Zeide Dr. Leon Bernstein heeded the call of his grown children in the spring of 2020 when the worldwide pandemic had forced young parents to quickly learn how to entertain their young children inside their homes day after day. Originally from North West London and now residing with wife Janice in Rechavia, Jerusalem, Zeide called upon his extensive background in pedagogy, from many years of teaching, as well as heading, large educational institutions. Bernstein came to the rescue of his children and grandchildren by creating original stories, which he performed with changing voices, hand and body gestures. His original stories, often featuring villains as well as heroes, delighted his grandchildren when he “Zoomed” them over to Shaarei Chesed and Nachlaot from Rechov Alfasi in Yerushalayim.
Word quickly spread, and within a short time, Zeide’s stories were being shared with many families in Israel. When posted on the Facebook group of a friend from London, Zeide’s stories exploded onto the scene. In one day, over 85 families with 250 children connected. After a summer hiatus, Zeidie realized that the interest in his stories was spreading exponentially, and he decided to expand the project with more stories and accompanying illustrations.
Currently “Storytime With Zeide” is available in Israel, the UK, France, Holland and South Africa. Safta Janice is responsible for the charming illustrations accompanying the stories and a team has been created to work on the graphics, website and marketing. The website www.storytimewithzeide.com currently offers a choice of 21 stories to select from, with more releases on the way. For a small fee of approximately $4.00, a story can be downloaded to provide a delightful half-hour of entertainment through video or audio with accompanying pictures. The most recent additions have been a 3-part series called “Space Time!” which follows Joe on his extra-terrestrial adventures. Viewers can explore under the sea with “King of the Fish” or meet Major Englebert Foxton, the hunter who wants to steal the honey from the bees in “The Bee Who Wouldn’t Sting.”
Zeide’s stories are targeted mainly to the age 3 to 11 audience. They can be universally appreciated across racial and religious lines. Parents have provided testimonials as to how they have enjoyed watching the stories along with their children. Chani and Abi Burman from Amsterdam wrote, “We all wanted to share our appreciation for your time and efforts in preparing your delightful stories. Our children love them and look forward to watching them with great anticipation—as do we. They have assisted both them (and us) in managing during the current lockdown.”
As an experienced educator in both the UK and Australia, on the secondary as well as primary levels, as well as through training teachers across all levels, Bernstein has focused upon several learning skills which have often been neglected in our age of fast-paced visual images with which young people are being bombarded today. Through his stories, Bernstein hopes to hone long-lost listening skills, offer a more low-tech visual platform with still images and some animations, and encourage children to read stories and not just comics. After each story is presented, Bernstein turns to his audience to contribute through their own imaginations, to create their own stories and to find meaning and lessons from the context of the stories.
On December 6, Bernstein presented a live program which was available online. He scheduled it for 7 p.m. Israel time on a Sunday, to accommodate his Israeli audience as well as children from Europe and the US. Once again, on December 20, Bernstein will be hosting a live presentation at 7 p.m. Israel time, (12 p.m. EST) and the coinciding times internationally. Audiences will hear and see a new story created for the occasion and will be able to interact with Zeide and others in the audience. The hope is that this coming live launch will even outdo the previous one.
In the planning are additional stories and videos, new series and characters. The hope is that eventually, weekly, monthly and even yearly subscriptions will be available and will provide a priceless gift for Chanukah, birthdays and other occasions, even beyond the pandemic. Keep posted by visiting the website often.
To learn more about the growing offerings by Zeide and to register for the Sunday, December 20, 12 p.m. live storytelling show, go to www.storytimewithzeide.com/storytime-live. or simply click the coffee cup on the top shelf of the Home page and follow the easy instructions.
By Pearl Markovitz
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