Happy Jerusalem Day!

This week we celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem.  It's hard to believe it's been 50 years since The Six Day War.  There are so many children's books to choose from about Jerusalem.  I hope these books will give you a feel for what an amazing city it is.

 רחוב בירושלים: מסע בזמן מתקופת המקרא ועד היום / A Street in Jerusalem: A Journey through Time, from the Biblical Period to the Present,” by Hannah and David Amit, with illustrations by Evgeny Barashkov,  is a wonderful book for the whole family.  The book presents a fictitious street in Jerusalem.  We see the same street as it changes over a 5,000 year period! Each double page shows a different period in the city's history.  The illustrations add so much to the book, with fascination period related details on every page.

 This is a perfect gift for friends and family in Israel and abroad.  Even if they don't understand a word of Hebrew, they will enjoy this book!

יש ים בירושלים/ There is an Ocean in Jerusalem by מיריק שניר / Mirik Snir is a wonderful rhyming book. A little boy in Jerusalem is longing for rain. It finally starts to rain and he runs outside in his boots.  In the narrow streets of Jerusalem, he finds a  large puddle. He exclaims " There is an ocean in Jerusalem" and jumps right in. When he returns home wet and muddy, his mother sends him right to take a bath.  What fun!  He gets to spend more time playing in the water.  Don't let anyone tell you that there isn't an ocean in Jerusalem!  Ages 3-6.

יומטיול ירושלים / A Day in Jerusalem is a children's guide to Jerusalem and more. Daniel, his tour guide grandmother Yizraela and a group of tourists are planning to tour Jerusalem.  All of a sudden, the lion from the symbol of Jerusalem jumps out of the symbol and decides to join them.  They tour all around the city.  They see the Knesset, the Old City, Machane Yehudah, The Biblical Zoo and more. In the book are snippets of information about Jerusalem and games to play.  The author, שהם סמית / Shoham Smith does an amazing job of bringing Jerusalem to life. Ages 5- 12.

שקט, מצלמים  / Quiet, We're Filming is the first book in the series סודות בירושלים / Jerusalem Secrets.  Sadly,  the author רונית לוינשטיין-מלץ / Ronit Lowenstein-Malz passed away after she wrote the second book in the series.  10-year-old Roi finds himself an actor in the movie "Jerusalem Secrets". He realizes it's not so exciting to be an actor. Through the film,  Roi also learns about the first printing press in the Jerusalem and its effect on the city.  He discovers a family secret connected to Jerusalem. Ages 10-13.








Tip no. 25




The beautiful song ירושלים של זהב / Jerusalem of Gold was written by נעמי שמר /Naomi  Shemer.  The song was performed a short time before the Six Day War.  It was sung by Shuli Nathan who was then an unknown singer.  Shemer's daughter heard Nathan on the radio and mentioned Nathan to her mother. Here is the link to the original performance on May 15, 1967.

Naomi Shemer

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