During July 2021, in the 2nd stage, the highly respected Expert Jury of 12 professional literary experts, critics and children’s writers chose the best books from the Long List. This year, the choice for experts turned out to be difficult. It is nice to note that many books worthy of victory were submitted to this year’s competition
The finalist works first went through a two-stage selection. Thus, out of 79 publications in the category “Literature for children” that were submitted for evaluation by the jury, 3 books made it to the finals.
Five editions had the same number of points, but according to the terms of the competition, there should be three finalist books. Everything was decided by the “voice” of the last expert.
Among the three books-finalists of the book award “Espreso. Readers’ Choice 2021” in the nomination “Literature for children” included the following works:
“Alexa Dovbush. The Secret of Power” Vasyl Karpiuk (“Discursus” publishing house)
Do you know who Oleksa Dovbush is? Probably so, because there is no greater hero in all the Carpathians! But the story of the most formidable leader of the Carpathian opryshkas began with a stubborn boy who unexpectedly received great power for himself. Plunging into this story, you and Oleksa will live in the forest next to wolves and vyrkas, join the Opryshki band and look into the world of the heroic past of the Carpathians. And most importantly, in the end you will find out where Oleksin’s Power came from and whether he was able to master it.
“Lost in the camp” by Nastya Muzychenko (publishing house “Nash Format”)
Matvii and Mia are going to rest in a mountain camp. Fresh air, discos, quests and other entertainment – everything is as usual in such camps. But only until Matvii accidentally learns about a mystical, even creepy story that happened here a few years ago. And such stories, as you know, have a habit of repeating themselves – and here our heroes find themselves at the epicenter of events…
“The Guinea Pig Detective” by Ivan Andrusiak (“Vivat” publishing house)
When mysterious crimes happen, all the animals from the nearby houses, and even those who live on the street, without fail turn to the guinea pig – detective Gerard. However, he is a known sweet tooth, so he takes on business only on the condition of a tasty fee.
Together with Gerard, you will find out who ate the cat’s breakfast, run away from hungry predators, find out everything about an unknown horror that scares good animals, explore dark chapels and fight fears, and most importantly – learn to catch intruders in an instant, using deduction and logic.
Books that were noted by experts, but did not make it to the finals:
“Lyakazochki” by Irene Rozdobudko (publishing house “Nash Format”)
“Seven holiday wishes. Overheard and recorded from Iceland to China” by Yulita Ran, Sashko Dermanskyi, Miya Marchenko, Oleg Chaklun, Oksana Davydova, Yuliya Ilyukha, Hanna Osadko (“Chitarium” publishing house)
“Maika Palivoda chooses a profession” by Mia Marchenko (“Chitarium” publishing house)
“Myroslava and others from our yard” Olga Kupriyan (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Where and from” by Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“The White Wolf on the Black Path” by Nadiya Humenyuk (“NK-Bohdan” publishing house)
“I give my brother for the subscription. Your Instagram diary” Sasha Kochubey (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Steamboats and whales” Hryhoriy Falkovich (A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA publishing house)
“Three fairy tales” by Sashko Dermanskyi (“Nash Format” publishing house)
“Tasty Alphabet” by Marko Teren (“ASSA” publishing house)
“Delphi” and magicians” Valery Puzik (“ASSA” publishing house)
“Royal Robbery” Serhiy Svyridenko (publishing house “Nash Format”)
“Marusy’s Important Matters” by Sasha Voytsehivska (“Nash Format” publishing house)
“Me and the monster George. How to be healthy” A. Yu. Varnavska (Osnova Publishing Group)
“The Ghost Who Couldn’t Sleep” by Natalka Maletych (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Where dreams wander” by Rostislav Popskyi (“A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA” publishing house)
“A fast horse and a very bicycle adventure” by Yurii and Tetiana Gaidai (“Yakaboo Publishing”)
“The Happiest Lion” Oleksandr Shatokhin (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Rescue Mission: Bears” by Yevgenia Zavaliy (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Squirrels, Skipper, Albatross, or The Story of How Snowboarding Began” by Eva Solska (Ranok publishing house)
“Viktor_Robot. The Diary of a Collector of Planets” by Anastasia Lavrenishin (“Ranok” publishing house)
“How to roar correctly” by Olesya Mamchich (“Ranok” publishing house)
“The Secret Life of Rudyk” by Tais Zolotkovska (“Ranok” publishing house)
“Kuzya, Zyuzya and company” Vsevolod Nestaiko (publishing house “Nash Format”)
“Kotyhoroshka. Tangled tales.” Anastasia Lavrenishyna, Halyna Tkachuk, Oksana Lushchevska, Alina Shtefan, Mia Marchenko, Valentina Vzdulska, Sasha Kochubei, Anna Khromova. (Ranok publishing house)
“Chubzyky” Serhiy Loskot (“Ranok” publishing house)
“Secret Order of the Great Stingray” by Hanna Buyaji (Ranok publishing house)
“Mysteries” by Galina Vdovichenko (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”
“The Great Cosmic Apchikh” by Slava Svitova (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Sam, without problems” by Oksana Lushchevska (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“E-stories of Eka’s excavator” by Victoria Amelina (publishing house “Stary Lev Publishing House”)
“Mesozoic on the fourth floor” Stanislav Solovinskyi (“Ranok” publishing house)
“About three brave knights” Anna Tretyak (“Ranok” publishing house)
“Meeting on the Barefoot Bridge” by Nadiya Humenyuk (“NK-Bohdan” publishing house)
“Alphabet” by Iryna Rutilo (publishing house “Kalamar”)
According to the rules of the Prize, the final winner of the competition must be determined by readers during the third stage of voting from September to November in libraries throughout Ukraine.
