This was such a beautiful book about hope, while tragic at the same time. It tells the story of one little girl's family having to leave Ukraine due to the war and seek refuge in a nearby country, while having to leave their grandmother behind. The imagery of sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, is used throughout as a symbolism of hope, and I loved that. This book tells such an important story that will resonate with both young and old readers, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

I often find i devour any books dealing with WW2 and the strength of so many in hard times. This was another one of those books. Having strength to find hope in sadness

The Sunflowers Babushka planted
By Beatrice Rendon Olga Baumert

With the war in Ukraine this book is a fabulous way to show the cycle of events there with kind eyes. It shows the nature of war without the brutality which can reach a younger audience and make a hard thing understandable. It also shows how hope is created by your own manifestations. A great family book, a great cultural book, and a book to help introduce this problem to children.

The illustrations were so beautiful and the storyline was heartbreaking yet important. I will definitely show this book to my future children!

This book is a beautiful story about displacement, war, and separation of families. I think it really emulates the experiences of children who experience war growing up. It would be a great book to read to kids to learn about displacement and the historical significance of how war effects various generations.

Thank you to Net Galley for this e-copy of The Sunflowers Babushka Planted by Beatrice Rendon in exchange for a honest review.This a true story based on the life of Beatrice’s grandmother or babushka.When Tania was 6, WW2 broke out and she had to leave her home in the Ukraine and her own grandmother behind.who is too old to travel.She remembered her grandmother always planted sunflowers as a sign of hope.As she travels Europe during the war, hiding and hoping for better days, she thinks often of her grandmother.After the war, Tania and her family are placed in a camp where she spends many years.Here her mother paints sunflowers on homemade curtains to remind Tania to always hope for a better life.This story is very relevant today as the Ukrainians fight their own battle for survival and still look to the sunflower as a sign of hope for the future.Beautiful illustrations!

This is a lovely and beautifully illustrated story based on the author's family story of fleeing Ukraine during WWII and having to leave their beloved grandmother behind, With the current war in Ukraine, this story is particularly impactful as history repeats itself. This would be a great book to guide sharing one's own family immigration story with a young child or introducing a youngster to the concept of war's impact on families around the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

5 stars

This is a beautiful children’s book. The story is emotional but ends with a happy, hopeful note, the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous (I can’t wait till the cover art shows up on Goodreads!), and I appreciated both the pronunciation notes at the beginning as well as the author’s note at the end. This is a book I will definitely buy for friends who are teachers and/or those who have young kids. Truthfully, I may buy a copy for myself as well; I love it, not least of all because of the family history that is similar to some of my own as well as the parallels to current events. Anyway, as I’ve said, I loved this book. Definitely recommend.🌻

This was a lovely story that shows how it's the little things that can make a home feel like home. I think this book is particularly applicable right now with the war in Ukraine, and with all the refugees from all over the world who are often stuck in less-than-ideal living conditions until possibly they are able to find a better life somewhere. I like that the sunflower is used here as a symbol of beauty and rising above your circumstances. The illustrations are done in a watercolour style and set the tone for the story really well. I think this would be a good book to start the discussion with an older child about the realities of life for people trying to get away from war, famine, and tyranny.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

The Sunflowers Babushka Planted tells the story of Tania and her family as they are uprooted from life as they know it during WWII.

This book was beautifully illustrated, and Beatrice Rendón was able to create a story that was both heart-wrenching and heartwarming in only 36 pages.

Wow, this book is written for children and describes in a realistic way what life being upended during a war might be like. It is inspired by the author’s grandmother’s life fleeing her home during WWII. It’s an emotional story of leaving life and family behind in order to stay safe. It’s also a story of life in refugee housing and how this family makes their scarce accommodations more like a home. The illustrations are wonderful. I’d definitely recommend buying this book when it is published. Some might not want to expose their young children to a story about war but I think it’s important for all of us to experience empathy for people who are currently going through these types of trauma. It’s a beautiful book with an important story.

Here is a touching story of a refugee family. Forced to leave familiar surroundings for the unknown, they travel, finding temporary housing in several places. The memory of Babushka's (who remained behind due to her inability to travel) cheerful sunflowers went with the family. When they finally found a new meager home in a different country, mama painted sunflowers to brighten up the new home.

I would have chosen an alternate, bolder, perhaps even non-serif font for the text. But maybe things look different in the actual book than on my screen. Also, one sentence could use an edit: "It was like this that mama and papa moved through day after day, night after night, waiting and hoping for the war to end" (i.e., "this is how," and possibly make two separate sentences). Finally, the phrase "psanky dye" could be better explained.

Despite the above caveats, we were moved by the story and recommend it as a resource to help children understand the plight of refugees from a war-torn country.

Based on the author's family history from many years ago.
A young girl named Tania lives a simple life with her parents who live with her grandmother. Their home is in Ukraine. When a war starts in Ukraine Tania becomes a refugee fleeing Ukraine with her parents for their families' safety. Grandmother, too elderly to travel stays behind. Wandering through Europe for years as displaced people during WWII, they wondered if they'd ever be able to go back to their country. Sad but realistic we get a child's eye view of the war with her thoughts. We see just how fragile and scary life can be for its youngest members. For comfort Tania thinks about the sunflowers her grandmother has planted for beauty, Ukraine's national flower. Well executed story showing the fragility and uncertainty of times for children. This child was well loved and felt secure with her parents and was able to return to a normal life after the war. Beautifully illustrated which adds to the validity of the story.

Pub Date 01 Jan 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Out of all books within this genre that I have read so far, this is the first one that exudes a raw vibe of reality.

This book entails a story about Tania, a little Ukrainian who's forced to flee from the comfort of her house, alongside Mama, Papa and other citizens.

I am grateful for I'm still blessed with peaceful living environment, but my heart goes with Tania as I discover what actually happens doing the 'flee'. It helps a lot in educating me and (young readers) on the refugee's life.

However, I cant help feeling warmness within the story, sometimes a small memory with our loved one can make us feel at home. Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy, Im left with feeling touched and grateful as I read it.

A somewhat sad, but also hopefully story about a little girl named Tania who unexpectedly becomes a refugee when war breaks out in Ukraine. They move from city to city until they end up in a refugee camp. Tania misses the life she left behind and her babushka (grandmother) that got left behind as well. A story about resilience and finding hope in unfortunate situations.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is an emotional and touching children's book about a little girl called Tania and her family, who have to leave their home due to a war. They eventually find somewhere to live, but it doesn't have much furnishings, so Tania's Mum has to make things to decorate it with, and she makes curtains with sunflowers on, to remind her of her old home and of Babushka. It is a story of hope, which is based on a real life experience the author's grandmother had.

The images in the book are stunning, and the text is easy to read. This is a lovely book which will help children who are also refugees, and maybe it will give them hope that things are going to be ok. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This beautiful book was set in WW2, but if you did not know that, you might have thought it was set in modern day.
Tania and her family had to leave her beloved Babushka behind when they fled war-torn Ukraine. All they brought with them was memories of her and the sunflowers she planted.
This book shows children that sadly, sometimes history repeats itself and we have to do everything we can to help the people who are affected.
Very well written and the art was gorgeous,

Thank you so much to Capstone and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Tania loves her babushka and her beautiful sunflowers but then war starts and she has to leave her behind. Travelling with her mum and dad from one temporary place to another for safety, nothing ever feels like home did.

What a beautiful but sad story, having to uproot everything to find safety, having to find a place to stay that isn’t home. Having to leave behind someone you love dearly too. It was such an emotional but still beautiful story. It’s shares of strength, of family, of love and of hope in the scariest and worst of times.

Tania and her family eventually find a place to stay in a new location, in a small room just for them that together they all decorate to make it feel like home, her mum brings back the sunflowers to their tiny home to remind them of hope, home and babushka.

The illustrations were just stunning, watercolour hand drawn style and they were gorgeous I adored looking at them and seeing the characters and the situation they were in on each page come to life, they matched the story perfectly, Absolutely beautiful.

This is a great story, based on a real story of the authors grandma. With the events in the current world I think that a lot of children are going to connect with this, having either gone through it, similar to it or know someone that has. I think it’s also a great tool to help a child understand what the new kid refugee in school may have gone though. A beautiful story but very emotional story that is very important.

What a beautiful story. It takes place in Ukraine over 80ish years ago, but what a good comparison for kids now, with the war going on there. It teaches children, without being too scary. And a sweet reminder that even though there are hard things & scary things, there is hope & a connection.

Thai is a story about refugees from Ukraine, but refugees from World War 2, not the current war. The author said that when she saw the current war, she was reminded of the story her grandmother used to tell about what it was like being a refugee, and living ain a displaced persons camp, waiting to find a country to live in.

Their room was small, and plain, and Tania and her parents tried their best to make it more home. They took potato sacks into curtains and pillows, and one day her mother painted the walls with sunflowers, because that reminded them the most of the sunflowers from Ukraine, that they had had to leave behind, that also grew in her grandmother’s garden.

Sweet simple picture book about how war and being a refugee affects children, and what they ended up remembering of that time.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will be published on the 1st of January 2024.