Popular children's books author Esther Streit-Wurzel died Saturday at the age of 81. She had been battling a series of serious health issues for the past two years. Winner of the 1962 Zionist Congress Award and the 1994 Prime Minister's Prize for Creative Work, Streit-Wurzel penned over 25 books. Her stories were often set against Israel's historic backdrop and some of her books, including "Alifim," "Uri," and "The Escape to Freedom," are considered Israeli classics. "Alifim," which was published in 1982, won the Ze'ev Prize for Children's Literature of that year and was made into a successful television series in 2010. Both "Alifim" and "Uri" were also adapted into plays. Born in Petach Tikva in 1932, Streit-Wurzel graduated from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1952 and began working as a teacher -- a profession she retired from in 1987 saying she sought to devote all her time to writing. She published her first novel, "From the Depths," in 1962. Her last novel, "An Orange Summer," published in 2008, explored Israel's 2005 disengagement from Gaza Strip through the eyes of teenage settlers. "Writing has to do with curiosity. I treat my characters like living, breathing people and I'm always curious to see what happens to them," she said in an interview given several years ago. Streit-Wurzel is survived by her husband and three children. She was laid to rest on Sunday afternoon at the Segula Cemetery in Petach Tikva.
