THIS WEEK
Children’s News Maya and Her Friends
Denysenko’s inclusive family tale brought to UK readers by Bonnier
Larysa Denysenko’s Maya and Her Friends, a charming tale of different family set-ups which caused a stir in the author’s native Ukraine, has been rush-issued by Bonnier to raise awareness of the current conflict in the country
Caroline Carpenter @carolinec1988 B
onnier Books UK has just published an English edition of Ukrainian children’s picture book Maya and Her Friends through its Studio Press imprint in hardback and e-book, with all profits from the sale of the book to be donated directly to Unicef. First published in Ukraine in 2017, Maya and Her
Friends is writen by Ukrainian author, lawyer and activist Larysa Denysenko and illustrated by Masha Foya. Aimed at children aged six and older, it centres on nine-year-old Maya and her classmates, who all have different backgrounds, family structures and upbringings. Denysenko, who is currently living in Kyiv, is also a well-known TV and radio journalist as well as a member of Ukrainian PEN and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. The story was inspired by her experiences as a human rights activist. She explains: “It has always been strange to me why families where there are both a father and a mother, and where aggression is a part of relations, are called ‘complete families’. And why such families are accepted more in our country than those families where a child is raised by a single mother or grandmother, or a child is raised by a homosexual couple… That’s why I wrote a book about respect for all families, familiar and unusual, where children are loved. Because I consider such families to be correct and normal, and not one model approved by old traditions.”
Helen Wicks, executive director for children’s trade at Bonnier Books UK, says her acquisition of the book began with “a casual conversation” in which c.e.o. Perminder Mann mentioned that Bonnier’s Finnish arm Tammi had signed the title. Wicks says: “When I started talking to Saara [Tiuraniemi, publisher at Tammi], I just became fascinated by this story, because the book itself has got
10 22nd April 2022
I understand weapons so well now that I’m amazed at myself... This is not the most common knowledge for a children’s writer
Larysa Denysenko
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
