Chapter published in:
The Nation and the Child: Nation building in Hebrew children’s literature, 1930–1970
Yael Darr
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 10] 2018
► pp. 145–162

Chapter 11
From nation-building to statehood

Reinterpreting a canonic text

Article outline
  • One story, three models of interpretation
  • The 1948 version: A political reading in the context of pressing current events
    • Reading the story in the context of the issue as a whole
      • The incomplete home in search of residents
      • An alternative to the “melting pot” absorption project
      • In praise of the kibbutz and communal settlement
  • The 1959 version: The mamlakhti reading model
    • A universal reading
    • Mamlakhti inclusivity
  • The 1970 version: A family reading of a children’s classic
  • Enduring consensus