Finding Messi: The Miracle Cat from Kyiv
Trevor Ostfeld and Iryna Chernyak
North Street Book Prize 2024 (view all the winners)
First Prize, Children's Picture Book
Critique by Jendi Reiter
Picture books about serious issues are hard to write in a way that's both age-appropriate and properly contextualized. To avoid being too scary or complicated, sometimes too much information is omitted for the story to make sense. It's also important to find a child-level way in to the narrative. A picture book reader's day-to-day concerns are still small and personal. War, prejudice, illness, or environmental crisis are a backdrop to basic needs like a safe daily routine and the reliable presence of their loved ones.
Finding Messi: The Miracle Cat from Kyiv rises to the challenge. Co-written by 17-year-old Trevor Ostfeld from New York City and 13-year-old Iryna Chernyak, a Ukrainian now living in Warsaw, Poland, this colorful and heartwarming picture book re-creates the true story of Iryna's reunion with her cat after her family fled from Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ostfeld's family met the Chernyaks on a synagogue-sponsored trip to bring humanitarian supplies to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Pet rescue stories are bound to be a crowd-pleaser. I can't tell you how many times I re-read Sheila Burnford's The Incredible Journey when I was a kid. Setting this hopeful tale amid a currently escalating war may give young readers some comfort during our unsettled times.
Everything about the book design is first-prize quality, from the sturdy hardcover with cheerful blue accents on a yellow background (Ukrainian flag colors!) to Katherine Blackmore's soft watercolor illustrations of red-haired Iryna and her playful, plushy gray cat. The story text is well-integrated into the page design, in a large round font in the same shade of bright blue.
Messi is a cat with a lot of personality, perfect for the dynamic illustrations that a picture book should have. She was named for Lionel Messi because she loves to chase mini soccer balls. The family's pre-war cozy domestic routine included lighting Shabbat candles and Iryna's dance practices. But when the Russian troops arrive and they have to evacuate, they make the fateful decision to leave Messi behind with Grandpa, thinking that they'll be back soon. The situation in Kyiv worsens, Messi gets loose in transit to Lviv, and Iryna is afraid she'll never see her best friend again. Lost-cat postings on the Internet finally reunite the adventurous cat with her humans in Poland.
This bittersweet book ends with the family still in exile, reflecting that home is where your loved ones are. As America's support for victims of international aggression becomes more uncertain, it's important to teach the next generation to empathize with children everywhere.
Read an excerpt from Finding Messi (PDF)
Buy this book on Amazon.
