The Israeli author and poet Yehuda Atlas died on Thursday at the age of 89, Sourasky Medical Center's Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv announced.
"Yehuda was an eternal child until his last moments. In his life, he acted and worked for people out of emotion and a desire to help. He was an editor, children's writer, and translator, and in his last years he wrote about children at risk out of a sense of mission. May his memory be blessed," read the statement.
Atlas, one of the most recognizable and beloved authors in Hebrew children's literature, left behind a work that became an integral part of the childhood of several generations in Israel.
His most recognizable book, And This Child Is Me (Vehayeled Haze Hu Any), was published in 1977 and introduced readers the a child's world in simple, direct, everyday language as he grapples with parents, friends, shame, love, jealousy, and frustration.
In an interview with Walla Culture, Atlas revealed the principles of his writing: "I write briefly, simply, understandably, and to tell the truth."
An inflation in children's books
In the same interview, Atlas said that he believed there was an "inflation" in children's books, criticizing books that he described as trying to be too educational or therapeutic.
"Everything in our lives is a long process, and by the time you get close to describing the problem, you're at the end of the book," he said.
He also spoke more than once about the importance of cooperation over competition, something he mentioned in another Walla interview, where he said the way to resolve disputes is to talk, "and this is true not only for children but also for the adult world and politics."
In his final years, he continued to engage with children and the voices of those who are not always heard. His family said after his death that "Yehuda was an eternal child until his last moments," and that in his final years he wrote about at-risk children out of a sense of mission.
Herzog commemorates Atlas
President Isaac Herzog published a social media post remembering Atlas, where he said: "'This child is me' - that exact feeling accompanied hundreds of thousands of girls and boys in Israel who grew up in the light of Yehuda Atlas's great talent, who passed away today."
"And indeed, the dozens of children's books that came from Yehuda Atlas's hand, alongside the many books that he translated, were an inseparable part of the world of Israel's children, and their parents too found in them, more than once, great pleasure and, above all, a longing for other years," he added.
"The Yehuda Atlas cluster, born to farmer parents and raised in green and blooming landscapes, remained, to a large extent, an eternal child, and so did we, who were moved each time anew by his precise ability to depict, with the hand of an artist, the soul of a child," Herzog continued.
"Atlas will be missed by many, women and men alike, but the fruits of his talent will surely continue to accompany Israel's children for generations to come," he added, and finished by sending his condolences to Atlas's family.