!Speak Out, Sky
by Maya Boltzman and Tali Neeman Sabo
"Speak Out, Sky!" is an illustrated children's book on the subject of sexual abuse in the child's proximal environment. It was written by Maya Bolzman and illustrated by Tali Neeman Sabo.
The characters in the book, the girl Sky, and the various animals, present the story of sexual assault from some distance. They enable children, those who have and those who haven't been hurt, to talk about it with adults. It is intended for children aged 4-10, to be read individually or in a small group followed by a discussion. Our purpose with the creation of this book is to help release, be it even one child, from her or his daily suffering and pain of sexual abuse.
Beyond the abuse itself, the greatest damage is keeping the secret. Children who are trapped in this cycle of horror cannot speak because they don't have the words, or are afraid to speak, and it is difficult for them to find adults who really want to listen.
At the end of the book, there are notes about how to work with the book for those caring for or working with children: parents, teachers and daycare personnel, social workers, therapists and family doctors. When an attentive adult reads to the child, the story enables them to express their feeling through identification with the animal characters, especially Hipo, the child's inner voice, and Sky the protagonist. It is important to remember that the sooner the abuse is discovered the greater the opportunity for healing.
THE TASTE OF DARK BLUE
by Tali Neeman Sabo and Vivienne Vermes
The spring of 2020: lockdown. All over the world cities, countries, continents fall quiet in the face of the Covid crisis. In Paris, a poet discovers in the work of an artist, a reflection of her own deepest experiences.In Israel, the artist finds resonance in the words of the poet.
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The two women, Vivienne Vermes and Tali Neeman Sabo, decide to create a book together, finding the meeting point where words and images echo and enhance each other, sometimes in an uncannily close way.
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Their joint creation expresses the joy and pain of a woman’s journey through life – with a special awareness of the vulnerability of women and girls during the lockdowns, when cases of domestic abuse soared.
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It is with thoughts for the victims of violence and rape that profits from this book go to the Hasharon Rape Crisis Centre in Raanana, Israel, where Tali works as a volunteer.
The book is also dedicated to the imagination, which is the steppingstone, the means and the end, to unlocking whatever lockdowns have to be faced in life, whether from outside ourselves, or within.