A Tale of a Rabbit and a Tail

Ayin Hillel (1926–1990)

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Ayin Hill (Hillel Omer) was born in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in 1926. An author, poet, and landscape architect, Ayin Hillel often incorporated nature, landscapes, and animals into his poems. Many generations of Israeli children were raised on his literary gems, such as the Uncle Simcha stories, Why does the Zebra Wear Pajamas?, Yossi, Smart Child of Mine, and many others. Ayin Hillel also wrote poetry and prose for adults. He won many awards for his work, and passed away in 1990.

Proposed Family Activities:

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• Rabbit’s tail appears in every illustration, but Rabbit cannot find it. You may want to ask your child to leaf through the book, and locate the tail on each page.

• You could attach a kerchief to the back of your child’s pants, and go searching for their tail around the house: Where is that tail hiding? Perhaps you could follow the route described in the book: under the bed, inside the shoes, under the pillow, in the kitchen, then the bathroom, and finally sit down. Like the rabbit in the story, your child can leap for joy when their lost tail is finally found.

• Can your child name their body parts? You may enjoy playing a game in which you ask your child: Where’s your elbow? Where’s your knee? Where’s your big toe? And have them point to each body part in turn.

• Rabbit looks in the bathroom and catches his reflection in the mirror. You may also want to stand in front of the mirror with your child, name one of the emotions felt by Rabbit throughout the book, and make the corresponding facial expression: smile to show joy, make a concerned face, get excited, and so on.

• Who has a tail? Perhaps you could take out some stuffed animals or look through a picture-book to discover what other animal has a tail. Which has long ears? What other animal can leap and jump?

delicious carrot cake

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• What does Rabbit like to eat? Carrots, of course! How about making a delicious carrot cake together?

Ingredients:

2 eggs

½ a cup of sugar

1/3 cup of oil

2 medium-sized carrots, grated

1 cup self-raising flour (or 1 cup of white flour mixed with a teaspoon of baking powder)

½ a teaspoon of baking soda

1 flat teaspoon of cinnamon

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
• Mix all the ingredients in the order in which they appear
• Put the batter in an oiled baking pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the cake, and when it comes out dry, the cake is ready
• Sit in the kitchen, eat the cake together, hug each other, and enjoy