Students at Nofei HaSelah School in Ma’ale Adumim

ISRAEL – English literacy Institute A.H.A.V.A has launched its seventh annual read-a-thon by inviting local school children to help create what is expected to be the biggest book ever made in Israel. The book titled “The Giant’s Book” about a giant who can’t find a book big enough to read, measures almost two meters tall, over one meter wide and is being made by school children from over 13 schools in the Ma’ale Adumim who will be given words to write and design. Children’s author and illustrator Netanel Epstein created the front cover for the book which was unveiled at the Nofei HaSelah School in Ma’ale Adumim on Jan. 10.
A.H.A.V.A is the only non-profit organization in Israel dedicated solely to promoting English literacy for children. In 2009, of the total number of Israelis in the 12th grade age group, just 39% matriculated at a level that would enable them to be accepted to university. A.H.A.V.A was founded in 2000 by Gaila Cohen-Morrison, an English teacher and mother of five, who was determined to provide affordable English education to Israeli children.