Nira Harel

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Nira Harel ( Nîrā Har'ēl , Hebrew נירה הראל; born October 6, 1936 in Tel Aviv , Palestine (League of Nations mandate ) is an Israeli writer.

life and work

Nira Harel was born in Tel Aviv in 1936. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Tel Aviv University . She then taught as a teacher, worked as a journalist and broadcaster, developed study programs for the Ministry of Education, was the editor of a children's magazine and editor or editor-in-chief for the children's books division at Am Oved Publishing House .

Harel got into writing by chance when she was a young woman with four young children. Her first book was addressed to adults and was about children. After receiving letters from children, she began writing children's books. She is often concerned with depicting family relationships from the perspective of children, both relationships between children and parents and grandparents as well as between children among themselves. She said: “In my books I look for children's problems, put myself in their shoes and try to help them solve their problems.” Since 1970, Harel has published more than 60 children's books and a book with articles in the feature section. She has published books in twelve languages. Harel is the founder and editor of dafdaf website , which aims to encourage children to read.

Individual works

Artwork Noa's Sign Language in Cholon, inspired by the book by Nira Harel

The picture book Sfat Ha-Simanim Shel Noa (Hebrew) or Noa's Sign Language (English) from 1980 is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 5 and aims to teach them the order of the days of the week using a special sign language. At Noa's request, her mother puts a braid in her long hair on the eve of the first day of the week, two braids before the second day, and so on, until she has seven braids on the seventh day. This way Noa knows what day of the week she woke up in the morning. One morning she wakes up with no braids because they have come undone due to an accident, and Noa realizes that she now knows the days of the week without the help of this sign language. - This story inspired the artists Effy Hujasta and Yaniv Shimoni to create a group of sculptures showing seven large columns in the shape of braids with colorful bows. It was installed in 2010 as part of the Story Gardens sculpture project in Cholon .

A new hat tells the story of a summer in Noam's life. The adults try to hide from him that his beloved grandfather Ze'ev is in serious condition in the hospital and will die. By closely observing the family members and from scraps of conversation, Noam composes his picture. For example, he deduces the severity of the illness from the fact that Ze'ev's ex-wife, Noam's grandmother, is traveling from America.

In the youth book Eins zu viel , the girl Merav tells how her previously intact family almost falls apart when her mother brings a child with Down syndrome home for adoption as a foster child. The mother of an average Israeli family with three children, inspired by a television program, decides to take in the sick child despite the negative attitude of the other family members. One day Merav wonders what if she herself were disabled. You and the family at large will gradually accept the new situation, and the new family member will eventually be lovingly accepted. - The title of the book indicates on the one hand that chromosome 21 is present in this hereditary disease three times instead of twice, i.e. one too many; on the other hand, he alludes to the fact that one family member triggers “too much” the crisis within the family.

The small picture book Key to the Heart is aimed at children from 3 years of age and describes how Jonathan and his father go together in search of the father's lost keychain. They pass all the places where the father stopped on his way home from the office.

Awards

  • 1986: Ze'ev Prize for the book A New Hat
  • 1994: Entry on the Anderson Prize Honor List for Book One Too Many
  • 1998: Prix Espace Enfants for the book Please Leave a Message
  • 2002: Fania Bergstein Prize
  • 2007: Honored at the International Women's Festival in Cholon , when she had just published her fiftieth book
  • 2007: Prime Minister's Prize
  • 2014: Arik Einstein Prize
  • 2016: Devorah Omer Prize for Lifetime Achievement

Works in German translation

  • ... always on the little ones! . With illustrations by Ora Eytan. From the Heb. by Josef Guggenmos, Arena Verlag , Würzburg 1982
  • Head-on collision . From the Heb. by Judith Brüll, Alibaba Verlag , Frankfurt am Main 1991. As a paperback: Frontal collision. End of a Childhood , Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1993
  • A new hat . From the Heb. by Mirjam Pressler , Alibaba Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1993
  • One too many . From the Heb. by Mirjam Pressler, Omnibus Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3-570-20586-0
  • Key to the Heart From Heb. by Mirjam Pressler, illustrations by Yossi Abolafia, Bombus Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 978-3-936261-22-6

literature

  • Nira Harel , in: Mirjam Morad (Ed.): Encounter with children's and youth literature from Israel . Catalog for the event week and exhibition. (ZIRKULAR special number 39, June 1994), Documentation Center for Newer Austrian Literature in the Literaturhaus , Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-900467-39-0 , pp. 66–68

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Encounter with children's and youth literature from Israel , 1994, p. 66
  2. ↑ a b Encounter with children's and youth literature from Israel , 1994, p. 67
  3. ↑ www.dafdaf.co.il (Hebrew) Retrieved November 14, 2017
  4. ^ Noa's Sign Language.Retrieved November 14, 2017
  5. ^ Noa's Sign Language at www.israelpublicart.com.Retrieved November 14, 2017
  6. ^ A New Hat
  7. ↑ One Too Many. Retrieved November 14, 2017
  8. ↑ Encounter with children's and youth literature from Israel , 1994, p. 68
  9. ↑ Key to the Heart Review by Stefanie Eckmann-Schmechta
  10. ^ The Key to My Heart
  11. ↑ Helen Kaye: Celebrating women in Holon. Jerusalem Post , February 1, 2007, accessed November 14, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Harel, Nira
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Har'ēl, Nîrā; נירה הראל (Hebrew)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 6, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Tel Aviv , Palestine (League of Nations Mandate)