Kindergarten Books > Not A Box

Not A Box

Text and Illustrations: Antoinette Portis / Publisher: Hakursa

Distribution: Febuary 2018

If it’s not a box, then what is it? The book, which is a conversation between reality and imagination, invites adults to look into the hidden world of children and to create the world with them from the simplest thing.


Family Activities

Sometimes the simplest question opens a window onto a world of imagination and creativity!  

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Classroom Activities

Dear Parents,

Sometimes the simplest question opens a window onto a world of imagination and creativity!

Not a Box is a playful dialog between reality and imagination, providing readers with the opportunity to praise the innocent imagination that allows children to find treasures in a simple brown box.

 

"Just as their faces are unlike one another, so are their opinions unlike one another's" (According to Berachot 58a)

Our Rabbis teach us that just as each person has their own look, and a face unlike that of another, so each person has a different outlook on reality, and an understanding of it unlike any other. This statement by our Rabbis is doubly true for children's world view. Not a Box allows for dialog between adults and children, inviting all readers to enter the wonderfully imaginative world of young people.

 

Enjoy reading and discussing the book together!

פעילות בחיק המשפחה

  • Reality vs. Imagination: In this special book, the illustrations tell most of the story, and were it not for them, the plot would have been incomprehensible. You may want to leaf through the book together, and have your child describe what the box turns into on each page. You could have a discussion on imagination and reality, and share your opinion with your child. Do you think the rabbit really thinks the box is a spaceship, robot, or mountaintop?
  • Black or White? You may enjoy looking at the illustrations, and noticing the colors used in each one. Which ones are used when the rabbit is spoken to? And which when the rabbit appears? You may want to ask your child for the reason why the author and illustrator chose to use colors this way.
  • Drawing Together: You could draw a rectangle on a sheet of paper and ask your child to continue the drawing, and turn it into something else. Can you guess what your child drew? You may enjoy changing roles, so that each time one of you will draw a shape for the other to turn into something else.
  • Is it a box? Is it a not-box? Perhaps you would like to pick up an empty box from the local grocery store, and decide what to turn it into together. You could color or cut it, making it your very own creation.
  • We were all Children once: Many children enjoy make-believe games. Has this book reminded you of an imaginative game you enjoyed playing? Perhaps an imaginary toy you liked to play with as a child? You may want to share such memories with your child.
  • The Imagination Game: You may enjoy sitting across from one another on the rug and make believe together. Take turns pretending to hold something (a hammer, bug, phone, cat, baby…), and let the other guess what it is. Next, pretend to pass the object on to the next player, and go on making believe and guessing.

רעיונות לשילוב הספר בגן

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