The Melody

ראיון עם המאייר אסף בן ארוש על תהליך יצירת הספר

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ראיון עם המאייר אסף בן ארוש על תהליך יצירת הספר

תמונת פרופיל – אסף בן-ארוש

Oded Burla [1915–2009]

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Israeli author, poet, painter and illustrator, Oded Burla was born in Jerusalem to a Sephardi family who lived in Eretz Israel for more than 13 generations. His father, Yehuda Burla, wrote adult books and won many awards. Oded Burla attended the agricultural school at Mikveh Israel, followed by the Bezalel Art Academy. His first book was published when he was 45, and he since wrote and illustrated more than 70 children’s books, which, he claimed, contained 346 different animals! Burla was named the father of nonsense in Hebrew Children’s Literature. His humorous books are sophisticated and filled with surprising and amusing wordplay. Oded Burla has won awards for his work: the Zeev Award, ACUM Award and Bialik Award.

Family Activities

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• How do we portray a melody? You may want to notice how illustrator Assaf Benharroch chose to draw the melody, and how it changes throughout the story. Perhaps you’d like to suggest that your child draw your melody together with you.

• Do you sing lullabies at home to your children? Do you remember a lullaby your parents sang to you when you were young? Share a lullaby you know with your child. You may want to renew this beautiful family custom, and sing together before bed.

• Do you know melodies that have no words? You may want to sing some with your child. To complete the experience, you may enjoy dancing together, and even making up your own words to this tune.

• Oded Burla wrote and illustrated many children’s books, among them A Smile in every Corner and Oded Burla’s Big Book. You may want to look for his works in the library or online, and enjoy reading them together.

• The plot of the story is straightforward and can easily be turned into a play. You may like to act it out with your child. Your child can play the part of the melody, and other members of the household can be the different characters in the book. You may want to add some more dialog to the story, in which the melody explains to the various creatures why they should sing.

• The mountain in the story has no need for the melody because “mountains don’t sing”; whereas the trees tell the melody: “We have our own songs”. According to Rabbi Nachman of Breslow, each blade of grass has its own song. By this he means that every creature in the world has a voice and melody of their own. Naomi Shemer wrote a beautiful tune to Rabbi Nachman of Breslow’s Song of the Grass. You may enjoy listening to it and singing along.