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Books That Take You There: Ukraine

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Ukraine is a region that has, both currently and historically, undergone an extreme amount of upheaval. Here are some books that can help you teach your children about the history, culture, and people of Ukraine. Or maybe just help you to learn more about it yourself.

The Lost Year
By Katherine Marsh
New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2023. Fiction. 354 pages.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Matthew is struggling with online learning, being cooped up in the house, and not being able to see his friends and father, who is reporting about the pandemic in France. Matthew is living with his mother and his high-risk 100-year-old Ukrainian-born great, great grandmother Nadiya (nicknamed GG). After an unfortunate incident involving a stray arrow, Matthew is punished by the removal of his gaming system, the one thing he looks forward to in life currently. His mom asks him to help GG go through old boxes of her stuff, where he finds out more about his family's history during the Soviet takeover of Ukraine during the 1930s and the Holodomor famine. The book jumps in perspective between Matthew and the three cousins living during the 1930s, Nadiya, Helen, and Mila. This is a beautifully written tear-jerker and, well-deservedly, was a finalist for last year's National Book Award. If you're interested in how the Soviet Union's past interference in Ukraine has impacted current relations between the two regions, this is an excellent book to check out.

Threads: Zlata's Ukrainian Shirt
By Lina Maslo
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2024. Picture Book.

If you would like to read about the same time period as The Lost Year, but are looking for a picture book rather than a novel, pick up Threads. Loosely based on the experiences of the author's grandparents, Threads takes place in 1932 as the Communists have taken over Ukraine. Zlata's family begins to hide food and other necessary supplies from the Communists as they go door to door ransacking houses and taking goods. On Zlata's eighth birthday, her mother gives her a beautiful and embroidered shirt made with a traditional Ukrainian design. But after their neighbors, who were also invited to her birthday party, turn her family in to the Soviets, her father is taken away along with all of their food and the birthday shirt her mother made her. This lovely story of Ukrainian resilience explains the Holodomor famine in an easily accessible way for younger children. 

Yellow Butterfly
By Oleksandr Shatokhin
Brooklyn: Red Comet Press, 2023. Picture Book.

If you're looking for a more current story of Ukrainian resilience, look no further than Yellow Butterfly. This wordless picture book, illustrates the destruction being left in modern-day Ukraine. The book begins in black, which when zoomed out we see is a barbed wire fence. Among the barbed wire appears a yellow butterfly, which leads a girl on a journey through the bombed out remains of a playground and tree. As the child removes a missile from the earth, a kaleidoscope of yellow butterflies show a possible brighter future for Ukraine. Although the story is abstract, there is information included at the end of the book about how to share a wordless picture book and how to guide conversation after digesting this difficult story. 

The Story of Ukraine
Written by Olena Kharchenko and Michael Sampson
Illustrated by Polina Doroshenko
Dallas; New York: Brown Books Kids, 2022. Informational.

Through the words of the Ukrainian national anthem, this book shows the resiliency of the Ukrainian spirit. Written by a Ukrainian national as well as a Fulbright Scholar to Ukraine and illustrated by a Ukrainian artist from Kyiv, this book is written in both English and Ukrainian. This book discusses the history, culture, and national symbols of Ukraine. 

By Alicia Klepeis
Minneapolis: Bellwether Media, 2021. Informational. 32 pages. 

If you are looking for a simple and concise book with country facts and information about Ukraine, look no further than this book. With two page spreads about location, landscape, wildlife, customs, and more, this book gives readers basic information about Ukraine without bogging them down with too many details. It also includes fun activities like creating a flower garden to celebrate Ivana Kupala and a recipe for syrniki, traditional Ukrainian pancakes.  




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