
Publisher: Lulu Press, 2020
Language: English, Ukrainian
ISBN: 9781716900266
Dzvinka Torokhtushko’s Сонечко, or The Ladybug is a story that teaches one not to be afraid and that one can overcome even those obstacles that seem insurmountable. Don't be afraid to be small. If you want, you can do everything. To be truly strong is not to be great and strong physically, but to have great strength of spirit and a good heart.
More details at: #TranslateThis! Recommended books from Ukraine by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp.
THE MIRACLE IN THE LYCEUM LANE
Диво в ліцейному провулку
Author: Dzvinka Torokhtushko
Publisher: Textbooks and Manuals, 2018
Language: English, Ukrainian
ISBN: 9789660733220
Somewhere on the map of Ukraine is Kremenets - a small town with a long history. And somewhere in the city there is Lyceum Lane. Torokhtushko's new fairy tale The Miracle in the Lyceum Lane is an incredible story about the friendship between people and birds. And also about the miracle that happened thanks to St. Nicholas, who wanders in Kremenets on Castle Hill in a house that no one sees. Additionally, St. Nicholas has an angel who prepares every day the world's most delicious coffee with cinnamon. Recommended for children of preschool and primary school age
More details at: #TranslateThis! Recommended books from Ukraine by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp.
MOX NOX
Author: Tanja Maljarčuk (Tanya Malyarchuk)
Illustrator: Katja Slonova (Katya Slonova)
Publisher: L’viv: Vydavynctvo Staroho Leva, 2018
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-679-501-8
Ukrainian born, Vienna-based author Tanya Malyarchuk (b. 1983) has received accolades for her novels as well as short stories, and Mox Nox is her first children’s book. It is sombre, mysterious, bizarre, and marvelously creepy. Humans have disappeared from the Earth, and the abandoned ruins of cities are now populated by nocturnal winged civilisations akin to bats and flying foxes. Young Tereza is one of these creatures, who is raised believing in a mangrove forest paradise and the words of the mighty “Night-seer”. Yet she begins to doubt these givens and wants to find out what the world is really like and why the humans left it. Tereza overcomes challenges set by her group’s aggressive matriarch and looks to discover the truth. Together with illustrator Katya Slonova, Malyarchuk creates a spine-tingling story about faith and trust, hierarchies and, above all, staying true to oneself.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2018
MY LITTLE KIEV: A GUIDEBOOK FOR CHILDREN
Mij malen'kyj Kyïv. Putivnyk dlja ditej
Author: Anastasija Denysenko (Anastasiya Denysenko)
Illustrator: Olena Starančuk (Olena Staranchuk)
Illustrator: Oleh Hryščenko (Oleh Hryshchenko)
Publisher: Kyïv: Laurus, 2014
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-966-2449-50-1
This extraordinary city guide for children through the Ukrainian capital is the product of the emerging illustrator group Pictoric. Archangel Michael, the patron of Kiev, acts as companion throughout the book as children make their way through the city. Readers learn city history through looking at well-known buildings and reading about these in short portions of text, and children are also invited to reflect on their own experiences, to solve architectural puzzles and to draw historic personalities in period garments. “Mij malen'kyj Kyïv” is varied: It contains factual information, anecdotes, and unusual tips for discovering the city, such as visiting the Kiev hillside for a picnic. The fresh and interesting graphics are almost comic-like and pair delightfully with the historic content of the book, making it thoroughly absorbing to delve into the mosaics and architectural styles of monasteries and to decipher ancient scripts.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2015
THE PIRATE TOUR
Pirats'kyj maršrut
Author: Halyna Malyk
Illustrator: Hrasja Olijko (Hrasya Oliyko)
Publisher: L’viv: Vydavnyctvo Staroho Leva, 2019
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-679-715-9
Halyna Malyk has been one of the best-known children’s and young adult book authors in Ukraine for many years. She returns to rhymed-text form in this “Pirate tour”, offering easy-going verses about a group of child pirates planning a great voyage around the globe. Throughout she weaves in many real places along the Dnieper and Danube rivers, the Atlantic coast and the Strait of Gibraltar, making the route traceable in a real Atlas. The mini-pirates sometimes quarrel over plans for the journey and, most likely, will make their naval passage through living rooms, kitchens, and gardens – which underscores the splendid playfulness and childlike carefreeness of the story. The illustrations by Hrasya Oliyko (b. 1988) provide great fun and the right momentum for the wild tour. “Piratsky marshrut” is the third collaboration between the two artists. Hopefully many more will ensue.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2020
REACTORS DO NOT EXPLODE: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER
Reaktory ne vybuchajut'. Korotka istorija Čornobyl's'koï katastrofy
Author: Stanislav Dvornyc'kyj (Stanislav Dvornytskiy)
Author: Kateryna Michalicyna (Kateryna Mikhalitsyna)
Illustrator: Studio ”seri/graph“
Publisher: Kyïv: Portal, 2020
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-7925-17-9
This non-fiction book for young adults is so good and important that it deserves an especially strong recommendation. In an objective but deeply moving manner, with the thrill of a dramatic documentary, Kateryna Mikhalitsyna and Stanislav Dvornytskiy present the complex history of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and its nuclear accident in 1986. Beginning with a visit to today’s site, they portray it as a time capsule. They describe why Chernobyl was planned, built, and put into operation, explore its political, ideological, and economic background, and point out the immense impact and aftermath of the radioactive cloud that affected large parts of Europe and Central Asia, including their ecological systems. In addition, the book, with its large-size square format, attractive layout, and illustrations done in grey, yellow, and orange tones, provides precise definitions of key concepts such as “atom” and “radioactivity” or the process of nuclear fission.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2021
SAPIYENSY
Sapijensy
Author: Volodymyr Arjenjev (Volodymyr Arenev)
Illustrator: Lina Kvitka
Publisher: Charkiv: Vydavnyctvo Ranok, 2019
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-09-5776-4
Who’s human, who’s an avatar, who’s an alien? How does one fly a spaceship? What is it like to have parents who are researchers and work on Mars or in secret laboratories? Mishko Neborak and his new, mysterious friend with a metal heart Sashko Nenarok live in the year 2178. They are learning to navigate the “Shooting Sperling” at school and to complete operations in space. All the while, they keep encountering questions about how the world began and what makes a human a human. Spaceship commanders who turn out to be threatening avatars, incredibly old knowledge that is stored in a library, and clever kids – Volodymyr Arenev’s (b. 1978) sci-fi children’s novel offers not only splendid adventures and gripping existential questions. It is also full of allusions to great science fiction material. “Sapiyensy” was named Children’s Book of the Year in 2019 by BBC Ukraine.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2020
SONIA DELAUNAY: A LIFE OF COLOR
Author: Cara Manes
Illustrator: Fatinha Ramos
Publisher: New York: The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2017
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-63345-024-0
Like many other museums, the Museum of Modern Art in New York regularly publishes books for children, often using material from its large archival collections and the expertise of its staff to introduce children to particular artists, certain topics, or art in general. This colourful offering’s unique feature is that it does not simply sketch the life and art of Ukrainian-born artist and designer Sonia Delaunay. Instead, assistant curator Cara Manes and visual artist Fatinha Ramos create an entertaining frame story involving Sonia’s young son, Charles. It takes the boy and readers on an imaginary car ride through Europe to open their eyes to the sensuality of colours as Delaunay experienced it. The digital illustrations, rendered in a style to fit in with Delaunay’s artwork, are paired with reproductions of original works by her. The story stresses the connection Delaunay felt between art and life and makes the artist’s ideas of “Simultanism” palpable for young readers.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2018
STARS AND POPPY SEEDS
Author/Illustrator: Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv
Translator: Oksana Lushchevska
Publisher: Tate, 2019
Language: English
ISBN: 9781849766203
As the daughter of well-known mathematicians, Flora loves to count more than anything in the world. She counts all the things around her—the animals, grains of sand on the beach, and letters in her dad’s newspaper. When Dora looks at the Milky Way, she begins to wonder how to count the mesmerizing number of stars. Is it even possible? Is the night sky so full of stars that even all the numbers she knows would not be enough to count them? Dora soon learns that she needs to deal with such a complicated task by starting with the simplest of steps, and who knows, maybe one day she will achieve her dream. An introduction to the pleasures and purposes of mathematics, Stars and Poppy Seeds is a captivating story of determination and ambition.
TUKONI TRIBE
Tukoni – meškanec' lisu
Author/Illustrator: Oksana Bula
Publisher: L'viv: Vydavnyctvo Staroho Leva, 2018
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-679-492-9
Illustrator Oksana Bula (b. 1989) is frequently noted in Ukraine for her gentle, nature-embedded picture book worlds. She has received awards for her books about trees, plants, bison, and bear. Her previous books have already introduced readers to representatives of the “Tukoni”, a mysterious species of animal that lives in the forest. Now, these are protagonists with a unique story: they are calm, mindful creatures who take care of trees, flowers, forest animals, and the change of seasons. The Tukoni seem like the guardians of this world and preserve its vitality and peaceable quality. Oksana Bula links her picture book stories together using animal protagonists, who communicate with each other. The actual protagonists are, however, nature and the magic of the forest, in which all life plays out and which is worth celebrating as an astonishing world in its own right.
Source: White Ravens issue: 2019
WHERE TO AND WHERE FROM
Kudy i zvidky
Author/Illustrator: Romana Romanyšyn (Romana Romanyshyn)
Author/Illustrator: Andrij Lesiv (Andriy Lesiv)
Publisher: L'viv: Vydavnyctvo Staroho Leva, 2020
Language: Ukrainian
ISBN: 978-617-679-821-7
The all-around mastery of Romana Romanyshyn und Andriy Lesiv, a Ukrainian team of graphic designers, is inimitably and unbelievably well demonstrated in “Kudy i zvidky“. While their picture books “Holosno, tykho, poshepky“ and “Ya tak bachu“ panoptically presented the human senses of hearing and sight, this book is a grand tour of movement and motion. The dynamics of getting ready, setting into motion, and hitting the road are visible everywhere. Humans, animals, and vehicles are constantly moving from left to right over the pages of this landscape-format book. With its characteristically striking colour spectrum and iconographic visual language, the book takes readers along a tour from Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench; to people who are fleeing, migrating, travelling, or just pausing; to migrating animal herds, across maps and borders; moving sometimes fast, sometimes slowly. Even movements of the elements are featured in this multiple award-winning book. It goes to show: the whole world is in motion!
Source: White Ravens issue: 2021
Recommended Reading
By Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp
Valentyna Vzdulska provides information on current trends in Ukrainian literature for children and young adults
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tanja Nathanael currently teaches Children’s Literature and Fantasy & Science Fiction Literature online for San Jose State University. An alumni of SJSU, she earned her Bachelor's in 2005 and Master's in 2010. She received her doctorate from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2019. Her study of international children’s literature has taken her to Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. She formerly served on the international committee for the Children's Literature Association (2015-2018) and continues to support its goals as co-editor of the ChLA International Committee Blog to encourage interest in international children’s literature. She is currently co-editor of Global Children’s Literature in the College Classroom [in progress] with Dr. Sara Austin (Miami University, OH) and a managing editor for Climate Literature in Education at ClimateLit.org. Her research examines borders and peripheries in children’s literature, climate literature, fantasy & science fiction literature, and nineteenth-century British literature.