Summary: Ella is a little girl traveling in Israel with her family and her stuffed monkey. Ella visits all of the major historical sites and makes sure that her money gets the same experience that she is having. She takes him for a swim in the Dead Sea but the monkey gets incredibly muddy and dirty. They enjoy their vacation and have a great time together.

Personal connection: I am using the book for my inquiry project, as a way to show children about the monuments of Israel. I also had a stuffed animal growing up (and still do) and one time he got so dirty from being pulled around all day that we had to wash him. He got put in with one of my red dresses and my dog turned pink!

Class use: Many children have stuffed animals and the main character having a stuffed animal will help them relate to Ella and her monkey. They can write about what they would do with their animal on vacation, or have them take a picture with them on vacation over the summer and come back and show the class where they took them, and some more information about where they visited. ( )