Gospel from A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA

‘Masterpiece’ will not sound as too grand a word to anyone who has held the book Gospel for Children. Stories of Jesus printed by Kyiv-based A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA Publishing House.

There are plenty of Christian books for children on the market, mostly educational editions that are made cheap and accessible to a wide audience at the sacrifice of design quality. This literature is called to perform the ethical function only, which is probably based on the publishers’ belief that the text will speak for itself.

Ivan Malkovych, director of A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, begs to disagree. As a publisher and literary editor of the Gospel for Children, he was guided by the desire to make this book a true gift and a feast. Close attention was paid to the smallest details. A special old Kyiv font was used for the title; it even contains one reconstructed letter (Ch). The page numbers are framed with the blossoming blackthorn twigs. The Gospel stories are written in contemporary Ukrainian and are divided into sections by subheadings (for example, “The Angel of God brings a message to Mary,” “Mary visits Elisabeth,” “Wise men from the east come to see Jesus,” and “Jesus heals a crippled man”). Thus, the Gospel appears as a unified story that is easy to understand even for the youngest readers.

The most important events in Jesus’ life are supplied with illustrations by Kost Lavro. His contribution is, without exaggeration, invaluable. His illustrations resemble (but not copy) medieval iconography. Lavro combines a refined range of colors with the solemn character of settings in the Holy Scripture. This visual accompaniment offers a step-by-step depiction of the dramatic Gospel story and will please the eye of both a child and an adult.

In all its components, the Gospel for Children is one of the best educational editions for children in 2009.

The publisher indicated on the first page that the book received blessings from the heads of all traditional Christian churches in Ukraine. This is, no doubt, especially important against the backdrop of persisting interdenominational hostility, which has been tormenting the religious community of this country for many years. No less significant is the fact that the book itself is of superior quality, a true masterpiece of the publishing art.

Nothing draws people closer to each other than the beauty of things, and especially books, they use every day.