Chil­dren’s

When I First Held You: A Lul­la­by From Israel

Mirik Snir; Eley­or Snir, illus.
  • Review
By – September 19, 2011
With cap­ti­vat­ing illus­tra­tions by the author’s daugh­ter, this lul­la­by” from Israel serves as a qui­et and calm­ing end to the day for the very youngest chil­dren. Ani­mals with their young are beau­ti­ful­ly depict­ed with­in a peace­ful world into which babies arrive with pur­pose. There are only two or three words per page (a’ la Good­night Moon), used most­ly as a cue for chil­dren to enjoy the bright, folk art style illus­tra­tions. The last pages con­tain a place for your child’s name and pho­to and a ten­der quote by Rab­bi Nach­man of Breslov — The day you were born is the day God decid­ed that the world could not exist with­out you.” This is the only clue that the book may be tar­get­ed for a Jew­ish audi­ence. It cer­tain­ly would make a nice gift and keep­sake for any fam­i­ly with a new baby, regard­less of reli­gious back­ground. How­ev­er, the fact that it is paper­back lim­its the gift/​photo album appeal. For ages birth – 3 years.

Read­ing Guide

Mar­cia Ber­neger is a retired teacher who lives with her hus­band and three crazy dogs. She taught both first and sec­ond grade, as well as spe­cial edu­ca­tion. She cur­rent­ly teach­es Torah school, in addi­tion to her vol­un­teer work in class­rooms, libraries, and with var­i­ous fundrais­ers. She lives in San Diego.

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