"Kids Read Comics. Period. So I Looked for a Way to Add Meaningful Content to It"

Children who read the weekly Hidabroot flyers will enjoy finding a new addition to the children's section this week: a new comic strip from the book that's already become well-known and beloved, "The Young Blessers." This unique comic deals with the halachot of blessings and presents them to young readers in an especially engaging, clear, and enjoyable manner.

We talked to G. Wind, the author of this book and its predecessor, "The Young Guardians," which similarly deals with Shabbat laws, to learn a little about the uniqueness of working in comics on one hand and with halachic matters on the other.

"My specialty was teaching mathematics. Indeed, I started my professional career as a teacher of mathematics and grammar, but even as a young couple looking for additional income and thinking there was money in books, I wrote a cute booklet teaching some concepts in the halachot of blessings. The booklet was called 'So Shall You Bless.'

"The booklet was sent at the time to the 'Marva LeTzama' editorial as a sample and part of my resume, and then they invited me to propose an idea for a regular column.

I always wanted to use my teaching and explanatory skills, and combining the talent for drawing with learning brought our series to life. We began with teaching the 39 melachot according to their order in the series 'The Young Guardians', and upon finishing, we moved on to the halachot of blessings in the series 'The Young Blessers'."

How did the idea of presenting the halachot specifically in comic form arise?

"Kids read comics. Period. So I sought an opportunity to use this platform, which is popular, beloved, and well-known, to insert content, and a lot of it. In a comic, you can precisely illustrate the halachic example, which often invites the need for a demonstrative illustration, and when that's part of the story, it enters and 'slides in' much better. Moreover, the story itself strives to be interesting and diverse."

What is your opinion on the debate about comics? Doesn't it accustom children to consume content in a less textual and more superficial manner, seemingly?

"A child who reads only comics will indeed get used to more superficial material, and that's a shame. Personally, I encourage my children to read real books. The library in my house is full of reading books that aren't comics. They borrow comic books from the library or buy them as birthday gifts or with pocket money. I provide them with other reading materials. The combination of the two types of books is excellent."

How do you actually present complex halachot in a comic? Share with us a particular challenge you experienced in this area.

"First of all, from a halachic standpoint, the material goes through many filtering stages to bring out the halachic foundation we want to teach in a way that's understandable even to children. The message has to be unequivocal, so after writing the halachic foundations from the Shulchan Aruch and its commentators by talmidei chachamim, we move on to the summarizing and condensing stage. Here, you can move forward to the creative and literary part.

"In the first book, 'The Young Guardians,' about the laws of Shabbat, we thought a lot about how to illustrate the melachot from the Mishkan to a child of today. We didn't want it to be a boring dialogue between two kids. The creative solution was to 'parachute' into today - a kid from the time of the Mishkan, who would explain in his language and demonstrate with his life concepts the melachot of the Mishkan. In retrospect, the solution also worked the other way: the contemporary child explained to the Mishkan-era child what an electric bulb is, what electrical appliances are, and all sorts of technological and other innovations, and the explanation also served the young readers to understand technological processes significant to the laws of Shabbat.

"Also in 'The Young Blessers,' every chapter needed a creative idea to illustrate the topic from all angles in a way that connects to reality on one hand and fits the halachah we want to convey on the other. One chapter, for example, illustrates the issue of changing places from house to house, without intending to do so at the time of the blessing.

"We needed to come up with an interesting story where something unexpected happened that made the kids need to move from house to house, and here the Sukkah that fell apart due to the strong wind came into play, so it wasn't possible to continue eating in the same place, which made the comic's protagonists switch houses."

You previously mentioned being a young couple, thinking there was money in books. Did that prove to be true or false?

"An invested book, which goes through meticulous proofreading and additional editing, doesn't leave much profit. Let's call it nice pocket money. In repeated editions, you start making a profit. A book that doesn't have something unique or special potential doesn't always cover its costs. With siyata dishmaya, 'The Young Guardians' is a bestseller, and with Hashem's help, so will its brother, 'The Young Blessers'."

Are writing and illustrating the main focus of your life today, or do you have other pursuits as well?

"The projects I'm involved in are diverse. They combine writing and drawing and lots of ideas. Another field besides comics is producing activity and creative sheets for children. These pages are fascinating and interesting from various knowledge and intellectual areas under the title 'Tulip – A Field of Creations.' You can find them at 'Marva LeTzama,' in the summer camp books of the 'Batya' organization, and more... I receive a topic on which I build activity pages, shoot the inner arrow of the topic I want to convey to children, and build around it circles of different techniques, messages, rabbinic teachings, etc."

And... after "The Young Blessers," will there be a continuation of the educational comic series?

"With Hashem's help, we would like to continue the series. I am currently taking a break, but suggestions for halachot you want your children to learn will be warmly welcomed."