Sisters Evelyn Fichmann and Vivian Blankfeld created the illustrated picture book “Everything Will Be Okay!” to give children a glimmer of reassurance after the terror of Oct. 7, 2023. Blankfeld, an illustrator, lives in Israel; Fischmann’s daughter also lives there.
They worked with professor Mooli Lahad, an Israeli expert on childhood trauma, to make the dark topic accessible and sensitive for kids. Part of the proceeds go to families in the kibbutzim most affected by Oct. 7. We talked to Fichmann about the book ahead of the second anniversary of Oct. 7.
Tell us about the book.
I wrote the book together with my sister. We are both from Brazil, but I live currently in Vancouver, Canada, and she lives in Israel with her whole family. We wrote and illustrated the whole book together, and it came out in June. It is for children, but we recommend reading with adults: parents, educators, teachers. It’s for children around 6 to 9 years old.
Did you decide to start working on it right after Oct. 7?
Yes: We were so shocked by everything that was happening, and not just what was happening in the attacks, but also the rise of antisemitism. The more we started working and talking to people, we saw how important it was to have a book talking about that, because we cannot pretend that Oct. 7 didn’t happen for children: We have to be able to talk in a safe way.
You took an interesting approach where you don’t directly name Israel. Share the synopsis?
Yes, we talk a lot about the community, the place that is Israel, but we don’t say Israel—but people will understand that it’s about the place and how people live. It follows the story of Noah, a boy who lives with his family in Israel, and then follows the story about the attack of Oct. 7, but in a very subtle way. We don’t show any people dying. His father is going to the war, and we show the solidarity of the community and how children were feeling about what happened.
We wanted to make this a picture book, because what happened is so brutal. We want children to know what happened but in a safe way, in a way that’s OK to talk about it.
Tell us a little bit about your qualifications to write this book in terms of the social-emotional component.
I’m an author, and during the whole process, we worked together with professor Mooli Lahad, Israel’s leading expert on childhood trauma. He was the right person to guide us during the whole process. And, besides that, we did a lot of research, and we talked to a lot of parents and therapists and children. We showed the book to children in Israeli schools.
How is this book different from other children’s books that have been written about Oct. 7? What makes your book special?
We are not alone, we are together, and together, we can be stronger. And we want to show children a little bit of hope, because we want the children to be more optimistic about the future. And because the situation was so tragic, I think children need to have a little bit of hope about the future as well.
Noah’s mother is pregnant, and then at the end of the book, she gives birth to a baby girl. We want to celebrate life and show that we are not alone. With the support of the community, we can overcome.
Was it hard to write a book like this, co-authoring it with your sister who’s in a different part of the world?
It was really, really hard because we have 10 hours of difference. She’s also an artist and did the illustrations, so we had to meet in the middle. And for us, it was difficult to find a way to tell a really dark story for a young audience. But I think, in the end, the results are very good, and we are really proud of the final book. People are really touched.
Follow the authors on Instagram @vivian_and_evelyn.