Buy Book "Magical creatures of Ukrainian myth. Pest spirits" in Ukrainian

It is an extremely interesting book, not only my children but also I was interested in it. I was very interested in the myths of the pre-Ukrainian world.

The book “Magical Creatures of Ukrainian Myth. Pest Spirits” by Vivat Publishing House is part of the “Oberih” series of books in Ukrainian. The author of the book is Dara Korniy. The book is recommended for children aged six and older. The book has three sections: “Night Creatures and Children’s Fears,” “Extra-dimensional Pests of Life,” and “Poverty and Pleasures.” This is a real Ukrainian mythology that has been accumulated over the centuries and passed down from generation to generation. There are stories about pest spirits who did a lot of harm to our ancestors because they had no other explanation for their troubles and illnesses.

The book “Magical Creatures of Ukrainian Myth. Pest Spirits” is very well designed, with a fairly high quality print. The pages in the book are antiqued. This edition contains three hundred and thirty-six pages. The illustrations are very bright and interesting, they complement the content of the book well. It is a very cool book. It is perfect as a gift for any family holiday.

Actually, I am not an ardent fan of the books of the contemporary Ukrainian writer Dara Korniy. However, Ms. Dara has books that are of great interest to me. With the first of them, “Magical Creatures of Ukrainian Myth. Spirits of Nature” I read somewhere in the winter of 2018, and I didn’t know if it would be continued… The sequel did follow. Two more books on this topic were published. All three editions of “Magical Creatures” have a beautiful design and high-quality printing, so the price is appropriate, but that’s not the point. The main task of the author is to acquaint her readers with the world of bizarre creatures that inhabited the Ukrainian land in the times of our ancestors, to hear at least on the pages the breath of the past and to find out where all that mythical stuff that has gained meaning in the graying centuries and is partly the heritage of the ancient Slavs came from. Please note that spirits are neither good nor bad. Spirits differ from humans in appearance and supernatural abilities, but like humans, they have their own desires and sometimes behave like humans. Spirits can be in a bad mood too! Spirits get angry when they don’t get the respect they deserve from people, so they remind us of themselves in unusual ways.

To begin with, let’s praise my attentiveness, because only on the 3rd book did I see the age category of the book – 6-12 years old. Before that, I was always complaining that I wanted more mythology and less fairy tales. The question is removed.

The third book of the series came out unexpectedly quickly, because I had already set myself up to wait a year or two, and here was a pleasant surprise.

This time, the book tells about creatures whose main task is to spoil people’s lives to the best of their abilities and creativity. They can be divided into three large groups: “Night creatures”, “Extra-dimensional pests” and creatures that personified certain diseases in the imagination of our ancestors.

It is interesting to read and realize that echoes of ancient beliefs are still alive. For example, the habit of not giving money back after sunset. When we have a hiccup, we say: “Hiccup, hiccup, go to the water, attack whomever you want, but leave me alone.” And in my parents’ village (Chernihiv region), there are still grandmothers who roll out fright with an egg and pour wax. It’s probably a kind of genetic memory.

The content. Everything is classic here. A brief description of the creature and a fairy tale related to it. Some creatures I know very well, some I heard about for the first time, so I definitely got some new information. It’s good that the bibliography is back at the end.

The design is, as always, gorgeous and in keeping with the general style of the series (my inner perfectionist gives a standing ovation). But still, I like the illustrations for the first book the most. They seem to me to be the most elaborate. But in the following volumes, there are too many unnecessary strokes in the drawings, which creates the effect of sketchiness, and the characters are becoming more and more similar to each other.

I’ll write right away about the minus. Because it’s the only one. With each new edition of this series the price rises like mushrooms after the rain… It’s a shame, books are becoming unaffordable for many…

Now about the pros. As well as “Charivni іstoty ukraіnskogo mіfu. Spirits of Nature” and “Czarіvni іstoty ukraіnskogo mіfu. Domestic Spirits” this book is quite large. And very colorful. And again, this is a great vintage paper.

So. Spirits pests also divided into groups (4 pieces). For example, a whole section is dedicated to the Devil, for he is the ancestor of all the pest spirits.

There’s a separate story about each spirit, starting with a big full-page picture (on the right side of the spread). And on the left is the text about him, where his features are pointed out. And of course, then the appropriate tale.

The spirits are different. For example: Fear, Hovalo, Svetilka, Babai, Hocha-yarokha, Popelyukha, and others. A total of 32 and plus the devil. They are in 3 sections: “Pereonifikovaniye boholichki”, “Nuchni ichti taketi kiddichi strashki”, “Pozaprostorovi shkidniki zhizni”.

This is about such a book. Many spirits we do not know, because we have begun to forget their origins. And it is good that such books appear. (One can only hope that Dara Korniy really did not invent anything herself, but found and questioned from knowledgeable and remembering people).