Thirty-five books from Central and Eastern Europe featured in catalogue of of notable children’s books

21.10.2023

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Thirty-five books from Central and Eastern Europe, including two from Ukraine, made the catalog of 200 notable children’s and young adult books published in the last year, compiled by experts from the International Youth Library.

Released on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair, this year’s catalog (PDF) includes books in almost 40 languages from more than 50 countries, featuring eight selections from the Balkans, six from the Baltic states, six from Eastern Europe and 10 from “smaller markets” in Central Europe.

“We hope ‘The White Ravens 2023’ will fall into the hands of many curious readers, and that these readers will make many new discoveries,” wrote International Youth Library Director Dr. Christiane Raabe. “May the selected books, along with their creators, receive the international attention they deserve.”

The two Ukrainian books included were “Now I’ll Tell a Story! A Merry Book Full of Miracles and Tales,” by Slava Svitova, and “Abu Karakambada — Lullaby for Michelle” by Hryhorij Falkovych.

Slava Svitova “Now I’ll tell a Story! A merry book full of miracles and tales,” the Old Lion Publishing House, 2022.

“A gruff and hot-tempered fairy, who in no way corresponds to the commonly held image of a sweet and enchanting being, unexpectedly finds a friend and tranquility. A clever boy rescues a small, rather musty old bookstore. A cow who has always dreamed of a career as a figure skater, asserts itself in the face of scorn and mockery and defends itself against the bullying of a steer. Slava Svitova’s book is chock full of stories about animals, people, and imaginary creatures of the most diverse variety. It tells of dreams, desires, and worries; plays with clichés and stereotypes; and alternates between comedy and touching earnestness. The wide array of marvellous stories is accompanied by equally marvellous illustrations by Oleksandr Shatokhin, which get to the heart of the scenes and situations, deftly capturing their essence,” is written in the annotation to the book.

Hryhorij Falkovych “Abu Karakambada — Lullaby for Michelle”, Krokus publishing house 2022.

“This picture book can be read from both sides. In it, felt-tip pen-coloured, imaginative, onomatopoeic poetry for children that sometimes borders on nonsense meets quiet children‘s poems that resemble bedtime stories and lullabies. There’s a zippy poem, in which a vampire accidentally wanders into a supermarket’s storage room, is locked in and – out of necessity and thanks to tomato juice – turns into a vegetarian. Another, more thought-provoking text presents sleep as an all-important matter, which – according to some news broadcast – would be beneficial for the whole country. The poems are written by Ukrainian author Grigory Falkovych who has devoted himself to children’s poetry especially in recent years and is considered one of the most important children‘s poets in Ukraine. Sofiya Tomilenko has created whimsical and witty, as well as atmospheric and quiet illustrations to accompany his sometimes playfully funny, sometimes ironic, and sometimes profound texts,” says book’s description in the catalogue.