Save the memory, or How to talk to children about the Holodomor: a conversation based on the book “Where the Yatran Flows”

On Tuesday, 30 January, at 5:00 p.m., we invite you to the online conversation “Save the Memory, or How to Talk to Children about the Holodomor: a conversation based on the book “Where the Yatran Flows.”

A new children’s book about the Holodomor by Maria Pravda, “Where the Yatran Flows,” was recently published by the Old Lion Publishing House. It tells children and teenagers about the life of a Ukrainian family during the Holodomor: everyday life, mutual help, difficult decisions and death.

How to write books on hard topics for children without traumatizing them? What aspects of the Holodomor should be talked about, and how to preserve the memory of the difficult past events and at the same time not scare the reader? We will talk about it with the author of the book, Maria Pravda, and the head of the excursion and educational department of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide, Yana Horodniak. Bohdan Neborak will moderate the conversation.

The conversation will take place on 30 January at 5:00 p.m. on the Facebook pages of the Publishing House and the Museum.

Maria Pravda is a journalist, book blogger, and cultural projects communicator.

Yana Horodniak is the head of the excursion and educational department of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide. The author of educational projects that tell the story of the Holodomor to children and teenagers in an accessible and non-traumatic form.

You can find more about the book “Where the Yatran Flows,” and an excerpt from it on the website of the Old Lion Publishing House. https://starylev.com.ua/knyga-tam-de-tece-yatran

Nine-year-old Tymosh is forced to grow up early when a great famine comes to his village. He has to take care of his younger brother and sister, and sometimes even his neighbour’s children. To help his parents, Tymosh searches for grains in mouse holes at night and instead of his beloved fishing on the Yatran River gathers flowers from trees instead.

This book is a tribute to those who could not survive one of the most terrible Soviet crimes. But it is also a story about humanity, unity and a miracle that helped Ukrainians to survive in times of famine. The stories of Maria Pravda are complemented by the sensual and strong illustrations of Liudmyla Stetskovych.