The Book  “Platero and I” by Juan Ramon Jimenez was first published in 1914. Jimenez won the 1956 Nobel Prize for Literature.

The book, which is one of the worlds’ classics, will be published in a new Hebrew translation in Israel this fall. The illustrations for the new edition of the book were commissioned for the occasion from Zehavit Carmel, an Israeli artist living and working in New York City.  The original illustrations will be exhibited in the prestige gallery and cultural center “Mishkanot Shananim” in Jerusalem during February of 2006.

“Platero and I” is a collection of autobiographical prose poem vignettes, in which Jimenez describes the experiences that he and his donkey, who is named Platero, take part in. Jimenez describes the natural world and the cycle of life, and places, sites, people, celebrations, and customs of  his native village, Moguer. The village is located in the Spanish province of Andalusia, and the story takes place during the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

Jimenez’s harmonious friendship with his donkey Platero, and their mutual care and affection for each other are the backbone of the story. Jimenez muses about his love of the villagers’ simple and innocent lifestyle, his love of nature, and the jollity of every aspect of the full cycle of life.