O. Hillel; Hebrew Poet, Children’s Author

O. Hillel, 64, a founder of modern Hebrew poetry and winner of a prestigious American prize for children’s literature. Hillel, born Omer Hillel on the Mishmar Haemek kibbutz, was one of the few poets to publish in Hebrew during British rule before Israel’s founding in 1948, the national Itim news agency reported. The dominating theme of the dozens of children’s books he wrote was Hillel’s love for the sprawling Jezreel Valley in northern Israel’s Galilee. Earlier this year he was named a winner of the Anderson Prize for Children’s Literature in Williamsburg, Va., and was to receive the award in September, Itim said. Officials at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv said he died Saturday after an extended illness, but didn’t explain further.