Sometimes I come across stories that are within themselves stories. The pages between reality and fiction are so thin that they are almost transparent. This is one of those stories.
Bimbambu is written by Ileana Katzenelson and is a story that was created by her father and spoken to her as a child. Although Bimbambu is a fictional character that emerged from the love and kindness inside of Roman Lubetzky, it is also the telling of his nature and his hope towards passing that onto his children.
The story follows a bird named Bimbambu who encounters his friends shortly before winter and who each ask of him for a few feathers to help them stay warm. The brightly colored bird, being unconditionally kindhearted, offers his feathers to his friends.
Each friend asks Bimbambu for feathers to make something to keep them warm, until he has no more feathers and begins to feel the coming winter himself. Just when things begin to get a little worse for wear for Bimbambu, he sees how his true friendship reflects back and realizes the true meaning of helping others.
The truly beautiful thing about Bimbambu is that Ileana Katzenelson’s father lived this story. Throughout his life he had helped so many different people without expectation, just love. This story is a way to immortalize that unconditional love her father had towards people and to share with children the importance of caring for each other, friendship and the true meaning of helping others.
I believe this story teaches kids that much can be attained through goodness and selflessness, and I believe this to be a crucial lesson in a world where children are growing up feeling so entitled, and where our society so much focuses on personal success, self esteem and overachievements that we sometimes forget our fellow human beings.
There is a lot of rich history in the story as well as the illustrations, which are done by Sean Brown. He had been passed down the craft of ceramics from his parents and grandparents; then shared with us this gift through the story of Bimbambu. The pages are brilliant and colorful thanks to the Graphic Designer Yael Sela, who seems to have woven these two very precious elements together.
I love reading this story to my son and thinking of how he may one day remember it as Ileana Katzenelson had; more importantly I hope that he learns to have a heart like Bimbambu.
Connect: You can learn more about the story by visiting Bimbambu, as well as the history of the man who created it.
Purchase: You can purchase the hardback version of Bimbambu for $18.73 in the shop.
