Pessach is Coming!

Let's Find That Book! will be taking a Passover break and will return on
April 18th with books to commemorate  Holocaust Day.

Clip art by Liz Elby

!חג שמח

A classic Pesach children's book is by לוין קיפנס / Levin Kipnis who wrote the book אגוז של זהב / The Golden Walnut. It was right before Passover and Gadi and Noa were sad.  They don't have new clothes for the holiday or walnuts to play with.  All of a sudden an old man appears and gives them a walnut.  They play with it and then the walnut falls and they run after it.  Read the book to find out what happens next and who the old man really is.  Ages 4-6.

When my children were small, they all loved this Haggadah. אגדה של הגדה, הגדה של פסח  The Animated Haggadah  - The Passover Haggadah by רוני אורן / Roni Oren. Roni Oren has illustrated this Hagaddah with the amazing clay/plasticine figures that he created. The book has the full Haggadah text.  Here's a short clip of the animated movie that the book is based on.  Ages 5-10.

Passover is always celebrated at Springtime.  Passover vacation is a perfect time to go out and learn about Israeli wildflowers.  Whether you've just made aliyah or have been living in Israel for many years  - this is the book for you and your children/grandchildren.  מגדיר פרחי הבר בישראל לילדים ונוער / A Children's Handbook of Israeli Wildflowers by יונה זילברמן / Yona Zilberman is easy to use.   Look up a flower in the book by its color.  Every page has interesting information about each flower. There is a glossary in the back of the book and instructions on how to dry flowers.  This is a book for the whole family to enjoy.






Tip no. 19

Playing with nuts on Passover is quite an old tradition. After you read אגוז של זהב to your children/ grandchildren, give them each a whole walnut to play with. Make up a game or play a game you remember from your childhood.  Afterward, you can open up the nut and show the children the walnut meat inside.  I did this for many years with my first and second graders.  They had never seen a whole walnut before. Here's an interesting article with some game ideas to get you started.  I still have fond memories of playing some of these games as a child.

Would You Spend 179 Shekels on a Book for Your Child?

If that book was the Guinness Book of Records,  it might be worthwhile to pay so much for a book.  Why?  This book will keep your child busy for hours on end.  Do you have a child who doesn't enjoy books?  This book will change his mind.

I know that I sound like an advertisement for ספר השיאים של גינס / The Guinness Book of Records, but there is a reason for it.  Since not all children enjoy reading "traditional fiction", it's good to have non-fiction options. Most children love reading about dinosaurs, animals, planes, sports, or space.  The Guinness book of records has all that and more!

Non-fiction books can be a good choice for boys.  Many boys are "information
junkies".  Several years ago, I taught a library class to a class of first graders.  Usually, I hide the Guinness books during class but for some reason, they were out.  The boys spent all of the free reading time looking only at the Guinness books.   Later in the day, I had a class of 8th graders.  The girls were busy reading quite high-level novels and the boys were all crowded around the Guinness books! Of course, girls also enjoy reading  The Guinness Book of Records.

Non-fiction books can be an especially good choice for reluctant readers no matter what their reading language preference.  They often have colorful pictures, short texts, and subject that pique a child is interested in.  There are cookbooks, craft books, drawing books, books of riddles,  and informational books to name a few.





Here are just a very few examples of what's available.


100  עובדות/ One Hundred  Facts series has over ten large, colorful books with information about  topics such as space, weather, the human body,  and animals.  Ages 7-10.

 סודות של פלסטלינה/Secrets of  Modeling Clay by רוני אורן/ Roni Oren

Modeling clay ( know by the brand name פלסטלינה/ Plasticine)  is very popular in Israel.  Roni Oren is well known as a creator of amazing plasticine figures for books, films,  and tv programs.  In these books, he gives step by step instructions how to create sophisticated plasticine figures. It's a great book for the whole family but a child would probably need to be at least nine years old to read it by himself. Younger children will need help or might find it easier to just follow the illustrations. Ages 7+

                                                                   

סדרת פרופסר פצפונטבע/ Little Nature Professor  Series by author and illustrator מירי לשם-פלאי / Miri Leshem- Pelly are a series of small books with soft, quiet illustrations.  The little professor shows children the wonders of nature.  He introduces them to birds, wildflowers, dogs, cats and more.  My favorite book in the series is לטייל בישראל/  Travel in Israel.  We travel from the north ( Tel Dan Nature Reserve) all the way down south( to Eilat to swim with the dolphins) with many stops in between. If you are new to Israel, this book is a wonderful way for you and your young children to get to know the country. Read the book now and plan a trip for Channukah vacation! Ages 5-8.

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Tip no. 7