Solutions to win: new therapeutic book “Brave Tales” help Ukrainian children cope with complicated reality of war

A collection of fairy tales designed to metaphorically explain the complex reality of the ongoing war to children has been created in collaboration with professional psychologists. Originally, these tales were released in audio format, but now they are available as a printed book.

Rubryka attended the book's launch at the Readet bookstore in Kyiv and reported from the event.

What's the problem?

Ukrainian children have had to face an incredibly challenging reality since February 24, 2022. However, it's crucial to explain this situation to the youngest Ukrainians in a way that doesn't traumatize them more.

On March 3 last year, the digital unit of the Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne launched the Telegram channel "Suspilne Tales."

"We felt the need to support our children with these audio formats that could be easily listened to while on the go. This channel began to grow naturally," said the project's creator and the main producer of digital platforms at Suspilne, Viktoria Murovana. "At the same time, we realized that the traditional tales we knew no longer sufficed. They couldn't answer the questions that children were now asking. But nothing can stop childhood, not even a full-fledged invasion." 

What's the solution?

The idea was to create new tales — stories about the shared experiences of Ukrainian families.

"We understood that it's our duty to create a supportive project for children and their families, as well as for the adults taking care of them," said Viktoria Murovana.

Another author of the stories was Iryna Vyhovska. Professional experts psychologist Marianna Novakovska and sociologist Viktoria Bryndza worked on the project. They provided recommendations and comments on each text and storyline, making the material truly therapeutic.

How does it work?

12 therapeutic stories

Initially, the "Brave Tales" project was a Suspilne audio podcast, with the tales narrated by Serhii Prytula, Yulia Sanina, Irma Vitovska, Timur Miroshnychenko, Taras Kompanichenko, Roxolana, Antonina Khizhniak, and others.

This autumn, "Brave Tales" was published in print by the "ASSA" publishing house in Kharkiv. The printing process was not interrupted, even by Russian shelling that broke the windows of the printing house. Heorhii Sahitov illustrated the book.

As the book's author, Iryna Vyhovska, shared during the presentation, each story is based on real experiences the project participants and their families lived through. Working on the texts was challenging due to these complex experiences and the need to convey them lightly and delicately to children.

The book contains three types of stories: tales that tell about experience, supportive tales, and tales that give parents advice on what to do in certain situations, Viktoria Murovana said. For example, the book has a "recipe" for enjoying time with a flashlight during a power outage and explains to children how air defense works using the image of soap bubbles.

"Brave Tales" will also be gifted to children returning from Russia after deportation

Representative of the Ombudsman for Children's Rights Irina Suslova also joined the event. She explained that the Ombudsman's office provides assistance and conducts surveys with children returning from occupied territories.

"Our team has decided that every child must receive such a book as a gift when they return from deportation. They must understand that we have experienced the same thing here as they may have felt but in a different territory. This is the best collection of tales I have ever held, so we recommend it to everyone and will publicly support this project," said Iryna Suslova.

Rubryka reported that the Ukrainian publishing house Vivat and animal rights organization UAnimals held a reading of the children's book "The Saved Club: Non-Fluffy Stories" about saved animals. During the event, enthusiasts could listen to the book's authors and adopt a saved puppy into their family.