A Great Find

An illustrated children's book takes you through (half) the Jewish year.

By LIAT COLLINS
Hide & Seek in the Jewish Calendar 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Hide & Seek in the Jewish Calendar 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Let me cut to the chase: Talented illustrator Rinat Gilboa is going to drive you (or your kids) mad in a series of Seek and Find missions. And you’ll probably enjoy it.
Gilboa has teamed up with noted writer and Jewish affairs commentator Einat Barzilai to produce a “Where’s Waldo?” kind of book with added educational value. The volume might be slim but it’s packed with information and fun.
Hide & Seek in the Jewish Calendar sends the reader chasing after Gadi and his family members in different festive settings, month after (Jewish) month. This first volume takes you from Rosh Hashana at the start of the Tishrei festivals and ends with Purim in Adar.
Along the way, it would make a wonderful Hanukka present for younger kids.
As you seek Gadi and family – and that includes his cat, Tzip, as well as his grandma and grandpa – you find the illustrations themselves are part of the fun. And there is also a treasure trove of poems, stories and trivia.
The writing is clear but not patronizing, and the print format (with vowels) makes it easy to read. Most of the information will be familiar to children going through the religious education system, but there are some unusual touches.
For instance, for Marheshvan, a month without any Torah-given festivals, the book notes that the request for rain is added to the Amida prayers, marks the yahrzeit of the matriarch Rachel and explains the Sigd holiday observed by Ethiopian Jews 50 days after Yom Kippur to express their yearning for Jerusalem.
If you complete all the search missions by the end of Adar (no cheating by peeking at the solutions thoughtfully provided at the back of the book), you might want to go on to Gadi & the Haggadah which should keep the kids happy on Seder night.
Time, as we all know, passes quickly when you’re having a good time. This book lets kids have fun as time flies.