Once upon a time in Kyiv, there was a poet looking for a happy ending (11/03/96)

Once upon a time in Kyiv, there was a poet looking for a happy ending

by Marta Kolomayets

KYIV - Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a young Hutsul named Ivan who encountered a fair Ukrainian maiden named Yaryna. She, a musician, enchanted him with her violin; he, a poet, inspired her with his sonnets. Together, they made beautiful music. They fell in love, got married and had a son, Tarasyk.

But unfortunately, they lived in a drab, gray land called the Soviet Union, where big bad Communists ruled and the only form of entertainment for little Ukrainians was rhymes about socialist tractors plowing for peace and the super-heroic escapades of young Vladimir Illich Lenin.

Ivan wanted to expose his curious son to the beautiful stories he remembered from his childhood in the Carpathian Mountains - Ukrainian tales about Ivasyk Telesyk and Koza Dereza - as well as world classics such as Snow White. When he could not find any colorfully illustrated books about cats and roosters, and little boys with their puppies, and little girls decorating Christmas trees, and children anxiously awaiting St. Nicholas, Ivan decided to take matters into his own hands.

As luck would have it, by this time the big bad giant on Ukraine's doorstep had retreated back north after Ukraine declared its independence in 1991. And Ivan breathed a little easier, hoping to create a magical world for his son and his son's friends through Ukrainian-language books, richly illustrated by his circle of friends, young, aspiring artists.

This is no fairy tale, but the true story of a determined father wanting to make life better not only for his son, but all children growing up in independent Ukraine, as well as all Ukrainian children throughout the world.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Malkovych began developing a children's magazine called Soniashnyk (Sunflower) to serve as a teaching aid for children who were growing up in post-Soviet society. But, he soon realized that his son and children of his generation would need much more than a magazine to discover the whimsical world of dancing bears and singing billy goats and talking frogs. He understood that they would need a library of "golden books" to instill in them the values that Communism and the Soviet state had destroyed, such as the meaning of Christmas and the importance of a national identity.

So, Mr. Malkovych, 35, the poet and parent, became a publisher and started the first private Ukrainian-language-only children's book publishing house in independent Ukraine. And, he called it A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, taking the name from the adventures of Hryts, a mischievous schoolboy in Ivan Franko's classic story, "Hrytseva Shkilna Nauka," (Greg's School Studies).

Mr. Malkovych began creating books: A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA now boasts 15 titles with a total press run of 375,000 books, starting with the Ukrainian alphabet primer released in 1992.

These include "Kotyk i Pivnyk" (The Cat and the Rooster) - a famous Ukrainian folktale about a crafty fox who steals a rooster and then is saved by his friend, the clever cat. Two years ago, Mr. Malkovych sold Alfred A. Knopf Publishers the world rights to this book, which came out in English last year. It has also been published in French, by Calligram, a publishing house in Switzerland.

Another popular children's book released over the last few years includes a collection of "Favorite Poems," featuring classic Ukrainian rhymes as well as German, British and French children's poetry in translation. A companion to this book is a cassette tape, which features songs and stories from the book.

While Mr. Malkovych hopes to introduce world classics children's literature to Ukrainian kids, as he has in the "Favorite Poems," he also hopes to acquaint the world with such classic Ukrainian stories as "Ivasyk-Telesyk," "Koza Dereza" and "Pan Kotsky." All three are ready for publication, but he currently lacks funds to print these modern-day masterpieces, richly illustrated by leading Ukrainian artists Kost Lavro, Oleh Petrenko and Oleksander Koshel.

His commitment, first and foremost, is to Ukrainian children throughout the world. As a matter of fact, he was recently approached by a large Russian publishing house which wanted to buy the rights to several of his books, a deal that would have given Mr. Malkovych the funds to publish a few of his new projects.

Mr. Malkovych refused the deal, explaining that if he succumbed to pressure now, his publishing business would be doomed to failure.

"When you walk the streets of Kyiv, you see the wide variety of Russian-language books for children. Once in a great while, you'll see a Ukrainian children's book in the kiosks, but it's usually dull and drab. This is not the environment I want my children to grow up in," he said.

He is doing something to change that environment; he often gets letters from Russian-language Ukrainians, who tell him how their children will go to sleep with his newest book, or how they will beg their parents to read a Ukrainian folktale.

"A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA's credo is such: If children's books from around the world are placed side by side in a bookstore, a child should first pick up the Ukrainian-language book because of its eye-catching cover, its colorful illustrations and high quality," added Mr. Malkovych, who often uses his 7-year-old son Taras as a creative consultant in his projects.

Although Taras has already outgrown his father's projects (Mr. Malkovych noted that his son, a voracious reader, now ponders over tomes of the encyclopedia), the Malkovych clan recently welcomed a new addition to the family, Hordiy, who was born in November 1995.

So, Mr. Malkovych has once again been inspired to create new books. He is ready to release eight more books, including a new edition of the alphabet book, in durable, heavy cardboard, complete with a CD for children to sing along with, as well as such classic stories as "Rukavychka"(The Mitten), the Brothers Grimm story of "The Wolf and the Seven Kids," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and "Zolotyi Pavuchok" (The Golden Spider) , a Ukrainian Christmas story written by Mr. Malkovych.

The projected costs for this ambitious endeavor are close to $200,000 and Mr. Malkovych hopes to collect half of that amount in Ukraine and half among sponsors in the diaspora.

"I hope the name A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA becomes the first word every Ukrainian child will read and recognize," said Mr. Malkovych in a recent interview. It is already one of the first entries in the guide to world publishers, he adds, half-jokingly, as he shows off the guide book.

"I want this publishing house to be essential for all kids, age 2 to 102," he added, using the slogan of his publishing house. A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA is already recognized in Ukraine as a top publishing company, having been awarded first place honors at the Forum of Ukrainian Publishers in 1995.

Although times are tough in the publishing world, Mr. Malkovych will not compromise his high standards. He continues to engage the most popular artists to illustrate his books, he uses only the finest glossy Finnish paper for his oversized books, and he has struck a deal with a high-quality Slovak printing company to print the eight new releases. [Although he is disappointed that he cannot use a Ukrainian factory to print his new titles, he cannot afford to lose money on the venture. More than $10,000 worth of "Favorite Poems" were stolen from the Ukrainian factory where the books were printed in 1994.] He is planning to have books ready for distribution in the early spring of 1997.

A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA is not only a business for Mr. Malkovych; it is a commitment, a way of life. He is one of those people in Ukraine today who is working to make life better for his children and their generation - the future of Ukraine. He also wants his books to serve as a bridge between the children in Ukraine and the children in both the Eastern and Western diaspora.

"If I can accomplish this, then my story will have a happy ending," he said.

Mr. Malkovych continues to look for sponsors both in Ukraine and in the diaspora for his books. For more information about the project or to send donations to A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, please write to: Ivan Malkovych, c/o Christine Fedynsky, 364 Elmwood Road Rocky River, Ohio 44116; or call (216) 356-2584.