On the Move: Things in Motion on Earth and Beyond (2025) / Куди і звідки (2020), written & illustrated by Romana Romanyshyn & Andriy Lesiv, translated from Ukrainian by Oksana Lushchevska, is a visual non-fiction delight for readers of all ages, exploring the concept of motion for humans, animals, vehicles, wind, water, as well as planets.
The infographics are composed of simple vector images in highly saturated colors, and the accompanying text provides fascinating historical detail as well as technical terminology.
It opens with a bare foot and the statement: “Every journey starts with a single step.”
Choosing a direction, exploring, changing direction, intersecting paths, crossing boundaries, climbing high, sinking low, speeding up, slowing down, getting lost, stopping to pause and reflect, and eventually heading back home, where the journey began.
History and geography are interwoven with such diverse phenomena as brachiation, military campaigns, immigration, refugees, jet lag, motility, travel diaries, tourism, pilgrimages, the unknown universe of space, time travel, and the wonders of the world.
The detail below is an example of the type of information boxes and explanations throughout the book.
We are shown the challenges and varied routes creatures face — whether on land, in the sea, or in the air — as they journey back to where they were born, back to their roots.
Any library collection would be enhanced by this visual mediation on motion. It would also be a great resource for young students studying migration in any form.
The husband/wife team met at age 15 in art school and now run Art Studio AGRAFKA together.
They did an in-depth print interview in 2021 with the “Let’s Talk Picture Books” blog and talked about the evolution of their process and style.
“We love simplicity and minimalism.”
“We love to work with PANTONE and fluorescent colors, we worked with them for a while and had a chance to ‘taste’ them, to understand how they work. By using bright fluorescent colors, you achieve a very surprising result, they glow and give a totally other feeling of materiality, they are hypnotizing.”
“We like projects which are on the edge between fiction and non-fiction, art and philosophy, so we continue to work in this direction.”
Only one of their other translated books has been featured previously here on GLLI — Stars and Poppy Seeds — (2013), translated by Oksana Lushchevska and Michael M. Naydan (2014) — reviewed by Nanette McGuinness on Jan. 27, 2021.
Don’t miss their book How War Changed Rondo (2021) / Війна, що змінила Рондо (2015), translated into English by Oksana Lushchevska and published by the Ukrainian Book Institute. It is a moving allegory, both personal and political, of the experience of their native country Ukraine being invaded by Russia in February 2014 and the annexation of the Crimea, well before the 2022 full invasion.
In a 2017 interview on the dPictus “Picturebook Makers” blog, they went into detail about the history and design of the book, and Bookbird magazine interviewed them in 2023 where they spoke about how they had “the idea to create this book where one can start making one’s own language or codes to explain the war to children.” They also commented on the deliberate inclusion of red poppies in the book as an “international symbol of memorial.”
The book was made into a 15-minute silent animated film by Olya Havrylova, which you can watch on Vimeo (with English credits) here or watch on YouTube (with Ukrainian credits) here.
There is also an educator’s resource available for How War Changed Rondo (PDF here), produced by the Thinking in Stories: Reviewing Philosophy in Children’s Literature blog of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, which reviewed the book. It references a 2022 Children’s Literature Assembly blog post by the translator, Oskana Lushchevska, talking about how the book can open conversations about war with children, and gives further information about Ukrainian children’s literature.
Two other books of theirs that are colorful, visual explorations of a concept (like On the Move) are: Sight: Glimmer, Glow, SPARK, FLASH! (2021, translated into English in 2021 by Vitaly Chernetsky) and Sound: Shhh…Bang…POP…BOOM! (2020, translated into English in 2020 by Vitaly Chernetsky).
Their latest book — З півслова / Do You Read Me? (2025) — just won a 2026 Bologna Ragazzi Award Special Mention for Non-Fiction at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and was included in the dPictus list (and display at Bologna) of “100 Outstanding Picture Books 2026” — which is an amazing peek into the latest, greatest picture books from around the world.
Follow Romana Romanyshyn & Adrey Lesiv on Instagram to keep up with their latest news.
BOOK DETAILS
Title: On the Move
Authors/Illustrators: Romana Romanyshyn & Andrey Lesiv, Art Studio AGRAFKA
Translator: Oksana Lushchevska
ISBN-13: 978-1-59270-414-9 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, 2025. Originally published in 2020 by Old Lion Publishing House in Ukraine.
Reviews:
- Kirkus — Starred review
Awards for the Ukrainian edition:
- 2021 – A White Ravens selection of International Children’s and Youth Literature. International Youth Library, Munich, Germany.
- 2021 – NAMI Concours Green Island Award, Republic of Korea.
- 2021 – “Silver”, European Design Awards
You can buy a copy of the book here or find it in the library. (Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission.)
Katie Day is an international school teacher-librarian in Singapore and has been an American expatriate for almost 40 years. She is currently on the GLLI Board and has served as the chair of the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize and co-chair of the Neev Book Award in India — as well as being heavily involved in international school librarian initiatives such as the Red Dot Book Awards in Singapore and the Siam Book Awards in Thailand.
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of GLLI.
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