(A version of this article first appeared in Kingston Neighbours magazine, November, 2023.)
Children naturally have many questions and concerns about war, especially as we approach Remembrance Day. This year in particular, many youths may be trying to make sense of the war in Ukraine. Officially known as the Russo-Ukrainian War, it started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and the subsequent rebellion of pro-Russian forces in the Donbas region. However, it wasn’t until last year that the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops began, prompting a mass exodus of Ukrainian civilians from their country.
To date, approximately 28 million Ukrainians have fled the war, with over 175,000 coming to Canada. It’s possible that your kids already know a Ukrainian family or two in the neighbourhood, so the war is that much more real, immediate and tangible to them.
So how do you answer their questions about Ukraine, especially if you don’t know a lot about the country or the geo-political situation? How do you give your kids a sense of what their Ukrainian classmates, and displaced Ukrainian children all over the world, may have experienced, without overwhelming them?
I want to share some recently published books for kids and teens about Ukraine that are insightful, informative and impactful. These books may help your kids have a better understanding of the war.
Ages 8+
Blue Skies and Golden Fields: Celebrating Ukraine, by Oksana Lushchevska — With lots of vivid photos, this up-to-date factbook gives young readers a basic overview of the history, geography and people of Ukraine. It includes folktales, poems, recipes and instructions for painting Ukrainian Easter eggs and planting sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower.
Ages 5+.
Yellow Butterfly: A Story from Ukraine, by Oleksandr Shatokhin — This emotional, wordless picture book was created by a Ukrainian illustrator still living in war-torn Ukraine. Monochromatic, black-and-white illustrations show the war through a child’s eyes until yellow butterflies emerge from the child’s imagination to create a more hopeful, peaceful future.
Young Adult/Adult
83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary, by Don Brown — A gritty, graphic novel for older teens and adults that details the brutal, bloody battle for Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol in the early days of the 2022 invasion. ** Trigger warning: This book is not for everyone, as there are allusions to rape and torture, as well as black-and-white depictions of dead bodies. However, if you want a realistic, unflinching, day-by-day account of what happened in Mariupol before it fell, this is the book to read.
War is a difficult topic at any time, so discussing the current situation in Ukraine won’t be easy. Hopefully these books will help your family gain more understanding and knowledge of the country and its people this Remembrance Day.
On that note, I am sending my eternal gratitude to our own Canadian soldiers, sailors and aircrew for their service, past and present.
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.”
(Laurence Binyon, 1914)
Lisa's Book Corner 
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