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Karen Doornebos is a fiction author published with Penguin Random House and contributor to The New York Times with a Tiny Love Story about her Ukrainian grandmother. Her new children's picture book THE PLUCKY UKRAINIAN SUNFLOWER received an ""OUR VERDICT ✓ GET IT"" award from Kirkus Reviews. 100% of the profits will be donated to Save Ukraine, a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to helping children affected by war. The book is illustrated by her 85 year old-artist mom Judie Anderson.One of Doornebos' novels, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, garnered a Starred Review from Publisher's Weekly and was also published in Germany and Poland. Both of her novels were inspired by living and working in London in her early 20s. Her books have been featured on the BBC's The One Show, in The Chicago Tribune, The New York Journal of Books, and more.She lives in Chicago with her Dutch husband and has two adult kids who live in cool cities to visit. She loves history, travel, and just like you: books! Judie Anderson's mother came from Ukraine. Anderson is an award-winning artist, former Art Director of The Chicago Tribune Editorial Art Department, and an illustrator for Britannica Student Encyclopedia and children's textbooks. She teamed up with her author-daughter Karen Doornebos to create this book. Anderson lives in Chicago and has three grandchildren.
Kirkus Reviews says: ""OUR VERDICT ✓ GET IT"" ""In Doornebos' debut picture book, a host of Ukrainian sunflowers resists an invading bear. Standing in their patch in rural Ukraine, a young sunflower and his fellows feel an ominous rumbling through the ground: Something is wrong. Sure enough, a ferocious, bullying bear comes stomping along. It blocks out the sun and crushes flowers underfoot. (""'I want your land!' the bear roared."") All of the sunflowers are scared, but the young sunflower stands up to the bear. With flattery, trickery, and the support of its fellows, it leads the bear far away and dumps it into a watering hole. Doornebos relates the sunflowers' tale in the mode of a fable, employing simple language and recounting events that unfold more through moralistic intent than the logic of cause-and-effect. Though quite overtly an analogue to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the story functions perfectly well as a standalone piece-its message of resilience is universal, and adults and children alike can take heart from the sunflowers' triumph. Anderson's crayon and watercolor illustrations mirror the narrative's simplicity against mostly white backgrounds. The bear, in its savageness and entitlement, is evocative, as are the frailty of individual sunflowers and their recognition of strength in numbers. The yellowness of the sun and the sunflowers offers a constant reiteration of hope, which ultimately prevails in a joyous scene of cultural celebration. Heartening and uncomplicated-a rousing modern-day fable."" Readers' Favorite ★★★★★ Five Stars ""Hope and resilience are evident in The Plucky Ukrainian Sunflower by Karen Doornebos. The sunflowers noticed that things had changed in their world. The people who lived in their dacha hadn't been seen for days. Then, an enormous bear appeared, stomping on the sunflowers and threatening them. He wanted to take their land and did not believe the little sunflowers could thwart him. One especially brave sunflower comes up with a plan to lure the bear away and, with help from the other sunflowers, defeats the bear. Now, will the people in Ukraine return? There is an informative afterword containing facts about Ukraine and sunflowers. The Plucky Ukrainian Sunflower by Karen Doornebos introduces the war in Ukraine on a child's level. The story is filled with rich symbolism, from the Russian bear to the national flower of Ukraine, the sunflower. Children will understand the unfairness of the bear wanting to take something that doesn't belong to him. They will also see that it takes courage and sacrifice to stand up for what is right. The illustrations by Judie Anderson are full of delightful details. The last spread depicts many Ukrainian cultural symbols, from the flag to the musical instruments to the food on the table. War is a challenging subject to tackle with young children. They often overhear conversations that they may not fully understand. The Plucky Ukrainian Sunflower is an appropriate way for adults to provide kids with an opportunity to get their questions answered about the war in Ukraine. 100% of the profits will be donated to Save Ukraine.""
