Biographies and Autobiographies - Part 2

I can't write about Israeli biographies for children ages 10-14 without mentioning דבורה עומר /Devorah Omer, a prolific children's book author who was awarded the Israel Prize in 2006 and passed away in 2013.

Here are a few examples of her many biographies:

שרה גיבורת נילי/ Sarah the Hero of NILI tells the story of Sarah Aaronson.  Aaronson was a member of NILI, the Jewish spy ring working with the British during World War I.  Ages 11 -14

צוללים קדימה / Divers Forward is loosely based on the story of Saul Sela, an oleh from North Africa, who served in the Israeli Navy's special forces.  It was not an easy task for an oleh from North Africa to serve in an elite unit during the 1950's. Ages 12-14

אל ראש ההר / To the Top of the Mountain is the biography of David Ben-Gurion,  Ages 11-14

נשבעתי אמונים/ I Swore Allegiance is the biography of Yitzhak Rabin.  The book covers his childhood.  Ages 11+

משחק החול / The Sand Game tells the story of author אורי אורלב /Uri Orlev's  childhood. From the first sentence in the book,  we learn that Orlev was born in 1931, his father was a doctor and he wanted to be a tram driver when he grew up. The book tells the story of Orlev's  childhood in Poland, his experiences in the Holocaust and his aliyah with his brother to Palestine after the war.  The autobiography is only 50 pages long but Orlev does an amazing job of describing this period of his life and his imaginative coping methods. With the help of their Aunt Stepha,  Orlev and his brother survived the Warsaw Ghetto and the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.    Ages 11-14.

In המרוץ אחר המדליה ההודית/ The Chase after the Indian Medal,  author יוסי גודטרד / Yossi Godard tells about an amazing chapter in the life of his father,  Yakov Godard.  In 1934, Yakov Godard was cut from the Palestinian Sports Deligation to the Asian Olympic Games because of lack of funds. After the delegation was already on its way to  India,  Godard found someone to sponsor him.  He then had to find a way to get to New Dehli in time to participate in the games. He went from Tel-Aviv to Baghdad and then from Basra to  Karachi and finally New Delhi. He went by truck, bus, boat, train and rickshaw.    He ran out of luck when he got to New Dehli and found out that the swimming competition had been that morning. He was too late to participate.  In the end, he did participate in the swimming competition.  How did that happen?  You have to read the book to found out how this real life adventure story ends! Ages 9 - 12.

 Tip no. 10

Last week, I went with a friend to the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem.   It's one of my favorite museums. This quote from the Center's website does an excellent job of explaining about the museum.  

"The museum takes visitors on a time-journey that includes historical reconstructions and reenactments, rare dramatic documentary videos, interactive touch-screen exhibits, striking presentations and a surround sound narration. Visitors are “invited” to experience firsthand and to “take part” in the different chapters of Begin’s life – his childhood in Poland, his years as the commander of the Irgun, the leader of the Opposition and finally, as Prime Minister of the State of Israel."

Before going to the Center, be sure to read Devorah Omer's book about the life of Menachem Begin. The biography is called דבורה עומר מספרת על בגין / Devorah Omer Talks about Begin.  Ages 8-10.