The Ukrainian edition of “Wrocławski abecadlik” (Wrocław ABC) is now available! The book has been translated by Kateryna Babkina and is a gift for children from Ukraine who are now living in Poland because of the war. It is available free of charge at the Passage of Dialogue (Przejście Dialogu), ul. Świdnicka 19 (underground passage).
The Polish “Wrocławski abecadlik” was created by Ewa and Paweł Pawlak as a gift for every newborn Wrocław resident. Since 2019 the book has been part of the Wrocław Newborn Pack (Wyprawka Wrocławska), with which the city welcomes each of its new residents. The “Abecadlik” is published by Warstwy, the publishing house of the Wrocław House of Literature. It was there, in the very first weeks of the war in Ukraine, that the decision was made to welcome children from Ukraine in the same way as Polish children – by giving them this very book. Kateryna Babkina was asked to translate “Wrocławski abecadlik”: a Ukrainian writer and winner of the Angelus Central European Literary Award, she too fled the bombing of Kyiv with her daughter, not yet two years old, and now lives in Wrocław.
The Pawlaks’ book is a special one. Its remarkable embroidered illustrations and letters tell a story about Wrocław that helps the youngest children get used to books, stories and the ritual of reading itself, while slightly older ones learn the alphabet along the way.
The Wrocław House of Literature would also like the books to reach institutions and organisations helping Ukrainian children. Representatives of such organisations are asked to contact the organisers by emailing sekretariat@literatura.wroclaw.pl.
The Ukrainian edition of “Wrocławski abecadlik” came about thanks to the efforts of the Wrocław House of Literature and the support of the Mayor of Wrocław, Jacek Sutryk, who added a short letter of welcome to the book: “In giving you this book in your own language, we want you to feel at home in Wrocław and in Poland, as if it were your second home. And when you return to Ukraine after victory, may these scattered, colourful letters come together into good and important words: friend, family, community, goodness, peace, Ukraine.”
“Wrocławski abecadlik” was published with the support of 3M, the Olga Tokarczuk Foundation and the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency. You can read more about the Books from Home campaign on the Wrocław House of Literature website: https://literatura.wroclaw.pl/books-from-home-podarujmy-dzieciom-z-ukrainy-ksiazki-za-ktorymi-tesknia
