I don’t know about your mom, but every time Mother’s Day rolled around, my mother would say, “Every day  is Mother’s Day.”  As children, we were taught from very early on to honor our father and mother.

Doesn’t the Torah (Bible)  teach us that we should respect  our parents all the time?

Yes, it does. But respect and honor don’t always translate into appreciation. Nowadays, children and teenagers seem to have a sense of entitlement, feeling that adults owe them. We are living in the Me Generation, and it’s never too early to educate kids on the important value of appreciation for their parents.

One of Artscroll’s newest books, “Look What My Parents Give Me!” by Sara Ginsburg (illustrated by Racheli David); (April 2014), teaches just that, as part of its ArtScroll Youth Series. This book follows the author’s book titled, “Look What Hashem Gives Me!” which details the various things that we receive in bounty from our G-d, Hashem.

“Look What My Parents Give Me!”, a delightful book, lists in rhyme the various kindnesses and deeds that parents do for their children. The book is designed for an adult to read it aloud to a child of approximately 3-5 years old. There are not too many words on a page, and the drawings are realistic and colorful. The adult can stop on each page and discuss the pictures, making the book more of a lesson in appreciation and gratitude than a story with an exciting plot.

The book takes the child through his or her day from when we “say Modeh Ani when I wake up…” to  washing “my hands six times with a cup.” So aside from practicing gratitude with the child, the parent/adult is also practicing running through the tasks of the day.

With its lively language, exciting illustrations (Racheli David), and important messages, this book is bound to keep a child’s attention. Some children may even begin to remember the rhymes, and fill in the last few words of a line, if the parent prompts them to do so, by pausing before the ends of lines.

Have a great time reading “Look What My Parents Give Me!” which concludes with many ways that a child can do important tasks for their parents as well. After all, gratitude is appropriately followed by actions of obedience by the child toward their parents.

In this day and age, when there are shootings, stabbings and other violent crimes in American schools, it behooves every parent to have such a book in their homes. It’s never too early to teach manners, respect and honor for our elders.

“Look What My Parents Give Me!” is available wherever Jewish books are sold.

Please note that this blogger has not received any monetary compensation for writing this review. However, she did receive a free copy of the book.