The Shabbat Box

Rating:
Summary: Faith and Family
Review: I found the Shabbat Box a charming story, delightfully illustrated. In these times I find it most refreshing to know that our children are reading books that have good old fashioned ideas like family , faith, caring and responsibility.
Ira, a youngster after patiently waiting for his turn at school for the coveted Shabbat Box finally leaves school with this treasure. He loses The Shabbat Box on the way home. Ira's sense of responsibility and diligence in solving this loss of the Shabbat Box on his own teaches many lessons. I especially like the honesty of the little boy who realized how important this treasured Shabbat Box was. Ira made no excuses and was not ashamed to admit he had lost the shabbat box.

Rating:
Summary: A real treat!.
Review: This is a wonderful book which has been enjoyed by my three youngest children, ranging in age from seven to eleven. The illustrations are excellent and conjure up a warm and inviting community. The author invites the reader to look at Shabbat through the contents of the Shabbat Box rather than simply showing a typical Shabbat experience. This stimulated discussion between my sons (and between them and their parents!) regarding the roles of each of the items in the Box and their place in Shabbat.
My kids all identified with parts of Ira's personality; whether it be the longing to have the turn at taking care of the Shabbat Box, the sadness at losing it or the desire to replace that loss with something beautiful rather than just turn up at school on Monday with an excuse for having lost it.
The instructions at the end of the book on how to make your own Shabbat Box were a bonus and we now have two such boxes at home and two more in the making as special gifts to young cousins.