What's in Tuli's Box?

"This is such a cute book and a perfect introduction to little ones learning about the importance of Tzedakah, or charitable giving. It's never too early to introduce the importance of helping others, and this book, with its adorable illustrations and sparse text, does this beautifully. I highly recommend it.  

--Ellen Levanthal, Writing Outside the Lines

"With beautiful illustrations and sparse text, author/illustrator Ann D. Koffsky brings the reader Tuli, an adorable cat who is curious about why a box is empty, then full, then empty again. Koffsky gently introduces the concept of tzedekah, or giving charity, and the idea that even small children can do good deeds, like collecting coins, to help others in need. A must-read for homes, schools, and libraries."   

--Melissa Stoller, author of The Enchanted Snow Globe series, and Sadie's Shabbat Stories.

"Ann Koffsky's adorable "What's in Tuli's Box" (2022) highlights one of my favorite things that we start teaching in Jewish preschool classrooms on Fridays, before Shabbat: giving tzedakah, the commandment to help the needy. .. In the book, curious kitten Tuli wonders what the box she has found is for, and through the subtle use of linguistic opposites, she learns about filling it with coins, from light to heavy, and using it to help those in need. A sweet, beautiful book for any toddler or preschool library." 

--Jennifer Starkman, Noodlenutskidsbooks

"In this charm­ing pic­ture book for young chil­dren, Ann D. Koff­sky presents the con­cept of tzedakah through the char­ac­ters of a kit­ten and her moth­er. With kinet­ic images and bright col­ors, chil­dren learn that a sim­ple box pro­vides not only an oppor­tu­ni­ty to climb and play, but is also a means to con­tribute to char­i­ty. The book’s sim­ple text mim­ics the way a child learns from her par­ents about an impor­tant mitzvah.

For par­ents and care­givers con­sid­er­ing the most effec­tive way to intro­duce the con­cept, Tuli the kit­ten pro­vides one answer: con­crete expe­ri­ences and few abstrac­tions. Tuli is as active as a tod­dler, and just as focused on explor­ing her world. Koff­sky begins with Tuli becom­ing inter­est­ed in a box labeled tzedakah. Nei­ther this nor its slit for deposit­ing a coin means any­thing to her. Through touch­ing, push­ing, and lis­ten­ing, she dis­cov­ers the box’s phys­i­cal qual­i­ties, while her moth­er offers more infor­ma­tion. The box is not a toy, she comes to find, although the clink­ing sound of a coin drop­ping would seem to sug­gest that it is.

Koff­sky com­bines feline and human char­ac­ter­is­tics with sub­tle humor. While the char­ac­ters look like real cats, their facial expres­sions of curios­i­ty and affec­tion, cou­pled with the mother’s pur­ple pock­et­book, add a dif­fer­ent visu­al ele­ment to the sto­ry. Gen­tle expla­na­tions from Tuli’s moth­er con­firm what the kit­ten has learned, but also extend the pos­si­bil­i­ties. Tuli is final­ly ready to hear that the coins are meant to help those in need. As moth­er and child rest their heads against one anoth­er, young read­ers fin­ish the book with a sense of sat­is­fac­tion. Tuli’s ener­getic activ­i­ty has become a path to empa­thy, and to the reward of her mother’s pride and love."    

--Emily Schneider, Jewish Book Council