ABOUT THE BOOK

MY FRIEND GERARD tells the story of a young man called Gerard who came to Palestine from Switzerland in 1946 to help in the fight for a Jewish state. In Palestine, Gerard, an explosives expert, joined the Palmach, the elite fighting force of the Jewish underground army, and trained Palmach members in the use of explosives. Gerard was killed in March 1948, before the establishment of the State of Israel. This book, written in the form of a letter from the author to Gerard’s sister in Switzerland, is a moving tribute to the memory of an idealistic young man who sacrificed his life for a cause he believed in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Israel (then called Palestine ), Judith Weinshall Liberman came to the United States in 1947 to pursue higher education. She earned four American university degrees including two in law, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School. After settling in the Boston area in 1956, she studied art and creative writing. Beginning in the early 1960s, and for four decades thereafter, Ms. Liberman created numerous series of artworks. Her art has been widely exhibited, and is represented in the collection of museums and other public institutions. During her long career in visual art, Ms. Liberman wrote several books, among them some picture books. Her book THE BIRD’S LAST SONG (Addison-Wesley, 1976), which she also illustrated, won a citation as one of the fabulous books of the year. Since 2012, she has published several additional picture books, including ICE CREAM SNOW, COLOR IN OUR WORLD, HAIFA, THE BEE AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE LITTLE SONGBIRD, THE BIRD WHO WENT TO HEAVEN, THE GIRL AND THE PIGEONS, WHAT WILL I BE?, LUCY AND THE SNOWMAN, IF I HAD A LITTLE SISTER, IF I WERE A MOM, THE SECRET, ANNE FRANK IN MY ART, RUTHIE AND HER ANCESTORS, AN INTRODUCTION TO MY JUDAICA ART, SHOP AND SHOP, RONNIE’S ALARM CLOCK, HEAVENLY GARDENS, HOLOCAUST PAINTINGS, HOMO SAPIENS, SELF PORTRAITS OF A HOLOCAUST ARTIST, YOUR GRANDPA, MY BIRTHDAY, THE FUTURE, QUEEN ESTHER, and THE KING. Judith Weinshall Liberman’s archives can be found in the Arts Department of the Boston Public Library and at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

MY FRIEND GERARD is the thirty-first book on which Judith Weinshall Liberman, the author, has collaborated with Gail Davis, the illustrator. Since Ms. Liberman did not feel that, in light of her deteriorated eyesight, she could do justice to illustrating MY FRIEND GERARD herself, she selected a fine artist, Ms. Gail Davis, to create the illustrations under the author’s guidance. The two had previously collaborated on THE LITTLE FAIRY, THE VERY OLD PAINTER AND HER HUSBAND, ANGEL’S PUPPIES, THE GIANT HOUSE, THE MOUNTAIN, THE TUNNEL, THE OLD DOLL, FIFTEEN FABLES, TWELVE MORE FABLES, A PARAKEET FOR ERIC, TALES OF HUMAN FOIBLES, IN THE MILITRY CEMETERY, MORE TALES OF HUMAN FOIBLES, MICHAEL AND THE FLAG, IF I HAD THE POWER, IF I WERE RICH, THE WHIRLPOOL, THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET, TALE OF THE ROMAN NUMERALS, THE BRIDGE, GRANDMA’S GLASSES, THE RAINBOW, THE TRAIN, THE WAIING WALL, THE BLANKET, EXPULSION, THE SINKING OF THE PATRIA, BEN AND THE BISHOP, THE VISIT TO LATRUN, and ROKITNO SQUARE. In the present book, Ms. Davis beautifully captures the spirit of the story and of its characters.