Young children
Sofka and the Crusader is a fantasy story embroiled with Ukrainian's rich folklore and tradition and follows nine-year-old Sofka on an exciting and mysterious adventure.
Only 5 left in stock
The Northern Caucasus, land of mountains and legends, is home to a nine-year-old girl Sofka, her Ukrainian father and her brother. Sofka seeks exciting adventures in the world outside her front door but is terrified of the crusader spiders who inhabit the family’s outhouse. In her dreams, she hears the sad story of the spiders’ fate some centuries ago and as a result develops a friendship with one of the spiders.
When the children travel to Ukraine to visit their aunt, Sofka is tasked by the spider to help the sad maiden, who appears by an overgrown pond at midnight, to find her evil stepmother. The stepmother cursed the maiden’s family and ruined their lives. But Sofka is terrified. The task seems impossible for her to carry out. She tells the spider she won’t do it. Will the spider persuade her?
Part of the proceeds from the book sale will be donated to the Ukrainian children's charity OHMATDYT FUND https://www.ohmatdytfund.org/en
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 November 2024 I'm lucky enough to read Russian and I so enjoyed this book (dipping back and forth between the English and Russian texts was an extra treat). And I'm an adult, and an older one at that, which shows, in the tradition of the best children's books, that Sofka and the Crusader is a story that adults can enjoy too. It is beautifully written, bringing to life the Northern Caucasus where Sofka lives, Ukraine where Sofka visits her relatives and discovers what is different about being Ukrainian, and the magical realms of drowned maidens and witches. All of it rings true and I happily suspended any disbelief. I'm sure because Sofka is just such a straightforward, convincing and appealing character. She's a girl full of curiosity. She loves classic fairy tales and is very brave. At the beginning of the book she has an epic encounter with an enormous, Crusader spider in an outside toilet. Her horror is powerfully felt, reminding me - and I'm sure other readers too - of similar, terrifying experiences. From that moment I was hooked.
