Blueberry Man (2020)
Who was the Blueberry Man? This is a true story, a picture book based on Christina’s childhood memories in Georgia, USA. Christina remembers her grandfather, an American Navy veteran who had fought in the Second World War. After the war, he worked as a farmer, and grew many delicious blueberries, which he generously shared with friends and neighbors.
Blueberry Man (ISBN: 979-11-966402-2-4) was illustrated by Nika Tchaikovskaya and published in 2020 by Tchaikovsky Family Books, a small publisher based on Jeju Island, South Korea. In South Korea, copies can be purchased through all major (and some small!) booksellers. In the United States, hardbound copies are available here; in Augusta, GA, at Surrey Center Pharmacy, The Book Tavern, Sacred Heart Cultural Center Gift Shop, Augusta Canal Discovery Center Gift Shop, and the Morris Museum Shop; in North Augusta, SC, at the Arts & Heritage Center; in Dublin, GA, at The Olive Branch; in Thomson, GA, at MariBeth's Books; in Chickamauga, GA, at Stories & Songs; and in Greensboro, GA, at Genuine Georgia—please call ahead or message them to make sure it’s in stock, as the books tend to sell quickly! Paperback copies are always available via Amazon.com.
The Korean version of Blueberry Man, 블루베리 맨 (ISBN: 979-11-966402-4-8), was published in 2021 by Tchaikovsky Family Books. The text was beautifully translated from English by a team of locals, and Nika Tchaikovskaya created a new cover and an extra interior illustration for the Korean edition.
In 2022, the Georgia Farm Bureau selected Blueberry Man as their Book of the Month for June. The Farm Bureau placed copies of Blueberry Man in libraries throughout the state of Georgia. In 2023, the Georgia Farm Bureau nominated Blueberry Man for the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s Book of the Year. Christina and Tchaikovsky Family Books were delighted to have Blueberry Man chosen and nominated for these honors!
The North Carolina Farm Bureau chose Blueberry Man as their Ag in the Classroom selection for June 2025. The activity sheet they created to accompany the book can be found here. Also in 2025, Miumjieum Publishing in Seoul issued a board book in Korean based on Blueberry Man. Called The Blueberry Tree (블루베리나무), it debuted a new board book format with fold-out-flaps for adults to read text to children while facing them; many parents praised the format for its allowing them to enjoy their children’s expressions directly as they read the story.
In September 2022, Tchaikovsky Family Books published Tea Cakes, Quilts, and Sonshine, the companion book to Blueberry Man, about Christina’s grandmother. It was simultaneously issued in Korean.
In 2026, Blueberry Man is being reprinted with the Korean-style cover by Cep Books, as the first edition has sold out!
