Buy Book "In the Land of the Sunshine Bunnies" in Ukrainian

“In the Land of Sunshine is a magical children’s fairy tale story by the prominent Ukrainian writer Vsevolod Nestayko.

For me, Mr. Nestayko is a model of what a children’s book should be. Kind, sincere, bright and full of adventures. But I liked “In the Land of Sunshine Bunnies” a little less than “Adventures in the Forest School” and “Toreadors from Vasyukivka”. Why? To be honest, I much prefer Vsevolod Nestayko’s stories that describe the ordinary everyday life of Ukrainian children, such as “Incredible Detectives” or “The Unit with the Deception.” Of course, they are intended for a slightly older age than “The Adventures of…” or “In the Land of Sunshine Bunnies,” but the writer’s tales are somewhat simple for me. There is a clear division between good and bad characters, little witty humor, just a small fairy-tale-fantasy story where good triumphs over evil. Maybe it’s too simple for adults, but of course, little kids should like it. I think that from the age of five, kids will understand the book perfectly and learn a certain moral from it.

I read it to my 6-year-old daughter. My daughter liked the book – the dynamic plot, the struggle between good and evil. The bunnies are very correct and kind, and the main characters are also very good and kind. The bad characters are properly named Bad guys and are very bad. The straightforward division of good and bad is probably more appealing to children than to adults, because this sweet syrup makes me a little nauseous.

I did not enjoy reading it. To me, it was written in primitive language, very straightforward and unambiguous. Humor came across at most once in the entire book. The characters are very bland – very good boys and girls against very bad ones. The diminutive-affectionate words come across too often and are a bit annoying. I wanted some Ukrainian vivid turns of phrase and brightness, but I got a very flat picture in 2 colors, which I read to my daughter only because she liked it.

Maybe because I was expecting something written in the same language as The Toreadors from Vasyukivka, which I love and respect very much and am happy to read now. It seems that these works were written by different writers :).

Vsevolod Nestayko is probably the most famous Ukrainian children’s writer, as well as the most honored. For generations, his seemingly simple but extremely interesting stories, full of humor and kindness, have been read to children.

The Country of Sunshine tells the story of a red-haired boy named Vesnyanka, a resident of the country of Lastovinia, where peaceful, kind and hardworking Lastovians live. This peace-loving country has suffered a great grief – evil hooligans, the inhabitants of overseas Hooligania, have captured it, enslaved the Lastovians and forced them to work for them. All the helpless captives could do was hide the children in a children’s camp in the middle of the dense jungle. That’s where our red-haired protagonist is found by the gloomy and cunning Mr. Gloom, who hopes to use the boy in the fight against his sworn enemies, the merry, sunny bunnies. Freckles’ adventures in the Land of the Sunshine Bunnies, his acquaintance with its inhabitants, his visit to the Palace of Fairy Tales, and his struggle against the evil plans of the Gloom and the Queen of the Silly Night, whom he serves, are described in this beautiful, exciting book, which is well suited for reading to children before bedtime.

Vsevolod Nestaiko’s works are always a holiday for both children and their parents.

“In the Land of Sunshine” is the author’s first fairy tale story, written by him back in 1959. But it does not lose its relevance, because at all times children want to read and listen to adventures, danger, cunning of thieves, brave deeds of heroes and all-conquering Good. This book has all this and much more.

The boy Vesnianka is a real hero, because he was not afraid of bandits and hooligans and Mr. Morok himself; he is able to overcome all obstacles on his way and save those who need it so much! The thieves in the book are also real, albeit fairy-tale ones. The hooligans hate children and beat them (this moment seems to me to be excessive cruelty in a fairy tale story). Mr. Morok is a terrible personification of all nightmares… But still, the book is mostly light and kind, although it contains many contrasts and unexpected plot developments. The Land of the Sunshine Bunnies itself seemed to me to be similar to Paradise: it is so beautiful, good, fun, pleasant, and there is only good everywhere. The sunny bunnies are so cute, cheerful, kind and fluffy that you want to tickle each one behind the ear! With such friends, you can overcome Evil, no matter how much it resists. It’s nice that Good has won again, and children realize unnoticed how good it is to be good and how bad it is to be evil…

And it is also so encouraging that the beautiful country of Lastovynia has overcome the evil hooligans and managed to become independent again! Relevant!

“Vsevolod Nestaiko” – when this phrase sounds, many children (and not only) blossom with sincere smiles, their hearts flutter in anticipation of children’s fun and pranks. I read the fabulous trilogy “In the Land of the Sleepy Bunnies” with great pleasure. A great story, which left only pleasant emotions. So many impressions and childhood memories it evoked in me.

Vesnyanka, the main character in this book, came from Lastovinia. He was a very good and well-mannered boy, smart and shrewd. Thanks to Vesnyanka, the children from Lastovinia were saved from the bullies who attacked them. A boy our age defeated the evil Mr. Gloom and became the freckled hero of the Land of the Sunny Bunnies. In general, each hero is the embodiment of ordinary kids, of which there are plenty in every yard. Their deeds are merry and often reckless, and somehow the feeling that all will end well doesn’t leave us when we read it. Good will triumph over evil, and a happy ending awaits everyone. For that is how it should be as a child.

Among other things, the book has a deeper meaning: it teaches us not to be indifferent to others. We must be like Vesnyanka, who, at the age of less than ten, was not afraid of either Mr. Darkness or the Queen of the Black Night and saved thousands of children. I would like to wish each of us to have a heart as brave and a mind as his. After all, only through such brave men can we overcome our fear and learn to help others.

A funny story about the sunny bunnies does not let go, after reading, you get the impression that the world is really ruled by magic, and the reality itself is a magical land, of which we are all a part. The main thing is to want to and to believe in it all.

p.s. Even though it’s a little thing, I picked up a funny new word for myself from the book – “shmurdyak”. Such a funny, well, here’s a pure “non-stoic!”