Meet a Real Global Leader: BRAVE VOLODYMYR: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine

 

QUILL TREE BOOKS, 2025

Here's a quick look at a biographical picture book that you really should not miss, BRAVE VOLODYMYR: The Story of Volodymyr Zelinsky and the Fight for Ukraine, written by Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrated by Grasya Oliyko. This beautifully produced visually appealing and informative book has compelling text that allows readers of any age to live alongside Volodymyr and his country-folk from the time of his childhood, living within restrictions of SOVIET UNION suppression through years of liberation and the current state of war. 

The opening spread sets the stage for this chronological but emotionally compelling account with an expanse of blue sky and golden sunflowers (below) forming the background of young Volodymyr's youth. Both text and spread effectively reveal the landscape as the inspiration for the horizontal expanse of blue and yellow color that is the Ukranian flag. I will never see that flag again without recognizing the iconic countryside that inspired it. The brief text on that page includes the facts that Ukrainians are rightly proud of their flag but were denied the right to fly it while under the thumb of the Soviet Union.

Quill Tree Books interior: Brave Volodymyr

In early pages we learn that lies were issued and enforced by that Russian state suppression. When a famine that starved millions of Ukrainians was denied by the government, no one could speak out to disagree or report the facts. Volodymyr and others all knew they were lies, and Volodymyr hated lies. 

At age thirteen, Volodymyr witnessed the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

As a child in a Jewish family in Ukraine, he was aware of existing antisemitism, despite Jews being an integral part of Ukraine for more than a thousand years. He attended college, mastering not only Ukrainian and Russian languages but English as well. He became a performer in comedy, acting, and more. 

Across the years, his independent government shifted to dishonesty and Influence by Russia,  including relying on lies to manipulate the public and maintain control. Across several ensuing years, Volodymyr noted his country's corruption and took part in protests and efforts to replace the leadership with more honest government. He created and starred in a television series in which an honest high school teacher is elected president of the country.  His goal was to offer humor and heart as communication tools to help his people find and protect the truth.

Soon after, when a free election was held, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY was elected president of Ukraine! When Russia invaded portions of Ukraine, the people fought back. A few years later, another Russian invasion and full armed assault threatened Ukraine, but they managed to fight back with support from many other countries, and by insisting on THE TRUTH. At the writing of this book, the war continues, despite Zelensky's and Ukraine's effort to find a peaceful solution. 

The author's heritage is early generations of Ukrainians, and the back note indicates her heart remains deeply rooted there. A timeline with brief notes allows readers to place a current lifetime into events that will always be a part of world history- The fall of the Soviet Union, the protests and revolution in Ukraine, and the invasion and ensuing war with Russia. What is most effectively threaded throughout is Zelensky's determination to adhere to the truth, and the Ukrainian people's pride of country and independence.

I hope you will take a look at this one, closely. Unconfirmed reports indicate that some larger retail outlets are reluctant to stock this book or provide promotion due to our own government's stance relative to Russia and Ukraine. I bought a copy and requested that my library carry it. I am posting this review because I admire the book as a quality picture book, but also to do my small part to support the truth. Will you join me? Tell people about it. Buy or donate a copy. Display it at your school or library. The truth matters, and silence is a slippery slope to dictatorship.