How I Got Myself a Pony
What’s the easiest way to learn the letters of the alphabet? Daniella Carmi’s method is simple, fun, creative and edifying. The little boy who is the main character of the story learned all the letters, and even got himself a horse… It all happened when his parents went on holiday and left him with his grandpa. The old man had a worthwhile proposition: for each letter his grandson learned, he would get a living gift whose name began with that letter. The boy is excited, and each day he learns a new letter, asking then for big animals that can’t be raised at home, like a lion (aryeh) for the first Hebrew letter (aleph), and other wild and wonderful beasts like a leopard, a tiger, a jaguar, a dolphin and a peacock. But instead his grandpa buys him little animals, like a hamster and an aquarium fish. And what about a mammoth? That’s the animal the boy loves most in the world, but grandpa explains that there aren’t any more mammoths in the world. “It’s a pity you don’t like little animals,” grandpa says. “Little animals are also important to our planet.”
The boy gives up on getting the animals he thought his grandfather had promised, but he is in for a surprise. One morning he sees a magnificent pony in the yard. In the coming days grandpa brings more large and fascinating animals. By the time the boy’s parents come back from holiday their home has turned into a zoo, and their son has learned all the letters of the alphabet.
ENGLISH VERSION AVAILABLE (for publishers only).
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“Here you have a magnificent way to teach your children the alphabet … Carmi has created an enchanting book, full of interest and fun, which is also an excellent way to learn about animals large and small. The tender illustrations bestow a sense of entering a real animal world and create, with the verbal ping-pong of the boy and his granddad a cheerful story about the boundlessness of a child’s imagination. ”
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“We took this excellent book with us on a long vacation, and we never tired of reading it. Excellent because it merges two centers of attraction for a five-year-old: the letters of the alphabet and animals. Excellent also because Daniella Carmi wrote it and Hilla Havkin illustrated it, and both of them are at their best here. ”