Introduce your kids to Israel with some of these fun reads:
by Diane Rauchwerger
Illustrated by Jason Wolff
The Good Stuff:
-Great, vividly colored illustrations by Jason Wolff. The saturated colors eye catching and pleasing.
-It rhymes! And not in an annoying, cutsie way.
-Hits all the highlights of the classic tourist stops
The Not-so-good Stuff:
-It rhymes. Sometimes it feels a little forced.
Rating: 4 of 5
by Tami Lehman-Wilzig
Illustrated by Ksenia Topaz
The Good stuff:
-Content, content, content. This book covers the main touristy place plus many more that I haven’t even heard of ! It’s a very thorough trip through modern cities, gardens, roller coasters and even an ice skating rink
The Not-so-Good Stuff:
-Imagining reading this to a young child before bedtime seems slightly torturous to me becuase of its length. Better tell your kids that you’ll only read them a page a night, or you’ll be stuck for a while.
-If its for older kids to read to themselves, Zvuvi is cute character that they might find baby’ish.
Rating: 3 of 5
by Vivian Newman
Illustrated by Akemi Gutierrez
Like the dinosaur, Ella hits all the main Israeli hot spots on her tour of Israel, this time with her stuffed toy monkey on tow.
The Good Stuff
-Reptition of the phrase ‘no problem’-‘Eyn Ba’ayah’ as Kofi the monkey encounters all manner of Israeli messes from Dead sea mud to tahini spills.
-Cute ending
– The sweet, soft illustraions have lovely and cute details.
The Not-so-good Stuff:
-Lack of specificity. Ella looks at tall buildings–which building? She encounters a kibbutz– which one? This was a missed opportunity. The illustrations could easily have added these details to give the scenery more content and substance.
Rating: 4 of 5
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