The War That Changed Rondo

A Kirkus Best Book of 2021: A Best Picture Book for Starting Conversations
A USBBY Outstanding International Book of 2022
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022

War has come to the idyllic town of Rondo. Can three gentle but brave friends stop War’s destruction and save their beloved home?

Danko, Zirka, and Fabian live peacefully in the small town of Rondo, a magical and joyful place where even the flowers sing! Everything is perfect ... until the fateful day that War arrives. Having never experienced War, the inhabitants don’t know what to do. They try to talk to it and fight it, but nothing seems to stop the spread of War’s destruction and darkness. Harnessing the power of light, community, and song, Danko, Zirka, and Fabian, along with all their neighbors, must rally together to lead Rondo to victory.

How War Changed Rondo reflects the darkness and pain that conflict bring and the wounds that linger long after it’s over. This picture book serves as a tribute to peace, resistance, and hope, and was written and illustrated by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, a husband-and-wife duo from Ukraine.

Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv are a husband-and-wife team of artists, who collaborate on books and other projects through their art studio Agrafka. They were both born in Ukraine in 1984 and studied at the Lviv Art College of Decorative and Applied Art. The pair have been members of PEN Ukraine since 2019 and currently live and work in Lviv, Ukraine.