Books can help to prepare for a special occasion or collect memories from a recent event. For example, before a holiday, you can choose a book that speaks about it and discuss: Which events did you plan for the holiday? How can both parents and children prepare for it? In preparation for Purim, you can make a costume or mishloach manot together, and after the holiday, you can read the book again to help you remember the beautiful moments you have just experienced together.
Walk around the house and pick an item: a spoon, a plant, a ball or… a rug. Take turns describing a costume that includes the chosen item: Is the rug part of a rug seller’s costume? Or is it a flying carpet? Is the ball part of an athlete costume? Or a clown’s nose?
This book provides an opportunity to share Purim memories: Do you like dressing up, and if so, do you only do so on Purim? Did you, parents, enjoy dressing up while you were growing up? Which costume brings back good memories? You can find out who likes to dress up and who prefers not to, look at photos from the past and be reminded of special Purim moments.
Where in the book can you find an astronaut’s costume? And what about a Queen Esther, firefighters, police officers or Albert Einstein? You can look for the costumes in the illustrations. Which one is your favorite?
Who was Albert Einstein?
Albert Einstein [1879-1955] was a Jewish German scientist. The relativity theory he developed and other studies he conducted made a big impact on the world of science and on how the laws of nature, time and the universe are perceived. Einstein had a sense of humor and imagination, promoted peace and fraternity, and loved corresponding with children from all over the world. Einstein supported the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the State of Israel in general.
Books help children recognize feelings, name them, identify and empathize with the characters, and, subsequently, do the same with friends and people in general. While reading, you can look at the characters’ facial expressions and discuss: How do you think they feel? Are they angry? Sad? Perhaps happy and relaxed?
Sometimes we fight with friends, and sometimes with our siblings. You can discuss and share an argument you had: What caused it? How did you feel? Who helped you to calm down? Did you make up, and how?
The child in the story fights with everyone, but how can you fight a broom or a faucet? Try picking an inanimate object and acting out an amusing interaction with it – how about a game for two with a stuffed animal, a conversation with a toy car, or an argument with a coat?
You can open the book to a random page and move like the things described on it: You can fly like the wind, drip like a faucet, open and close like a door, or soar like an airplane.
Children identify with the characters in the book, and acquire a better understanding of others who are different from them, thereby developing empathy and adaptability to new situations. While reading, you can focus on the characters’ facial expressions and ask: How do you think they feel? And why?
You can discuss and ask: With whom and what do you like to play? In your opinion, what should we do when we each want to play a different game? What solutions can we suggest?
Sitting, jumping, or perhaps bending down? Take turns choosing a page in the book, and showing the others a movement or posture similar to that of the characters depicted in the book. The other players can then imitate the movement, and look for it in the right page in the book. Did you find it? Then it is now time for the next player to choose a page.
On separate notes, write down the games you like to play together: Hide-and-seek or maybe catch? Put all the notes in a box and choose one at random each day. What does it say? Would you like to play this game together? If not, you can always take another note out of the box or add a new note suggesting a new game.
All houses consist of walls, a roof, doors and windows: What’s special about your house? What makes it your home? You may want to discuss special objects and items found in your home, or the things you do there together.
How about making a house out of blankets, cardboard boxes, sticks and clothespins? And what else would you need? Decide on a location and workplan, gather the necessary items and accessories, and off you go!
Take turns announcing a topic and having all the other players try to work together to find a suitable item. For instance, when “red” is announced, all players must search the house for a red item. In the next round, another player might call out “big”, “small”, “cute”, “old”, “multicolored”, “annoying” or “wheel”, sending the other players to look for an item matching their announced topic.
What can we do on our own? What’s better done together? You may want to discuss the things we can do with others with your child, and then come up with the things that they can do themselves. Who do they enjoy sharing experiences with? Family members? Friends? Perhaps their pet?
Can you also stand on one foot? Let’s check!
Throw a die, stand on one foot and count to the number shown on the die: One, two, and… Are you about to fall? Reach out and allow whoever is next to you to help you stay upright.
You may enjoy putting a list together of all the activities that are best done together, in collaboration with someone: Tidying up your room, making dinner, or reading your favorite book. Then, take some cards, write each activity down on a separate one, and decorate it. You could keep all the cards in a special box, pick one out every day, and ask: How about cooperating today and sweeping the house? Why don’t we engage in a family game of catch? Or how about joining forces in some other activity?
You may want to assemble a movement course at home, and complete it on one foot, two feet, all fours, or perhaps even three… Design a track on the floor using skipping rope, and take turns completing it in a different way each time: Hopping on one leg, while keeping a cushion balanced on top of your head, crawling, in pairs, with your arms crossed, because it’s easier to jump on one foot in pairs.
How did Guy feel when he destroyed Omer’s circus? And how did Omer feel when he discovered what had happened? Were you ever in a situation where you or someone you cared about ruined something for the other? How did you feel, and what did you do? Were you able to fix it? Perhaps you could discuss the feelings that emerge when something is ruined, and when you discover it can be fixed.
Is one of your games broken? Has the paint peeled off? Perhaps a nail has come loose? Then it’s time to fix it! Make a list of all the things that need to be repaired around the house, then pick an item at a time, and fix it. You could even make new things out of old ones. An old sock can become a puppet! An old box can be painted and decorated with colorful paper and stickers…
Circuses make children’s and adults’ imaginations run wild, and can be the setting for many fascinating occurrences. You may enjoy building your own circus at home, and acting the story out using the appropriate outfits and accessories. You could even be inspired enough to write a brand-new script about what goes on in a colorful circus.
Torn pieces of paper can be turned into a piece of art! Color some pages in various colors, then tear them up into small pieces. You could also use newspaper cuttings or scrap paper. Next, make a painting together on a blank piece of paper by sticking the colorful, torn pieces onto it, and creating a mosaic!
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!
שְׁמִירָה
The breathtaking illustrations add another level to the story
The breathtaking illustrations add another level to the story, and you may want to take a closer look at them. What is the fox doing on each page? How do the children’s facial expressions alter throughout the story? Have you also noticed how the pond changes as pages are turned? Perhaps you would like to select your favorite part of the book, and draw it whichever way you like.
You may enjoy role-playing, pretending to be one of the children’s parents. It’s night-time, and the children return from the orchard in high spirits. Perhaps you could ask them how their day at the orchard had been, and let them describe their experiences in their own words.
Anything’s possible when you use your imagination: carobs become swords, olives turn into delicious salads, and half a pomegranate serves as a royal crown! You may want to play the following game: pick an item and pretend to do something with it using nothing but gestures, no speaking allowed. Your child should try to guess what the item has become, and think up other uses for it when they have. Take turns picking items and guessing.
Fighting and making up: after reading the story, you may want to discuss quarrels among friends, and share stories of fights and make-ups you have experienced. After fighting, each of the children in the book played on their own. You may wish to speak with your child about times when being alone is pleasant and desirable, and other times, when it is more fun to play together.
At the Heart of the Orchard
שְׁמִירָה
Do you have an orchard, vineyard or forest nearby?
Do you have an orchard, vineyard or forest nearby? You could take a walk in them together! Just like the children in the book, you could also pick olives, and squeeze oil out of them, play with carobs, or hide behind trees. You may also enjoy collecting leaves of all colors, and crushing them onto a sheet of paper when you return home. Discover the different color liquids that come out of them, and use them to paint naturally colored paintings.
ספרי ילדים הם מראה וחלון לעולמם של ילדים. אפשר למצוא בהם את רגעי הקסם שבילדות וגם את רגעי הקושי. הקריאה בספרים שגיבורי הסיפור בהם נתקלים בשאלות ובאתגרים מאפשרת לילדים ללמוד מהם ולקבל מהם השראה ועידוד. כאשר קוראים יחד כדאי לחשוב כיצד הספר קשור לעולמם של הילדים ולשתף באירועים דומים מילדותכם. הקריאה המשותפת היא בסיס לשיחה ולחיבור ומייצרת הרגשת קִרבה, לאירועי הספר וזה לזה.
קרמר החתול אוהב לשחק במשחקים של חתולים, וגם אתם יכולים! בכל סבב אחד מבני המשפחה בוחר לקפוץ, להתגלגל, ליילל או להרים זנב, וכל השאר מצטרפים. תוכלו להביט באיורים ולקבל רעיונות חתוליים. ..
כאשר מביטים באיורים בספר מגלים כל מיני חיות: כאלה שמכירים מהסביבה הקרובה וכאלה שפוגשים פחות. חפשו את בעלי החיים באיורים; ואם יש חיה שמסקרנת אתכם, תוכלו לחפש עליה מידע במרשתת.
מאיר שלו [2023-1948] היה סופר ועיתונאי, כתב למבוגרים ולילדים. שלו נולד בנהלל וקיבל השראה לכתיבתו מהנופים, מבעלי החיים ומהאנשים של עמק יזרעאל. הושפע גם מסיפורי התנ”ך, שעליהם למד מאביו הסופר והמחנך יצחק שלו. שלו נחשב אחד הסופרים הישראלים הנקראים ביותר, למבוגרים ולילדים כאחד. מספרי הילדים האהובים שכתב הטרקטור בארגז החול ואבא עושה בושות.
יוסי אבולעפיה [נולד ב־1946] מאייר, קריקטוריסט, אנימטור וכותב ספרי ילדים. זכה בפרסים רבים על יצירותיו. אבולעפיה אייר את רוב ספריו של מאיר שלו. איוריו מרובים פרטים ועם זאת קלילים, מחויכים ואוהבי אדם וטבע.
Feathers in the Wind is an ancient story passed from one generation to the next. Do you know any stories that are passed down in your family? You may want to remind each other of one or two such stories.
Things told “by word of mouth” can sometimes get distorted. “Chinese Whispers”, or “Telephone”, is a game that demonstrates this possibility in a humorous way: players form a circle, and the first player whispers a word in the second player’s ear. The second then whispers what they heard to the third, and so on, until the final player is reached, and asked to repeat the word out loud. Is it the same as the one whispered by the first player?
The woman in the story learned that it is not easy to mend her ways and take back the words she had said. You may like to discuss the following with your child: In your opinion, why did the woman gossip and spread rumors about the people of her town? Have you ever regretted anything you’d said, even as a joke? Perhaps you would like to discuss such incidents, and the steps you took following them.
What is the connection between words and feathers? You may want to ask your child: What do you think of the rabbi’s unusual suggestion, given without any direct preaching? Are there any life lessons in your family that are passed on in a creative, humorous fashion?
The verse “Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile” has a wonderful tune composed by Baruch Hayyat. If you know it, you may enjoy singing it together.
Shlomo Abbas has written and retold numerous stories. You may want to look for more of his books at home or the local library, and read them together. Which stories did you like?
You may enjoy looking at the illustrations together. Which toys do Noam and Elad play with? What does your child enjoy playing with – be it with their siblings, friends, or on their own?
“Noam didn’t mean to fight with Elad, Noam didn’t mean to slap his hand”: You may want to ask your child how it is that Noam did not mean to fight and slap? Have you ever had a similar experience?
We all make mistakes sometimes. You may want to share an incident with your child in which you felt the need to say you’re sorry. Was it difficult for you to do? How did you feel after apologizing?
You may enjoy looking at the final illustration, and reflect together about the final lines of the story. Why are both brothers happy? Who, in your opinion, is happier?
Noam and Elad are brothers, but they’re also best friends. Who is friends with your child? What do they enjoy doing together? After reading this story, you may want to invite a friend of your child’s over to play.
Nevo’s Mask 
A Fight with A Broom 
The Two of Us 
How to Build a House 
On One Foot 
Who Destroyed the Circus? 
Oh No, George! 
At the Heart of the Orchard 
Kramer the Cat Goes into the Forest 
Feathers in the wind 
How do you say “I’m sorry”? 
הַעֲשָׁרָה
מִשְׂחָק
כְּלָלִי
סִרְטוֹנִים
קְרִיאָה
שִׂיחָה
הַמְחָשָׁה
הַשְׁרָאָה
יְצִירָה
לָצֵאת הַחוּצָה
