Cramel
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''Cramel'' () is an Israeli children's book series by , illustrated by Keren Mai Metcalfe (books 1–4) and Rami Tal (books 5-present). As of December 2022, the series has sold over 300,000 copies. In December 2023, the eighth book in the series called "Mrs. Blum Rules" was released.


Premise

A woman named Mila adopts three orphans: Robbie (Robert), El El (Elliot) and Gol (Gabriel). One morning, they receive a mysterious package from their uncle Arthur Jerome who informs them that he has passed away and divided his inheritance into three gold rings. El El chooses the Ring of Happiness, which grants him Jerome's castle and all 500 of its servants. Gol chooses the Ring of Industry, which grants him both of his uncle's automotive factories. Robbie chooses the Nameless Ring and it grants him Arthur's cat, Cramel. Two of the rings have restrictions: El El must live with Mila and his brothers until Robbie turns 18 and Gol will only get the factories at 18. Nonetheless, Robbie receives no warnings or rules. When they move to the castle, they discover that the housemaster, Mrs. Blum and her daughter Helena live there and cannot be fired due to an intervention set up by Arthur many years ago. Robbie discovers that the cat, Cramel, can talk and hides his other abilities from Robbie, such as: mind reading, turning stone into gold, invisibility and more. Mrs. Bloom and Helena try to steal the three brothers' inheritance, focusing especially on the cat.


Reception

Overall, the book received praise. Critics noted the resemblance to Roald Dahl's books and the feelings evoked by the story "with the scent of the past ... along with important lessons about true friendship, courage, self-belief and true love."


Events

From August 8 to 26, the Dizengoff Center hosted attractions promoting the Cramel book and TV series. The attraction was planned to take place despite the recent Gaza–Israel clashes. The attractions included: cat adoption, workshops with Cramel book illustrator , story time with actor and voice-actor Tomer Sharon, an activity and creative complex with activity booklets and riddles, Daily prize-bearing quizzes compiled by the author, and a cat themed cake-making contest.


Adaptations


TV Series

The books were adapted into a television series also titled " Cramel", with its first, second, and third seasons airing on
Kan Educational Kan Educational (, Kan Hinuchit) is a public television channel in Israel designated for children, on behalf of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation. The channel launched on August 15, 2018 and replaced Israeli Educational Television, which pre ...
with the first season releasing on January-February 2022. The second season aired during February-March 2023, the third in February-March 2024 and the fourth premiered in February 2025.


Comic Book

A comic book adaptation of ''Cramel'' was published in June 2022 and was illustrated by . It takes place when Cramel is still a kitten.


Musical

On
Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...
, December 19, 2022, a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
inspired by the Cramel book series had its first showing at the
Orna Porat Children's Theater The Orna Porat Children's Theater is a children's repertory theater established in 1970 by Israel Prize winner and actress Orna Porat and Yigal Alon, the Minister of Education at the time. The theater is the oldest of its kind in Israel. The th ...
and was released concurrently with the 7th book. It was written by Roi Segev and and directed by the original author Meira Barnea Goldberg. The release was paired with an opportunity to get Barnea-Goldberg's signature and partake in a communal menorah lighting.


Awards and Nominations

In 2017, the second book in the series was selected as a candidate for the "Ha-pinkas" outstanding youth book award category. In 2018, the book won the in the field of Hebrew literary work for children as an outstanding book for youth.


References

{{reflist Hebrew-language books Children's fiction books