Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #532477 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Library Binding
• 24 pages

Customer Reviews

It's Israel's Birthday
This non-fiction picture book is a continuation of a successful series for the Jewish pre-school audience. In it, real youngsters are shown celebrating Israel's birthday at their school. The photos and one-line descriptions depict actual ways children at American Jewish day schools get involved with the celebration of Israel's Independence Day, Yom Ha atz'maut. Because each page shows real children doing real activities that are so often a part of a school celebration of this holiday, the reader is "hooked" by the cuteness of the children and the familiarity of the scenes. Some Hebrew words and typical tourist sites of Israel are depicted and the children look like they are enjoying the celebration. For example, children choose different ingredients at the falafel stand, visit the shuk (market) in Jerusalem, pick fruit on a kibbutz, and even place a prayer into the "cracks" at the Kotel. The simplicity and charm of this book is that it makes younger children feel comfortable with the photos because these photographed children are doing the same kinds of activities that the reader might do at his/her own school. Because children like familiarity, the young reader will be able to relate well as the teacher reads the basic text and shows the photos while stopping for discussion on each page. The teacher can use this book to elaborate more fully on the different aspects of Israel life and culture in terms of special regional foods, important cities, shopping, and most importantly, the feeling of "Am Yisrael Chai.". This simple book will become a first choice for pre-school educators and even for young non-Jewish children as an introduction to the culture of Israel and the celebration by Jewish children of this important day for the Jewish people. Reviewed by Elaine Harris

5 star review
This delightful hardcover book tells the story of "Yom Ha'atzmaut", the celebration of Israel's independence. Author Ellen Dietrick takes us to Congregation Beth Israel's preschool class in Charlottesville, Virginia, where professional photographer Tod Cohen photographs the class as they take an imaginary plane ride to Israel to celebrate this very important Jewish historical event. The children have their passports stamped at Ben Gurion Airport. They stop at a kibbutz for an orange or two. They stop at the shuk (market) in Jerusalem. One of the children purchases a Kiddush cup as a Bar Mitzvah gift for his big brother. They buy lunch at a falafel stand. They visit the Kotel, (wall) and tuck a written prayer into the Western Wall. They walk through the hot desert sand and cool off in the Dead Sea, which has so much salt in it, you float very easily, just like you would if you tried to swim in America's Great Salt Lake. The children learn to count in Hebrew. They march in a big parade in Tel Aviv to celebrate Israel's birthday. All within the confines of their preschool classroom!

This is a sparkling fun book that's appropriate for children of all faiths. They will learn a little bit of the faith and the culture of their Jewish friends in an easy-to-understand way. Ellen's well-written text and imaginative ways for her class to "experience" Israel, combined with the fantastic photographs of Tod Cohen, makes this an outstanding book for children. The last page of the book is a "how to" craft page for children to make their own birthday hats to march in Israel's birthday parade. If you are looking for something different with a positive learning experience for your child, this is the book to read! This is the latest book in Kar-Ben's popular It's Time series.