Ella's Trip to Israel

Such a cute book!! Great pictures and story.

My 2 year old daughter and I LOVE this book!

Pretty good book about the trip, through the eyes of a child. I think kids will like it, but as an adult who reads to kids, I wish it were both more fun and that there had been more Hebrew words/education sprinkled throughout - feels like a missed opportunity to teach some basic Hebrew.

Great Book!

]Ella hits all the main Israeli hot spots on her tour of Israel, this time with her stuffed toy monkey in tow. The Good Stuff: -Reptition of the phrase `no problem'-'Eyn Ba'ayah' as Kofi the monkey encounters all manner of Israeli messes from Dead sea mud to tahini spills. -Cute ending - The sweet, soft illustraions have lovely and cute details. The Not-so-good Stuff: -Lack of specificity. Ella looks at tall buildings-which building? She encounters a kibbutz- which one? This was a missed opportunity. The illustrations could easily have added these details to give the scenery more content and substance. Rating: 4 of 5 Ann Koffsky Author, illustrator of [...]

This is a really cute book both for girls and boys. The book tells a story about the little girl, Ella, who travels with her atuffed animal monkey and family to Israel. In Israel, Ella visits many of the historical sites and even takes her monkey for a swim in the dead sea where the monkey gets muddy. Kids enjoy both learning about the monkey and the funny journey it takes as well as learning about interesting Israeli sites. I gave this book four rather than five stars because although I found the story and pictures enjoyable, there is nothing special about either of them, as in "Joseph Had an Overcoat," which makes both adults and children want to read the story multiple times. I do, though, highly recommend this book.

The story was cute, but an opportunity was missed to represent the diversity of the Jewish people. The characters all seemed to be the same shade of pale, except for the scene where Ella and her family cover themselves in mud. My son received this book through PJ Library, and this is a book we will not be keeping (and will donate elsewhere).

Ella, along with her parents and her stuffed animal Koofi the Kof (monkey) fly to Israel. On the plane Ella spills mango juice on Koofi. As the smiling stewardess wipes the juice off Koofi she says, "Eyn ba'aya. No problem," which becomes a refrain throughout this delightful book. Ella and her family visit the Kotel where a boy accidently rips Koofi's tail to which Ella's mother says, " Eyn ba'aya," as she sews the tail back on Koofi. When the family visits an outdoor market in Tel Aviv, Ella drips tahini on Koofi to which her mother exclaims, "Eyn ba'aya," as she cleans Koofi's fur. At the Dead Sea, Koofi along with the other tourists gets covered in mud and in the Gallil, Ella squirts Koofi with milk as she milks a cow. After each incident the phrase "Eyn ba'aya" is repeated. When the family returns home and looks at their picture album they realize that Koofi's stained fur is a reminder of the places they visited in Israel. Akemi Gutierrez's pastel watercolor drawings of happy people compliment the text. There is one small inaccuracy in the drawings. Ella's mother wears a green sleeveless blouse and yellow skirt throughout the book. She would not have been permitted to approach the kotel without covering her arms. This one inaccuracy does not detract from the enjoyment of the book. It is also curious that there is never a depiction of an Israeli flag at any point.. Ella's Trip to Israel is a simple travelogue of Israel for the very youngest readers. For ages 3 - 5. Ilka Gordon