Ukraine Children’s Books

As we approach two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian war that began in 2014, I’m sharing some (mostly) fiction set in the Ukraine. Sadly, the backdrop is either the wars of the twentieth century or the current war.

If I were to pick one from my list below, I would start with the remarkable diary of 12-year-old Yeva Skalietska who fled Ukraine in 2022. My girls and I attended a remarkably composed presentation given by Yeva at the Oxford Literary Festival last spring and came home fighting over who was going to read the diary first.

Continue reading

WWII Historical Fiction 6+

The evacuees were to sleep in the big attic room with dark beams overhead.  It was chilly and had no electric light or carpets but there was a nice woody smell.  A curtain hung down the middle.  Joyce, Patsy and Winnie were together on one side and Lenny was alone on the other.

The Lion and the Unicorn, Shirley Hughes

Continue reading