At a time when childhood is increasingly spent in digital environments and parents search for safe and meaningful content, the Ukrainian project YagaBook introduces a new format of children’s storytelling — a fusion of a book, animation, gaming, and emotional education tools. The initiative was created by writer, journalist, and animation director Nadiia Kyrei.
YagaBook has already received support from journalists of leading European radio stations — Benoît Martin (Radio France) and Eduards Liniņš (Latvijas Radio 1), as well as from the Embassies of Ukraine in Azerbaijan, Spain, and France, which help broaden the project’s international presence.
At the heart of the app is the story “Who Stole My Anger?” — a warm, humorous tale about the emotion of anger and healthy ways to interact with it. Such resources are especially important today: emotional tension among youth is rising worldwide, while systemic emotional education remains insufficient. According to Rating Group and UNICEF, in 2024, 27% of Ukrainian children experienced high or elevated levels of stress, and by 2025 this number grew to 37%.
YagaBook helps children, parents, educators, and social workers explore feelings through storytelling, interactivity, familiar characters, and gentle, accessible guidance. The fairy tale brings back Baba Yaga, the Lesovyk, and the Kikimora — figures from a shared European folklore tradition.
The app includes an audio story with selectable languages, an interactive game, offline-friendly coloring pages, and recommendations from child psychologists. Importantly, YagaBook contains no ads, no subscriptions, and no in-app purchases — a principled anti-commercial approach that builds trust among families.
Multilingualism as Cultural Diplomacy
Today, YagaBook is available in ten languages: Ukrainian, English, Polish, Spanish, German, Azerbaijani, Latvian, Georgian, Filipino, and Crimean Tatar.
The Crimean Tatar version holds special significance. The text was adapted in Crimea, and the narration was performed by Anife Kurtseitova, head of the NGO Krymska Rodyna and a renowned public figure who supported the project and contributed to creating the audio version.
For Crimean Tatar children, this is a chance to hear a native voice in an international product. For Ukrainian children, it is a bridge to the culture of Ukraine’s Indigenous people.
Each YagaBook localization is created by volunteers and professional actors. The Ukrainian version is voiced by Akhtem Seitablayev, Oksana Voskanian, Natalia Ohnieva, Lidiia Alieva, and other well-known performers.
“Projects like YagaBook help us speak with children about difficult things in a language they understand and perceive without fear. At a time when the entire country is going through trials, it is crucial to give children tools that help them cope with their emotions and preserve their inner light. I am happy to be part of a project that brings cultures together”.
— Akhtem Seitablayev
Support from Ukrainian embassies makes it possible to integrate the app into cultural programs, school activities, and international events for children.
In Kyiv, the YagaBook presentation at the National Library of Ukraine for Children brought together students who actively asked questions and shared personal stories about emotions. In Madrid, the Spanish version was introduced by volunteer, translator, and global ambassador of Ukrainian music Olga Ledo-Galano, and in Baku — as part of the program “New Horizons of Ukrainian Culture” — both Ukrainian and Azerbaijani versions were presented.
“YagaBook impressed me with its simple yet deeply meaningful story. It opens the door to the world of emotions so naturally and gently that even adults find themselves reflecting on their own feelings. For Spanish audiences, it is also an encounter with Ukrainian culture — vibrant, modern, and capable of reimagining even characters like Baba Yaga, who for decades was viewed as irredeemably evil”.
— Olga Ledo-Galano
Across different countries, audiences express special interest in hearing familiar characters in different languages — from Ukrainian to Azerbaijani.
Why YagaBook Matters
YagaBook is a modern tool for developing emotional literacy — now a key part of education in many countries. More and more school systems are integrating soft skills into curricula, recognizing that the ability to understand one’s emotions and interact with others is no less important than academic knowledge.
This is where YagaBook emerges — responding to the needs of parents, teachers, and children who seek simple, sensitive, and engaging ways to experience emotions naturally and safely.
The project also supports the Ukrainian diaspora: children abroad receive content in their native language, while international readers discover Ukrainian culture through a high-quality, original fairy tale.
YagaBook demonstrates how a team of over 50 volunteers from across the world, united by a shared vision, can create a world-class product.
Looking ahead, the YagaBook team plans to expand the platform: an animated version of the fairy tale is in development; new language localizations — including Turkish and Japanese — are being prepared; and international educational events are being designed to integrate emotional education into schools worldwide. New interactive stories are also planned to help children better understand and navigate their inner world.
About the Author and Founder of YagaBook
Nadiia Kyrei is a journalist, animation director, and children’s book author, as well as the founder of Veseloped, a platform promoting Ukrainian animation. Her claymation film represented Ukraine at the 8th Animafilm International Festival in Baku.
Her recent works include the bilingual Ukrainian–Azerbaijani early-language-development book “Balaбалаchka”, the animated film based on Taras Shevchenko’s poem “In Our Heaven on Earth…” dedicated to mothers affected by war (narrated by Tymur Miroshnychenko), and the animation “My First Carol” — a fairy tale with woolen characters introducing children to winter holiday traditions.
“When I created YagaBook, I wanted to offer children a simple, gentle way to talk about difficult things. Emotions aren’t enemies — they’re part of our inner world, and children deserve to understand them just as adults do. I wanted to show that folklore can be modern, kind, and close to the heart. And our once-scary Baba Yaga suddenly reveals a different side — and this very transformation helps children see that every story holds room for warmth, empathy, and strength”.
Nadiia Kyrei
