by Charlene Klassen Endrizzi, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA
“I do not want Israelis to be remembered simply for the Holocaust. I want others to understand the richness of our unique 5,000 year old Jewish culture.”
Sima, mother of a recently commissioned nineteen year old Israeli soldier, shared these thoughts as we surveyed a Holocaust exhibit at my college last year. Over time her statement enabled me to re-conceptualize my images of Israel, no longer focused on the World War II genocide but instead aimed toward a more holistic representation.
Throughout conversations with Israeli colleagues this summer, I witnessed a similar need to not dwell on one horrific historical moment. When Hagit and I toured the Ghetto Fighters’ House in Akko, Israel, I recall her explaining how even though her fifteen year old daughter’s teacher had the class read Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl (Frank, 1952), while at home she purposefully chose not to have her reading Holocaust books yet. Instead her daughter preferred books written in English available on her Kindle, texts many American teenagers might be caught reading this summer (i.e., The Hunger Games, Collins, 2008).
Upon reviewing the Jewish children’s books I own, I realized many of them were centered around WWII. Terrible Things (Bunting, 1980) and Number the Stars (Lowry, 1989), both focused on the Holocaust, were books I read with my elementary students in the 1980s. What a narrow lens I offered readers! As I reflect on the twenty-five children’s books Sima, Hagit, Vered, Janet, Britt and Yehuda identified as their favorites, none of the books focused on WWII.
Through my first two blog posts I investigated classic Israeli children’s authors from the 1960s and 70s, as well as authors whose work is shared with thousands of children through the Sifriyat Pijama program, and found writers who purposefully choose to celebrate every day life. This post continues that focus, on common childhood experiences, beginning with a unique children’s author, a Holocaust survivor.
Caspion, the Little Fish (Kaspiyon, Hadag Hakatan)
My June visit to the first Holocaust museum, the Ghetto Fighters’ House, a memorial created by survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, revealed a surprise. In the midst of stark images of Jewish and non-Jewish resistance to crimes perpetuated by Nazi Germany, I discovered the work of Paul Kor. Downstairs tucked in a quiet corner, you find the Yad Layeled Children’s Museum, currently housing a display of over twenty Paul Kor children’s books, commemorating the 10th anniversary of his death. One book in particular caught my eye since Hagit urged me to purchase the same book the day before.
Caspion (Kor, 1990) or Silverray (the affectionate name referring to his color) is a tale contemplating the common childhood fear of becoming separated from parents. Just glancing at the book cover, the silver glimmer of Caspion captures any young reader’s attention. Paul Kor once described how the main character evolved in this way. “On the table in my art studio lay an open pack of cigarettes, and a ray of light fell on the cigarettes’ silver wrapping and shone on it. From there, in a split second came the idea to write a story about a sliver fish.” (Milner, 2007, http://www.paulkor.com/english/Life Story.pdf) Artistic fame for his work as a children’s illustrator and author came later in life for Kor since Caspion, one of his first books was published when he was sixty-four.
Paul Kornowski’s study of art came about as a result of his escape to Switzerland in the midst of the Nazi invasion of France (he used Kor to sign his books). His peaceful childhood in Paris ended abruptly when his Jewish family sought refuge. Kor’s first art classes in Switzerland occurred during his teen years, while living in a Jewish orphanage, after his mother had him smuggled out of Paris. His father’s capture and eventual sentence to Auschwitz, where he died, is a subject Kor did not appear to explore though his artwork until the last twenty years of his life.
I anticipated Paul Kor’s exploration of the Holocaust, even in a small way. Yet his twenty or so children’s books, written mainly in a 15 year period from 1980 to 1995, dealt with typical childhood experiences. You see a glimpse of sadness or panic at the beginning of Kor’s best known children’s book, Caspion, but the resolution is quite satisfying, the opposite of his childhood. Here is a brief overview: “A small silver fish went swimming in the deep sea, where he met a huge baby whale. The whale was crying because he couldn’t find his parents. Little Caspion (the silver fish) gathered his family and all the small fish set out in search of the baby whale’s mother and father. They found them, of course, and ever since little Caspion and the huge whale have been the best of friends. This illustrated story is scary at the start and joyous later on.” (Baruch, 2012) This friendship story was so well received by readers in the 1990s that it grew into a set of three books with Beware, Caspion (1997) and Caspion’s Great Journey (1999). http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/publications/proceedings/proceedings2001/levinejanice.pdf
How Kor or any survivor chooses to move past despair toward the goodness of life, even ordinary life events, is a testament to the human spirit. Over his lifetime, Kor’s notable artwork was exhibited in France, Norway, England, Italy and throughout Israel. As a graphic artist he drew illustrations for Israeli banknotes and stamps. Thus it is fitting that his book Caspion was commemorated on a set of Israeli stamps in 2012, along with other Judaic children’s classics by Miriam Roth and Lea Goldberg.
Hagit’s fifteen year old daughter recently relayed how Caspion was one of her favorite tales from childhood. Parents wanting to discuss family safety rules might find this book an ideal way to initiate an important conversation. I could readily see primary teachers interested in exploring issues of friendship, safety rules, or families using Kor’s engaging text as well.
The Lion That Loved Strawberries (Haarye Shehaav Tot)
Another children’s book honored in this set of eight Israeli stamps is The Lion That Loved Strawberries (Atar, 1971). As a parent I immediately connected with this book when thinking back to my son’s obsession for either ketchup or peanut butter as a condiment with most meals. The story lines evolves like this: “There once was a lion who only wanted to eat strawberries. But there were no strawberries in his forest. His mother tried to convince him to eat other things, but he insisted: nothing but strawberries. One day some children came to the forest, carrying strawberries in their bags. They fled when they saw the lion, leaving their bags behind. The lion was glad to have the strawberries, but after eating lots of them, said: yuck! Ever since, he eats whatever his mother serves him but now the children, after returning home, want only… strawberries!” (Baruch, 2012).
When dealing with childhood overindulgences, humor helps, exactly what Tirza Atar’s text provides. Primary teachers choosing to conduct an exploration of nutrition could find this book useful. Parents like me wanting to consider eating habits focused on obtaining a healthy balance of foods might find this humorous tale engaging for their children. This story originally appeared in Yael Takes a Walk (1971), which Atar wrote for her daughter Yael. In 2003, when Atar’s book was reissued, it remained on Israeli’s bestseller list for over 100 weeks.
Atar grew up in Tel Aviv as the only child of a renowned Israeli writer and actress. Nathan Alterman cherished his daughter’s writing but pleaded with her not to publish her poetry before the age of eighteen. In response, Atar changed her family name, Alterman, to Atar (meaning “place” in Hebrew), published her poetry and thus established a place of her own as a writer (Ahronovitz, 2005). In her short life of only 36 years, Tirza Atar became well-known for her poetry, lyrics, translations and seven children’s books. Listen to an Israeli singer, Aya Korem, perform Atar’s lyrics of “A Birthday Prayer” set to music by Chava Alberstein.
All of Dani Kerman’s charming illustrations can be enjoyed through a You Tube video clip of Alma, a three year old telling her version of this beloved tale in Hebrew. Alma obviously benefited from hearing this story many times, in order to tell her version so effortlessly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UunNHgZBmww If you prefer listening to an older storyteller share The Lion That Loved Strawberries in Hebrew, go to this You Tube video clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMP9uIjYBpI These child-like illustrations, not by Kerman, enable non-Hebrew speakers to obtain a different perspective of the plot.
Blue Melody with Curls
The third and last book I explore this week already received significant attention since being released only months ago. Blue Melody with Curls (2012) is Eldad Cohen’s first children’s book. A children’s theatre company, Play by the Book, staged the book as a musical this June in Tel Aviv. The goal behind Play by the Book is to share new children’s books with readers ages four to nine. Surprisingly Cohen is not a writer by profession but an Israeli child psychologist. His work as a playwright is also receiving positive reviews outside of Israel. A recent play Cohen wrote, The Elephant and the Mouse, is on stage this August at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
Blue Melody with Curls tells the story of a young boy’s journey to find his favorite tune, since he cannot sleep. With the help of his mother, he searches his hometown and stumbles upon an odd looking musician who helps him eventually find his beloved song. Parents might find this an ideal bedtime story to help children peacefully transition to dreamland.
I hope this week’s three Israeli books help you continue to find connections between children across countries. Most children contemplate the fear of separation from parents, become picky eaters at times and face periodic sleeplessness. I now realize more clearly how studying the Holocaust offers such a limited view of Israelis today. Imagine teachers from other countries only sharing books about America’s struggles (i.e., The Civil War or The Civil Rights Movement). What a limited view of our nation! Hopefully Sima’s opening request urges us to begin a more diligent exploration of the bridges of understanding available through Israeli children’s books.
Children’s Books
Atar, T. (1971). Yael Takes a Walk. (Including The Lion Who Loved Strawberries.) Jerusalem, Israel: Hakibbutz Hameuchad.
Atar, T. (2003, reissued). The Lion Who Loved Strawberries. Jerusalem, Israel: Hakibbutz Hameuchad.
Bunting, E. (1980). Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society.
Cohen, E. (2012). Blue Melody with Curls. Jerusalem, Israel: Am Dvod.
Collins, S. (2008). Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Frank, A. (1952). The Diary of a Young Girl. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Kor, P. (1990) Caspion, the Little Fish. Jerusalem, Israel: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir.
Kor, P. (1997). Beware, Caspion. Jerusalem, Israel: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir.
Kor, P. (1999). Caspion’s Great Journey. Jerusalem, Israel: Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir.
Lowry, L. (1989). Number the Stars. Sydney, Australia: Sandpiper.
- Themes: Charlene Klassen Endrizzi
- Descriptors: Books & Resources, Debates & Trends, WOW Currents
After returning recently from a trip to Spain and France, I realize more than before that people all over the world have experienced different cultural and life events that contribute to who they are. It is so important that parents and educators continue to share books with students to help them to understand the vast similarities and few differences across cultures. As a teacher, I include many books in my teaching so that young children can identify with others all over the world, including both negative and positive historical events. It is also important to give them a context to those events. As you discussed, otherwise they will identify cultures and/or countries with only one historical event and not the rich culture surrounding the people. You made a great point in that we need to seek out more literature from the cultures in which we are teaching to paint a vivid picture for our students.
As I read the responses from several Israeli parents regarding their book choices for their young children, it struck me, as it usually does, that no matter how different the culture or language, we are more alike than we are different. As a parent of now grown boys, a preschool teacher of 22 years, and an early education instructor, I resonated with the comments from parents about their favorite children’s books. Most seem to choose books that offered within the age appropriate text, a timeless story of learning about human struggles and new understandings.
One of my favorites, “A Color of His Own”, by Leo Lionni, is a classic for most American parents. It is all about finding identity. This book doesn’t contain a complicated message, but its message is a little more complex than its dialogue indicates. Every animal has a color all its own, but chameleons are unique. They continuously change color, and the chameleon in this book is not pleased with his predicament. He wants to be a single color like every other animal. He tries to stay one color by situating himself on a leaf, but much to his surprise, his surroundings change from season to season, causing his own color to likewise change. At the end of the book, the chameleon finds he can be himself, no matter what color, and still be accepted and loved.
When reading Dr. Kassen-Endrizzi’s blog, Israeli parents chose books like “A Tale of Five Balloons,” “The Naughty Boy”,
and “Capsion, The Little Fish,” because like, “A Color of His Own”, these books offer children timeless lessons. Dr. Endrizzi points to the fact that the Israeli parents, like American parents, are looking for similar themes when reading to children.
After reading this post, I came to realize how restricted and narrow my knowledge on various cultures has been through literature. I have read countless books on the Holocaust, yet how much do I know about Israeli culture? My view on many cultures is based solely on large-scale, historically significant events that have happened to them, and for many of my classes growing up, that has been all that was offered to me.
Along, with not basing your knowledge of a culture solely on one event, we should also not only view children through one lense. The past couple of summers I have worked as a counselor at a camp for abused and neglected children. My first year, I went into the summer labeling these children for what I knew about them; in my eyes they were abused and neglected boys and girls. However, by the end of the summer, I began to view them as boys and girls who happen to be abused and neglected. I realized that by labeling them, my view on them was extremely tainted and narrow for all of the many attributes that they encompassed.
I think it is vital for teachers in the classroom to find the balance between recognizing, highlighting, and appreciating differences among students’ backgrounds, yet also allowing children to recognize the many commonalities that they share. By incorporating literature that exposes children to the common feelings and struggles they may have in a culturally unique way, children learn about other regions in a broader view, while relating to those of different backgrounds.
The book that stuck out to me the most out of the three discussed is “Caspion, the Little Fish.” I find it intriguing the way that the author, Paul Kor, had thought about writing this book. I chuckled to think that someone thought of writing about a silver fish after seeing light reflect off of a cigarette box, but the story that came out of that little fish is a story that I truly want to read. A book that has so much meaning through it would be wonderful to use in a classroom since you would get all different ideas from you class. It could help children who do not have both of their parents to see that friends are always there to help you or show that just because you are different from someone does not mean that you should not help a person. It is a wonderful book that I am sure I will want to put in my library someday!
After reading this post, many ideas started to come out when reading about the books. Just the type of books that the kids read gives such a closed view on our culture and vice versa. If they only read books about our hard times and struggles such as the Revolutionary War, Civil War and our involvement in other wars, thier will have a filtered view on how they see our culture. Likewise, if those are the only books we read from thier culture then we too will have filtered views.
Putting these types of books in our local libraries as well as our classrooms gives us that chance to expand our view of their culture. Though we have similar struggles and events, seeing those stories in another culture will help our future leaders realize more we are all the same, no matter color, race or beliefs.
Joan’s thoughts confirm the need for teachers to realize that a single book cannot adequately portray a cultural group.
Alex makes me reflect again on the several Holocaust books I shared with my 4th graders which sorely limited their vision of Israelis.
Ashley helps me realize the need to begin exploring the Middle East more thoroughly, to get beyond the filtered view offered by the media, common children’s books…
After reading, I really began to think about my previous knowledge of the Holocaust, and how I can only remember the bad images of people being mistreated. I think that it is so important to show different sides to every culture that you explore in your classroom. Children need to be able to connect with children from different cultures, and not just be able to describe the differences. Children will better understand different cultures when you are able to relate to the children’s own lives.
When I read the quote “I do not want Israelis to be remembered simply for the Holocaust”, I was very confused. I could not think of what Israel and the Holocaust had to do with one another. I came to realize that the Jewish religion is heavily tied to Israel, and was a little astonished that I had to think about that for it to make sense. I thought back, and I cannot think of one time in all the years learning about the Holocaust in school where the word Israel was mentioned. I do not understand how we could have learned so much about the Holocaust and how many Jewish people were harmed, but then were never taught anything about those people and their culture.
After reading about the mother’s wishes for her culture and about her children, I am reminded how carefully we must approach sensitive topics with our students. Many parents may not want their children learning parts of our history until they are a certain age, as the mother of the young girl felt about her learning about the Holocaust. There are many other ways to present information about these events and the people involved. One of these ways is finding books from that culture like the examples that have been provided in this article.
When I think of the Holocaust, I have the same vision the parent in the first quote is trying change. I know our school spent an entire semester in eighth grade focusing on the Holocaust. These people were not “real” to me and only lived in this horrible time in history. People forget that Israeli people lead lives as we do. The books listed above are lighthearted present a humanistic side to the these people. It is very easy to forget that parents read to their children and teach them life lessons as I do for my children when the world news shows only a negative picture of the Israeli people.
I am sad to admit it, but I had an extremely narrow vision of the Holocaust and Israel. When I hear either of those words my mind immediately jumps to persecution, genocide, death, etc. However, after reading this blog from Dr. Endrizzi, I am enlightened on how similar children from Israel and children from the United States are.When other countries hear of the United States they don’t immediately think about our Revolutionary War, Civil War, or even the bombing at Pearl Harbor. To other countries we are just America. So, why is it that we as human beings, educators, and peers are automatically drawn to images and thought of death and destruction?
It is important to keep an open mind about what the reality of a type of peoples, or country is. Just because they were linked to a tragedy years ago, does not mean they are still enduring that tragedy. Kids want to be kids no matter what ethnicity they are or country they come from. They have the same interests as kids all over the world, so as an educator, it is my job to overlook my narrow views and be more open to what might actually be happening around the world.