Praise for “Hallie’s Big Heart” an inspiring children’s book by Beth Phillips

My dear friend Beth Phillips who is very active in the NYC Jewish community recently wrote a thoughtful and meaningful children’s book entitled “Hallie’s Big Heart.” She wrote the book because, like so many people in our Jewish community after October 7th, she felt that the world had been turned upside down and the tension was palpable. Like many people she found herself asking how we move forward when the world feels so broken. I originally met Beth at a rally for our hostages where you could find her every Sunday standing in solidarity with the families and fellow advocates, in which she held pictures of the hostages and the Israeli flag. She reminded the world of those who were being held in captivity. Beth is an Israel advocate who is proud to be part of the Jewish community and is not afraid to face those that attack the Jewish community and the State of Israel.

Before writing her book, Beth kept thinking about a simple solution and that was the need to go back to the basics. For her, those basics were taught to her by her mother, the Jewish values of chesed—loving-kindness—and teaching children to care for people beyond themselves.

She chose to write a children’s book for ages 2 through 6 years old because as a psychotherapist she understands that these are important stages of emotional
development. Children are just beginning to recognize and name feelings, notice when someone is sad or hurting, and develop empathy. Beth believes these are skills that can be nurtured through everyday conversations and stories

The story centers on a main character, Hallie. Hallie is caring, kind, and intuitive. Throughout the book, Hallie notices how her classmates are feeling, responds to them with compassion, and models for young readers that even small acts of kindness can make a meaningful difference. In the storyline Hallie and her classmates learn an important word, empathy from their teacher Miss Rhonda. The characters were inspired by special people in Beth’s life which makes the book more personal. The illustrator, Noah Pasternak brilliantly illuminated every character in the book. She also made a very intentional decision to include the names of three American hostages who were murdered in Gaza—Itay Chen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and Omer Neutra. 

It was important to her that these young men not be remembered only for the tragedy of how they died. Instead, she wanted children to encounter them as vibrant, hopeful, and heroic. In the book, Itay is confidently conquering the monkey bars, Hersh is joyfully running a race on the school track, and Omer is a brave firefighter helping his community. They are remembered through images of courage, possibility, and kindness.

Ultimately, Hallie’s Big Heart is a book about hope. It’s about raising children who notice when someone else is hurting, who choose kindness, and who learn that even the smallest acts of chesed—loving-kindness—can make a meaningful difference. Beth hopes it becomes a book that families read together and that educators welcome into classrooms as a tool for fostering empathy, emotional intelligence and kindness. I want to personally thank Beth for writing this beautiful book that will help shape a young generation to think about other people besides themselves. This type of reading will make young children mindful that they can offer kindness and caring in a challenging world.  (The Book “Hallie’s Big Heart” by Beth Phillips, LMSW and Illustrated by Noah Pasternak is available for purchase on Amazon).