Ukrainian / Ukraine
Reaktory ne vybuchajut'. Korotka istorija Čornobyl's'koï katastrofy
(Reaktory ne vybukhayut. Korotka istoriya Chornobylskoy katastrofy)
(Reactors do not explode. A short history of the Chernobyl disaster)
Dvornyc'kyj, Stanislav
(Dvornytskiy, Stanislav)
(text)
Michalicyna, Kateryna
(Mikhalitsyna, Kateryna)
(text)
Studio ”seri/graph“
(illus.)
Kyïv: Portal, 2020. – 135 p.
ISBN 978-617-7925-17-9
Chernobyl | Nuclear energy | Power plant | Nuclear accident | History 1986 | Non-fiction
Reading age: 12+
White Ravens issue: 2021
This non-fiction book for young adults is so good and important that it deserves an especially strong recommendation. In an objective but deeply moving manner, with the thrill of a dramatic documentary, Kateryna Mikhalitsyna and Stanislav Dvornytskiy present the complex history of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and its nuclear accident in 1986. Beginning with a visit to today’s site, they portray it as a time capsule. They describe why Chernobyl was planned, built, and put into operation, explore its political, ideological, and economic background, and point out the immense impact and aftermath of the radioactive cloud that affected large parts of Europe and Central Asia, including their ecological systems. In addition, the book, with its large-size square format, attractive layout, and illustrations done in grey, yellow and orange tones, provides precise definitions of key concepts such as “atom” and “radioactivity” or the process of nuclear fission. [KW]