הומור
סְּפָרִים
Book-Related Family Activities
Who am I?
“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?
A Story that Anat Especially Likes
Mimic & guess
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.
A Story that Anat Especially Likes
Favorite stories
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.
A Story that Anat Especially Likes
You can find more songs, arts & crafts and other surprises on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page
A Story that Anat Especially Likes
Family reading advice
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.
Why Don’t You Flower?
Caring and trying
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?
Why Don’t You Flower?
What illustrations tell us
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?
Why Don’t You Flower?
What can we see from here? And from there?
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?
Why Don’t You Flower?
Why Don’t You Flower?
QR code – What can we do with a carrot?
Would you like to prepare a carrot for planting and eating? Scan the QR code to discover what can become of a small piece of carrot.
Why Don’t You Flower?
Reading together
We recommend reading the book on your own, before reading it together as a family. Familiarizing yourself with the book in advance will help you read it afterwards at the pace and sequence suitable for your children. Enjoy reading this book together!
The Wolf Will not Come
A discussion on waiting
Have you ever had to wait for something? Perhaps you could share that experience, and tell each other about anticipation. You could also come up with ideas together of what you could do while waiting, or tell each other what you chose to do in those instances while you waited. What happened in the end?
The Wolf Will not Come
An illustrator at work
How do you illustrate a bunny? Or a wolf? Scan the QR code and watch illustrator Ronan Badel illustrating the characters in this book.
The Wolf Will not Come
Illustrations and clues
Look at the final illustrations in this book. Can you find any indications for the birthday party the wolf had almost missed? And which presents did the bunny get? And what was special about the wolf’s gift?
The Wolf Will not Come
A game of “Wolf in motion”
Leaf through this book and decide the order of play. Take turns looking at the illustration you have each selected and acting out the depicted wolf’s motion: Is it going up in the elevator? Or walking on all fours? The other players will have to guess what the wolf is doing.
The Wolf Will not Come
Arts & crafts, songs and other activities are available on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page
The Wolf Will not Come
A discussion full of delight
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?
My Uncle Simha
Listening to My Uncle Simha
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.
My Uncle Simha
Happy songs
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.
My Uncle Simha
A confused game for a confused uncle
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?
My Uncle Simha
Reading and hugging
While reading a story, you can hug each time a new animal joins the group. You can also play the hugging game: move away from each other, count “three, four,” and then run to each other, and hug!
I Sat On a Cabbage
It’s crowded but that doesn’t matter!
Invite the rest of the family to sit together with you on the couch, on the carpet or on a mattress. You can also include dolls or pets. Sit close together, then further away, and check: how pleasant is the closeness?
I Sat On a Cabbage
What sound do I make?
How does a dog bark? How does a cat meow? and how does a cow moo? – Toddlers can join can join in to the animals in the story.
Would you like to bring another animal in? And what sound would that animal make?
I Sat On a Cabbage
Sing about cabbage
“I sat on a cabbage” is a song that you can sing, add movements to, dance to and clap your hands to.
The song will upload when you scan the code:
QR – I Sat On a Cabbage – Scan the code and sing together!
I Sat On a Cabbage
I Sat On a Cabbage
Discussion
Unpleasant things happen to all of us – but do they only ever happen to us? You may want to discuss the feelings that emerge when something unpleasant happens, and help each other think of people who can help, as well as how to cheer each other and ourselves up.
Winston was Worried
Illustrations tell a story
The illustrations in this book tell us what happened to Winston’s friends without using words. Only Winston doesn’t notice. Pick one illustration, look closely at Winston’s friend, and tell their story as if you were them: What are they feeling? What are they thinking? What about this particular illustration caught your attention?
Winston was Worried
Lucky it happened to me!
You may want to try looking on the bright side! At the end of each day, share something good that’s happened to you with your family – make sure that both parents and children share news about their day.
Winston was Worried
Who amuses me? And who surprises me?
Look at the illustrations together and search for details that amuse you – what did each of you find amusing? Did any of the details surprise you?
Winston was Worried
Winston was Worried
Just before bedtime...
How do you get ready for bed? What helps you fall asleep? You can talk about it together and think about creating a set ritual that will engender calm, and let you share the day’s experiences and thoughts that come to mind.
One Last Thing before Bed
My notebook of thoughts
Isn’t it lucky that there’s a way we can remember our thoughts and stop them from getting away? How do we do that? Keep a notebook and pencil by your bed, and just before falling asleep, before your thoughts scatter away, draw them. You can color in your drawing in the morning, because now… is time for bed.
One Last Thing before Bed
It's lucky that... It's good that...
“It’s lucky that a pot has two handles, and not five… if it did, how would we hold it?”, “It’s good that the windshield is made out of glass, not cardboard”. What do you imagine? Which things make you happy just as they are? Each member of the family can bring a certain object and talk about it: “It’s lucky that…”, “It’s good that…”.
One Last Thing before Bed
Melodies, sounds and colors
The world is filled with melodies and sounds. Which melody do you like? Try singing a favorite melody together wile clapping your hands, moving parts of your bodies, singing, or playing instruments.
The world is also filled with diverse colors and shapes. You can draw as you listen to the music. Which shapes and colors will you choose for your drawing?
One Last Thing before Bed
One Last Thing before Bed
פינטרסט
Big Cat, Small Cat
Here's a cat
Which cat do you find the most amusing? Which cat is your child’s favorite? You may enjoy looking at the cover together and focusing on the different cats. You could also look at various images of cats, or go out of the house to observe them in your neighborhood: who knows what kinds of special cats roam the streets near your home…?
Big Cat, Small Cat
Filling in the blanks
This fun-filled book invites infants to complete the text based on the amusing rhymes. We recommend reading it gradually: the first time you read it, complete the missing words yourself, next time – allow your child to complete them with whatever comes to mind: they can fill in the blanks with their own range of choices, there is no reason to stick to a single answer.
Big Cat, Small Cat
Amusing opposites
You may want to play cat charades: one of you can act out “brave cat” or “big cat”, and the rest of you can join it to form a clowder of cats.
Big Cat, Small Cat
Cat puppet
How about using an old sock as a cat puppet? Put a face on it, and use it to play and read together!
Big Cat, Small Cat
Discussing – Fed up…?
Do you, parents and children, sometimes feel fed up just like Shraga? What are you fed up of, and what do you (almost) never tire of? What do you do when you feel this way? Can you give Shraga some advice as to what he should do when he feels fed up?
Fed Up
Observing – Discovering the positive
Shraga is fed up, and so he runs away elsewhere. But is that the only option available to him? If you’re feeling fed up, you can always look around you, and discover the positive aspects in our lives. Perhaps you can list all the good things that happened each day. How about making a family scrapbook of positive things, such as “my friend made me laugh”, “I got the book I wanted”, or “I’m healthy”. You could share the best moments of your day with one another, and check to see whether focusing on the positive and recording your best moments in the scrapbook will improve your mood in the following days as well.
Fed Up
Playing – The 'I'm Bored' die
“I’m bored!!!” – how often have you said or heard these two words? To shake things up a little, and spice things up, take a large die, or make one out of a cardboard box. Write some routine breakers on each side, such as “putting up a tent in the living room”, “ball games” or “singing and dancing”. Each time one of you gets bored, throw the die, and get inspired to do something fun. We recommend writing some new ideas on your die from time to time, so you won’t get fed up of them…
Fed Up
Acting the story out – What is the alien saying?
Throughout the book, the alien speaks a language that readers cannot understand. Can you tell what the alien is saying? What did it say when it was left out in the snow after Shraga had gone? What did it say upon Shraga’s return? And how did Shraga respond? You could act out the alien’s text, give it a special voice, and tell everyone what it does when it’s fed up…
Fed Up
suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page
Fed Up
The Wise Men of Chełm
Chełm is a city in Poland, and in Jewish folklore, it is the hometown of the wise men of Chełm, who are not actually all that smart: they are ridiculous and naïve, and their stupidity is often depicted with a smile and much compassion. The wise men of Chełm have become known for their silliness and pointless actions, and are the protagonists of many amusing tales. The term “wise men of Chełm” has come to mean those who act irrationally and absurdly. The stories about the wise men of Chełm can be found in collections and anthologies for both children and adults.
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
Reading & singing
The story about Joseph makes us smile and laugh. You could ask your child: What amused you about this story? What about the illustrations did you think was funny? What usually makes you laugh?
Inspired by Joyful Joseph, who began each morning with a song about his beautiful life, you too could write a song and tune, and sing it together.
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
Landmarks
What about your town do you like? You may enjoy taking photographs of places and people you love, or write a short poem about your hometown, using Joseph’s song as inspiration. You could even write a tune and turn your poem into a song.
How will we remember the way? You may want to step outside, look around you, and identify landmarks, such as a tree, bench, or the name of a street. You could draw a map of the route you’d walked, add your landmarks to it, and take it with you next time you set off on your way.
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
How beautiful is my town and how lovely is my room!
Joseph loves his town and looks kindly upon it. Try to follow Joseph’s footsteps and describe your room – what about it is beautiful and good? What do you love about it? And what do you like about your home? You could take a family tour, during which each of you will describe your favorite parts of the house.
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
A language of signs
An arrow pointing right, an arrow pointing left, one pointing forward, and another pointing backward – that’s all you need to create a particularly energetic game. You could draw these arrows on dice or directly on the floor, and ask your child to jump in the direction to which the arrow points. You could also throw number dice and jump up and down as many times as shown by the dice.
How about playing “treasure hunt”, and drawing arrows leading to the sought-after treasure?
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
Joseph from Chełm goes to Warsaw
The Same but Different
Reading the illustrations
Randomly open the book and look at the illustrations together:
Which character is similar to you? Which character are you different than?
What makes you similar to or different than the character you have chosen?
Which is your favorite character in the book?
Note – these questions may be asked every time the book is read. There are days, for example, when we prefer to be alone, whereas on others we choose to spend time together.
The Same but Different
Playing – What can we see in the mirror?
The mirror game presents an opportunity to look at one another as well as ourselves, notice similarities and differences, and laugh.
Instructions:
Sit in front of the mirror with your child, look at each other, and find similarities and differences between you:
Are your eyebrows arched the same way as your child’s?
Do you both have freckles? Or curly hair?
Pulling Faces – one of you could pull a funny face, while the other tries to mimic it. Were you able to make each other laugh? Was it the same funny face that made you both laugh, or different ones?
The Same but Different
Doing some arts & crafts – Similar but different
You could make a family picture together, and add your similarities and differences to it:
Take photographs of yourselves together or separately. If you prefer, you could draw self-portraits instead of taking pictures. Print the photos out, paste them on some cardboard, and paint them. Add drawings or newspaper scraps to your pictures with details representing the similarities and differences between you. Do you enjoy playing the same games? How about adding it, then? You could add the different games that each of you like to play. Perhaps one of you prefers quiet, while the other prefers noise. Are you fast or slow? Do you find the same jokes funny? What else would you add to your family photo?
The Same but Different
Moving similarly – Moving differently
Would you like to be active? Here are some suggestions for physical exercises that consist of both similar and different movements.
In each round, one of your family members moves their body: eaves their hand, jumps, turns around, or touches their ears.
The person next to them then moves too: if they like the gesture made by the previous participant, they can move in a similar way. If not, they can choose a different movement they like better.
What did you enjoy? Repeating the same movement, or choosing your own?
Scan this code to download a family game we have prepared especially for you.
The Same but Different
פינטרסט
suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page.
The Same but Different
Proposed Family Activities:
- What is a yak? Have you ever seen a badger? One Last Story is filled with various different animals. You may want to look at the illustrations and get to know new ones. Perhaps you would enjoy taking this book with you on a visit to the zoo or safari, so you could look for all the animals that appear in it while you are there.
- Does your family have fixed actions that accompany the transition from daytime to bedtime, such as brushing teeth, a bedtime story, prayer or lullaby? Do you like to read Sifriyat Pajama books at bedtime? If you like, you could start a new family habit or ritual that will help your child fall asleep easily and happily.
- How about playing “guess who?”: Take turns picking one of the animals in the book, moving like it and making the sounds it produces. Can the rest of your family guess which animal you are?
- What’s your story? You may enjoy making a story up together, based on real facts or entirely fictitious. You could make some illustrations to go along with it, and create a book out of it.
One Last Story is the last book you will be getting from PJ Library this year. We wish you many hours of fun reading books and telling stories, whether at bedtime, Shabbat afternoon, on vacation, or whenever you feel like it!
One Last Story
Proposed Family Activities:
- You may want to read the book over together several times. You could stop on each page and ask your child: “What will George do?”. Your child could repeat the phrase “Oh no, George!” out loud.
- Perhaps you may enjoy using a stuffed animal or making a simple puppet with which to act the story out together. You could walk around the house with it, looking for various “temptations”. What will your stuffed animal or puppet do in each room? How will it behave? Will it manage to restrain itself?
- You may like to leaf through the book together, looking for various items in the illustrations, such as the cake, cat, or flowers. How many times does each of them appear in the story?
- This story describes George’s contention with the things he is not allowed to do. But surely George does some things he is allowed to do as well! You may want to think together of some of the good things George likes to do, and invent your own story, entitled Oh yes, George!
- The book ends with the question: “What will George do?”. Perhaps you might like to tack on a different ending to the story together.
Oh No, George!
The feelings of others
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 Cooking Penguins
The effect of others
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?
The Cooking Penguins
Waiting
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.
The Cooking Penguins
Tastes & preferences
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?
The Cooking Penguins
A warm scent of cinnamon
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.
The Cooking Penguins
About Nurit Zarchi:
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.
The Cooking Penguins
Proposed Family Activities:
The illustrations demonstrate the clutter and noise in this house. You may enjoy looking through the book together, and finding what is misplaced and funny on each page. You could also compare the picture of the house from the beginning of the book to the one after the goat had been removed. What are the similarities and differences between the two illustrations?
Shimon’s house is not only crowded, but noisy too. You could demonstrate this to your child in the following way: turn on the TV or radio, and gradually add some of the sounds mentioned in the story. One of you could moo like a cow, another could make chicken noises, or a goat’s… until you will no longer be able to hear the TV or radio. Stop making all the animal noises at the same time, and discover just how quiet the room has become.
This story is the origin of the expression Lehotzi et Haez (“to remove the goat”), meaning to cause tremendous relief by removing something unnecessary. Is your house crowded? Does your child have any unnecessary “goats” in their schoolbag or pencil case? Try to find the reason for the clutter in your home – perhaps the drawers are full of old toys, clothes, or shoes that are no longer needed? You could tidy the house up together, and donate some of the things you no longer need. How did you feel once you removed the “goats” from your home?
Shimon and his wife go to their rabbi to seek his advice. Talking is helpful. Who do we turn to when we need advice? Who helps us solve problems? You could share some unexpected advice you may have received with your child that had proven helpful.
You may enjoy discussing a change of perspective with your child. Sometimes we cannot change reality, but are capable of changing the way we view it. Together, you could think of times when a change of attitude led you to see things differently. For it is those who are content with their lot that are truly rich.
Humor and folk tales
It’s Crowded at Home is a folk tale that takes place in a Jewish shtetl. The message of the story is conveyed humorously, with no direct preaching. The amusing tale of the goat, like many other humorous stories in Jewish tradition, remind us of that valuable life lessons are best learned with a smile!
Enjoy reading and discussing this book together!
It’s Crowded at Home
Proposed Family Activities
- Have you noticed the special combination of words and illustrations in this book? Was it easily read aloud? What about the illustrations and plot did you find amusing?
- You may enjoy searching together for the page on which Henry puts up the wanted poster for the perfect pet. What other ads can you see up there? Do these products really exist? Perhaps you would like make an ad of your own with your child, seeking something they greatly desire, even if it only imaginary.
- A dog cannot quack, and a duck cannot play catch. But if you look upon things with kindness, you can always find the good in them. You may want to make note of the unique talent each of your family members and friends possess.
- Henry knows a lot about the characteristics of frogs, dogs – and ducks! What animals does your child know? You may want to visit a farm, zoo or pet store, and get to know new animals.
- You could share a childhood experience with your child: which animals lived nearby? Did you own a pet when you were a child? If so, you could tell them about it, and show them pictures from your past.
- Perhaps you would enjoy having a costume night at home. Each of you can dress up as a different animal, and the others could guess which animal they are. You could even invent imaginary animals, mixing a horse’s tail with cat’s ears and so on. What would you name the animals you have invented, and what would their characteristics be?
Wanted: The Perfect Pet
Proposed Family Activities
- You may want to look at the special illustrations by Gilad Soffer The book looks a little like a comic strip. How easily did you read it out loud? Did you notice that the word “Shafan” on the front cover was struck through? You could perhaps discuss this line across the word. Was it a printing error?
- Comic books are for readers of all ages! They describe the plot in words and illustrations, forming a sophisticated technique that adds another level of meaning to the written words of the story. You may enjoy picking a well-known story, or make up your own, and create a comic book out of it together using speech bubbles. You could take a look at the parts of the book that are so illustrated, and discover what facial expressions, body language, and the use of colors tell us that we couldn’t have known just by reading the words. Notice, for instance, how content the magician looks, compared to the upset look on the rabbit’s face.
- Have you ever been mistaken for someone else? How did you feel? Perhaps you would like to share your thoughts, and think together what we could do to ensure others call us by our real names.
- This book is full of humor, and appeals to readers of all ages. Did both you and your child find the same parts amusing?
- Can you differentiate between a rabbit and hyrax? An eagle and vulture? An ostrich and emeu? You may want to make a “confusing animal dictionary” in which you write and draw the animals whose names we tend to confuse. During your next visit to the zoo, you’ll be sure to get them right. You could also make a card game, with pictures and names of animals that need to be matched.
- You may also enjoy making a hyrax and rabbit out of playdough, and use them to act the story out.
- Perhaps you could look for illustrated books at home or in the library that mention hyraxes or rabbits, and check whether the illustrators drew them accurately, or got confused.
- You may also want to discuss the rabbit’s feelings throughout the book. Why is he so offended at being called “shafan”? And why do you think he remains unhappy all the way to the end of the book?
Shafan (Hyrax)
reading the rhyming tale several times
You may enjoy reading the rhyming tale several times, and asking your child to join in for the refrain:
“הִנֵּה כָּךְ הוּא הַמְפֻזָּר, הַמְפֻזָּר מִכְּפַר אֲזַ”ר!”
You could also learn to recite some of the poem off by heart, letting the illustrations remind you of the words.
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
Were you told the story of the scatterbrained man
Were you told the story of the scatterbrained man (or a similar tale, whether by Samuil Marshak or another author) when you were growing up? Do you have another version of the story at home? You may enjoy reminiscing together, sharing memories with your child, and comparing both illustrations and stories.
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
What do you find funny?
What do you find funny? Perhaps you would like to look for all the things the scatterbrained man does wrong in the illustrations, and act some of them out.
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
You may enjoy coming up with an additional part of the story, and acting it out
You may enjoy coming up with an additional part of the story, and acting it out. What do you think happened to the scatterbrained man from Azar’s Village as he continued to sit in the stationary railroad car on his way to Jerusalem?
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
We all behave like scatterbrains sometimes!
We all behave like scatterbrains sometimes! You may want to share memories of silly things you had done when your mind had wandered, or occasions on which you were particularly confused, and make each other laugh.
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
Do you know any other book by Lea Goldberg?
Do you know any other book by Lea Goldberg? You may want to look for and read more of her stories and poems together, such as Where is Pluto (Ayeh Pluto?), Apartment to Rent (Dira Lehaskir), and the collection of poems entitled What do the Does do? (Ma Osot HaAyalot?
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
Lea Goldberg
Lea Goldberg (1911–1970), born in Kaunas, Lithuania, was a poetess, authoress, translator, professor, and editor, while also heading the Comparative Literature Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At the age of 23 she had completed her PhD on Semitic Linguistics in Germany, and upon immigrating to Israel in 1935, began to publish her writings, and soon became a well-loved and well-known poetess. Her publications, and among them her children’s stories and poems (Apartment to Rent [Dira Lehaskir], Magic Hat [Kova Ksamim], What do the Does do? [Ma Osot HaAyalot?], and many more) have become invaluable gems of Israeli literature. In 1970 she was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature; however, having unfortunately passed away two months prior to the ceremony, her mother received it on her behalf.
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
look at the illustrations together
Perhaps you would like to look at the illustrations together, and search for differences between then and now. What did the iron look like in the past? Were trains and buses similar to the ones we have now? And what is the bus driver holding? You could try looking for the rooster throughout the book. What is it doing on each page?
The Scatterbrained Man from Azar’s Village
When reading the book together
- you may want to point to the various body parts mentioned, and tickle your child in all the places in which Aya looks for laughter (arms, legs, head…). Where is your child ticklish the most? Did tickling make them laugh out loud?
Where does Laughter Hide?
You may enjoy looking at the illustrations
- closely and search for amusing details, such as the teapot-boy or the flies on Aya’s back. Have you spotted the cat that appears throughout the story? What does it do on each page?
Where does Laughter Hide?
Who likes playing hide-and-go-seek?
- You’re welcome to suggest that your child hide, and go looking for them. If they prove hard to find, ask them to give you a hint as to their location by laughing out loud… and now it’s the parents’ turn to hide!
Where does Laughter Hide?
Where does your laughter hide?
- You may want to try smiling with your hands, show one another what smiling eyes look like, and see if you can smile with your entire body, even with your legs.
Where does Laughter Hide?
There are many ways of laughing and being happy
playing together, singing, and dancing. Once you’ve read the story, you may enjoy picking something that makes you smile, such as singing merry, well-loved songs, and dancing together.
Where does Laughter Hide?
Proposed Family Activities:
- Perhaps you would enjoy looking at the illustrations and finding the child’s three friends, and their dog, who appear on almost every page. What are they doing in each picture? Are they taking part in the child’s adventures?
- You may want to look through the book together, and read the poems out loud. Unlike a story with a plot, a collection of poems can be read in any order you like. Is there one poem you consider to be your favorite? You could try to learn it off by heart.
- You could also try to write short imaginative poems about something you had supposedly done, or had happen to you.
- Following these short rhymes, you may want to play with words, and make up your own funny rhymes. Does your first name rhyme with anything? And does your other family members’
- The child in the poems experiences funny, unexpected adventures: he rides a cloud; fights giants; and takes a walk in the street with an elephant. Perhaps you’d like to imagine yourself as the child: what would the spaghetti have turned into then? Who would you have taken elephant-back riding? And who would you allow into your secret room? Perhaps you would like to illustrate your own imaginative poems, or draw your secret room.
- Using your imagination may help to cope with daily limitations or difficulties. You may want to think of everyday situations together in which our imagination could help, and ask questions such as: “If I were as tall as a giraffe…”; “If I could fly in the sky…”, or “If I could be in two places at once…”. You may enjoy drawing these imaginary situations, and create your own “If I were…” scrapbook.
Once I Knocked Down Three Giants
Family Activities
- “Daddy says ‘Brush your teeth’ / Daddy says ‘Clean out your ears’…”
You may want to play charades and, rather than read the dialogue in the story, act it out without using any words. Can your children guess what the little boy’s daddy said?
- Perhaps you’d enjoy looking at the illustrations and discovering all the little boy’s stuffed animals and other toys. What sort of stuffed animals do you have? Do you also take them to bed with you at night? You may want to follow the illustrations and find out what happens to the toys when they lose the game (they go to sleep!)
- You can also play this game, often known as ‘Simon Says’: you each play the role of the king in turn and give others various instructions. If you begin by saying “The king says…”, the other players must follow your instruction; however, if the “king” orders you to do something without first saying “The king says…”, you do not follow the order. Did you get mixed up? You’re out of the game, and must wait until a new king assumes the throne.
- The little boy in the story pretends to be king and makes up new rules: in his kingdom you’re allowed to jump on beds, fly, be a giant, and ride wolves. You may want to use your imagination together, and think of things you’d like to change in your world. For instance, what would happen if we were to go to school at night and sleep in the daytime?
- The little boy in the story gets ready for bed having brushed his teeth, showered and kissed his father good-night. How does your child get ready for bed? Do you have a ritual, prayer or song that accompanies you as you transit between day and night?
- You may like to share memories from your own childhood with your child: did you share your bedroom with your siblings? Who tucked you into bed at night? Were you read bedtime stories or sung lullabies? Perhaps you went to bed with a doll or teddy-bear. Do you happen to remember a funny story from your past that is related to bedtime?
The King Says
Family Activities
- You may enjoy looking at the illustrations and looking for other funny things about Chełm. Have you noticed the square wheeled bicycle? Try to guess why the lady sitting on the bench is hiding under an umbrella.
- Did you find this story funny? Do you know other stories about the people of Chełm, or tales about Hershele and Juha? You may want to read them together, or simply tell each other jokes.
- Perhaps you’d like to look out the window and search for the moon. What does it look like? You could draw the moon you saw, and hang the drawing by the window. Then return to the window and look at the moon again several nights later – does the moon look any different?
- You may enjoy taking a nocturnal walk together. Does your street look any different at night? What do you see? What sounds do you hear? You could look up at the sky, search for the moon, be reminded of the people of Chełm, and laugh…
The People of Chełm and the Moon
Who likes making crescent-shaped biscuits?
Ingredients:
100g of caster sugar
150g of butter
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1 tsp of lemon zest
2 cups of flour
1 flat tsp of baking powder
4 tbs of ground almonds
Castor sugar for sprinkling on baked biscuits
Instructions:
Mix the castor sugar and butter together in a mixer.
Add the vanilla essence and lemon zest.
Add the flour, baking powder and ground almonds, mixing it all together to form dough.
Take a piece of dough, roll it into a long, thin roll, and cut small crescent-shaped “tubes” out of it.
Place the little crescents on a cooking tray covered with parchment paper, and repeat until all the dough is used.
Bake in a preheated overn set to 175 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, or until the edges of the crescents begin to turn golden.
Cool and sprinkle castor sugar.
Bon Appétit!
Enjoy reading and discussing the story together!
The People of Chełm and the Moon