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B ABUSHKA PLANTED SUNFLOWERS The written by Beatrice Rendón illustrated by Olga Baumert ANUARY 2024 UNCORRECTED PROOF NOT FOR SALE endón & Baumert HE SUNFLOWERS BABUSHKA PLANTED UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEwritten by Beatrice Rendón illustrated by Olga Baumert B ABUSHKA PLANTED S UNFLOWERS The UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEPublished by Capstone Editions, an imprint of Capstone 1710 Roe Crest Drive North Mankato, Minnesota 56003 capstonepub.com Text copyright © 2024 by Beatrice Rendón. Illustration copyright © 2024 by Capstone. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website. ISBN: 9781684468768 (hardcover) ISBN: 9781684468713 (paperback) ISBN: 9781684468720 (ebook PDF) Summary: When Tania was six years old, she and her parents fled Ukraine during World War II. For years they were refugees in Europe, displaced and without permanent residence. Finally, they found safe housing in a refugee camp, but what about home? Day by day, they stitched together new lives, but it wasn’t until a memory of Tania’s babushka and her beloved sunflowers that the family at last began to rebuild a sense of home. This account of a refugee family, based on debut author Beatrice Rendón's grandmother, offers a universal story of resourcefulness and hope. Designer: Sarah Bennett To Mom, Nana, Baba, and the mamas and babushkas before you: Thank you for teaching us that resourcefulness and creativity beget resilience and hope. —BR A note on pronunciation: “Babushka” means “grandmother” in many Slavic languages. To pronounce the word like the characters in the story would, say BOB-oosh-ka, with the emphasis on “bob.” UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALE- When a sunflower is done blooming and its petals shrivel and brown, its head grows heavy with the weight of hundreds of seeds. Birds and small animals nibble at the seeds, knocking some down and carrying others far away. When the seeds find their way to the ground at last, they nestle into the dirt and wait for winter to end. UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEA long time ago, in a beautiful city in Ukraine, a little girl named Tania lived in a cozy apartment with her mama and papa and babushka. While Mama and Papa worked at the hospital, Babushka took tender care of Tania. They read stories together for hours. UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEBabushka took Tania to the park to play and held her hand the whole way there. They marveled at the cheerful sunflowers in bloom. Babushka explained how the seeds, safe in the center of each blossom, would become flowers themselves the following year. UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEWhen Tania was six, a war began. She did not know what war was, only that it meant she and her mama and papa would have to leave home very suddenly. Their city was not safe anymore. UNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALEUNCORRECTED PROOF - NOT FOR RESALENext >