Israeli author, Smadar Shir reading her children's book in which mother's and grandmother's are portrayed as working, independent women.
Periods of upheaval foster creativity, and make for rich literature on subjects like war, domestic violence, discrimination or social injustice. However, how to write about these issues for children in a meaningful way?
That is what Israeli author Smadar Shir tries to do in her books for children: tackle heavy topics like war by writing about it through the eyes of a dog, giving it a refreshing angle, adding a little humour, and making it relatable at the same time.
In writing about violence for children, Shir falls back on her own family’s experience. Much of her life has been spent amidst conflict and violence in a volatile region. Her 15-year-old daughter has already witnessed three wars, spending numerous nights in bomb shelters.
However, even in those bleak times Shir says her family continued to have faith and remained hopeful for better times.
“Even though it is just a tiny little ray of light, it will guide you through the darkness,” says Shir whose books are happy, cheerful, colourful and fun to read. She says it is not a good idea to be preachy or sombre when writing about conflict for young children: “I don’t write to educate. For that I can write an academic paper. I write to pass on my knowledge and experience to the next generation. I write to help children imagine futures.”
Shir was in Kathmandu last week with another prominent Israeli writer, Dorit Silverman, as part of a tour of South Asian countries where they interacted with students as well as writers of children’s literature. In Kathmandu, they visited several schools accompanied by the new Israeli Ambassador to Nepal, Benny Omer.
“It was a successful and enriching visit on both sides,” Omer told Nepali Times. “It was an opportunity to exchange information and experiences and a wonderful way to strengthen cultural ties between our two countries.”