Alef-Bet: A Hebrew Alphabet Book

by Michelle Edwards

Overview

Hebrew is a very, very old language. It was spoken in ancient Israel many thousands of years ago, and has been kept alive for centuries by Jews and scholars. Modern Hebrew was the dream and work of a man named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. He made new words from ancient words and gave Hebrew speakers a way to say modern words such as ice cream, bicycle, and airplane.

This book is a child's introduction to modern Hebrew; but more than that, it is a joyous portrait of a very special family. Its heroine, Gabi, shares in the activities of five-year-olds everywhere; she dances, she pretends, she dresses up, she helps with the baby. Her exuberance about her own life bounces off every page, and the enthusiasm and warmth of her family surround her, and the reader, with love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781588382337
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	03/01/2009
Edition description:	Bilingual
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

MICHELLE EDWARDS has written and illustrated over thirteen books for young readers including Stinky Stern Forever, winner of the 2006 Gryphon and Patterson Awards, and Chicken Man, winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Michelle was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Troy, New York. She studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem and later earned her MA and MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa. She now lives in Iowa City with her husband and their three children.

MICHELLE EDWARDS has written and illustrated over thirteen books for young readers including Stinky Stern Forever, winner of the 2006 Gryphon and Patterson Awards, and Chicken Man, winner of the National Jewish Book Award. Michelle was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Troy, New York. She studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem and later earned her MA and MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa. She now lives in Iowa City with her husband and their three children.

Editorial Reviews

What is exceptional here is the complex emotional subtext that Edwards’ gouache illustrations carry. They portray warm life in a modern family that includes a girl, her toddler brother and her older brother, who travels by wheelchair. The feelings invested in the pictures bring the characters to life. The robust, effervescent girl, always wearing polka dots somewhere on her person, hangs her handmade butterflies in the bedroom, mothers a family of toy monkeys and looks at the moon with her brothers and father, who is wearing a sweater with a thunderbird motif. It is a rare thing for an alphabet book to evoke such feeling in the reader as this one does.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Like the artist's Chicken Man and A Baker's Portrait, this has an informal warmth that will endear it to kids who already know or want to learn the Hebrew alphabet … Clear, artful, and involving, this is a model of what foreign-language alphabets should be.

Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

Alef-Bet charmingly presents the Hebrew alphabet through vibrant illustrations. Each page gives a Hebrew letter, its name, a Hebrew word containing the letter, and the English translation. The detail-rich pictures also provide young readers with plenty of discovery and storytelling opportunities about ema (mom) Hannah, abba (dad) Matan, and children, Uri, Gabi, and baby Lev as they go about their daily activities. An excellent “sharing” book for both Jewish and non-Jewish youngsters.

Orlando Sentinel

Learn the Hebrew Alphabet. This easy to understand, well-illustrated book is perfect for beginners.

USA Today

Here is a unique alphabet book that celebrates the ancient Hebrew language. A fictional family portrayed going through their daily activities, as modern Hebrew words are presented.

East Grand Rapids Weekly

Beginning the alphabet with “bathtub” (“ahm-BAHT-yah”) and choosing “monster (“me-FLEHT-zeht”) for the letter mem help the alphabet unfold with a smile. The rest of the alef-bet is filled with socks and feathers, with fish and feet. By the time you reach tav for baby (TEE-nook”), where the illustration is complete with stained diapers, you may wish that there were more than 22 letters.

New York Times Book Review

Learn the Hebrew Alphabet. This easy to understand, well-illustrated book is perfect for beginners. — USA Today

This is a useful language primer that captures universal concepts and provides the opportunity for individual and group discussion. — School Library Journal

Here is a unique alphabet book that celebrates the ancient Hebrew language. A fictional family portrayed going through their daily activities, as modern Hebrew words are presented. — East Grand Rapids Weekly

Alef-Bet charmingly presents the Hebrew alphabet through vibrant illustrations. Each page gives a Hebrew letter, its name, a Hebrew word containing the letter, and the English translation. The detail-rich pictures also provide young readers with plenty of discovery and storytelling opportunities about ema (mom) Hannah, abba (dad) Matan, and children, Uri, Gabi, and baby Lev as they go about their daily activities. An excellent “sharing” book for both Jewish and non-Jewish youngsters. — Orlando Sentinel

In exuberant illustrations with vibrant colors vigorously defined by agile, rough lines, Edwards depicts an endearingly ordinary family engaged in everyday activities—helping Dad with the laundry, imaginative play, outings—with the oldest of three children taking part in everything from his wheelchair. Phonetic pronunciation is given for each Hebrew letter and the word it initializes, also given in English. — Kirkus Reviews

What is exceptional here is the complex emotional subtext that Edwards’ gouache illustrations carry. They portray warm life in a modern family that includes a girl, her toddler brother and her older brother, who travels by wheelchair. The feelings invested in the pictures bring the characters to life. The robust, effervescent girl, always wearing polka dots somewhere on her person, hangs her handmade butterflies in the bedroom, mothers a family of toy monkeys and looks at the moon with her brothers and father, who is wearing a sweater with a thunderbird motif. It is a rare thing for an alphabet book to evoke such feeling in the reader as this one does. — Minneapolis Star Tribune

Like the artist's Chicken Man and A Baker's Portrait, this has an informal warmth that will endear it to kids who already know or want to learn the Hebrew alphabet … Clear, artful, and involving, this is a model of what foreign-language alphabets should be. — Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

Beginning the alphabet with “bathtub” (“ahm-BAHT-yah”) and choosing “monster (“me-FLEHT-zeht”) for the letter mem help the alphabet unfold with a smile. The rest of the alef-bet is filled with socks and feathers, with fish and feet. By the time you reach tav for baby (TEE-nook”), where the illustration is complete with stained diapers, you may wish that there were more than 22 letters. — New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher