Yehuda Atlas, Beloved Israeli Children's Author, Dies at 89

Acclaimed Israeli author, poet, translator, and journalist Yehuda Atlas passed away at the age of 89, Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced. Atlas was best known for his seminal 1977 book "And This Child Is Me," which captured a child's world through short poems from the child's perspective. The book, a recipient of the Ze'ev Prize for Children's and Youth Literature and translated into English, launched Atlas's career and inspired a series of similar works, including "This Child Is Also Me" and "I Want Suddenly."

Atlas often stated that his writing for children also resonated with adults, believing that "every person carries their childhood throughout their life, everything I write about children is also true for adults." Beyond his literary achievements, Atlas was a prominent figure in journalism and editing. He edited the youth magazine "BaMachane Gadna" and later served as deputy editor of the "7 Days" supplement for Yediot Ahronot, where he penned the "Big Kid" column for eight years, focusing on children's literature and its creators.

His engagement with children's literature extended to extensive research, culminating in the 2003 publication of "Big Kids," a three-volume project exploring the development of children's literature and its key figures from England, the United States, and Europe. He also translated works and conducted workshops on the subject.

Atlas received the Prime Minister's Award for Hebrew Writers and the Steimatzky Award in 2013 for "And This Child Is Me - First Collection." In 2020, he was honored with a lifetime achievement award for children's literature from the Israeli Center for Educational Innovation.

In his later years, Atlas focused on issues of childhood violence and at-risk youth. His 2015 book, "I Want to Talk to You!," addressed a child facing bullying, inspired by his son's childhood experience. This led him to further explore the lives of children whose realities were underrepresented in literature, resulting in his February 2021 book, "Nobody's Children."