Alona Frankel (; 27 June 1937) is a Polish-born Israeli writer and illustrator of many classic

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

as well as recently published poetic memoirs for young adults. She was born in Kraków, Poland, and is a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

. In 1949, Alona immigrated to Israel.

Biography

Alona Frankel was born in 1937 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland, and spent her childhood during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in the Lwów Ghetto, then in hiding; first alone, later with her parents. After immigrating to Israel with her family in 1949, Frankel studied art at the Avni Institute. She began illustrating children's books at the age of 30. In 1975, she published the first of over 40 children's books that she both wrote and illustrated, in addition to illustrating dozens of books by other authors. Her books, translated into 12 languages, have become bestsellers. She lectures on illustration at several institutions, and her work has been featured at exhibitions and fairs in Israel and abroad. Frankel has won numerous prizes, including an Hans Cristian Andersen Honor Citation and multiple Parent's Choice awards. Girl, her first book for adults, was awarded the Sapir Prize for Literature and

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

's Buchman award. She was married to the late artist Zygmunt Frankel (1929-1997; see http://www.zygmuntfrankel.com), and their sons are Ari (born 1960; see http://www.arifrankel.com), and Michael (born 1972).

Author and illustrator of children's literature

For all ages Frankel started writing when her son Michael was a baby, creating a book for him about toilet training, titled ''Sir ha-Sirim'' (Hebrew: Potty of Potties; a whimsical play on words from the biblical Hebrew ''Shir ha-Shirim'',

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

). The Hebrew-language original was published in 1975 and became an instant best seller. Frankel gained international popularity and recognition when its English translation, Once Upon a Potty, appeared in 1980 for boys –

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

– and girls –

Prudence Prudence (, contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four cardinal virtues (which are, ...

. These books and their video editions have sold over 5,000,000 copies in the United States alone. They were listed as No. 1 (His) and No. 3 (Hers) in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' all-time best-selling Hardcover Childcare charts. Alona Frankel has written and illustrated several dozen children's books, many of which have been translated into English and other languages. Her books have been published by Harper Collins, Firefly Books, and Publications International. For adults Following the Hebrew publication of ''Girl'' ebrew: Yalda its translation into Polish and Czech, and excellent reviews, comparing it favorably to

Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new li ...

and

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works i ...

writings, Alona published two more volumes in her autobiographical memoir, ''Teen'' and ''Woman''. ''

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

'' published ''Girl'' in English in Fall 2016.

Awards

Following numerous awards and honors for her picture book works, in 2005, Frankel won Israel's Sapir Prize for Literature for her memoir, ''Girl'', about her childhood and the Second World War in Poland, spent under an assumed identity or in hiding. The book was also awarded the Jacob Buchman Memorial Foundation Prize for Holocaust Literature that same year.Yad Vashem grants the 2005 Buchman Prize for Holocaust Literature to Alona Frankel for her memoir, "Girl"
/ref> In 2014, Frankel was a recipient of the

Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

References

External links

Official WebsiteChildren BooksYouTube channel clips
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankel, Alona 1937 births Israeli children's writers Polish children's writers Polish women children's writers Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish Polish artists Polish painters Jewish Israeli artists Polish emigrants to Israel Living people Israeli women children's writers Polish women children's book illustrators Israeli women children's book illustrators Israeli children's book illustrators Polish children's book illustrators Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works