(Important Note to Teachers --
please explain this introductory letter to any students
who are not yet at a level to understand this text on their own!)

Welcome to the Books for Israel Literature Response Section!

This is the place where you can post your response
to books exchanged through the Books for Israel Project.

Most of the time, our book projects end up collecting dust
in a drawer after we have done so much work writing them. 
That's a shame, especially because sometimes
we have some really great ideas that we could share with one another.

The Literature Response Section is a showcase for your hard work
in reading and writing in English!

When you post your work in the Books for Israel
Literature Response Section, your book projects will become
writing that will be read and discussed by kids involved in
the Books for Israel Project in Israel and around the world. 
We hope this important section will inspire you to read more
and to work even harder to improve your own writing
in the English language! 

Read and Respond to Other Kid's Work

Members can also respond to another person's book project. 
We ask that do so respectfully and that your response be professionally supportive. 
You may have a very different opinion about a book
or about how to interpret a particular aspect.
That's great! 
There really is no single correct way
to interpret a book or any work of art.

It is important to make an exchange of ideas. 
But please, when you respond to someone else's hard work,
first thank the person who made the project
and credit them for their ideas before you make
any critical response showing how your insight offers
yet another available interpretation. 

We especially ask that kids who are donating books to the Books for Israel Project
help out with supportive and guiding comments to their Israeli peers.

How to do it

How to post a book project

When you write a book report, a book summary, a book review,
or want to tell about a creative project you have made
in response to a book you have read:-

a.   Compose your work as a word document on your computer;

b.   Check your work for spelling, grammar, and readability;

b.   Submit your writing to your teacher for input;

e.   Rewrite and improve your work;

f.    Get final approvals from your teacher;

g.   When the final corrections have been made --
      copy-paste the text of your final work
      and post this final product as a message on this forum!

h.  Please note:  the title of your work MUST include:

      i.  the nature of your project

     ii.  the book's author

     iii.  the book's title  in italic type

     iv.  your name and school

another example:

           Description of a Creative Project:     
Cartoon Strips Illustrating Mai Ling's The Butterflies are Free
by Jamal Alwadei
Central High School, Korfesh, Israel 

yet another example:

Letter to a Fictive Character: 
Letter to Sue Wong, One of the Central Characters in
Mai Ling's The Butterflies are Free
by Irena Villstein
Yitzchak Rabin High School, Shlomi, Israel
      

one last example:

How to Repond to Another Person's Book Project

If you would like to make response to someone else's book report,
whether it is a note of support and thanks
or a suggestion for another way to read the book,
please do the following :

1.  Compose a response to the book project as a word document
     on your computer;

2.  Proof-read your work and submit it to your teacher;

3.  Make any necessary revisions;

4.  Cut and paste the text into this section and post the message.

5.  Please note that the title should clearly refer to the original  
     book project to which you are responding by citing the author
     of that work, the name of their project, as well as your own name
     and location:

example:

All of us in the Books for Israel Project look forward
to reading one another's work and to engaging in
an exchange of ideas about literature and literary interpretation.

Thank you so much for your participation!

With wishes for success in your studies,
and with blessings for peace and good health,

Jade and Ilan Bar-Shalom
The Books for Israel Project Coordinators in Israel
and Site Managers for The Books for Israel Website