Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in the spring of 2022, Bergen County teen Trevor Ostfeld took a trip to the area with his synagogue, Temple Emanu-El of Closter, to deliver medical supplies, food, diapers and other necessities. While visiting with displaced families, Ostfeld heard stories of escape and survival. One in particular stuck with him, and it is now the subject of his children’s book, Finding Messi: The Miracle Cat from Kyiv.
The book tells the story of a cat, Messi, and her owner, the real 11-year-old Iryna Chernyak, whom Ostfeld met at a hotel in Warsaw. Chernyak told him that she and her mother were forced to flee their home and leave Messi behind, and the cat soon went missing.
The illustrated book details the journey to their reunion, through the help of their community.
“I never thought I was going to write a book, but this was so compelling that it needed to be shared,” says Ostfeld, now 17.
While the book only touches lightly on the war, it’s a “good lens for children to see war’s human impact, through another kid,” he says. Chernyak, now 13, coauthored the book. All proceeds benefit the children of Ukraine.
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