The project “TravelBook.Cities”, is a unique patriotic series of stories about Ukrainian cities. The project was launched with a cartoon about Kharkiv, narrated by Oleh Mykhailiuta, who tells the audience about the most interesting little-known facts from the city's history.

“The TravelBook” is currently the only project that is being implemented simultaneously in two formats: cartoons that will be available on the official YouTube channel of the community “TravelBook.Ukraine”, and books that will be published this month by The Old Lion Publishing House. The published books will tell about frontline cities such as Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv. The authors of the texts are well-known Ukrainians, including Irena Karpa and Serhiy Zhadan.

 “Ukrainians are becoming more and more interested in their roots and the history of their homeland. The catalyst for this interest was to some extent the full-scale invasion. In the “TravelBook.Cities”, we want to show the palette of uniqueness and peculiarities of each city, because they all demonstrated incredible resilience and patriotism,” said Iryna Taranenko, founder of the Green Penguin creative agency.

The books and cartoons will easily and fascinatingly tell the story of the authenticity and exclusivity of the indomitable Ukrainian cities, and the unique facts, which will be interesting for both children and adults. The first animated episode is dedicated to the heroic city of Kharkiv, which not only withstood the most difficult months of the invasion, but has also been under constant shelling by the occupiers for almost two years. Among other things, viewers will learn the origin of the city's name, how Kharkiv became a "city of students" and why it is called a "metropolis of contrasts".

The next five animated films of the project, dedicated to Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv, will premiere in March and April. In each of the cities, there will also be offline presentations of the printed editions of the “TravelBook.Cities”.

“Russia's war has shown that Ukraine's spirit is unbreakable, and its unique cultural heritage will endure against all odds. USAID is proud to support the “TravelBook.Cities” project as it is a new way to tell the story of Ukraine's extraordinary cities: extraordinary not only because of their resilience, but also because of their unique culture and history,” said Jim Hope, USAID Mission Director in Ukraine.

The project “TravelBook.Cities” project was created with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ukraine Confidence Building Initiative (UCBI). Among the project's friends and partners are Ukrzaliznytsia, 1+1 media, Kyivstar TV, VIVA magazine, and famous Ukrainians who support their hometowns. You can join the community of supporters by subscribing to the project's social media pages:

Facebook: facebook.com/read.and.travel 

Instagram: instagram.com/read.and.travel.ukraine

TikTok: @booksandcartoonsua