Three Queens for Purim

Clip art by Liz Elsby

Instead of writing about Purim children's books, I decided to write about books which have to do with the word מלכה / queen.  Only one book is actually a Purim book.

In the book מלכה בירושלים/  Malkah, A Queen in Jerusalem,  Malkah is sad.  Her mother promised to sew a queen costume for her but now has no time.  A crying Malkah runs out into the streets of early 20th century Jerusalem and finds her way to the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design where she meets its founder, Boris Schatz. Schatz asks the weavers and silversmiths at the Academy to create a queen costume for Malkah.  The authors תמי שם-טוב / Tami Shem-Tov and רחלי זנדבנק / Racheli Zandbank bring history to life.
For ages 5-7.

סעודה אצל המלכה / A Royal Banquet with the Queen is written and illustrated by רותו מודן / Rutu Modan.  Nina's parents keep correcting her table manners.  When Nina gets invited to dinner by the Queen of England, she is unimpressed by the food and asked for spaghetti and ketchup.  Perplexed by the array of silverware, Nina eats the spaghetti with her hands. The Queen and her guests decide to follow Nina's lead.  Your children will enjoy seeing how the royal guests eat their dinner.

 I love Modan's  comic book style illustrations ( she is a graduate of the Bezalel Academy).  You and your children/grandchildren will spend quite a bit of time examining every detail of the banquet pictures. Ages 4-7.

This book has been translated into English as Maya Makes a Mess.

נסיכת השמש/ The Sun Princess is not your average children's book.  דויד גרוסמן/David Grossman wrote this beautiful, poetic book for all ages. Noga asks her mother   " If I'm your little princess, does that mean that you are a queen?"  Her mother explains to Noga that she is the Sun Queen one day a year.  Amazingly enough, tomorrow is that day.  The next morning,  Noga and her mother get up before sunrise to greet the sun.  They dance and sing to encourage the sun to rise. Slowly the first rays of sunlight appear and the birds start singing. In the evening, the mother and daughter encourage the sun to go to sleep.  They watch the sunset until there is only a sliver of red left between the sky and the water.  Ages 4+

Tip no. 17

המכללה האקדמית לחינוך ע"ש דויד ילין

המרכז לספרות ילדים ונוער

 Are you looking for a children's book on a certain subject?.  You can find lists of children's books on many different subjects at   The Center for Children's Books at the David Yellin Academic College of Education in Jerusalem. Some of the subjects included are  Food, Feminism, Holidays, Friendship, and  Age. 

Wishing you a Happy Purim!

  !פורים שמח