Upbeat and visu­al­ly appeal­ing, this intro­duc­tion to the Hebrew alpha­bet is based on a song intend­ed to teach Eng­lish speak­ing chil­dren the alef bet. The rhyming text is cheer­ful and light, uti­liz­ing many Hebrew words famil­iar to Jew­ish chil­dren attend­ing reli­gious or day schools. ​“Alef is for aba and ima. That’s a dad and a mom. Bet is my bay­it, at home where I belong.” 

Where pos­si­ble, the large Hebrew let­ters are graph­i­cal­ly incor­po­rat­ed into the illus­tra­tions, such as a dalet fram­ing a delet (door). Some words con­tain the fea­tured let­ter, but do not begin with the let­ter; those instances are reflect­ed in the text: ​“Fay is in my sefer, the book that I must read.” 

What make this book par­tic­u­lar­ly invit­ing are the mul­ti-tex­tured col­lage illus­tra­tions in a warm palette of gold, orange, teal and avo­ca­do green. Fea­tur­ing a red­head­ed girl and brown-haired boy, the illus­tra­tor has incor­po­rat­ed a vari­ety of wood, fab­ric and wall­pa­per pat­terns that give the book a charm­ing feel and invite a clos­er look. 

At the end of the book is a brief note to par­ents and an invi­ta­tion to down­load ​“The Alef Bet Song” app. How­ev­er, it should be not­ed that recita­tion of the alef bet in the song is much too fran­tic for begin­ners, and should not be attempt­ed before read­ing through the book a few times. 

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 6 – 9.