מה אפשר לעשות עם זה? איך אפשר לפתור את זה? חשיבה יצירתית משפיעה על האופן שבו אנו פותרים בעיות בחיי היום יום , ועל האופן שבו אנו מתמודדים עם אתגרים, מגיבים לכישלון ומפתחים גמישות מחשבה. קריאה משותפת של סיפורים בנושא יכולה לעודד יצירתיות ויזמות, ולעורר השראה להמציא, לפעול ולמצוא בכל התנסות חדשה - הזדמנות לגילוי.
When children first learn to read, they put tremendous effort into following the sequence of letters and flow of words. When they listen to adults — who are close to them — read to them, they can free themselves of the effort, and indulge in imagining the story or discovering new things about the book. It is, of course, recommended that children be encouraged to read on their own, but, at the same time, you should also keep reading together.
Have you ever tried building or planning something that didn’t quite come out the way you intended? How do we feel when things don’t come out quite the way we planned? What can help us in such cases? You can share with your children your own experiences when things didn’t quite go as planned, and what heled you cope.
Listen to this episode called A Great Idea, which is part of a podcast called Yarden and Didi in Pajamas in partnership with Kan Podcasts, Keren Grinspoon Israel and the Israeli Ministry of Education.
What happens when we plan first and then build? Or when we build without planning? You can try it both ways using items you have collected, Lego pieces, or anything else you have at home, and see how you feel and what the result is each time.
You can play an imagination drawing game. Take turns describing to the rest of your family as follows: In my imagination I see something that does… It has a… and it’s the color of… – while the rest of your family follows your description and draws it on paper. What does each drawing look like? How fascinating!
It feels good to successfully do something for the first time – reading, writing, and what else? You could discuss memories of “firsts” – theirs or yours – together with your child: scoring a goal, riding a bike, swimming, or solving a riddle. And what else?
This book can be read using the illustrations too. You could look for words in them, and try to read them with your child while identifying letters and discovering interesting details added by the illustrator.
The world is full of words – perhaps you can choose a definition from the book and make a list of words for it: funny words, dancing words, mischievous words, or blossoming words. Words as long as a giraffe, or short ones. Or you may want to make a list of your favorite words.
A book can convey an idea in just a few words. In such a book, the illustrations are a window enabling observations and discussions about the world of children. Through them, we can discover how imagination and creative thinking can turn seemingly worthless things into valuable ones. You should take a close look at the illustrations and what they tell us and ask: Is a bottle cap that does not fit any bottle qualify as garbage? What else can pipes be used for?
You can discuss and ask: What do we do at home that qualifies as stam (nothing much)? What does stam (“just” or “nothing much”) even mean? Do we enjoy things that we do stam? How about we do something stam together right now?
Just like in the video, you too can look for an item and invent a new use for it: What can you do with “just” a bottle? And how can you play with “just” a paper roll?
Following the arts & crafts in this book, you too can go outside and check: What do you see when you make a shoe imprint in the sand? Or an imprint of your hand? Or a leaf? And what can you draw in the sand using a stick?
What is your favorite place? Is it at home? Is it nearby? Or is it far away from home? You can share with one another: What is your special place, what do you like about it, and what is special about it.
You can find good things everywhere; every place has some beauty. Take turns choosing a place, whether near or far, in Israel or elsewhere, real or imaginary, and have the other participants ask questions about it to discover what makes it so wonderful.
What is happening near your home? Go on a short walk outside, and try to discover how you can do good in your own surroundings: How about picking up litter and placing it in the recycling bin? Or offering people waiting at the bus station a drink of water? Or setting up a library on your street with your neighbors?
Illustrations allow young readers to be exposed to art, and get to know new worlds that enhance the written story. At times illustrations tell another or different story than the one told in words. While reading this book, we recommend looking at the illustrations together, take a break in the reading, take another look at the illustrations, and allow the children to find special details that speak to them.
Bear is trying to help his plant. He wants to take care of it. You can discuss and share – who is it that you care about? And who do you take care of? A pet? A toy? A beloved plant or perhaps a younger sibling? – How do you care for them? Have you ever tried to care for someone or something that didn’t work as planned, but things worked out in a way that you did not expect?
What is happening to the bunnies? The amusing illustrations in this book describe an entire underground world. Together, you can look at the illustrations and tell one another what the bunnies are doing. When are they happy, sad, full or busy?
What can we see when we are sitting on the couch? And when we are standing in the center of the room? Or crawling under the table? Take turns as each family member picks a location from which to look at the room: What has caught their attention? Do they see details that others don’t see?
To make family reading enjoyable, and encourage children to read, we should choose books to which children relate and explore topics in which they are interested. Some prefer a piece of fiction, while others would want to read a story that “once was”. Whatever their favorite book may be, it would encourage them to enjoy books, while helping them to develop their imagination and creativity.
You too could look for items that remind you of past experiences: A family photo, gift you have received, or item associated with an experience you have had. Take turns introducing the object of your choice and sharing a memory relating to it.
Are you interested in making a machine of your own? You can gather some boxes, fabrics, crates and old toys to build your very own machine. You can plan what it would do and look like together, or simply build it and discover its attributes as you go along.
Many of the illustrations in this book depict machines. Perhaps you would enjoy leafing through them and finding illustrations of machines and machine parts – Can you tell what each of them does? Perhaps you could be inspired by the part you found to invent a new machine, and imagine what it is capable of doing.
What can we do when we encounter a problem? You may want to share incidents with your children in which you, parents, have encountered a problem. Try to think back to how you felt, think of possible solutions together, and then tell them how you solved the problem.
A hoop can be a steering wheel, a plate or… Scan the QR code and watch a video about creativity? Later, you can continue to think about – What can we do with a paper roll? A kerchief? A dwarf puppet?
The dwarves planted mushrooms and sang “all the songs they knew”. You too can sing your favorite songs together. Perhaps you’ll sing about dwarves, or rain, or songs that cheer you up and make you smile.
Take turns pretending to be one of the dwarves that appear in this book: The one with the umbrella, the one planting a mushroom, or the one jumping into puddles. The other players will try to guess what the dwarf is doing and find it in the book.
I’m similar to a frog but smaller. I can be found in Israel, mostly on trees, eating insects and laying eggs in water. I am a protected species and therefore cannot be kept in a jar – only in nature.
While reading, it is useful to include the hands on each page, follow their path and imitating their movements. Parents and toddlers can do this together: “walk” the hand on fingertips, make the hand jump, knock on the door in the picture, and be active readers throughout the entire book.
It’s so much fun to play with hands! Each and every one in turn makes a certain movement, and the rest of the participants imitate it. You can clap your hands, wave hello or goodbye, signal for “quiet” or fly!
Who has a small hand? Who has a large hand? Each family member is invited to place their hand on a sheet of paper. You, the parent, will draw the contours of the hands, and the toddlers will decorate and paint. The picture of all the hands can be kept as a memento, and you can also repeat the activity year after year and see what has changed.
You can sing songs accompanied by hand movements, such as “I have ten fingers” or “My hat has three corners.” It’s a good idea to add hand gestures to your singing, and you can add finger movements to other favorite songs. Have fun!
Parents may want to share the stories they liked while growing up: Was there a particular story you enjoyed hearing over and over again? Who was your favorite protagonist? You could ask your child which stories they like. Are they fictional or true stories?
When do the illustrations tell the story of Leo and Mr. Zinger, and when do they complement the story the two of them made up? You may enjoy taking a look at the illustrations together, noticing the various styles, and thinking of ways of discerning what the illustrations refer to, and what they are telling us.
Which stories are hidden in the hats you own? how about choosing one of your favorite hats and telling the story that is hiding in it: one player looks into the hat and starts inventing a story. After one or two sentences, they pause, and the next player picks up the story, and so on, until all players have added their part to it. Bashevis Singer could serve as a source of inspiration for telling a family story that has been passed down in your family.
Would you like to play a game? Perhaps you would enjoy writing the names of your favorite characters from books on pieces of paper, and taking turns wearing a hat bearing the name of the character. Whoever wears the hat does not see the name written on the piece of paper attached to it, and must guess who it is using questions, such as: Is it a fictional character? Is it an animal?
Perhaps you could discuss and share with one another the experiences you recall of moments in which you had discovered a new ability: Writing your first name, a special drawing you had made, and what else? What other new abilities would you like to discover?
The illustrations in The Gift invite readers to immerse themselves in the book, and be part of Leo’s world: Which animal accompanies Leo? Which animals appear in the illustrations? Which details are taken from the world of children, and which from that of animals? Would you like to make your own drawing following Leo’s?
Which incredible things await you in your pen? You may enjoy dedicating a notebook to drawings, copying words out, or writing down your favorite ones. You could make it a family notebook, in which each member adds their own illustrations and words.
What sort of world is hiding in your pen? Grab a pen and paper to find out! You and your family can take turns adding detail to a shared drawing – a line, circle, character, or item – to create a joint work of art that has come out of a single pen!
Matan piles the sand up and makes his pile more sophisticated all on his own. having read this book, you may want to discuss actions with your child that they take without needing any help, and compare them with actions they had taken in the past. We recommend that you, parents, share your own similar experiences with them, from your own childhood: What is it that you wanted to accomplish, and indeed did? What does your child want to build and do? Do they need materials or help? You may want to decide on a family initiative to build, make or fix something together. Good luck!
What can we do with sand? We could make an imprint of our feet in it, and observe our family members’ different footprints. How about using twigs to draw in the sand, or piling it up, or going outside to look at different prints left in it there?
The illustrations in this book were made from various perspectives: from above or below, from high up or far away. Looking at the world from different perspectives – high or low – allow us to discover surprising things: try looking at your room from an ant’s height; through binoculars made from toilet paper rolls; using a magnifying glass, or when standing on a chair: What can you see from that perspective that you couldn’t see from your regular angle?
Matan and his sandcastle could inspire you to imagine, plan, and create too: close your eyes and imagine, then share your idea with your family, look for suitable materials, and start to build together. It could be a machine made out of boxes, a car made out of sand, a flying castle made of pillows, or perhaps something else entirely.
You may want to discuss and share what you enjoy doing with grandma, grandpa, or other family members, and have the parents talk about their own childhood experiences. You could even do stuff remotely and still feel close: some suggestions for activities that bring you closer while being carried out from afar can found in the “granny’s stories” section on the PJLibrary website.
You could check out the drawings on the aprons at the end of the book, and even create your own “family doodle”, with each member of your family adding to the artwork. When you’re done, you can look together to find out whether any shapes of objects or characters are hiding in the doodle you made.
Look at the illustrations together and find out what the cat does on each page or where there are strawberries. You could search for certain items, or choose a color and look for details painted in that particular color in all the illustrations.
Paint stains on palms, sand in shoes, or food stains on clothes are all indications of what your child did in kindergarten today. Together, you could look at the traces left by their action-packed day. Can you, parents, use the signs to try and guess what your child has done today, and discuss their experiences with them?
Pinterest – Suggestions for arts & crafts, games, doodles and strawberry growing are available on the Ronnie’s Stories: Ronnie’s Apron page on the PJLibrary Pinterest.
Where is the solution to this riddle? – This book was designed in such a way, that one page asks the riddle, and the next, provides the answer to it. You may want to ask your child to guess the answer before turning the page: completing the rhyme could help. No idea what it could be? Let your child turn the page and find out.
Look at the last illustration together. Illustrator Ora Ayal hid the answers to all the riddles in it. Are you able to find them? Can you recall a riddle associated with one of the details in this picture? You may enjoy trying to come up with a story containing as many of the answers to the riddles as you can.
Choose an item, and use each round of the game to describe one of its characteristics. For instance: “It rolls”. Your child must discover which item you had in mind. Now switch.
You could ask your grandparents, friends, and relatives the riddles in this book. Perhaps they could even ask you some riddles, and see whether you were able to solve them.
We have prepared some cards for you, which you can print out and use in this game of riddles, called “what’s missing?”
Lay out 3 or 4 cards. Now ask one of the players to close their eyes, and remove one card. When the player whose eyes were shut opens them again, you can ask them a riddle to remind them which is the missing card.
Note – the number of cards you play with should depend on the child’s ability.
You may want to tell one another some riddles you know, or share how you have found solutions to problems, situations and issues. Have you ever learned something by watching someone else? Perhaps you could ask other members of your family how they cope with riddle- and problem-solving. Together, you can create a collection of family suggestions to learn about and engage in problem-solving.
The illustrations in this book are extremely detailed. You may enjoy taking a close look at them, and telling one another what else they convey, beyond the text: Are any characters featured in them that are not described in the story itself? Perhaps you could follow the tiger character, and tell the story from its perspective: What is the relationship between the tiger and princess? Why does it follow her, and how does it experience the events that unfold?
Authoress Ruth Calderon was inspired by an ancient folktale written by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov when she wrote this book. You could try it too! Think back to your favorite folktale or fairytale, and write a similar story about a contemporary boy or girl.
Do you also have a “ma’atzube” of your own – some kind of favorite comfort food? How about making a list of comfort foods, and then cooking or baking one together?
“… Problems are just like bread – you need to slice them”: You may want to create a collection of everyday problems, and write them on pieces of paper. In each round, pick one note, and think of solutions together. They can be incremental, broken down into stages like slices of bread. Perhaps they can lead you to more suggestions.
You may want to leaf through the book and look at the illustrations together. What can you see out of Shusha’s bedroom window? What can you see out of your child’s bedroom window?
Shusha dreams of being a famous painter. Perhaps you could discuss each of your family members’ talents and dreams.
Shusha has the best time at her grandmother’s. what does your child enjoy doing with their grandparents or uncles and aunts? You may enjoy discussing the uniqueness of their relationship with each member of your extended family, and plan the next time you all get together.
Drawing on walls, as Shusha does, is usually prohibited. You could, however, put a large sheet of paper up on a wall or door to draw on. Perhaps you could add details over time to gradually create your very own family wall painting.
Shusha waves, and the sheep follows suit. You may want to use chalk to outline your child’s shadow in your backyard or on the sidewalk, and return an hour later to the same exact spot, to see how their shadow grows longer and moves in tandem with the sun.
Shusha sees a black sheep in her shadow. Perhaps you could turn off the main lights, and turn on a small lamp to check what kind of shadows form on the walls when we put our fingers or various items between the small light and the wall.
How about visiting an art exhibition at a gallery or museum with your child? Discover which paintings you like best, and whether you and your child have similar taste. You could even pick one or two of your favorite pieces, and learn some fun facts about the artists that painted them.
You may want to leaf through the book together, and notice the combinations of words and illustrations. Is your child familiar with many of the words comprising Jim’s collection?
Perhaps you could open a dictionary, or go to Milog at milog.co.il, to show your child just how rich the Hebrew language is. You could even create a family dictionary: decorate a special notebook, adding new and interesting words to it each time. Your child could illustrate the dictionary too.
You may want to ask your child why they think Jim chose to empty his collection into the wind. Is there anything that makes you particularly happy that you would like to share with others?
Like Jim, many children enjoy collecting things – pebbles, cards, special napkins from cafes. Did you have a collection as a young child? Share those memories with your child, they may inspire them to continue the family tradition, or start a collection of their own.
Words are a great way of expressing our feelings. Perhaps you could make notes, write your feelings on them, add a drawing, and stick them on your fridge, front door, or headboard. These notes may be used when we want to express our feelings and cannot seem to find the right words to do so.
Do you remember any words your child mispronounced when they were just learning to speak? If so, share them with your child, and write them down so that you will never forget.
You may want to look at the illustrations together, and suggest that your child describe what the chairs turn into throughout the book.
While reading the story, you may want to pause before the children reach one of the stops, and ask your child to guess, based on the rhyming scheme – where the children will end up.
Have you ever visited the cities mentioned in the book? Perhaps you could look at the illustrations, and use them to describe the special features in each of the locations. You could also look for more images of these sites online, and compare them with the illustrations in this book.
Like the children in the story, you could also let your imagination run wild, and transform the chairs around your home into different things. A chair covered with a blanket could become a tent, or a secret cave.
You could go on a trip nearby. Choose your destination with your child, pack some snacks, invite some friends, and go on an afternoon excursion. You could even have a picnic, so that “by the time you get off the cloud, lunch will be ready”.
Where is Tel Aviv? And where is Jerusalem? Where are the mountains, the Sea of Galilee, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea? Perhaps you could open a map together, and mark the places where you and your extended family live, places you have visited, and places you would like to visit as a family.
You may want to look at the illustrations together. Can your child find Rosie (Hadsas) among her classmates in the first illustration? What kinds of inventions did Rosie’s (Hadas’) friends make? Do you have a particular favorite? What is special about it?
Perhaps you could make a list together of things that you have tried and failed, and another of things you have not yet tried, and would like to try some day. Could you maybe make it if you worked together?
You may enjoy inventing, planning, and building your own “gizmo” together using building blocks, Legos or Playmobile. Your invention may consist of other items found in your home or backyard.
Do you or did you also have a meaningful aunt with a vision who has left a mark on your childhood? You could look for photographs of her, and tell your child about her.
You may want to compare the responses of Uncle Fred (Zvi) and Aunt Rose (Hadassah) to Rosie’s (Hadas’) inventions. Perhaps you would enjoy thinking of sentences or phrases that family members say to cheer one another up. You could write them down on pieces of paper, and put them in various places around the house.
Young children often have excellent ideas and original thoughts. You could tell your child about a great inventor, in Israel or elsewhere, and remind them that s/he too was once a child brimming with ideas.
כדאי להשוות בין תגובת דוד צבי לתגובת דודה הדסה להמצאות של הדס. אפשר להמציא יחד משפטים או ביטויים שבני המשפחה אומרים זה לזה כשמישהו זקוק לעידוד. תוכלו לכתוב על גבי פתקים מילים ומשפטים מעודדים ולפזר את הפתקים ברחבי הבית.
לעיתים קרובות לילדים צעירים יש רעיונות גדולים ומחשבות מקוריות. אפשר לספר לילדיכם על ממציאים גדולים, בארצנו ובעולם כולו, ולהזכיר שגם הם היו פעם ילדים שופעי רעיונות.
מה מסתתר מאחורי סיפורה של הדודה הדסה: “אנחנו יכולות לעשות את זה!” מכריזות הדס והדודה הדסה – דודה הדסה בנתה מטוסים כשהיא לבושה בבגדים כחולים ולראשה מטפחת אדומה מנוקדת בלבן. הכרזה נוצרה בזמן מלחמת העולם השנייה בארה”ב במטרה לעודד פועלות בתעשיות שסייעו למאמץ המלחמתי. בשנת 1982 זכתה הכרזה לגילוי מחדש בכתבה של הוושינגטון פוסט. היא נפוצה והפכה לסמל מחודש של עוצמה ויכולת נשית. עוד על סיפורה של הכרזה בערך בויקיפדיה We Can Do It!
Perhaps you would enjoy taking a look at the illustrations together: can your child name all the shapes on every page? While reading the story, you may want to pay attention to the shapes’ facial expressions. When are they happy? And what makes them smile?
You may enjoy using some colored paper to cut out shapes, or playing with a ready-made game of shapes. Together, you could invent other combinations of shapes, and create more things.
Perhaps you would enjoy going on a search, and discovering the shapes that are hidden in books, toys, and various rooms of your home, such as the square floor tiles of your living room, or the round holes in your sieve.
You may want to play with building blocks, and use the different shapes to create various artistic structures together. For although it is sometimes nice to be alone, it is so good and pleasant to play together!
Does your child know the song Hinneh ma tov uma naim (“Behold, how good and how pleasant…”)? Perhaps you would enjoy singing it and dancing together.
On the final page of the book, the shapes create a windmill together. Has your child ever seen a windmill? You may want to make a paper pinwheel, blow on it, and see how the rush of air moves its wings, just like a windmill.
You may want to sit close to one another, and read the book together. You could take a good look at the colorful illustrations that accompany the story. How do we illustrate dreams? What colors has the illustrator used? What can we see in the illustrations that does not appear in the text itself? Try to imagine what your dream garden would look like. What would you have liked to grow in it?
The girl in the story helps her mother take care of her garden. Do you have a garden, or some houseplants? How does your child help you around the house? You may want to remind one another of times and cases in which they were able to lend a helping hand.
The girl in the story dreams of flowers that never wilt. You too can make such flowers together. You could use tissue paper, pieces of fabric, or even an empty carton of eggs. Perhaps you could tape the flowers to a straw or bamboo skewer, and “plant” them in the garden, or a window box, or even inside an empty water bottle.
Following this story, you may enjoy discussing dreams and aspirations. Let your imaginations run wild: which of your dreams can come true, and which cannot? What is required in order to make the dream come true?
It is easy to make chocolate shells, bunnies, and hearts: melt some chocolate with a little oil in the microwave oven, and pour the liquid into small silicone baking molds, or ice-cube trays. It only takes a few minutes in the freezer for the chocolate to harden, and assume the form of the mold!
The feelings of others. You may want to sit close to one another, enjoy the amusing illustrations, and read the story aloud together. When you first read the story, you may want to pause on the page where the passengers of the first boat leave the restaurant, enraged, and ask your child how they think the penguins felt.
The effect of others. One may wonder why the penguins decided not to offer their delicacy to the passengers on the second boat, and decided to eat it all themselves. Perhaps you would like to share with one another a memory of a time in which you had changed your mind following the response of others. When did it happen? How did you feel?
Just like in the story, in some situations at home we must wait. Perhaps you could make an hourglass, to facilitate the wait. All you need are two empty plastic bottles. Use a strong adhesive to glue the two bottle caps together. Then, using a heated nail, carefully puncture a hole through the two glued-together bottle caps. Now fill one bottle with sand, recap it with the glued-together bottle caps, and attach the empty one on top of it. Turn it upside down, and see how long it takes for the sand to pass from one bottle to the other.
Tastes & preferences. Do all the members of your household like to eat the same dishes? How do you decide what to eat when you are all sharing a meal, and who cooks? You may want to suggest that your child prepare a menu for the whole family. You could even open a restaurant: who would you invite over to dinner?
A warm scent of cinnamon. You may enjoy making a delicacy together that will spread the warm scent of cinnamon throughout your neighborhood: peel some apples and cut them into thick slices. Sprinkle an equal amount of sugar and cinnamon on them, and place them in the oven. Your nose will be sure to let you know when your delicacy is ready.
Nurit Zarchi was born in 1941 in Jerusalem, and raised in Kibbutz Geva. She has published more than 100 books of children’s literature, poetry, prose, and research.
Zarchi has received many literary awards, among them the Bialik Prize, Yehuda Amichai Prize, Lea Goldberg Prize, Andersen Award for children’s literature, and more. In 2014, she won the Devorah Omer lifetime achievement in children’s literature award.
Among her much-loved books are: Namer Bepijama shel Zahav [A Tiger in Golden Pajamas], Machalat Hagaguim shel Solly [Solly’s Homesickness], Lehitraot BeAntarktika [Goodbye, Antarctica], Doda Margalit Nafla el HaShlulit [Aunt Margalit fell into the Puddle]. You may want to look for these books at home or the library, and read them, both together and separately.
You may want to sit comfortably and read these poems together. Which of them are your favorites? And which are your child’s? do you both like the same ones? And what about the characters, with which of them did you identify? Did these poems remind you of any past experiences you may have had?
Perhaps you would enjoy looking for the various clocks in the illustrations. Some of them are real and hanging on a wall, while others are imaginary, appearing as a girl’s curls or as onion bulbs. When do the clocks show the time, and when are they an indication of time going by? Have you or your child ever felt that time was standing still? And when does it “fly” and disappear before you realize it?
Even “small”, routine, day-to-day moments can turn into a poem, drawing, or story. Perhaps you and your child could select such a moment in the day you have just had, discuss it, and create something by which to depict it.
Rinat Hoffer often writes and draws about the writing and illustrating experience. You may want to look through the book together, and find the pencils in the illustrations. Have you found the one that resembles a magic wand? Or the one that looks like a key? How about the vase in which pencils make up a colorful, flowering plant? There are others too, see if you can find them all.
You may enjoy discussing the magic of creating, and what you would do if you had such a magic pencil.
The illustrations in this book combine printed letters such as the ones you might find in newspapers with pages from old books. You may want to create a collage with your child from printed documents you no longer need or old newspapers. What emerges from such a combination?
Rinat Hoffer has written many other stories and poems, such as Hanan the Gardener (חנן הגנן), Somebody (מישו), and Purple Monster (מפלצת סגולה). You may want to look for them at the library or at home, and read them together too.
You may enjoy sitting and looking at the illustrations together. What do you see on each page? The purple monster appears several times in the book. Have you noticed any differences in its depictions throughout the story? What is it wearing on its feet each time?
Purple Monster is a cyclical book. You may want to ask your child to choose one of the characters, look for it together, and begin the story on the page on which it appears.
Has your child managed to complete the next word using the illustrations and rhymes the first time you read the book together? You may enjoy reading it several times. In time, your child will become more familiar with the story, and be able to “read” it on their own.
Did your child find the illustrations amusing? What is real and unreal about each of them? Perhaps you would like to ask your child to choose one page in the book, and have them describe what is happening in it to you in their own words.
You could invent a new game called “guess what’s in the picture”: show your child images or photographs out of books or newspapers, cover part of them, and see if your child can guess what is under the cover.
You could also make up a chain of events. You may want to imagine what might have happened had the purple monster tickled you – what would you have done? And what would have happened next?
You could create a human chain, and take a “silly walk” together: hold your child’s hand, let others join you, and take a walk hand in hand through the house or outside. Each time a different person in the chain can take the lead, and the rest will follow – walking, stopping, hopping, crawling… you could then change places within the chain and keep on walking, until you’re back at the beginning again.
You may want to look at the illustrations together, and look for the disguised animals mentioned in the story. Can your child recognize them all? Who, in your opinion, has the best costume? To whom would you have awarded the prize?
Make costumes and masks for your stuffed toys, set a table with fine food, and sing Purim songs together. Who will win the costume competition, and what will the jackpot be?
You may want to stop reading for a moment at the point where the animals argue, each one thinking it had the best costume, and ask your child to describe the decision-making process for which they would have opted. You could use this book as a platform for discussing achievements, competition, and the feelings associated with winning and losing.
You may want to discuss the fox’s behavior with your child. Did he deserve to win the costume competition? The fox is portrayed as cunning in many stories. Do you know any other books on foxes, such as The Fox and the Grapes, The Chickens and the Fox, or Fox Fables? You could search for them and read them together.
Do you remember a special childhood costume? You may enjoy sharing childhood experiences related to Purim and dressing up with your child. You could also look at family photo albums, and be reminded of parents’, siblings’, and children’s past costumes.
is the author and illustrator of many children’s books, among them: A Smile on every Corner, The Melody, and Oded Burla’s Big Book. You may want to look for more of his books at the library, and enjoy them together.
In Gilad Soffer’s illustrations the piano turns into a shark, and the umbrella is transformed into an eagle. You may want to look at the illustrations together, and notice the various household items, and the amusing shifts between reality and make-believe. Perhaps you would like to pick an item or piece of furniture in your own home, and draw what it turns into in your imagination.
Which rooms and pieces of furniture are on your child’s way to bed, what is their route to the bedroom? You may also enjoy making a game out of bedtime, and choosing a funny walk, dance or other movement – perhaps even carrying your child on your back. Who would buy your “sack of flour”?
Yonatan is deterred by the elephant drawn on the carpet. Sometimes items look different in the dark. You may want to ask your child whether there are any items or pieces of furniture in your house that look different at night. You could discuss their fears together, as well as ways to overcome them.
How does your child get ready for bed? Do you have a special ritual – a hug and kiss, a prayer, or a song that accompany your transition from daytime to nighttime? Do you read a bedtime story together? Following this book, you may want to invent a new ritual by which to say goodbye to the departing day.
Perhaps you would like to share some childhood memories with your child: Did you share a bedroom with any of your siblings? Who put you to bed? Were you told any stories or sung and lullabies before bedtime? Did you sleep with a specific doll or teddy-bear? Perhaps you can think of a funny story about bedtime from your past to tell your child.
At Yonatan’s house, a piggyback is called “a sack of flour”. In some Israeli homes, it’s called “Abu Yoyo”. Does your family have any special names for childhood games? Did you have any special childhood games where you came from? This may be an excellent opportunity to teach your child these games.
Who Wants a Piggyback is the last PJ Library book you will be receiving this year. We hope you have enjoyed the books, and wish you a wonderful summer, and a smooth transition to kindergarten or school!
In this special book, the illustrations tell most of the story, and were it not for them, the plot would have been incomprehensible. You may want to leaf through the book together, and have your child describe what the box turns into on each page. You could have a discussion on imagination and reality, and share your opinion with your child. Do you think the rabbit really thinks the box is a spaceship, robot, or mountaintop?
In this special book, the illustrations tell most of the story, and were it not for them, the plot would have been incomprehensible. You may want to leaf through the book together, and have your child describe what the box turns into on each page. You could have a discussion on imagination and reality, and share your opinion with your child. Do you think the rabbit really thinks the box is a spaceship, robot, or mountaintop?
You may enjoy looking at the illustrations, and noticing the colors used in each one. Which ones are used when the rabbit is spoken to? And which when the rabbit appears? You may want to ask your child for the reason why the author and illustrator chose to use colors this way.
You could draw a rectangle on a sheet of paper and ask your child to continue the drawing, and turn it into something else. Can you guess what your child drew? You may enjoy changing roles, so that each time one of you will draw a shape for the other to turn into something else.
Perhaps you would like to pick up an empty box from the local grocery store, and decide what to turn it into together. You could color or cut it, making it your very own creation.
Many children enjoy make-believe games. Has this book reminded you of an imaginative game you enjoyed playing? Perhaps an imaginary toy you liked to play with as a child? You may want to share such memories with your child.
You may enjoy sitting across from one another on the rug and make believe together. Take turns pretending to hold something (a hammer, bug, phone, cat, baby…), and let the other guess what it is. Next, pretend to pass the object on to the next player, and go on making believe and guessing.
“I will save the soup!” You may want to read the story together, pause each time the giant is about to say “I will save the soup!”, and ask your child to shout out the phrase. You may also enjoy looking at the illustrations together, and discover details that do not appear in the text. What do you see in the giant’s kitchen? Have you noticed the bird? You could imagine together what the rest of the rooms in the giant’s big house might be like.
Acting the story out: You could act out the story using cooking utensils. Take out pots of different sizes, a spoon and ladle, and prepare imaginary soup. Your child can act the story out, telling it in their own words. You could continue past the end of the text, and imagine what happened once the guests had left the giant with a pile of dirty dishes and more ingredients for a soup.
Sweet or savory? You may want to experiment with flavors together. Take two identical plates, pour some sugar into one, and salt into the other. Ask your child to taste from each plate, and guess whether it is sweet or salty. Could they figure it out? You could later discuss your family’s preferences, and prepare a family dinner consisting of one savory dish, a sweet dessert, something spicy, and something sour.
Fixing is possible: What is hard to fix or needs fixing in your house? Together you could try to find solutions. Is your room crowded, and filled with items you find little use for? You could ask your child to choose some toys they no longer play with, and give them to a child younger than them. Is one of their games broken? Perhaps it can be glued together again. Are they bored and looking for a new book to read? You could get a group of friends together, and have them swap books among them. You could consult your child about identifying the difficulties, and commend them for finding creative solutions to them.
Soup stories: Do you know any other stories about soup? You may want to look for books such as Nira Harel’s Grandpa Cooked a Soup, or Aubrey Davis’ Bone Button Borscht at home or the public library, and read them together. Both these books were given as part of PJ Library in previous years.
You may want to join Noga and her father by acting the story out. Every time Noga meets an animal, you could do as she does: spread out your wings like a butterfly, crawl like a tortoise, or roar like a lion.
Guess who: you could play charades, mimicking an animal, and letting the other guess which one you are.
Reading the illustrations: you may want to suggest that your child leaf through the book and tell you the story by the order of the illustrations.
Do you drive to kindergarten together, or walk? What do you see on your way? Who or what do you come across? Perhaps you might like to pay attention to flowers, trees, buildings, or even find large and small animals.
Do you also have a game that helps you pass the time enjoyably on your way to kindergarten?
Parent hums a tune and child tries to guess it and sing along.
You could decide what to look for on your way (certain color cars, a cat, bird, or police car).
You’re welcome to gallop, skip, or jump all the way to your kindergarten gate.
Perhaps you would like to pick a certain mode of transportation (airplane, tractor, motorbike), and parent can put child on their shoulders and pretend to get to kindergarten on it.
You could play a memory game to familiarize yourselves with the route: what will we be seeing next? A store, a tall building, a tree, and so on.
You could collect something on your way, such as special shaped leaves or rocks.
Toddlers engage with books in different ways: by touching them, opening and closing them, playing and looking at illustrations. Some will want to listen to the entire book, while others will prefer to start from a single page, and get used to reading at their own pace. You can read a little each day, and slowly but surely, books will turn into friends!
You can discuss laughter in your toddlers’ lives with them – When do we laugh? When are we are happy or sad? What makes you laugh and smile? Is there anyone who makes you laugh more than others?
Look for the situations that make you laugh together – you can try face-pulling games to discover the funniest face you can make; or gently tickle various body parts – using your fingers or a feather – such as arms or legs, to find out whether laughter is hiding there and whether tickling helps it come out of hiding
Can you find the cat on every page? Have you ever seen a head emerge from a teapot? Can you notice any other amusing details in the illustrations? Which materials and objects are the illustrations made of? You can look closely and discover new amusing details every time you read this book.
Duvshan and Mummy do all kinds of things together. You can go over the illustrations in the book with your children and with their help, tell the story in your own words. Invite your children to “read aloud” the story from the point of view of little Duvshan, and you can tell the same story from the perspective of Mummy Bear. At the end, you may ask your children to choose one joint activity that is described in the book, and do it (or a similar activity) together.
Honoring one’s parents: The story presents a wonderful opportunity to share your own experience with your parents, by recalling ways in which you honor or honored your parents. Be sure to let your children know how they honor you too!
Duvshan helps Mummy with gardening work and in the kitchen. Your children can also honor you and help out around the house. They can help set the table, match socks from the laundry, or help dust the furniture. For very young children this is a wonderful opportunity to feel needed and learn that they are capable of helping out with household chores.
Like Duvshan, many children like to prepare little “surprises” for their parents and show their independence. They can get dressed by themselves, wash themselves, pick up and organize their toys. And just like Duvshan’s Mummy, you too can marvel at your children’s desire to help you – and in return prepare a small surprise for them!
A “patience clock”: We all know how difficult it can be for young children to be patient. Setting an alarm clock or an hourglass can help your child know when the “being patient” time has ended. If you plan what you’ll do together when the time is over, it might help the time pass even quicker.
Many young children have a hard time thinking up ways of being on their own. For such instances you might want to prepare an “I Can Do It All By Myself” album together with your children, including a collection of drawings that describe ideas for independent activities. Each page can contain a different activity. Your child can color the pictures and you can add short sentences such as “I can draw”, “I can cut”, “I can water plants”, etc. Looking through the album will help the children choose an activity to carry out on their own while they’re waiting for you, and afterwards, just like Mummy Bear, you can say: “Oh, my little one, you are so talented!”
Amy and Louis became friends because they were neighbors who enjoyed the same things, so when Amy moves far away, she’s faced with a big challenge. Talk with your children about how you manage to keep in touch with faraway friends and family. After you finish reading this story, your children might get in touch with people they miss: they could write or draw a letter to send them, or talk to them via phone or the Internet.
Amy and Louie don’t merely miss each other; they recall the things they used to do together. You might talk with your children about things we can do to help keep memories alive. If you have photos, letters, or other items that remind you of friends and shared experiences from your past, you could share them with your children.
Children are introduced to this book near the end of their kindergarten year. You could talk with your children about good-byes, transitions, and new beginnings. Maybe talk about the friends they’ve made in kindergarten and the things your children like to do with them. Your children could also draw pictures or write letters to give to a friend, teacher, or other staff member at the kindergarten, as a memento.
Have you ever traveled to a foreign country, “half a world away?” Do you, like Amy and Louis, have friends who live in a faraway land? Using a globe or an atlas, you could show your children the countries you’ve visited or the places where your friends and family live. You could also explain time differences, intercontinental travel, and much more. “Amy and Louis” is the final book in PJ Library’s list for the year. We hope you have enjoyed these books and send you our best wishes for a successful summer and transition to kindergarten and beyond. Please keep in touch!
Look through the book together and examine the unusual illustrations that accompany the text. Notice the various perspectives the illustrator used in creating these pictures. Which pictures show the action from above—and which from the side? Talk with your children and ask them why they think the illustrator chose to portray the events on the bridge as she did.
Sometimes, before we arrive at a good idea, we first have to try (and discard) some not-so-good ideas. Together with your children, go back over the various solutions which the bear and the giant proposed in the story. What are the upsides and downsides of each idea?
Every child has experienced the clash of wills. Sometimes one family member wants to play music while the other wants quiet, or one wants to read in bed while the other wants to turn out the light and go to sleep. Or a child might be deep in a game when her parents inform her that it’s time to leave the house. … After reading the story with your children, talk about how all of us have differing desires at times, and recall any creative resolutions you and your family may have reached.
Look around your neighborhood for a low wall, or a playground with ropes, slides, and ladders, and try (carefully!) to cross them at the same time from opposite sides. Do you, too, find yourselves forced to “dance” while hugging each other, just like in the story?
After reading the story, you could start investigating the different kinds of bridges where you live. You could also build toy bridgesout of blocks, Legos, or other construction toys. Once your bridge is complete, you can use it to stage a little play based on the story, using dolls or Lego characters.
Do you know other stories that feature a bridge? You can look at home, at your children’s kindergarten, or at your local library for more books and stories about bridges, including “The Bridge” by ShlomoAbass, “The Treasure” by Uri Shulevitz, and many more, and read them with your children.
You may want to re-read the beginning of the story together, and be reminded of the advantages of being a small cloud. Perhaps later you would enjoy discussing your child’s size with them, and mention things that only little children can do.
Despite the advantages of being small, and her friends’ positive attitude towards her, Cloudette wants more. You may want to discuss wishes and desires: is there anything your child wants to do but has yet to try? Is there anything they would like to do but are unable to due to their age or size? You could make a list of desires together. Perhaps some of them can already be fulfilled!
When Cloudette hears “Ribbit” and sees the dry puddle, she realizes what she can do. You could ask your child whether we always know how to help others, and share stories of help given to another, or how others have helped you exactly at the right time using just the right kind of help.
You may like to notice the bigger clouds’ nicknames for Cloudette, and how they treat her. They do not tease her, but instead accept her the way she is and like her. Following the story, you may want to discuss nicknames with your child, the various relationships between those older and younger, and the desire to be “a big kid”.
Do you like the rain? Following the story, you may want to ask your child whether they like the rain and why, who needs rain, and who enjoys it. Do you know other stories, songs and tales about the rain? You may enjoy curling up together in a warm corner of the house and telling rain stories.
Perhaps you would like to create a rainwater receptacle together. Remove the top part of a plastic bottle by cutting across it (watch out for sharp edges!), place the empty bottle in an open space near your home, or hang it on a wire outside your window. How long did it take it to fill up with rain? Your child may enjoy monitoring the level of water in the bottle, and deciding how to use the rainwater collected.
You may want to discuss Amalya’s “magical secret”, which helped her believe in her drawing ability. What made her believe in herself, and how did she help the boy she met at the exhibition believe in his own talent? What do you think happened after the boy signed his drawing? You could try to continue the story.
This story demonstrates the power of encouraging words of reassurance. You could announce the launce of a “pep talk campaign” at home: cut out notes of various colors and sizes, and have all family members write encouraging words and phrases on them. Hang the notes in various places around the house: on the fridge; on the bathroom mirror; in your schoolbag; under your pillow… When your self-esteem drops and fear takes over, all you have to do is look up and remember that a team of cheerleaders is behind each and every one of us.
Every painting starts with a dot: You may want to take a sheet of paper and crayons, and make a joint drawing – the parent starts with a dot, and the child adds another detail, followed by the parent, and so on. At the end of this exercise you will get a shared drawing that each of you made a small contribution towards, which began with a single dot.
Every work of art, be it as small as a dot, can grow and evolve into an entire exhibition. You may enjoy taking your child to an exhibition at a gallery, theater, or museum. Perhaps you could pick a piece your child especially likes, and try to think which point the artist started from, and what they were trying to express.
Amalya’s teacher tells her to “just make a mark, and see what happens”. You may want to remind one another of your child’s or your own achievements that once seemed impossible. How did you overcome the difficulties along the way? Did anyone encourage you to get there? You could tell your child about a person that encouraged you to believe in yourself.
Every mountain climb begins with a single step. What sort of capabilities and talents would you like to develop? Is there a member of your family who can help you get there? What are you able to teach others? Who can you encourage?
To learn more about The Dot and author Peter H. Reynolds, and for more activity ideas, please visit www.peterhreynolds.com/dot
You may want to look at the illustrations that accompany the story together, and notice the many details that are not specified in the text. What do you think of Bonny’s ideas and Pop’s inventions?
You could invent, plan and build your own “magnificent tree” using building blocks or Lego, or various objects around the house or yard. Are “all sorts of things jutting out” of your work too? Send us a picture of your magnificent tree, we’d be happy to post it on our website.
Bonny and Pop realized that birds were attracted to trees and looked for an idea that would encourage the birds to visit them. The story may inspire you to make a bird feeder together: rinse a large, empty bottle thoroughly, cut a large opening out on one end of it, hang it in the balcony or on a nearby tree, and fill it up with pieces of cut fruit, seeds and breadcrumbs. Follow the birds, watching quietly from afar as they approach the bird feeder and eat from it.
“Bonny and Pop always had lots of ideas…” Little children often have big ideas and original thoughts. You may want to tell your child about some important inventors, in Israel and around the world, and remind them that they too were once children, brimming with ideas. Together you could think of a situation in your own lives that you’d like to change, and make suggestions. Are your ideas implementable?
“Just as their faces are not identical to one another, so their opinions are not identical to one another” (according to the Midrash on the Book of Numbers, chapter 21): family members and friends do not always think or act the same way, and sometimes differences in style and character can bother us. You may want to remind each other of each of your family members’ special talent and inclinations, and make note of the unique contribution each one makes.
Does your child have a special connection with a grandparent, aunt or uncle, like Bonny does? You may want to sit your child down with a beloved family member and invite them to engage in an activity that requires cooperation, such as putting together a jigsaw puzzle, or even baking a cake. How well did they work together? Did they have similar ideas or different ones? Remember, none of this matters, as long as we have fun spending time together!
Haya Shenhav is a poet and author born in 1936 in Kefar Yehoshua, in the Jezreel Valley. Her first children’s book, Mitz Petel (“Raspberry Juice”), was published in 1970, and is a huge favorite among children to this day. Among her well-known and much loved works are Aliza Habarvaza Vehahaverim (“Aliza the Duck and Friends”), and Hippo-Tam, as well as the songs Gveret Im Salim (“A Lady with Groceries”), and Mi Shavar Et Hatzalahat (“Who Broke the Plate?”). In 1985, Haya Shenhav was awarded the Zeev Prize for Children and Youth’s Literature, and in 2004 she was the Bialik Literature Prize laureate. Haya Shenhav lives in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.
Pit, Pet, Tu is a long and adventure-filled story. You may want to read one adventure at a time, and then ask your child to pick an illustration, and tell you what the dwarves are doing now in their own words.
You could read it together several times, helping your child remember the sequence of events, and join you for the refrain: “Dwarves can do such things…”
You may enjoy looking at the illustration depicting the dwarves turning the mountain into a home. Do you recognize the food? What is your favorite? You may want to prepare one of the dishes the dwarves ate, or plan a back-to-front meal, where you eat dessert first.
One of the dwarves’ favorite pastimes is chatting. They enjoy sitting with one another, and remembering shared experiences. What do you like doing with your friends?
Do you know the tune to the song Meahorey Hahar 1, 2, 3 (“Behind the mountain, 1, 2, 3”)? You could sing it together.
Each time the dwarves transform the mountain into something else – a home, a boat, and even a car. You may also want to engage in a game of “pretend”, and turn familiar objects into other things using your imagination. You could pick a different object each time, and tell each other what it has turned into.
Would you like to play with dwarves? You may enjoy drawing little dwarves on toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, old socks, or rolled-up paper… You could make three dwarf puppets, and use them to tell the story.
Pit, Pet, Tu is the last PJ Library book you will be getting this year. Enjoy reading it, and also reread your favorite PJ Library books from previous months. Perhaps this time you could let your child read it to you… See you next year!
Israeli children’s poet and author, Anda Amir, was born in Poland, and immigrated to Israel in 1920. She wrote many children’s poems that accompany Israeli children to this day, among them The Hedgehog Wanted to Dance, The Sparrow, and Golden Ship. For her numerous stories and translations Amir was awarded the Bialik Award in 1936, and the Israel Prize in 1978.
Reading a poetry book and a storybook is not the same. The poems included in this collection are short and catchy, and you may enjoy reading them over and over again. You could invite your child to leaf through the book, and select a different poem each time. In a little while, your child will know the words, and be able to recite them on their own.
The animals in the book are humanlike: the teddy-bear takes care of the doll; the moon loses its hair; and the bunny goes shopping. You may want to suggest that your child use some toys and stuffed animals to act out their favorite poems.
Do you remember poems you used to recite as a child? After reading this book, you may want to try and remember poems you once knew off by heart, and introduce them to your child.
Some of the poems included in this collection have been put to music. If you do not know the tune, you could look it up online, listen to it, and sing together. You may also enjoy accompanying your singing with simple musical instruments: a tambourine, bell, harmonica, or pair of wooden spoons.
Yoav wants a tail “right here, right NOW”. You may want to point out the larger font and ask your child why they thought this word was bigger than the others. Do you or your child ever want anything RIGHT NOW? Perhaps you would like to discuss desires, wishes and patience together.
What does Yoav do with his tail? He wags it, tickles with it, waves it and so on. You may want to look through the book and find all the gestures Yoav makes. Perhaps you would like to invite your child to make the same gestures Yoav makes, or invent new ones together.
Many children like to dress up, and not only on Purim! You may want to make a basket or a box filled with different pieces of fabric, scarves, and maybe even a tail! You could sew a tail as Yoav’s mother did, attach a tail-like belt, or stuff a sock full of pieces of fabric and pin it onto your pants using a safety pin.
You may want to join Yoav and look for your own tails. You couldn’t find them? Perhaps instead you’ll find your arms, knees, elbows…? There are many ways of getting to know our bodies: through pleasant touch, conversation, song, play and movement.
Does your child, much like Yoav, like animals? Have they ever wondered what they need a tail for? You may want to look around you and in pictures for animals with various kinds of tails. You could tell your child about the uses animals have for their tails (impressing other animals or threatening them, shooing away flies, helping them keep their balance etc.). The story calls for observing and comparing humans to the animals around us. What similarities are there between them? And what differences?
The Most Magnificent Thing 
Reading and Writing 
Just the Sea 
The Bus Stop 
Why Don’t You Flower? 
The Machine 
One, Two, Three, What Can a Mushroom Be? 
A book about A hand 
Mr. Zinger’s Hat 
Le Cadeau (The Gift) 
Matan and the Great Sand Mountain 
Ronnie’s Stories: Ronnie’s Apron 
What’s That? What Could it be? 
The Princess and the Rock 
Shusha 
The Word Collector 
About a Chair 
Rosie Revere, Engineer 
Friendly Shapes 
My Garden 
The Cooking Penguins 
The Green Door 
Purple Monster 
Masquerade 
Who Wants a Piggyback? 
Not a Box 
The Giant is Cooking Soup 
I Can do it too! 
Where’s the Laughter? 
Mummy and Me 
Amy and Louis Hebrew title: “Half A World Away” 
The Bridge 
Cloudette 
The Dot 
The Magnificent Tree 
Pit, Pet, Tu (“Chit, Chat, Chatter”) 
Uncle Moon in the Sky – Collected Poems 
Tail for Yoav 
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
שֵׁמַע
מִשְׂחָק
יְצִירָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
הַעֲשָׁרָה
כְּלָלִי
בִּשּׁוּל
חֲגִיגָה
הַמְחָשָׁה
