The Blue Book Box
A short interview with Ella, a 13-year-old from Modi'in who started a book swap cupboard in her neighbourhood.
Tap any word to hear it · dotted words have a definition in the glossary
🎧 Listen
1Thirteen-year-old Ella Friedman from Modi'in started a book in her last year. Our reporter, Gal, talked to her.
2Gal: What is a book ? Ella: It's a simple idea. You put a book you have already read in our book box. Then you can take a different book home. It's free for everyone.
3Gal: How did you get the idea? Ella: My room was full of books I had finished, and I didn't want to throw them away. But I wanted new books too, and they cost a lot. So I thought, why not ?
4Gal: Where is the book box? Ella: It's an old kitchen outside our building. My dad painted it blue, and we put a small roof on it to keep the books dry in winter.
5Gal: Is it ? Ella: Very! At first, there were only twenty books, all mine. Now there are often more than a hundred. Kids, parents and even grandparents use it.
6Gal: What is your for other kids? Ella: Start small. You don't need money — just books and a few good neighbours.
📘 Glossary
- swap - an exchange: you give one thing and take another
- neighbourhood - the area around where you live
- throw them away - to put them in the rubbish bin
- share - to give and use things together with other people
- cupboard - a piece of furniture with doors, for keeping things
- popular - liked by many people
- advice - an idea about what someone should do
Questions
Finding details
1. How does the book swap work?Making inferences
2. Why did Ella start the book swap?Word meaning
3. Copy the word from Ella's second answer that means "to give and use things together with other people".Finding details
4. What is the book box?Making inferences
5. Why did Ella and her dad put a roof on the book box?Finding details
6. How many books were in the box at first?Reference words
7. In the sentence "Kids, parents and even grandparents use it", what does "it" refer to?Finding details
8. What is Ella's advice for other kids?
Answer every question to get a score (0/8)