HaZiporim HaMedabrot ["The Talking Birds"], by Zvi Binyamin [Benjamin Barlevy]. Illustrations by L. [Lev] Dickstein. Published by B. Barlevy, Booklet No. 38, Tel Aviv, [1945]. Hebrew.
Story for children about "the talking birds, " who deliver messages between children all over the world. The narrative centers around one particular bird who tells a boy in Palestine about what birds in Europe witnessed during the Holocaust, namely the killing of Jews at the hands of the Nazis, and the extermination camps ("The birds tarried, and woe, what their eyes did see! Here the Germans set up a crematory camp, and burnt the bodies of human beings, big and small, mothers along with their children. Their tiny mouths cannot [begin to] relate the awful things and horrors they saw").
The story was written by Binyamin Zvi Barlevy (1894-1964), a children's author and publisher, owner of the "Sifrut" bookstore in Tel Aviv. Barlevy was one of the first to design children's games in Palestine, manufacturing the games in a workshop operating on the premises of his bookshop. He began his career working with some of the greatest illustrators in Palestine, including David Schneuer, Joseph Bass, Lev Dickstein, and others. Renowned for his educational approach and his commitment to Zionist values, which found expression in the games he devised and the children's books he authored. Some of his works were signed with his (Hebrew) pen name "Zvi Binyamin" or variations on that name.
8 pp., 15.5X23.5 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Few stains and minor creases.