Avi the Ambulance Goes to the Beach

Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen is the award-winning author of many books for children including An Invitation to Passover (with coauthor Rabbi Kerry Olitzky), Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim, and the Engineer Ari series, and the coauthor with Rabbi Kerry Olitzky of Rembrandt Chooses a Queen, Motorcycle Maccabiah, and The Heroes Haggadah. She is an editor at Behrman House and the rabbi of Congregation Beth Chai. She lives in Rockville, Maryland. CB Decker is the illustrator of many picture books for children, including Avi the Ambulance to the Rescue, Avi the Ambulance and the Snowy Day, Farmer Kobi's Hanukkah Match, Max Builds a Time Machine, and Max and Emma Cross the Red Sea. She lives in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

"Avi the Ambulance returns in this fourth book of the series, highlighting Israel's Magen David Adom ambulances and their good work saving lives. A favorite of pre-school vehicle-obsessed children, Avi is the smallest and youngest ambulance in the fleet, 'with four shiny wheels that took him everywhere, safely and quickly.' Starting in Jerusalem, and going to Tel Aviv, Haifa, and then Tiberias, Zack the driver plans a trip to the beach to join an ambulance friend who turns out to be a boat (named Noah), not a van, like Avi. Avi is confused until Noah rescues a boy who has fallen off his boat into the lake. Avi then works together with his new friend by taking the boy to be checked at the hospital. The text is appealing, with lots of sound words like 'vroom,' 'whoosh,' and 'buzz.' The backmatter shares information about the real work of Magen David Adom, the Jewish value of piku'ach nefesh, and lists a short glossary of various terms used in the text. The illustrations are perfect for a pre-K child, big and inviting, with Avi anthropomorphized and pretty darn cute.This book is recommended for those who want to continue additions to this popular series."—Association of Jewish Libraries