Postcards

A boy named Hamid strives to get from Afghanistan to Ukraine since his father's, mother's, and sister's lives are threatened by the Taliban. It turns out that his father is a native Ukrainian and after being captured by the Taliban was forced to become a Muslim during the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Additionally, his father's relatives do not even know he is alive and has a family since he never had the chance to return to his homeland. Hamid understands that his Ukrainian relatives might not help and also protect and provide shelter for his family. Thus the boy is ready to overcome any obstacles on his way to Ukraine. He even accepts the possibility of living in a German foster family just to be a few steps closer to his longed-for Ukraine. Taking huge risks, Hamid finally reaches his goal with a help of his friends: a Ukrainian girl Nastya and a Lebanese boy Antuan. Through his thrilling, realistic narration, the author relates his experience in Afghanistan and raises a number of messages regarding multiculturalism, physical and emotional trauma, racism, and postcolonial memory.

Oksana Lushchevska, Pennsylvania State University

Oleksa Bilobrov

Na mezhi mozhlyvoho / On the Border of the Possible

Kyiv, Ukraine: Grani-T, 2011
232 p.
ISBN: 9789664653289
(Young Adult Fiction, 14 +) [End Page 41]

Temple Built of Stone, Seokguram is a beautifully illustrated children's book featuring a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a stone temple that rests facing the Pacific Ocean on the tip of a Korean peninsula. This lovely book's first charm is its stimulating pictures, which allow the reader to vicariously experience this beautiful historic site. The illustrations—largely in black and white—play with light and shadows as a mother and her child make a pre-dawn trek along a winding path to visit the shrine. The book's second charm lies in its narrative. Poet Kim-Mihye's bright and affectionate narrative tells the story of a child who is waiting for his father to come back from along journey. As the mother and child plod up the winding mountain path, the possibility of their wish coming true seems as uncertain as the wispy morning fog. They make their way through the temple to find the granite Buddha statue, where they make an offering and pray for the father's safe return. As the sunrises, the Buddhais brilliantly illuminated, bringing hope to the mother and child. Although we often expect children's books to be bright and bursting with color and energy, this story about a silent interaction between a child and a Buddha deserves our attention. Temple Built of Stone received a mention in the fiction category at the 2010 Bologna Children's Book Fair, where an American editor noted, "I was deeply moved by the mysterious beauty of this unmoving stone Buddha, and by the dignified child who moved the Buddha's heart." Temple Built of Stone will not only please an audience familiar with Korean culture, but is equally worthy of international praise.

Pam Chamberlain, University of Alberta

Kim-Mi hye

Dollo Jieun Jeol, Seokguram/Temple Built of Stone, Seokguram
Illustrated by Choe-Mi ran

Seoul, Korea: Woongjin Think Big, 2009
42 p.
ISBN: 978-89-01-10209-2
(Picture Book, 2+) [End Page 52]

The renowned Slovene poet, writer and dramatist, Bina Štampe Žmavc, has won a number of awards for her book of fairytales, The Emperor and the Rose, including the highly valued Slovene literary awards Vecernica and Desetnica. The book has been ranked among White Ravens and the author is also the Slovene candidate with it for the IBBY Honour List 2012. The language of her fairytales is luxurious and flexible, and she creates picturesque images that easily rise and come to life in front of the reader and evoke the most varied feelings. The author not only approaches the fairy tales with enthusiasm towards their creation but goes a step further and looks at them from a critical distance, which enables her to be ironic towards and modernize some classical fairy tale motifs and themes (in the story The...