Tamar Bornstein-Lazar

Tamar Bornstein-Lazar (Hebrew: תמר בּוֹרְנְשְׁטֵיין-לָזָר, born May 1, 1929) is an Israeli children's writer who is best known for her book series featuring the monkeys Kofiko and Chipopo.

Lazar was born and grew up in Ein Ganim, studied at Ahad HaAm High School in Petah Tikva, and later studied at the Teachers' College in Givat HaShlosha. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, she served in a military band and was a teacher at Gordon School in Petah Tikva.

In 1950, Lazar began a literary career. From that year on, she has published hundreds of stories for infants for the majority of children's newspapers in Israel, which were later compiled into numerous books. In 1955, Lazar won the Yatziv Award for her literary work. Additionally, she began publishing a series of story compilations about the Jewish holiday periods.

Tamar Bornstein's first story was published in Davar LeYeladim on February 2, 1951. The story was called HaYalda m'HaMa'abara v'HaKochav MiMarom (הילדה מהמעברה והכוכב ממרום, lit: "The Girl from the Ma'abara and the Star from the Sky"). Its plot revolves around a star who brings a goat to a Ma'abara to heal an ill girl using goat milk. Her second story, Lama Schorot Kanfei HaOrev (למה שחורות כנפי העורב, lit: "Why Are the Crow's Wings Black"), appeared three months later.

In 1957, Lazar began publishing her famous humoristic books about Kofiko and Chipopo, following the adventures of the two monkeys (Kofiko in Israel, and Chipopo abroad). Both series have spanned dozens of books and were hugely successful in Israel. The books were met with negative reception from certain educators and literary critics due to what they referred to as "low-level writing".

Since 1965, she has written another children's book series about an American child named Charlie Letch and his adventures in Israel. Lazar is married to Shlomo with five children (four daughters and a son): Orna, Yoram, Noga and the twins Odelia and Zahara. The names of her family members are also those of the characters in the Kofiko book series.