Aviv Geffen Mourns Death of Beloved Children's Author Yehuda Atlas

Acclaimed Israeli author, poet, translator, and editor Yehuda Atlas passed away Thursday at the age of 89. Tel Aviv's Ichilov Medical Center announced his death, relaying a message from his family who described him as an "eternal child" until his final moments.

Israeli singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen paid tribute to Atlas on his Instagram Stories, sharing a picture of Atlas's famous book, "The Child Is Me." Geffen wrote, "This child is all of us. I grew up and raised children on his masterful works. Thank you, Yehuda, on behalf of all the children," he concluded.

Atlas, who also worked as an editor and journalist, dedicated his later years to writing about at-risk children. He edited the youth magazine "BaMachane Gadna" and served as deputy editor of "Yediot Ahronot's" "7 Yamim" supplement, where he wrote a column on children's books and their authors for eight years.

His most widely recognized work, "The Child Is Me," published in 1977, featured short children's poems from a child's perspective and won the Ze'ev Prize for Children and Youth Literature. This success led to several similar books, including "This Child Is Also Me" and "I Want Suddenly."