Overview

All year long, Hillel builds treehouses and forts, but when fall comes, it brings the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the perfect holiday for builders!

Full Product Details

9781541544024

Table of Contents

Reviews

Young Hil-lel loves to build hous-es to play in and uses what-ev-er sup-plies he can find to indulge in this favorite activ-i-ty. A huge card-board box makes a per-fect play-house, and a pile of pil-lows becomes an excel-lent make-believe fort. A tree house pro-vides out-door fun, and even nestling under his father's tal-it while they are in syn-a-gogue feels cozy and warm as it evokes the feel-ing of a com-fort-able home. But every time Hil-lel tries to snug-gle up in his very own house, a hol-i-day seems to inter-fere with his plans. He can't light Hanukkah can-dles safe-ly in a card-board box and his moth-er needs to use the pil-lows for her guests to lean on dur-ing the Passover Seder; some-thing pre-vents him from play-ing in his per-son-al house at every turn of the cal-en-dar page. Hav-ing his own house just does-n't seem to be a work-able plan. He is dis-ap-point-ed time and again. Final-ly, the hol-i-day of Sukkot arrives and Hil-lel real-izes to his joy that Sukkot is the per-fect hol-i-day for house build-ing. He and his father hap-pi-ly build their fam-i-ly sukkah, a tem-po-rary hut with a nat-ur-al roof in which Jews reside dur-ing the hol-i-day to com-mem-o-rate the huts their ances-tors built in the desert on their way from slav-ery to free-dom. Hil-lel can dec-o-rate the sukkah, share meals with his fam-i-ly inside its walls, and thor-ough-ly enjoy the delights of the sea-son. The right hol-i-day and the right house come togeth-er in a per-fect merg-ing of tra-di-tion and fun. Sukkot is the ide-al hol-i-day for build-ing a house. This brand new edi-tion of an old favorite has all new col-or art-work which gives the sto-ry a fun, con-tem-po-rary, humor-ous twist. The sto-ry works well as a joy-ful read-aloud while prepar-ing for Sukkot or at any time of the year. -- Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council -- Website

A book that introduces readers to many Jewish holidays celebrated throughout the year. Hillel Builds a House, written by Shoshana Lepon and illustrated by Angeles Ruiz, is the story of a young boy determined to build a house for a Jewish holiday. The story begins at Hanukkah. Hillel builds a cardboard house in the living room, but his mom says he can't light his menorah in it. He is determined to build a house for Purim and, indeed, crafts a house for his costume. Sadly, it rains and he has to wear his costume from last year. Each holiday winds up in disaster until it is Sukkot, the perfect holiday for building a house! With colorful illustrations and text that highlights one or two traditions for each holiday, Hillel Builds a House is the perfect book to read, and reread, throughout the year. A glossary is included, to further define the holiday features, making this a book that will appeal to ages 4-8. -- Marcia Berneger, San Diego Jewish World -- Website (10/17/2020 12:00:00 AM) Hillel builds houses everywhere- out of boxes, pillows, sheets, or whatever is on hand. This book by Shoshana Lepon takes us on a tour through the Jewish year as Hillel seeks out the perfect Jewish holiday in which to indulge his passion. No festival is quite right until, predictably, the holiday of Sukkot arrives, and Hillel can construct a sukkah, or temporary dwelling. Sukkot is indeed the perfect time to build a house. This straightforward story has enough details about each Jewish holiday to save it from being a niche book about Sukkot. The standout illustrations by Angeles Ruiz, full of soft blues and vivid oranges, keep the reader engaged by showing Hillel's interactions with his family and his multiracial Jewish community. Hillel Builds a House was originally published in 1993, but was redesigned this year with new illustrations and is thus eligible for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. The book has positive Jewish content and is appropriate for its intended audience of young children aged three to six. The modernized illustrations strike a balance between authenticity and diversity within the Jewish experience, and make Hillel Builds a House eligible to be a contender for the 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Award. -- Laurie Adler, Syndey Taylor Shmooze Blog -- Blog (12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM) The original edition of this title was published in 1971 and was a teacher favorite to share at Sukkot due to the lack of children's literature on that subject for many years. Now the publisher has updated the illustrations and released this new version to appeal to a modern audience by including a variety of Jews of color, kippot-wearing males and a more appealing font, layout, and color scheme. However, the story itself was always good and proved educational in many ways. Hillel is a young boy who likes building houses and makes attempts to build one at every Jewish holiday, starting at Hanukkah. Each holiday (Purim, Passover, etc.) provides an opportunity for him to try his youthful skills at house building, whether it is using cardboard, or a tent, pillows, or other means, but it is never quite satisfying. When it comes time to really build a house at Sukkot, he and his father work together and come up with a pleasing result that they can happily decorate as a family. The new illustrations are indeed a delightful improvement and will allow this fine book a deserved second life. -- Lisa Silverman, Co-editor, Children's and Teen Literature, AJL News and Reviews, AJL Newsletter -- Magazine (12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) Young Hil-lel loves to build hous-es to play in and uses what-ev-er sup-plies he can find to indulge in this favorite activ-i-ty. A huge card-board box makes a per-fect play-house, and a pile of pil-lows becomes an excel-lent make-believe fort. A tree house pro-vides out-door fun, and even nestling under his father's tal-it while they are in syn-a-gogue feels cozy and warm as it evokes the feel-ing of a com-fort-able home. But every time Hil-lel tries to snug-gle up in his very own house, a hol-i-day seems to inter-fere with his plans. He can't light Hanukkah can-dles safe-ly in a card-board box and his moth-er needs to use the pil-lows for her guests to lean on dur-ing the Passover Seder; some-thing pre-vents him from play-ing in his per-son-al house at every turn of the cal-en-dar page. Hav-ing his own house just does-n't seem to be a work-able plan. He is dis-ap-point-ed time and again. Final-ly, the hol-i-day of Sukkot arrives and Hil-lel real-izes to his joy that Sukkot is the per-fect hol-i-day for house build-ing. He and his father hap-pi-ly build their fam-i-ly sukkah, a tem-po-rary hut with a nat-ur-al roof in which Jews reside dur-ing the hol-i-day to com-mem-o-rate the huts their ances-tors built in the desert on their way from slav-ery to free-dom. Hil-lel can dec-o-rate the sukkah, share meals with his fam-i-ly inside its walls, and thor-ough-ly enjoy the delights of the sea-son. The right hol-i-day and the right house come togeth-er in a per-fect merg-ing of tra-di-tion and fun. Sukkot is the ide-al hol-i-day for build-ing a house. This brand new edi-tion of an old favorite has all new col-or art-work which gives the sto-ry a fun, con-tem-po-rary, humor-ous twist. The sto-ry works well as a joy-ful read-aloud while prepar-ing for Sukkot or at any time of the year. -- Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council -- Website (9/10/2020 12:00:00 AM)

Hillel Builds a House is the perfect book to read, and reread, throughout the year. -- Marcia Berneger, San Diego Jewish World -- (10/17/2020 12:00:00 AM) The book has positive Jewish content and is appropriate for its intended audience of young children aged three to six. -- Laurie Adler, Syndey Taylor Shmooze Blog -- (12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM) The new illustrations are indeed a delightful improvement and will allow this fine book a deserved second life. -- Lisa Silverman, Co-editor, Children's and Teen Literature, AJL News and Reviews, AJL Newsletter -- (12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) The sto-ry works well as a joy-ful read-aloud while prepar-ing for Sukkot or at any time of the year. -- Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council -- (9/10/2020 12:00:00 AM)

Young Hil-lel loves to build hous-es to play in and uses what-ev-er sup-plies he can find to indulge in this favorite activ-i-ty. A huge card-board box makes a per-fect play-house, and a pile of pil-lows becomes an excel-lent make-believe fort. A tree house pro-vides out-door fun, and even nestling under his father's tal-it while they are in syn-a-gogue feels cozy and warm as it evokes the feel-ing of a com-fort-able home. But every time Hil-lel tries to snug-gle up in his very own house, a hol-i-day seems to inter-fere with his plans. He can't light Hanukkah can-dles safe-ly in a card-board box and his moth-er needs to use the pil-lows for her guests to lean on dur-ing the Passover Seder; some-thing pre-vents him from play-ing in his per-son-al house at every turn of the cal-en-dar page. Hav-ing his own house just does-n't seem to be a work-able plan. He is dis-ap-point-ed time and again. Final-ly, the hol-i-day of Sukkot arrives and Hil-lel real-izes to his joy that Sukkot is the per-fect hol-i-day for house build-ing. He and his father hap-pi-ly build their fam-i-ly sukkah, a tem-po-rary hut with a nat-ur-al roof in which Jews reside dur-ing the hol-i-day to com-mem-o-rate the huts their ances-tors built in the desert on their way from slav-ery to free-dom. Hil-lel can dec-o-rate the sukkah, share meals with his fam-i-ly inside its walls, and thor-ough-ly enjoy the delights of the sea-son. The right hol-i-day and the right house come togeth-er in a per-fect merg-ing of tra-di-tion and fun. Sukkot is the ide-al hol-i-day for build-ing a house. This brand new edi-tion of an old favorite has all new col-or art-work which gives the sto-ry a fun, con-tem-po-rary, humor-ous twist. The sto-ry works well as a joy-ful read-aloud while prepar-ing for Sukkot or at any time of the year. -- Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council -- Website A book that introduces readers to many Jewish holidays celebrated throughout the year. Hillel Builds a House, written by Shoshana Lepon and illustrated by Angeles Ruiz, is the story of a young boy determined to build a house for a Jewish holiday. The story begins at Hanukkah. Hillel builds a cardboard house in the living room, but his mom says he can't light his menorah in it. He is determined to build a house for Purim and, indeed, crafts a house for his costume. Sadly, it rains and he has to wear his costume from last year. Each holiday winds up in disaster until it is Sukkot, the perfect holiday for building a house! With colorful illustrations and text that highlights one or two traditions for each holiday, Hillel Builds a House is the perfect book to read, and reread, throughout the year. A glossary is included, to further define the holiday features, making this a book that will appeal to ages 4-8. -- Marcia Berneger, San Diego Jewish World -- Website

"""Hillel Builds a House is the perfect book to read, and reread, throughout the year."" -- Marcia Berneger, San Diego Jewish World -- (10/17/2020 12:00:00 AM) ""The book has positive Jewish content and is appropriate for its intended audience of young children aged three to six."" -- Laurie Adler, Syndey Taylor Shmooze Blog -- (12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM) ""The new illustrations are indeed a delightful improvement and will allow this fine book a deserved second life."" -- Lisa Silverman, Co-editor, Children's and Teen Literature, AJL News and Reviews, AJL Newsletter -- (12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) ""The sto-ry works well as a joy-ful read-aloud while prepar-ing for Sukkot or at any time of the year."" -- Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council -- (9/10/2020 12:00:00 AM)"

Author Information

Shoshana Lepon has published numerous books for adults and children, including No Greater Treasure, Noah and the Rainbow and The Ten Plagues of Egypt. Ángeles Ruiz was born in Barcelona, where she lives with her husband, also an illustrator, and her daughter. She has a Fine Arts and Interior Design degree from Escola de la Llotja Art School in Barcelona. When not illustrating, she loves to explore nature, go to the library, and spend time with her family.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available