From Maia Mikhaluk in Kyiv (488th day posted yesterday): At book festival in Kyiv called Book Arsenal, there was a special program for kids, “When war is not only in books”. When we were at Book Arsenal on Sat we didn’t know about this program so I didn’t get to see any part of it But the very fact that this is an extremely relevant topic for a kids’ book exhibition in 2023 is tragic.
There were many kids at the Book Arsenal. That part was encouraging. Kids are seeing a celebration of reading, a festival of books; they catch their parents’ excitement and hopefully also fall in love with books! Books will help all of us process the trauma of war now and for years after the war is over.
This is what the curator of this program “When war is not only in books”, Yulia Kozlovets, says about it:
The question “Should we talk to children about the war?” now does not stand before us, adults. We all live in a war. War always brings with it fear, chaos and uncertainty. It destroys homes and daily routines, forces us to revise our priorities and look for strength in the most unusual things and places. Our children see war with their own eyes and need honest answers to their questions about this reality. There are many such questions, and it is not always easy to find the answers…
Books, good texts can help start a conversation on difficult topics, choose the right tone, reflect on a traumatic experience, understand and survive it. Opening up possibilities that have no limits, books can immerse us and our children in other times, countries, worlds where we can all feel safe and far from war. Books and stories tell about heroes who overcome difficulties, about friendship and mutual support, about small victories that make the world a better place. They create the conditions when children can feel that their own feelings and experiences are important and heard, understood.
It is extremely important to choose THAT book. In order not to deepen a child’s trauma, not to get confused in overly complicated language or twists and turns of the plot, to help find the right words to describe one’s emotions, to cope with stress, to get in the mood, to read for pleasure.
We all need such texts that will support us on the way to Victory. Let’s search, write, publish and read such texts. Let’s talk about what hurts, call war war, enjoy children’s laughter, mourn our shared losses, hug good friends, read aloud, collect books for destroyed libraries rebuilding after de-occupation, and make holiday reading lists. Let’s rejoice because, thanks to our defenders, we can be together, in Kyiv, at the Book Arsenal, even in times when the war is not only on the pages of books.
Voice of Ukraine 