By Judi Moreillon, Tucson, AZ
Michael Sampson participated in the 15th Annual Tucson Festival of Books in March 2024. He was a panelist for the “Every Word Counts: Authoring a Picturebook” session. After the panel, Michael introduced me to his wife Olena Kharchenko and their daughter, Michelle. We talked about their co-authored bilingual (English/Ukrainian) book The Story of Ukraine: An Anthem of Glory and Freedom.
In March 2022, Michael, Olena, and the book’s illustrator, Polina Doroshenko, seized the moment and began co-creating The Story of Ukraine. People around the world were focused on Ukraine after the full Russian invasion, which occurred on February 24, 2022. The authors had a timely story to tell about Olena and Polina’s beloved homeland. By August, they released their book so that children and families around the world could learn about Olena and Polina’s fascinating nation.
The book includes information about the geography of Ukraine, its people, their history, national symbols, and cultural aspects such as food, dance, music, and notable people. Presented in the header of several pages, the centerpiece of the book, are the words of the Ukrainian national anthem, which had been forbidden by the Soviet government in 1922. The illustrations reinforce the meaning of the national anthem and show the pride Ukrainians feel in having the opportunity to sing their anthem under the current government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading
When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers by Ken Krimstein is a collection of “lost autobiographies” that breaks with many norms readers might expect from autobiographical works. And I predict YA literature readers will be fascinated by the power of these young people’s words and experiences and the “author’s” visual interpretation of their memoirs. 
