A Garden of Childhood

This collection of poems, stories, songs and games is linked by expressions of a child’s urge to expand his boundaries, a theme also expressed in the artwork. Leading Israeli photographers and designers have used photographic techniques that incorporate video and computer images to create visual surprises. A real cow stands on a real potato, a lizard unwraps a candy. The illustrations exploit the artistic language of electronic media, but the texts have been chosen for their lyrical simplicity. The section “Family Album” focuses on family annoyances and pleasures. Poet Yehuda Amichai suggests that fathers are all kinds of things: ladders and camels, a boat to sail in, a fist that’s a hammer. In the section “A House Called Body”, poet Shlomit Cohen-Assif compares the body to a house: the face is a sign and the tongue the key, the mouth is a door and the nostrils a chimney.

The pictures in this visually appealing volume are fresh and engaging and the words evoke childhood experience and encourage the expression of emotions. A Garden of Childhood features major writers such as Yehuda Amichai, Dahlia Ravikovitch, Nurit Zarchi and Michal Snunit. The artwork was exhibited at Haifa Museum.

The graphic designer Phillipe Boulakia lives in Tel Aviv. Avi Ganor, photographer, specializes in experimental techniques.