Alef-Bet: A Hebrew Alphabet Book [Library Binding]

Michelle Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1992

Introduces children to modern Hebrew through a portrait of a special family, including five-year-old Gabi, whose bouncing exuberance makes it fun to join her in learning the Hebrew alphabet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A creative, messy and somewhat quirky family of five fills these pages with the peculiar paraphernalia of a simplehearted existence: a feather-flying pillow fight with a sibling monster; a confettied, make-believe bridal procession; an all-out frolic in the bathtub. Although Edwards's oil pastel illustrations evoke the joie de vivre of a loving family life, no theme connects her succession of 22 unrelated Hebrew words--leaving the reader feeling uncentered. In the unexpectedly dense introductory pages, the author attempts to introduce her fictitious family with names, characters and histories. But this is misplaced in a book that tells no story but merely labels pictures with Hebrew words and first letters along with their pronunciations. The book falls short in its reach toward youngsters with no prior links to the Hebrew language. However, in families where Hebrew is consistently taught, children will relish the animated artwork that lights up the graceful and vigorous forms of the Hebrew alphabet. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- In this introduction to modern Hebrew, readers are presented with the letters of the alphabet, words beginning with each, and their English translations. Brightly colored illustrations place the vocabulary in a pictorial context and provide visual reinforcement. Double-page spreads link the words on both pages in a manner that is often creative and fanciful. All is placed within the framework of a family engaging in everyday seasonal activities; a sense of love, unity, and enjoyment is felt throughout. Uri, the oldest child, is most often shown in a wheelchair. This is a useful language primer that captures universal concepts and provides the opportunity for individual and group discussion. --Susan Kaminow, Arlington County Pub. Lib., VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 1 pages
• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard (April 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688097251
• ISBN-13: 978-0688097257
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,194,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Life-long knitter Michelle Edwards is the award winning author/illustrator of over 13 books for children, including CHICKEN MAN winner of National Jewish Book Award. Her illustrations have appeared in several shows of children's book art including the current "Monsters and Miracles", co-organized by the Skirball Cultural Center and the Eric Carle Museum. She is a monthly feature writer for the Lion Brand Yarn Company newsletter. A KNITTER'S HOME COMPANION is her first adult book.

Michelle was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in Troy, New York. She studied at the Bazalel Art Academy in Jerusalem and earned an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Iowa. She lives with her family in Iowa City, Iowa.
More information is available at her website wwww.michelledwards.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a book, January 15, 2008

By 

Beth Jacoby (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alef-Bet: A Hebrew Alphabet Book (Hardcover)

I purchased this book for my six year old son who has recently has a peaked interest in the hebrew alphabet. It is a beautiful book and exactly what I wanted. I was simply looking for a aleph-bet book that had a picture page per letter but it wasn't so easy to find. Even our local Judaica shop carried nothing. I was so pleased to find this and even more excited to see the quality and adorable illustrations once it arrived. I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Met my expectations for content, but I found the illustrations unpleasant, April 30, 2009

By 

Displaced Yankee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alef-Bet: A Hebrew Alphabet Book (Hebrew Edition) (Paperback)

I got this book because I was searching for a very simple introduction to the Hebrew alphabet for my 3 year old. It is great in that regard, but I really dislike the illustrations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really Cute Book With Fun Illustrations, July 20, 2011

By 

Wandering Hoosier "dog lover" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alef-Bet: A Hebrew Alphabet Book (Hebrew Edition) (Paperback)

Alef-Beth by Michelle Edwards is a really cute book with fun illustrations. Each page of the book features a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet with its English, phoenetic pronunciation. Also, each page gives an example of a Hebrew word that begins with the featured letter. The book includes illustrations of the words and often an illustration will cover two pages and exemplify two words.

I really enjoyed reading the book and enjoyed the illustrations. I gave the book four rather than five stars, however, because I would have preferred it if the book associated more commonly used words with the Hebrew alphabet letters. For instance, zah-KAHN, beard, is the word in the book that corresponds to the letter zayin. Needless to say, I don't use the word "beard" in my everyday language, so I would have preferred it if the book associated a word used more commonly in everyday language with zayin. However, KOH-vah, hat, corresponds with kaf and yahd, hand, corresponds with yod, which I found to be more useful associations.