Postcards with... poems for the youngest readers
The project’s creators will use the postcard sale’s proceeds to purchase books for children of eastern Ukraine
Author and researcher of children’s literature Oksana Lushchevska joined artist Kateryna Stepanishcheva in a creative effort to launch a series of stylish postcards with poems for children. The project was supported at once by web portal “BaraBooka. The Space of the Ukrainian Children’s Book” and Bratske Publishers, and understandably so, for its purpose is charitable. The five-card set is priced at 35 hryvnias, 25 of which will be used to purchase books for children from eastern Ukraine and 10 will partially cover printing material costs.
“The idea arose spontaneously. I liked Stepanishcheva’s illustrations a lot at first glance. Since I had a few children’s poems in my portfolio, I asked her if she would like to design a few poem postcards. Stepanishcheva agreed and added that her dream was for the project to be a charitable one,” Lushchevska told us. “I also knew that web portal ‘BaraBooka. The Space of the Ukrainian Children’s Book’ had organized a drive to collect books for children of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which is still on.”
Artist Stepanishcheva selected her favorite poems by Lushchevska for illustrating. By the way, the latter’s poetry found recognition among critics of children’s literature, with her book A Whale’s Story winning the first place in the Poetry Picture Books category at the Critic’s Rating event of 2014.
“It is not like I knew Lushchevska before. Still, she took a liking to my illustrations, and offered me to use some of her poems for my postcards,” the artist told us. “I was struck by this total stranger’s readiness to offer me to use her works with such sincerity and an open heart. Therefore, I decided to not just use these poems for my postcards, but to do something to help others as well. I found she shared my desire to use our cooperation for a charitable cause.”
Tetiana Shcherbachenko, who is editor-in-chief of “BaraBooka. The Space of the Ukrainian Children’s Book,” said that the postcard idea marked “a new stage in the drive to collect modern Ukrainian books for children of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which we launched last summer. During this time, many people, periodicals, associations from all over Ukraine have joined our effort to collect book sets. However, we understand that ‘free’ books, available for donation, are somewhat scarce. The fundraiser idea came handily at this point. Its essence is to invite people to buy something important and useful, that is, postcards based on well-known children’s books, simultaneously helping a good cause with proceeds of this sale,” Shcherbachenko explained. “Children of eastern regions barely saw books by contemporary Ukrainian authors even in peacetime, and they are even more unlikely to receive such gifts now that the concepts of ‘national culture’ and ‘contemporary literature’ have become tied to hotly debated nation-building issues. We will not change adults, but we can still make friends with children, extending the hand of friendship and love to them through these trusted intermediaries, I mean books. Additionally, we want to use these little postcards to remind the public that we should not neglect reading, and especially children’s reading.”
The charity project will be continued by releasing a series of postcards based on contemporary Ukrainian children’s books. Its initiators, including the Minor Academy of Sciences, invite Ukrainian publishers to join this effort.
