Into the Kryvolis Forest

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Diverse Voices, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Middle Grade, Novels, Illustrated, Debut, and Children

Trigger Warnings

Death

Type of Ending

Series

First in series

Author Prefers A Review On

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Number of days to read

Publication Date

Aug 15, 2026

Page Length

208 pages

Available Formats

PDF

Into the Kryvolis Forest

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

An illustrated middle grade novel in verse set in the world of Ukrainian folklore.

After their home is invaded by monsters, Bronas and Solomiya must cross the treacherous woods to a magical village. They have thirteen days to get to safety, before the Kryvolis Forest claims them and turns them into one of its beasts. The terrifying inhabitants of the woods circle them, the fear cripples their steps, but with an axe in hand and an antlered chickadee as their guide, they put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. While the flesh-eating deer herds threaten their passage and kikimoras snatch at their ankles, Solomiya and Bronas persevere and find friends and hope in unlikely places.

Immersive hand-drawn illustrations invite the reader to enter the forest.

Details

Genres

Diverse Voices, Fairy Tales, Mythology, Middle Grade, Novels, Illustrated, Debut, and Children

Trigger Warnings

Death

Type of Ending

Series

First in series

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Apple Books

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Aug 15, 2026

Page Length

208 pages

Available Formats

PDF

Author

L. Kharkiv is a Ukrainian-American author-illustrator, a New Englander with an accent. She writes fairy tales rooted in Ukrainian folklore and spends her days chasing a cat off her sketchbooks. She spent her childhood in the magnificent city of Kharkiv, and all of her summers in a tiny Ukrainian village. The woods and the fields behind her grandparents’ house now provide lifelong inspiration for her work. Her debut, Into the Kryvolis Forest, is ready to launch into the world August 15, 2026.