“Look, Ma, I’m a ches!”

I looked up from what I was doing, and sure enough, there was my little kindergarten boy, bent over and on all fours, in a way that did look vaguely like a ches.

“Where did you learn that from?” I asked him, bemused.

“From Morah,” my son answered proudly. “And now, see, I’m a daled!” He had his right arm sticking out, his left arm at this side, and his feet together.

So this is what they call sensory learning, I thought to myself as my son continued to twist himself like a pretzel, forming more and more letters with his body. It’s not enough to see the letters, write them out, and make them out of cookie dough—you gotta actually be them!

But you know, the method works! There’s nothing like actually experiencing something with your whole self that really gets that thing nailed down and into your kishkes.

Which is why I feel The Amazing Aleph-Beis Experience is such a great tool to teach kids the aleph-beis. In this book, which comes along with a read-along CD (so you don’t talk yourself hoarse reading the book to your kids each time they beg for it!), kids will join Morah Orah and her class as they ride through a maze of exciting rooms, with each letter of the aleph-beis situated in a different one. The letters are doing fun activities in the rooms, and Morah Orah’s students are invited to join them. Of course, whatever’s going on in each room starts with the same sound as the letter that’s there, and as your kids “travel” with Morah Orah’s class through the various rooms, and see and hear the letters practicing their sounds, you can be sure they’ll be practicing those letters’ sounds as well—and getting them right!
It’s all about sensory learning, after all…

Written by a reading specialist who has had much success teaching the aleph-beis to English-speaking kids, this book is backed with much research and thought. And the best part? You can’t imagine how much fun the book is! Your kids will have a ball with the animated pictures and all the other delightful details in this book and CD.

So give your kids a wonderful experience learning the aleph-beis—give them The Amazing Aleph-Beis Experience!

Click here to purchase online.

For all those readers of Zero Hour who have been sitting on the edge of their chairs ever since turning the last page of that book…here is some great news! The sequel to Zero Hour, a thriller called Zero Limits, has just been released!

And what a book Zero Limits is! With action and turbulent emotion pulsating from each page; characters both new and old interacting with each other in a stunningly intricate plot; and Mendy and Mendel Brand finally coming to some ultimate decisions about who they are and where they stand…well, we won’t give anything away, but we will tell you that this book is a must-read, all the more so if you’ve already been thrown into the drama by reading Zero Hour!

There are real heroes and there are traitors in Zero Limits. Only some will win the battle…

Click here to purchase online.

Are you always on the look-out for a great metziah? An excellent gift item that you could buy at an even better price?

Well, if the person you’re looking to buy a gift for happens to be a child who’s just learning to read…boy, have we got a terrific metziah for you!

Announcing the Step-by-Step Reading Series gift pack—6 books for the price of 5!!

Yes, you read that right! While every book in this delightful I-Can-Read-by-Myself series is a gem of its own, with each one focusing on a different member of the lovable Bookman family as well as on a different Yom Tov, a complete set of all six books is a gift of unparalleled distinction. And if you, the gift-giver, can get away with buying the set at such an unbelievable bargain…well, you gotta admit, it’s a deal you simply can’t turn down!

The popularity of this series lies in the fact that these books were designed to parallel the standard curriculum goals set in place in the school system, while providing fun and culturally appropriate stories for your budding reader at the same time. There are not many frum I-Can-Read-by-Myself books out there, and the Step-by-Step Reading Series books really took parents and educators by storm with their delightful way of building and enhancing children’s reading skills.

Take advantage of this offer now, and buy your beginning reader a gift he or she is sure to love!

Click here to purchase online.

Shimmy and Bayla are at it again. Today  it’s about who gets to sit in the coveted red chair for supper; yesterday it was about who got their bedtime story read to them first; and last week it was about…oh, who even remembers what last week’s fight was about? Whatever petty issue it was, it was enough for Shimmy and Bayla to bring out the war troops and launch into a full-blown attack on each other, right in the Bergers’ very own living room.

When will these kids learn to have shalom, and to be happy with what they have, without always looking over their shoulder at what the other one got? Mrs. Berger wonders to herself in exasperation. I wish there was someone who could really teach them about the importance of shalom and simchah. What peace of mind and joy that would bring me!

Well, Mrs. Berger, you wish has just come true! Rabbi Juravel, everyone’s favorite storyteller, is back once again, ready to teach your children all about these golden middos—and help them behave with such middos, too!

A Story! with Rabbi Juravel 3: Shalom and Simchah has just been released, and, like the other books in this series, it’s bound to become a fast favorite among young readers. Who can resist the wonderful stories Rabbi Juravel tells over, and the charming, inimitable style in which he says them? He really has a way with kids, and these books are the perfect venue for teaching impressionable children the proper way to act.

There’s a reason kids keep clamoring for more Rabbi Juravel books. Buy A Story! with Rabbi Juravel 3: Shalom and Simchah—and you’ll see for yourself!

Click here to purchase online.

It’s one of the most amazing sights to watch: the moment when the light bulb goes on in your child’s head and she realizes that the ABC’s she has learned can actually join together with each other to form words—and that she can actually read those words! C-A-T spells cat. R-U-N spells run.

At this point, the best present you can give your child is a book full of such words—a book that she can read all by herself.

And that’s exactly what Sat on a Hat is. It’s an adorable I-Can-Read-Myself book that tells the funny tale of a boy who gets his first black hat—and then loses it. Now it’s up to the boy to search all over town and try to find his missing hat.

The pictures are colorful and engaging, drawn by well-known illustrator Dena Ackerman, and the clever rhyming text, written by none other than Bracha Goetz, popular author of dozens of children’s books, will make your beginner reader grin with excitement as she sees: Hey, I can read this book all by myself!

Of course this book is not in the purview of first-grade children alone. Younger children who have not yet learned to read will enjoy this book, too, as you sit and read it to them.

So no matter what the ages of your little ones, Sat on a Hat is a wonderful way to invest in their enjoyment of books and reading in general. Keep in mind that frum I-Can-Read-Myself books are hard to come by, so it would be wise to go out and buy your copy now, before they all sell out…

Click here to purchase online.

Not for the fainthearted. I’d seen this warning on books before, and I’d never thought anything of it. Just another advertising gimmick, something to pull people to buy the book, right?

Now, Pillars of Smoke actually does not have this caveat printed on its cover, but if it did, I wouldn’t discredit it so quickly. Because this book is really not for the fainthearted! With Hamas terrorists turning out to have completely different identities, and supposedly faithful members of the Israeli security system turning out to be…well, not so faithful after all—and this in addition to the drama and emotion with which this book is so rich…believe me when I tell you to prepare for a roller coaster ride when you pick up this book!

Whether you’re one of those readers who crave an action-packed suspense novel, or you love an emotional saga in which human feelings, fears, and backgrounds are explored, Pillars of Smoke, which contains both elements, is a book that you will love. It takes thrillers up to the next level. Read it…you’ll see exactly what I mean!

Click here to purchase online.

Chanukah and Purim. Days of rejoicing, family get-togethers, and, of course, lots of good food. But, as we all know, there’s so much more to Chanukah and Purim than that. Have you ever wondered what our gedolim, those whom we look up to for hadrachah on all aspects of life, have to say about these sublime and spiritually charged days?

With Why We Rejoice, you no longer have to wonder about it: you can read our gedolim’s views on these Yamim Tovim right here in this book!

Yes, that’s right. In just one book, you’ll read fascinating and thought-provoking essays about Chanukah and Purim by many of the greatest roshei yeshivah, rabbanim, and maggidim of our generation: Harav Avrohom Ausband, Harav Yisroel Belsky, Harav Yitzchak Berkovits, Harav Malkiel Kotler, Harav Paysach Krohn, Harav Zev Leff, Harav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, Harav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, and many others. The essays are arranged for daily study for the weeks leading up to Chanukah and Purim, so that by the time these holidays are upon us, you’ll really feel spiritually prepared.

The book also includes a history of the Chanukah period and the Chashmona’im by Harav Berel Wein, as well as the laws of Chanukah and Purim. With Why We Rejoice, you’ll understand why Chanukah and Purim are such happy times for Klal Yisrael—and you’ll find yourself truly rejoicing, as well…

Click here to purchase online.

When you hear someone mention “Olomeinu,” does a nostalgic smile appear on your face? Does your mind begin to conjure up colorful, glossy pages, exciting covers, and some of the most terrific stories and articles you’ve ever read?

If you’ve answered yes to these questions, face it: you are an Olomeinu fan.

Don’t think you’re alone, either: to date, there are thousands upon thousands of Olomeinu fans out there. Three generations of Jewish children across North America and beyond were nurtured on the beautifully-presented information that filled the pages of Olomeinu. No matter what other reading material might have been around, Olomeinu was always so full of wholesome goodness, kids just seemed to gravitate to it. With writers like Rabbi Zevulun Weisberger, Rabbi Eliezer Gevirtz, Leah Dolinger, Leah Herskowitz, and Rena Kaplan, among many others, Olomeinu was a lot more than a magazine; over the years, it evolved into a real educational tool and became a mainstay of chinuch in the frum world.  

And though the monthly Olomeinu magazines are currently no longer in print, don’t think the Olomeinu days are over just yet… With compilations of Olomeinu stories being released as full-sized books, you can now continue to enjoy Olomeinu just as before!

In Have an Olomeinu Chanukah, readers of all ages will delight to find classic Olomeinu material—all on the topic of Chanukah. True stories, fictional ones, interesting tidbits and articles…it’s all in here!

Makes a great Chanukah gift for that avid reader and/or Olomeinu fan in your life!

Click here to purchase online.

Are your kids (or possibly even you yourself?) among those readers who turn to the comics first when reading a newspaper or magazine? What is it about comics that make them so enticing, so much fun to read? The pictures accompanying each quote? The characters that come to life as they express different sentiments to each other?

Whatever it is, comics are by far one of the most popular kinds of reading material. And now you can have an entire story book written in comics form!

The Scribe’s Brush is a moving and suspenseful story, written all in comics, that takes place during the times of the Spanish Inquisition. Readers will follow David’s journeys and travails as the young orphan struggles with the choices he is faced with in life. The plot is fast-paced and riveting, and though it is primarily geared to teens, adults will no doubt find themselves drawn to it, too.

Click here to purchase online.

My kids’ latest fascination is with—of all things— vultures.

We’re driving down the street and pass some innocent-looking bird standing on the side of the road. Immediately, the back seat of the car erupts in a heated discussion.

“That’s a vulture! I’m telling you, that’s a vulture!” my son says excitedly.

“No, it’s a crow,” insists my daughter.

“But just look at its beak and those mean eyes—it has to be a vulture!”

A third child pipes up, “I think it’s a turkey.”

Me? I just hide my grin and continue driving along, grateful for the free entertainment and conversation piece that that bird has just provided us with. After all, discussing whether the bird is a vulture or not is a lot better than some of the other squabbles known to have gone on in this car…

As a general rule, most kids are enthralled by the creatures living around them. Cats, dogs, worms, birds (can’t forget those vultures!)—the sight of them alone can easily provide hours of entertainment for a child. And if you expand your child’s horizons a bit more and take him to the zoo—well, what better thing could you have done for him? Elephants, lions, zebras, flamingos, ostriches…most children could spend an entire week just feasting their eyes on these creatures!

With this in mind, Israel Bookshop proudly presents yet another book in Efraim Harari’s wildly popular Exploring series. This one is called Exploring the Wild World of Animals and Birds. Besides for including a brand new slew of animals, none of which were discussed in any of Harari’s other books, an array of fascinating birds is showcased, as well. Take the gorgeous flamingo, or the intelligent parrot, or the majestic eagle, and the owl, and the crane…believe me when I tell you that you and your child will be absolutely glued to this amazing book, with the wealth of information and stunning pictures that it contains.

So, if you’re looking for that perfect Chanukah gift for someone who’s fascinated by Hashem’s creations, whether child or adult (don’t think we didn’t catch you poring over your kid’s Exploring the Wild World of Animals book after he’d gone to sleep…), you’ll definitely want to consider Exploring the Wild World of Animals and Birds!

Click here to purchase online.