Agrafka art studio’s children’s book wins honor at Berlin international literature festival for the second time

The children’s book “How War Changed Rondo” by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv received the Extraordinary Book Award at the Berlin International Literature Festival for the second consecutive year, according to the festival’s webpage. 

” We are incredibly grateful and happy!” authors of Agrafka art studio wrote on their Facebook page.

The book was published in Germany by the publishing house Gerstenberg Verlag.

In Ukrainian “How War Changed Rondo” was published by The Old Lion Publishing House in 2015. The book received several awards, among which is the Bologna Ragazzi Award, and was included in the annual catalog of literature for children and teenagers The White Ravens 2015. It was translated into several languages, such as Italian, French, Slovak, Armenian, Bulgarian and Dutch.

The summary of the book notes that “How War Changed Rondo” shows the ruthless nature of war – an entity that doesn’t discriminate or understand, yet impacts everyone, leaving scars. But if we build a beacon of hope together and learn to sing in spite of everything, then even the most fragile creatures will be able to stand and win. “This book is a chance for a thoughtful conversation with children (or with yourself) about what is currently happening in the country or elsewhere in the world, in the format of a magical story that always leaves room for hope and optimism,” the description says. 

The Extraordinary Book Award is an international award for children’s and youth literature. Since 2012, the section of international literature for children and teenagers of the International Literature Festival Berlin has been presenting the award every September. 

The winners of the award are chosen by the jury composed of the guests of the international section of the literature for children and teenagers of the International Literature Festival Berlin. Each choses a book to be awarded. All the awarded books are exhibited in Schaeffer-Bibliothek every year and after the event one can borrow books from the library.

See complete list of 2023 winners on the festival webpage.

The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung added the book by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv to the list of the best books of the year. One of the most influential American magazine about books,  Kirkus Review, also included the book bin its list of the best books of 2021.

Main image: The Old Lion Publishing House