My
new book, Koala Challah, illustrated
by Maria Mola, is about three sisters. The older two sisters have important
jobs to help their family get ready for the holiday of Shabbat—the Jewish day
of rest, which occurs each week and is a special time to enjoy being with
family. Lila, the youngest sister, wants to help too. But every time Lila tries
to help, she ends up making a gigantic mess!
This
book can be used in the classroom to encourage your students to reflect and
write.
After
reading Koala Challah out loud, here
are some activities to try:
1)
What
jobs do you do every week, or every month, to help your family? Do you put away
dishes? Feed pets? Take out the trash? Are there any jobs you would like to
try? Have you ever tried to help out your family and then ended up causing more
problems, like Lila?
2)
Lila
is the youngest of three siblings. Do you have any siblings? If you have older
siblings, are you jealous of how much they get to do, like Lila is in the book?
If you have younger siblings, do you see them trying to copy you, like Lila
does in the book? If you don’t have any siblings, how do you think that changes
the way your parents treat you? Do your parents expect you to do more to help
out, because you are the only kid? Do they play with you a lot, since you don’t
have siblings to play with, or do they expect you to read books and find other
ways to play independently?
3)
In
Koala Challah, Lila shows a lot of
persistence. She keeps trying to find a job to help her family. And after she
settles on a job—baking challah—she keeps trying until she perfects her recipe.
Can you think of a time you showed persistence in your own life? Did you keep trying
and trying until you learned how to do the monkey bars on the playground? Did
you keep working and working until you could shoot a basket, or solve a Rubix
Cube? Write about a time you persisted until you accomplished your goal, or
write about a goal you have and how you plan to be persistent until you
accomplish it.
4)
In
Koala Challah, Lila is helping her family
get ready for the holiday of Shabbat. What holidays or rituals do you celebrate
with your family? What is your favorite type of family celebration? How does
your family prepare for this holiday or celebration? Do you have any special
job to help your family get ready?
5)
Koalas
live in the wild in Australia. Where do other animals live in the wild? Pick an
animal and research where that animal lives in the wild. Or pick a country that
you are interested in and research which animals live in the wild in that
country.
6)
Challah
is a braided bread that Jewish families eat on Shabbat. What are special foods
for your family? Do you ever help make those foods? Would you like to try?
If your school allows students to bring in homemade
food, encourage them to help make foods that are special to their families and
then bring those foods in to school to share! Have a tasting day! If your
school does not allow homemade food, students could still help make special
foods at home and then bring in pictures and/or recipes.
