I wrote this books
My name is Natalya Misyuk
I am from Crimea, but I have been living in Lviv since 2014. I am the author of the project “Let's Make Text,” which makes people fall in love with the Ukrainian language.
I also won the Scholarship of the President of Ukraine for young writers.
Cosy tales
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Published in summer 2025
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26-32 pages in each book
2025
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Available as ebooks
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In Ukrainian, English and Thai
For readers 1-6 years old
For preschoolers
Who is Grandma Ustia?
This is my great-grandmother. She lived to be 101 and died when I was 8, so I remember her well. Her name was Ustyniya Tkanko (née Vedmidska).
Granny Ustia never learnt how to read or write, but she knew how to make up fairy tales. She told me and other children countless stories. I still carry the warmth of them in my heart.
History of creation
As I grew up and became a writer, one of Granny Ustia’s fairy tales (about the bear and the three sisters) stayed with me in full. Others I remembered only in fragments. I wanted to preserve at least some of the stories, so I spoke to relatives and anyone who had known my family. I pored over church records and registry books in the archives, piecing together what my great-grandmother’s life had been like—what surrounded her, and which animals and plants were native to her homeland, in the areas between Chernihiv Oblast and Poltava Oblast in Ukraine.
I learned where people bought clay pots, how towels were sold, how skates were made, and more. I studied the fragments of her stories and began to notice patterns in the way she shaped her plots. All this helped me reweave the fabric of her storytelling. And that’s how this series of four little books was born.
I feel like the sun is shining in my soul. I believe that now, not only my family and I, but many others too, have the chance to be warmed by Granny Ustia’s fairy tales.
Family Album
Photo from the author's family archive.
 Little Natalya with Granny UstiaLittle Natalya with Granny Ustia Approximately 1993 |  Granny Ustia with her daughtersGranny Ustia with her daughters Approximately 1925 |  Great-grandfather MykhayloGreat-grandfather Mykhaylo, granny Ustia's husband Approximetely 1916 |  HouseGranny Ustia's house (Chernihiv oblast). Approximately 1950 |
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 Little Natalya with a dollLittle Natalya with a doll, presented by granny Ustia's relatives Approximately 1994 |  Granny Oleksandra (granny Ustia's daugther) and granny UstiaGranny Oleksandra (granny Ustia's daugther) and granny Ustia 1980-s |  Centenary years oldGranny Ustia's 100th birthday celebration 27th of Setpember, 1995 |
Translations
In addition to Ukrainian, these books were also published in English and Thai translations.
I translated them into English myself, and British editor Paige Lawson helped give the text a native sound.
Translated from English into Thai by Nirut Promutit (นิรุท พรมอุทิศ). By the way, as far as I could find out, these are the first Ukrainian books in history translated into Thai.
