Customer Reviews

Israel (A to Z)

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I just ordered this book on a whim, for a homeschooling unit I'm doing on Israel. I couldn't see many of the pages online here, but I am really happy with the purchase.

The book is best for lower elementary age kids-- about a second grade reading level. And it's filled with photos from Israel, including the desert, Jerusalem, people in the community, and even a couple churches. It is not very religious in any meaningful way--it is clearly supposed to appeal to all readers rather than any one demographic. But I do appreciate how they include the Dead Sea Scrolls and describe them respectfully, as well as Solomon's Temple. It mentions how people of all three monotheistic religions live in Israel but nothing controversial. It is very non-threatening to non-Jewish readers too as it includes things like geckos, hummus, olive trees, coral and the Dead Sea. Good visual orientation to the area.

I also tried out "A is for Abraham" which is a similar concept, but I liked this book much more. I found "A is for Abraham" to be much more difficult to read, more centered around purely Jewish icons, and somewhat over the heads of my little kids. But then I'm a Christian, so maybe I am unrepresentative of their audience. "A is for Abraham" is definitely an introduction to Judaism, while this book is an intro to Israel's culture and geography.

Here is a partial list of photos included, just for more info:

A (animals)- camel, fennec fox, ostrich, etc
B (buildings)- Dome of the Rock
C (cities)- skyview of Jerusalem's old city
D (dress)- kids in regular school clothes, kippahs, woman in burqa
E (exports)- diamonds
F (food)- honey
G (government)- Katsav and Sharon
H (history)- illustration of King Solomon's temple
I (important people)- Noa (pop singer), Yehuda, Agnon
J (jobs)- farmer and computer technician
K (keepsakes)- mezuzah
L (land)- flowers and Negev region