Smadar Shir

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Smadar Shir-Sidi, born September 10, 1957, is an Israeli writer, journalist, playwright and songwriter. She has written more than 400 books. Born Smadar Sheinman in Tel Aviv, her mother was a teacher and her father an engineer. She graduated from the Zeitlin religious high school and studied literature and philosophy at Tel Aviv University. She began writing very young—at 5—and by age 8 was an editor for the children's weekly Haaretz Shelanu, later becoming a youth reporter for Maariv for Youth. She wrote her first book, Monologues of a Girl, at 16. She chose the pen name Smadar Shir on the advice of writer Tirsha Ether so that her religious school wouldn’t know she wrote for secular newspapers. After becoming a mother, she started writing books and series for children from infancy onward, helping her become one of Israel’s most successful children’s and youth writers.