“You mimic animals so much that you don’t know how to mimic yourself”, says Shumdi to Arik the lion. You can discuss the things that make each of you special: your voice, body movements, hobbies, favorite food – and what else?
Much like Shumdi and Arik, you can also take turns making animal sounds, and having your family guess which animal you were trying to mimic. You can also add the sounds made by objects, and try to mimic the sounds of rain, wind, or any mode of transportation. You can record the sounds you make too, listen to them one at a time, and try to guess which of your family members made it.
Anat especially likes the stories told by Shumdi the rabbit. Which stories are your personal favorites? You can look for and recall stories that the kids liked when they were infants, as well as well-loved stories that you have not read in a while, put them all together, and read one of your favorite stories whenever you feel like it.
Toddlers enjoy reading books together, and when they focus on the story, they use their learning, concentration and imagination abilities. To “get into” the story and allow them to concentrate, you should disconnect from the world for a few minutes, sit somewhere calm, with no background noises, screens or mobile phones, and fly together on the story’s wings.
This short book is full of experiences from toddlers’ day-to-day lives: They want to take part, sometimes they experience rejection, they strive to be independent and are busy finding solutions. You can discuss such moments in the story with your toddlers and link them to their world: What did the girl cat want? How did she feel when the boy cat didn’t want her to join him? What did she decide to do? Do you also enjoy going out for a walk? And what do you like doing all by yourself?
You can suggest packing a small bag and going for a walk with your toddler, just like the girl cat, in your home or neighborhood. Together, you can think of all the things you need to take with you on your walk – a bottle of water? A hat? How about a toy?
When you look at the illustrations together, you could focus your attention on different things each time – Where is the boy cat? And where is the girl cat? What are they doing? Which items can you identify in the picture?
Reading books from a young age contributes greatly to toddlers’ development. Starting to read slowly and gradually is recommended. At first, toddlers may be allowed to connect to the book in their own way: Touch it, open and close it, look at the illustrations, and become curious. Later, you can read: Read a little each day, patiently and calmly. Some toddlers will prefer to be read a single page, get familiar with it until – hey – books have become their friends!
We can make interesting discoveries if we only pay a little attention. You may enjoy discussing what you see as you walk or take a drive: “Here is a red car!” “I see clouds. What do you see?” You can also share experiences with your toddler: “On my way to work today, I saw a lady walking her dog. What did you see on your way or back from daycare?”
Like the boy in the book, all toddlers enjoy rituals that generate a fixed routine, calm them down, and help them start their day feeling good and happy. You can also have your own morning ritual. For example, you can encourage your toddler to say good-bye a beloved stuffed toy: “Teddy, Teddy, I’m going to Kindergarten, goodbye!”, while you parents reply on behalf of the bear: “Goodbye! See you later! Have a safe journey!”
Many animals appear in the book. You can look at them together, and state their names, make the relevant sounds, and mimic their movements: Crow like a rooster, hop like a bunny, or gallop and neigh like a horse. You can also look at the illustrations on the final page, cover one of the animals each time, make the relevant sound or mimic its movements, and have your toddler guess which animal it is.
When reading a songbook, you can focus on one song at a time, read it several times, or sing it, if it has a tune. Try looking at the drawings together, and note where the toddler’s attention is drawn. Every so often, you can add another song from the book and see what reactions it evokes, and whether it’s fun and intriguing.
You will encounter various animals in the book. The toddlers will know some of them. Others will be new and exhilarating. Whenever you encounter animals nearby, you can draw the toddler’s attention to what’s special about the animal – “the bird has a beak”, “the ants march in a line”, or “the snail carries its house on its back”.
You can use gestures as you sing. For example, when you sing “Come, Little Butterfly”, you can invite the butterfly with a beckoning gesture, flap your hands, and tap on the toddler’s hand. Which gesture would you use for a monkey cracking up? Or a bear climbing a ladder?
Toddlers “read the illustrations”. Looking at illustrations teaches toddlers to pay attention to detail, while exposing them to art. You could occasionally ask questions related to the illustration, such as: Where’s the fly? What is the chameleon doing?
While reading, you may want to draw your toddlers’ attention to the main color that appears in the text and illustration. Even if your toddlers do not know the name of these colors yet, they would be delighted to look at the colorful illustrations.
Would you like to have a chameleon that changes its color? Please scan the QR code, print the drawing of the chameleon out on a transparency, and see how it can become colorful, spotted, or even checkered.
Do you have a red ball? What else is red at your house? You may enjoy saying the name of a color, and looking for items of this color together around the house: A cucumber, houseplant, and what other green item can you find?
“I crawl on all fours and change colors like a… chameleon!” take turns deciding on an animal which the parents act out and the toddlers follow suit: “We’re lions, let’s roar!”, “We’re puppies, let’s bark and wag our tails!”
Gali and Gaya love doing stuff together, but also separately. You may want to discuss and discover what your toddlers like to do together with a sibling, friend or you, their parents, and what they prefer doing on their own.
Would you like to play with Gali and Gaya, and dramatize the story? Please scan the QR code, print out two adorable ducks, cut them out, and act the story out with them…!
Like Gali and Gaya, you too could walk together. How about making a trail at home, and marking it with a piece of rope or various items. Next, walk along it in single file, one behind the other, or perhaps together, side by side. You can also take turns being in the lead and exclaiming: “Follow me!”
A sheep, frog or butterfly? You may enjoy looking at the illustrations in this book together, and discovering the various animals. You could make the sound that each oft them makes, or move like them: Flying like a butterfly, buzzing like a bee, or… What else?
Having read this book, you may enjoy a discussion about why, you think, Uncle Simha (Hebrew for joy) is named so. What about the things he does or says that make you smile?
Would you like to hear a story? Go ahead and scan the QR code to listen to the book My Uncle Simha. You may enjoy listening to it together while turning the pages whenever you like.
Which songs make you happy? Perhaps you could make a playlist of all the songs that make your family happy, and sing along together. You could even sing in funny voices – a high-pitched voice, the deepest of basses, or a whisper – adding some dance moves for greater delight.
Take turns asking a question while the other players try to come up with a “confused” response. For example: What’s your favorite drink? Tea with a touch of mustard! What do you do when it rains? Wear sunscreen! What sound do birds make? Where should we go on our next trip?
Reading a book together can evoke thoughts, feelings and emotions in children: Like the young bird, they can feel small and fragile; like Efrat, they can feel misunderstood, or determined to go on doing what they believe is right. We recommend sitting close together, and accompanying the reading with a soothing stroke: Touch brings parents and children closer together, and strengthens children’s faith that they have someone who supports them, and is attentive to the feelings that the book evokes in them.
Little Peanut is getting bigger, and Efrat, who is discovering independence and responsibility, is getting bigger too. You can discuss and ask your children what makes them bigger and more responsible than they were before – are they taking care of a pet, for example? Doing things on their own? Helping their friends and around the house? We recommend always reminding children about the areas in which you, as parents, see that they have made progress and grown. Doing so makes children feel good, and bolsters their self-confidence.
You can also help the animals in your surroundings: You can make a feeding station for birds containing crumbs; place a water bowl for cats; make a sign protecting an anthill, or think of your own ways of helping the animals in your surroundings.
The illustrations in this book depict various animals – some are stuffed, drawn or playthings, some are real, while others appear in the children’s thoughts. Can you find them?
Do you like to move? Look at the page on which Little Peanut learns how to fly, and try to move along with the story: You can grow wings, hop, skip, or even try to pretend to fly.
You can encourage the toddlers to actively join in reading the story. They can complete rhyming words, accompany the conversation between the animals with facial expressions and proper hand gestures, and make the sounds of the animals appearing in the story.
You can ask the toddlers: What do you like to do on Shabbat? If the family has special preparations for Shabbat, it is worthwhile to tell and share them with the toddler
The book features a bee, a turtle, an ant, a chicken, a cow and a rabbit. Ask the toddlers to identify the various animals in the illustrations in the book and accompany each animal with its unique voice or add other characteristic detail: the bee hums, the rabbit bounces, the turtle crawls slowly, and the cow is mooing.
How to make a turtle with the palm of your hand? Close the palm to a fist and hide the thumb inside. Call the turtle out, take out the thumb and wave it hello. You can create a bunch of turtles with all the palms present at home You can also be a turtle yourself and walk slowly on all fours. Are you tired? Get inside to rest in your “home”.
“It’s important to be considerate toward our environment” – What does being considerate mean? How can we be more considerate of one another at home, within our own family? And how can we care for our environment? You could discuss these questions with your child, and come up with suggestions on how to be more considerate of other people as well as the environment.
You’re most invited to embark on an observation on a piece of nature in your immediate surroundings: A park near your home, or field, or yard, or even a planter on your balcony. What would you discover if you sat down quietly and watched? You may want to bring a magnifying glass along with you.
What can adults learn from children? Lots of things! How to play their favorite game, engage in arts & crafts, find out more about a subject they learned about in preschool, or just share an interesting thought. And what can children learn from adults? To find out what we can learn from one another, all we have to do is sit together, and pay attention.
The sky is blue, the earth is brown, and vegetation is green. You may enjoy going outdoors and “catching colors”: Take turns to say a color, while the other players quickly find an item around them that is the same color, and point to it.
Do you, much like the pine tree, feel lonely sometimes? Have you ever seen a boy or girl who seemed a little lonely? You may want to discuss this feeling of “being all alone” and what we could do when we – or those around us – feel this way.
The Jerusalem Pine (more commonly known in English as the Aleppo Pine) is the species of pine trees that grows in Israel. It is highly prevalent in the Carmel and Judea Mountains areas. As the Jewish community, the Yishuv, grew, it began to plant large pine tree forests in the Land of Israel. The pine tree contains resin, and in springtime, its branches are densely filled with pinecones. Would you like to learn more about the pine tree? Feel free to look for images and additional information online.
What will happen once the trees grow and a forest is created? Will they be friends with the pine tree? Will other friends come and visit? And what will the children do in the new forest? – You may enjoy discussing the next chapter of the book, acting it out, or drawing it together.
Am I the wind blowing? Or the falling rain? Perhaps a leaping rabbit? You could play a form of charades by taking turns miming one of the characters in the book, and having the others try to guess which one you’ve chosen.
How about picking a tree in your area and taking care of it? You could clean around it, place a mat under it, and observe the small animals that use it as part of their habitat. If you look carefully, you may even catch it smiling.
Authoress Dvora Omer (1932–2013) wrote dozens of books and stories for infants, children, and young adults. She began writing as a child, and continued as she grew older: “When I became a teacher, I began to write for children, and have published many books since then”. Omer wrote historical books for children that centered on prominent figures in the old Yishuv, as well as adventure stories, imaginative tales, folktales, jokes, and books about the challenges faced by both children and adolescents. Dvora Omer won many literature and children’s literature awards, and in 2006 was awarded the Israel Prize for her contribution to Israeli culture.
During Chanukah, parents and children, families and friends, at home and in kindergarten, celebrate the Festival of Lights together. After candle lighting, you can talk about the way you celebrated Chanukah when you, parents, were younger, adding and sharing stories you heard told in your family, singing an old family song, or preparing your favorite food.
Would you like to have your very own mystery box? How about taking a cardboard box, decorating it, and hiding your favorite items in it? Let’s see who can guess which items you hid in it. And what did the rest of your family hide there?
Following this story, you could play hide and seek, and search for one another. You could even hide a dreidel in various places around the house, using clues, arrows or other signs to help others discover its hiding-place.
With the candles lit beside us, and the smell of doughnuts in the air, you could pretend to be dreidels yourselves. You could be a “turtle dreidel” and spin slowly, an “airplane dreidel” – spinning and spreading your arms wide, or a “bear dreidel” that trudges heavily. And what else?
One could collect leaves, seashells, stones, napkins, marbles, dolls, or even… words. Do you, parents, also have similar collections, or had them when you were younger? You are more than welcome to tell your child about them, and invite them to take a look around them to see what else they could collect. You could start working on a brand new, joint collection right now!
A tin box, kettle, crate or shoebox could each become a home for beloved items. You could decorate your container of choice with newspaper cuttings, buttons, leaves, seashells, colorful sand, or any other suitable material that you may find at home or outdoors. Are you done? Is your container ready? Now’s the time to fill it up with treasures.
One leaf looks like a feather, some stones look like eggs, and what shape is a pinecone? You may enjoy collecting leaves, stones, pinecones, or anything else you find around you, and… play: Take turns picking an item, and having the other players name objects to which it is similar.
What’s new in your surroundings? Perhaps you could go outside and take a fresh look at the environment: Which animals will you come across? What colors and shapes are the leaves? What is happening up above in the sky, or down below on the ground? You may enjoy creating your own path, take a walk on it from time to time, and check what has remained the same, and what has changed.
“But Robin doesn’t care, she likes sitting on her own like that”: Do you think Robin is really alone? What do you do when you’re on your own? Where do you like to spend your alone time? You may enjoy taking a stroll through the book, and discussing the experiences Robin undergoes when she’s in the tree’s company. Which of Robin’s experiences did you like best?
This book is rich in color and details that change with each season. You may want to suggest that your child look through the pages, and search for various items: leaves, clouds, fruit, or animals. Perhaps your child can look for the main colors in each page – a red or green page – and draw pictures that are inspired by the book’s illustrations: a green drawing, a yellow one, or a rainbow-colored one.
How good are you at guessing secrets? You may enjoy playing the following guessing game: Each player in turn picks a “secret” according to a pre-determined topic, such as animals, books, or something found in nature. The other participants must guess what the “secret” is by asking “yes or no” questions.
How about going outside and looking for a tree close to home? What does it look like? What color are its leaves? Perhaps the tree is bare, and has none? Is it bearing fruit? If so, careful! Not all fruit are edible. You could stroke the tree trunk, and notice the birds and other animals nearby. You may want to visit it from time to time to see whether and how it changes throughout the year. With Robin as your inspiration – can you think of a gift that you would want to give your adopted tree?
“He who sowed sorrowfully, now reaps joyously” – the children in this book enjoy working hard and being independent. Do you, children and parents, enjoy working and creating yourselves? What kind of work do you enjoy doing together with friends or family members, such as your grandparents? And what do you enjoy doing all on your own?
You may want to think together about the kind of work that you find hard, but also rewarding.
There are simple, everyday pleasures like drinking lemonade together, smelling a fragrant flower, or listening to a story. You may enjoy making a family collection of pleasures together: draw moments of joy on notes, and post them up in a central area of your house. You could “pick” a note each day, plucking it off the wall, and taking a moment to share some simple joy together.
This book mentions many scents – lemons, herbs, and roses – that may inspire you to play the following aroma quiz: pick some fragrant items (soap, a vanilla bean, mint leaves, orange zest, etc.) and start playing. Take turns closing your eyes, smelling one of the items given to you, and trying to guess what it is. Can you guess by using your sense of smell alone? You could allow participants to use their sense of touch too. When the game is over, you could place the fragrant items in a small basket, and smell them in moments of simple pleasure.
You may want to take a walk near your home to look for fruit trees, flowers, or herbs. You could try growing some herbs in your garden or a planter – mint, tree wormwood, sage, or lemongrass. This could be the perfect opportunity to give your child a job – being responsible for watering the plants – so that when the time comes, they will be able to pick them joyously, and use them with pleasure!
This book allows toddlers to take an active part in its reading, for each page ends with an intriguing question, to be answered on the following page. You may enjoy allowing your toddler to turn the pages and find the answer.
The Pear is Extra Sweet invites readers to go outside and discover the wonders of the world close to their homes: you could rest under a tree in your neighborhood, have a snack there, and play with fallen leaves. Perhaps you would enjoy taking this opportunity to introduce your toddler to magnifying glasses: look through the magnifying lens, and see what the world looks like close up.
Various items found in our immediate surroundings are shown on the final page of the book. You may want to examine what the back yard holds with your toddler, and where in the book each item is found. You could even use the final page to recall your day together, and sum it up with your toddler: where were you today? Who did you meet, and what did you do?
Even if it isn’t raining, you could create a small puddle in the back yard or in a large bowl, sail paper boats on it, feel how wet the water is, and add fallen leaves and branches into it. Wondering how to make a paper boat? Log onto the book’s webpage or the PJLibrary Pinterest page for easy paper boat making suggestions.
You may enjoy looking out of your window together to see what moves and what remains static. Can you hear any sounds? Have you discovered anything surprising? Perhaps you would like to look out of your window during the day, and again in the evening, after nightfall. Did you discover different things by day and by night?
Magic drawings. It is not always easy to start drawing on a blank page. You may enjoy making magic drawings with your child: use different crayons to color an entire white sheet of paper in various colors, then add another layer of black crayon on top of it. Now, using a coin or bamboo skewer, draw anything you like on the black coat of paint, and whatever you draw will come out multicolored.
Adding good. What is missing from the world around you? You could take a look around your home with your child, or around your street, kindergarten, neighbors’ and friends’ houses: what could you do to make the world a better place? Perhaps you could decide to decorate the garbage can in your building together, help a neighbor with a task they find difficult, or simply try to use words like “thankyou” and “please” more often, and smile at the people you meet.
Rhyming and rhymes. Your child could actively participate in the reading experience with the help of the rhymes. In time, they may even be able to “read” the book on their own. Do you like wordplay? You may enjoy making up some rhymes of your own.
Color hunting. The world is filled with color, and you may want to take a walk around the neighborhood to discover them. Take a white sheet of paper along with you, and some crayons, and go hunt colors. Each time you spot something, draw a circle of the same color on your sheet of paper: for blue skies, draw a blue circle; for a red road sign, draw a red circle; and so on. At the end of your walk, you will have a beautiful, colorful sheet of paper.
Drawing together. You could also take a blank sheet of paper and some crayons, and make a joint drawing: parents start out by drawing a line, dot, or patch of color, and their child adds another detail, followed by the parent, and so on. By the end of this exercise, you will get a shared drawing to which each of you has contributed their share.
“I have created a critter”. In the world created by Paul Kor there are purple waves, pink stars, and imaginary critters. You could also create imaginary creatures with your child using playdough or clay. You may want to decide what color your critter will be together, how many eyes it will have, and what it will be capable of doing.
Adrianus (Hadrian) was a Roman emperor from 117 to 138. The Roman empire thrived under his reign. Adrianus suppressed the Bar Kokhba revolt and enacted regulations against the Jewish people. In the Talmudic legends (Midrashim) he is described as a wise and well-educated emperor, but also as being cruel. He is often cited as the main cause of the destruction of Judea.
Special gifts are passed through generations: a family story, a tasty recipe or a unique holiday tradition. What important gift did you receive from your parents, grandparents or other family members?
Take a look around the house: What items can you find that were made in the past? Can you find things that were created recently which can be used by future generations? Maybe a new building being built, a playground, a school or a grove?
The old man in the story left figs for future generations, and we are left with the story. Why not create a family album with family photos and stories. You can add photos from trips or special occasions, and share stories of things you experienced.
Imagine how Iddo must have felt when the ladybird tickled his hand, and how the little ladybird felt. You may want to ask your child to hold their hand out like a small bowl, and tickle it. You can pretend the ladybird is strolling across their belly, and pleasantly tickle one another.
The ladybird found shelter in Iddo’s hand. You may want to discuss ways of hiding out from the rain with your child. You could search for umbrellas at home, woolly hats, or any other object used to protect us from the rain. You could also step outside and point to buildings, bus stations, and stores on your way to kindergarten. Can they, too, provide some shelter from the rain?
You may want to look at the illustrations together and look through the book for the ladybird’s encounters with each of the other animals: the ants, spider, and cat. Perhaps you could ask your child to tell the story in their own words, and discuss the difference between Iddo’s reaction, and the other animals’ responses.
Perhaps you would enjoy stepping out to the park or playground, and look for ladybirds (ladybugs). Will you find one among the leaves, or in the sandbox, just like Iddo did in the book? You could place it gently on your hand. Does it tickle? Does it rest, or immediately spread its wings and fly off? It is of course very important to return the ladybirds to nature.
You may enjoy collecting smooth, round stones of various sizes, painting them red, and, once the paint dries, marking a black line across them from top to bottom, and adding white spots. And there you have it – a ladybird family!
You may enjoy looking through Danny Kerman’s illustrations throughout the book together. Can your child tell you the storyline just by looking at the series of illustrations?
As a young boy, David enjoyed going for walks and getting to know the various creatures, as well as finding out their contribution to the You could go for a walk around the neighborhood with your child, look around and enjoy your surroundings, while asking each other questions such as: how do the trees, flowers, clouds, and creatures we see on the way contribute to our world?
You may enjoy playing the game called “We need you in the world”: each player in turn names an object or animal, and together all players try to give as many reasons as possible for its necessity in the world.
Have your children ever seen cobwebs? You could look for them in stairwells, neglected corners, and storage areas. You could also look for the spider, and perhaps even see how it spins its web!
Using string or wool, you may want to make your own cobweb. In nature, cobwebs are white. What color would you like yours to be?
This story is based on a tale about David as a young boy, before he became King of Israel. Do you know any other stories about King David? You may want to share them with your child.
A Story that Anat Especially Likes 
And the Cat 
A Young Boy Went to Kindergarten 
All Kinds of Animals and Me 
Gali & Gaya (Originally: Gossie & Gertie) 
My Uncle Simha 
Little Peanut 
Shabbat in the Forest 
Just an Empty Field 
The Lonely Pine Tree 
The Big Dreidel 
Julia and the Leaves 
Robin’s Secret 
Lemonade 
21,600The Pear is Extra Sweet 
Beautiful World 
A Basket Full of Figs 
The Ladybird in the Rain 
King David and the Spider 
שִׂיחָה
מִשְׂחָק
מִשְׂחָק
הַשְׁרָאָה
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
מִשְׂחָק
כְּלָלִי
הַשְׁרָאָה
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
שִׁלּוּב הַסֵּפֶר
מִשְׂחָק
הַעֲשָׁרָה
מִשְׂחָק
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
מִשְׂחָק
קְרִיאָה
קְרִיאָה
יְצִירָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
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הַשְׁרָאָה
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יְצִירָה
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שִׁלּוּב הַסֵּפֶר
סִרְטוֹנִים
שִׂיחָה
כְּלָלִי
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
מִשְׂחָק
הַעֲשָׁרָה
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
יְצִירָה
כְּלָלִי
הַשְׁרָאָה
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
חֵקֶר
הַמְחָשָׁה
סִרְטוֹנִים
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מִשְׂחָק
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הַשְׁרָאָה
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לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
יְצִירָה
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מִשְׂחָק
הַשְׁרָאָה
שִׂיחָה
יְצִירָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
שִׂיחָה
יְצִירָה
מִשְׂחָק
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
יְצִירָה
מִשְׂחָק
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
הַשְׁרָאָה
קְרִיאָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
מִשְׂחָק
הַשְׁרָאָה
כְּלָלִי
יְצִירָה
הַעֲשָׁרָה
כְּלָלִי
יְצִירָה
יְצִירָה
שֵׁמַע
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
מִשְׂחָק
מִשְׂחָק
הַעֲשָׁרָה
יְצִירָה
מִשְׂחָק
שִׂיחָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
יְצִירָה
כְּלָלִי
– suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page.
