Ami Rubinger

Amnon (Ami) Rubinger (Hebrew: אמי רובינגר; July 15, 1953 – March 24, 2019) was an Israeli children's author, illustrator, and caricaturist known for his high-contrast digital art style. He was widely known for his "Toddler Series," which uses rhyming and participatory elements in books meant for young children. Rubinger was the son of David Rubinger, a world-renowned photojournalist and Israel Prize laureate.

Early life and career

When Rubinger was 13 year old, a photography he took was published in the Jerusalem Post.

Rubinger served in the Israel Defense Forces as a photographer for the Armored Corps. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he designed several album covers for the Israeli rock movement, most notably for Gan Eden (1979), Gary Eckstein's Gedaliahu and the Miystook (1982), and the influential debut album of the band Mashina (1985).

Rubinger began his career as an illustrator for Haaretz then worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for Yedioth Ahronoth for 15 years until 2007, after which he focused on writing and illustrating books. He wrote and illustrated more than 15 books, many of them for children.

Rubinger said in an 2012 interview that he started his books from illustrations, and that he learned how to write books because he wanted to illustrate his own stories and not just other people's.

Children's literature and collaborations

In 2007, Rubinger transitioned exclusively to children's literature, focusing on the "fill-in-the-blank" rhyming structure. He said in interviews that he intended for his books to function more like "toys" or "sweets" rather than traditional literature, emphasizing active engagement of the children and colorful, humorous illustration of animals.

The first book in Rubinger's toddler series was Big Cat, Small Cat, published in Hebrew in 2004 by Keter Publishing House. The book uses rhyming couplets presenting pairs of opposites, with the final word or phrase missing, so that children can come up with it. The English edition of the book was published by Abbeville Press in 2009 using computer-generated images in bold colors. The participatory format of completing rhymes also appeared in his later books, such as in We're Traveling.

Rubinger was also a frequent collaborator with author Shlomo Abas, illustrating classic collections such as The Elephant Joke Book and The Big Book of Fairy Tales.

Awards

In 1986, Rubinger received a Certificate of Merit (Hebrew: ציון לשבח) from the Israel Museum's Ben-Yitzhak Award for the Illustration of a Children's Book. In 1993, he received a UNESCO Prize in Tokyo.

Legacy

Rubinger's books are characterised by flowing rhymes and short plots, alongside vivid, full-page color schemes. They combine accessible language with humor appealing to both children and adults. In most books, Rubinger focuses on a specific vocabulary theme: colors in Elephants in All Colors, counting in Dog Number 1, Dog Number 10, and musical instruments in The Rhythm Monster Orchestra.

Rubinger's books were very popular, and upon his death, he was one of Israel's most successful children's book authors. His works remain a foundational element of early childhood education in Israel, used extensively by educators and speech therapists to foster language development in the pre-literate age group.

Personal life

Rubinger resided in Tel Aviv until his death due to cancer on March 24, 2019. He was 65, divorced, and is survived by his two sons.

Works

International English Editions

• Big Cat, Small Cat (2009) — ISBN 978-0789210333
• I Dream of an Elephant (2010) — ISBN 978-0789210753
• Dog Number 1, Dog Number 10 (2011) — ISBN 978-0789211026
• Boaz in the Tub (2012) — ISBN 978-0789211316

Core Hebrew Publications

See also

• David Rubinger

Further reading

• נורית שילה־כהן, (עורכת), ספר המאיירים הגדול, זוכי פרס מוזיאון ישראל לאיור ספר ילדים על-שם בן-יצחק בשנים 1978–2004, מוזיאון ישראל ועם עובד, 2005, עמ' 302–309.