Two Ukrainian books make list of best publications for children in Japan

The Japanese translations of “On the Move” by the Art Studio Agrafka, and “The Yellow Butterfly” by picture book illustrator Oleksandr Shatokhin have been included in the prestigious Ehon 50 list, a list of children’s illustrated books in Japanese, as reported on the website of the Japanese National School Library Association.

“On the Move” by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, founders of the Art Studio Agrafka, was published by the Japanese publishing house Bronze Publishing and translated into Japanese by Yukiko Hiromatsu.

The Old Lion Publishing House initially published the book in 2020. It tells the story of movement and travel of people, as well as of animals, plants, wind, water, and the planet as a whole. The publication has already been translated into 14 languages in addition to Japanese.

“The Yellow Butterfly” by Oleksandr Shatokhin was published by the Japanese publishing house Kodansha LTD.  The book was initially published by the Old Lion Publishing House in 2022. In this “silent book,” a girl is running away from “restrictions and slavery” as she meets butterflies and finds hope in them.

Here is the full list of children’s illustrated books in Japanese.

Ehon 50 is a collection of 50 books for children published in Japanese during the year that have been selected and recommended by the Japanese National School Library Association from more than a thousand titles.

As reported earlier, the book “On the Move” received an honorable mention at the prestigious competition 2022 Best Book Design from all over the World.

RELATED: Three best translated books of 2023 revealed in Lithuania

Main image: a collage by Chytomo
Illustrations: Bronze Publishing, Kodansha LTD, the Old Lion Publishing House

Copy editing: Jared Goyette, Terra Friedman King