Kol Hakavod

A child who attends syn­a­gogue with his/her par­ents or trav­els to Israel may hear the con­gre­ga­tion say, “Kol HaKavod,” but not know what the Hebrew expres­sion means. This rhyming pic­ture book explains the phrase using sce­nar­ios that a young­ster can relate to, along with sweet, help­ful, col­or­ful illustrations.

The book begins by defin­ing each Hebrew word. Kol means, “every­thing. It’s all. It’s whole.” While kavod trans­lates to, “…gee! It’s wow. It’s hon­or, respect. It’s whoa, holy cow.” The next page defines the two words togeth­er, putting them into a phrase that lit­er­al­ly means “all respect” and denotes hon­or. The remain­der of the book illus­trates, in both words and pic­tures, exam­ples from a child’s life which mer­it a shout out of “Kol HaKavod.”

The good deeds men­tioned include every­thing from giv­ing up a seat on the sub­way, to help­ing a preg­nant woman, feed­ing a pet, recy­cling, or putting mon­ey in the tzedekah (char­i­ty) box. They also illus­trate show­ing kind­ness to class­mates, like ask­ing “some­one new, who’s sit­ting alone, to col­or with you,” as well as help­ing around the house by clean­ing up with­out dis­turb­ing a sleep­ing mother.

Each relat­able exam­ple is accom­pa­nied by a car­toon illus­tra­tion with a diverse cast of chil­dren and adults in many shapes, sizes, col­ors, and ages, and includes one pic­ture of a child in a wheelchair.

Author Jamie Kif­fel-Alcheh and illus­tra­tor Sarah-Jayne Mer­cer relay the impor­tance of kind actions, no mat­ter how small, through sim­ple lan­guage and engag­ing illus­tra­tions, which cap­ture the atten­tion of young chil­dren. Par­ents, grand­par­ents, babysit­ters, old­er sib­lings, teach­ers, and oth­er car­ing adults, will also enjoy read­ing this book aloud with its ono­matopoeia, allit­er­a­tion and rhyming cou­plets that tick­le the tongue.

“Educators in Jewish schools and synagogues can pair this newest offering with It’s a— It’s a— It’s a Mitzvah! by Liz Suneby and Diane Heiman, Moti the Mitzvah Mouse by Vivian Newman, and One Good Deed by Terri Fields to inspire students to perform gemilut hasidim, acts of loving kindness.”—School Library Journal

“The message is clear: How one conducts oneself throughout life is important—at school, in the community, and beyond.This expression of a core Jewish value should resonate with readers of all ethnic groups and faiths. (Picture book. 4-7)”―Kirkus Reviews