Books > Friday with Yoyo

Friday with Yoyo

By Datia Ben Dor Illustrated by Avner Katz

In honor of Shabbat Yoyo goes to great lengths to collect many ingredients for Shabbat, so he may honor the day of rest by preparing special dishes. The preparations for Shabbat help us anticipate and celebrate it, making it different and more special than weekdays. Shabbat Shalom!

Datia Ben Dor was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1944, and immigrated to Israel at 18 months. At the beginning of her professional career, Ben Dor engaged in music education, writing scripts and songs for many Israeli children’s television shows, such as Parpar Nechmad (“Lovely Butterfly”), and Rehov Sumsum (the Israeli version of Sesame Street). Her children’s poems and numerous books are well-known and loved, among them Ani Tamid Nishar Ani (“I Always Stay Me”), Digdugim (“Tickles”), Otiyot Mefatpetot (“Chatting Letters”), and Kakha Zeh BeIvrit (“That’s How it is in Hebrew”). Datia Ben Dor has received much recognition for her contribution to children’s literature, such as the ACUM award, and Bialik Prize for Lifelong Achievement in Children’s Literature.

Family Activities

In honor of Shabbat Yoyo goes to great lengths to collect many ingredients for Shabbat, so he may honor the day of rest by preparing special dishes. The preparations for Shabbat help us anticipate and celebrate it, making it different and more special than weekdays. Shabbat Shalom!

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Classroom Activities

Dear Parents,

In honor of Shabbat Yoyo goes to great lengths to collect many ingredients for Shabbat, so he may honor the day of rest by preparing special dishes. The preparations for Shabbat help us anticipate and celebrate it, making it different and more special than weekdays. Shabbat Shalom!

פעילות בחיק המשפחה

  • You may enjoy looking through the book together and noticing Avner Katz's amusing illustrations. You may want to ask your child to tell you the story according to the sequence of images. Do they remember what Yoyo prepared from each of the ingredients he had bought?
  • How do you get ready for Shabbat? Does your child join you as you shop at the market or grocery store? Toddlers are happy to assist with simple tasks: they can help choose flowers for Shabbat, or locate the cucumbers, tomatoes, or watermelons on the store shelves.
  • Yoyo prepares delicacies from the vegetables he buys. You may enjoy having the following discussion: which dishes do you prepare from cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes etc.? Are there any special dishes you typically eat during Shabbat meals at your home?
  • Does your child take part in preparations for Shabbat? Young children can also peel oranges, cut cucumbers with a plastic knife, tidy their room, or set the Shabbat table.
  • Do you know any other poems or stories by Datia Ben Dor? You may want to look for them at home, in kindergarten, or at the local library, and enjoy them together with your child.
  • You could also make a potato "sculpture". Use a toothpick to attach two olives to a potato for eyes, a piece of carrot for a nose, and a thin slice red pepper for a mouth. What should you attach to its head? Hair or a hat?

רעיונות לשילוב הספר בגן

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