האם כולם אוהבים בעלי חיים? מה קורה כשבעלי החיים גרים בבית והופכים להיות חלק מהמשפחה? בסיפורים שלפניכם מתוארות התמודדויות, שמחות והרפתקאות עם חיות מחמד חביבות ואהובות, שירחיבו גם לנו את הלב בקבלה ובאהבה, שהרי כמו ששאל ע. הלל: "בלי חיות - איך אפשר לחיות?"
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?
Children yearn for friends and a sense of belonging, and the story about Arfy introduces this subject with all the complexities and heartaches that are sometimes associated with it. Yet Arfy has inner strength, and he chooses his own fate: his story allows us to hold a sensitive discussion about friendship, and the roads leading to it. You could, perhaps, ask your child what, in their opinion, is the reason for Arfy’s letters to different people. Would you have wanted to be Arfy’s frieds? Why? What would you have done in Arfy’s place?
Many pages in this book contain text-less illustrations demonstrating Arfy’s feelings. What do these illustrations tell us? Which of them make you smile, and why? What is Arfy feeling? What is he thinking?
You may be inspired by the letters in this book to write notes to one another. You could hide letters with encouraging or amusing messages under your pillow, in your bag, or anywhere else, and enjoy surprising your family members with them.
Each of us can open our eyes and hearts to the animals around us – providing them with water on a hot day, setting up shelters, or anything else that would contribute to their wellbeing, and have a positive impact on the world in which we all live.
You may like to sit together, read the story out loud, and look at all the illustrations. Perhaps you could stop reading when Dad comes home with the box, and see if your child can guess what is moving around inside it.
The illustrator has hidden many animals in the illustrations. Some of them are real, others are toys. You may enjoy looking through the book, and searching for the animals on each page. Have you found the green creature with the antennae? What is it doing on Dad’s hand? And what happens to it when the little boy meets Pumpkin the Kitten?
Using an old sock, some leftover fabric and buttons, you could make a hand puppet in the shape of a cat together, and act the story out. How would you name your puppet? Is it fun to pet? What kind of sound does it make?
Perhaps you would enjoy going for a walk in your neighborhood in search of cats. It is best not to go too near them, or try to pet them, if they are not domesticated, but you could help them a little. An empty box and some old fabrics could serve as a shelter for street cats, so they can stay warm and dry on cold nights and rainy days.
Which animals do you like? Is there an animal that your child does not like, or that scares them? You may want to visit the zoo, or a local pet store, and see this animal from up close. You too might find that a close encounter with the animal will make you change your mind about it.
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?
In the story, Nivi’s emotions are depicted as bumper cars in an amusement park. On a repeated reading of the book try to follow with your child when the bumper cars crash into each other. When do the bumper cars stop bothering her? Why?
A chain of bad deeds versus a chain of good deeds. Talk to your child: What is Nivi’s first mistake? What are the consequences? In what way does one bad deed lead to another? What is the first step she takes to correcting her mistake? What does that lead to? In what way does one good deed lead to another?
The turning point in the story is when Nivi acknowledges her mistakes. The process she undergoes is one of correction, repentance and forgiveness. The notion of Tikkun (rectification or correction) is a basic concept in Judaism. Judaism assumes that every one of us sometimes makes mistaken choices but that we all have the power to rectify ourselves, and change course for the better. There are many Jewish sources that guide a person and his surroundings on how to rectify wrongdoing. The great 12th century Jewish sage, Maimonides, guides a person to first acknowledge a wrongdoing, to repent genuinely, and to resolve not to repeat the action. He also teaches that the person who was wronged must forgive the wrongdoer who asks for forgiveness.
Look together at the pictures in the book and suggest that your child tell the story in his/her own words. Look for the pictures depicting the moments of asking for forgiveness and giving forgiveness in the encounters among the characters (Nivi, Mother and the teacher). (You may well discover new ways to understand the story through what your child tells you. Pay attention to what details your child considers important and which ones he/she does not think are important).
Tell your children if you sometimes did things that were not allowed when you were a child. Did you correct the wrongdoing? How? Try to create a story dealing with asking and receiving forgiveness. Consider drawing it and creating your own little book.
Talk with your child about whether he/she has ever experienced a similar situation.
You may enjoy looking at the book together. What do you see on the cover? You may want to ask your child their opinion as to the feelings of both girl and cat in the picture.
Do you own a pet? Is your child attached to it? In what way do they help to take care of it? Perhaps you could go to a petting or regular zoo, and discuss your favorite animals together.
Perhaps you would like to observe the cats on your street. How do they walk? What sounds do they make? What do they eat? Are they domesticated cats or street cats? You could place an empty cardboard box in the yard. Maybe a cat would use it to sleep in?
You could act the story out using puppets. You could also make a puppet from bits of fabric, or an old sock. You could take turns being Maya and Kishta.
Life is full of childhood transitions – moving from a crib to a bed, a new bedroom, or kindergarten. We hope that the joy found by Maya and Kishta in their new friendship will be a source of support for your child in their transitions.
The Big Dreidel 
Can I Be your Dog? 
Pumpkin the Kitten 
Wanted: The Perfect Pet 
Ogi 
Kishta 
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
יְצִירָה
מִשְׂחָק
הַשְׁרָאָה
כְּלָלִי
קְרִיאָה
חֵקֶר
הַמְחָשָׁה
