Bim-bom dzelen’-bom!

With a story based on lyrics from an old Ukrainian folk song, Bim-bom dzelen’-bom! was issued in 1949, in the aftermath of World War II, when all Ukrainian territory was brought under oppressive Soviet rule. The same year, its illustrator, Okhrim Sudomora, was sentenced to 25 years in labor camps for drawing a caricature of Stalin with blood on his hands.



In the book, a cat’s house catches fire and his animal friends come to the rescue. It ends with a lesson aimed at young, displaced Ukrainians: Roosters, chickens and chicks, and cats and kittens, together they can save their native home from burning. So you little children, learn how to live in the world, and from every danger, defend your native home!