Ukrainian culture (re)imagined: children's literature and translation in wartime

The chapter focuses on the study of children’s literature translations, which play a significant role in shaping and reinterpreting images of Ukrainian culture, especially in the context of war. The analysis includes the canon of Ukrainian authors, themes, genres, and illustrations of works translated from or into Ukrainian, which contribute to the global representation of Ukrainian culture and language. Special attention is paid to the impact of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 on the development and changes in translation activity, particularly in the selection of works for translation. The chapter examines three main aspects: the features of translation from the Soviet and Diasporic writings of the twentieth century, the contemporary children’s translation publishing market, and international translation and publishing projects. The first section is devoted to the Ukrainian e-libraries Chtyvo and Diasporiana, which preserve children’s books from both the Dnipro and Veselka publishing houses, as well as translations from various Ukrainian diasporic publishers. This section demonstrates that translations of children’s literature from the Soviet and Diasporic publishers were largely based on Ukrainian themes, forming Ukraine’s self-image through folklore, history, and moral-ethical themes. The second section examines the modern translation market, noting the growing popularity of Ukrainian children’s books, especially those dealing with themes of war, refugees, and environment. The third section is concerned with international projects, including Translate Ukraine, World Kid Lit, Pineapple Lane, and BookaBooka, which actively promote the spread of Ukrainian children’s literature on a global scale, emphasizing the importance of Ukrainian language and culture in the global literary polysystem. The section examines how these translations influence the formation of Ukraine’s self-image within the global cultural polysystem, which images of Ukrainian culture become dominant, and how translations affect the perception of Ukrainian literature abroad. The conclusions show that translated children’s literature serves as an effective tool of cultural diplomacy, contributing to the international recognition and dissemination of Ukrainian culture and the affirmation of its unique identity in a globalized world.