A family composed of two adults and three children that might live in contemporary Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, New York or Amsterdam introduces daily uses of modern Hebrew in a nearly wordless picture story. Signs of home-created entertainment, especially that involving the arts and play-acting, are everywhere, showing this to be a priority for the down-to-earth, energetic, affectionate household. Outside activities vary with the seasons while everyone has a visible role in sledding, leaf gathering and night sky-watching. One of the three happily active children uses a wheelchair to move from place to place. A letter of the Hebrew alphabet appears in the upper left corner of each page, and Hebrew words with phonetic pronunciations are shown on the lower left of each page. Roman transliterations and English translations are also provided. Edwards succeeds in developing a fresh approach to presenting the concept of a family and to creating a book about a specific language. (Ages 2-8)

Hebrew is a very, very old language. It was spoken in ancient Israel many thousands of years ago, and has been kept alive for centuries by Jews and scholars. Modern Hebrew was the dream and work of a man named Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. He made new words from ancient words and gave Hebrew speakers a way to say modern words such as ice cream, bicycle, and airplane. This book is a child's introduction to modern Hebrew; but more than that, it is a joyous portrait of a very special family. Its heroine, Gabi, shares in the activities of five-year-olds everywhere; she dances, she pretends, she dresses up, she helps with the baby. Her exuberance about her own life bounces off every page, and the enthusiasm and warmth of her family surround her, and the reader, with love.