The book
One big idea a day, on paper.
Real ideas from real thinkers, and a habit that takes a few minutes a day. For families whose kids have more to say than “fine”.
Paperback and hardcover. 390 pages. By Ezra Halevi.
Open to today. Read it out loud.
Then ask the question, youngest first. That was my father's trick: the youngest answers first and the oldest goes last, so nobody copies, and the kids get braver. Moms and dads answer too.
January · New starts
January 20
Grasp It Fully
“Whatever you do, do with all your might.”Aesop · Fables
A boy did his chores halfway. They took all day. The next day he gave them his all. He was done fast, and proud.
Ask each other
Do you do things fully, or just halfway?
Our answers
February · Friends and love
February 10
We Need Each Other
“No one is self-sufficing, but all of us have many wants.”Plato · The Republic
No one can do it all alone. The one who bakes bread needs shoes. The one who makes shoes needs bread.
Ask each other
Who helped you today, and who did you help?
Our answers
March · Feelings
March 4
Take Away the Judgment, Take Away the Hurt
“Let opinion be taken away, and no man will think himself wronged.”Marcus Aurelius · Meditations
It is not what happens that hurts most. It is what you decide it means. Change the thought. The hurt can shrink.
Ask each other
Has a small thing ever felt huge just because of how you thought about it?
Our answers
Tonight
Do you do things fully, or just halfway?
For the few minutes you actually get.
Bedtime. The car on the way to school. The quiet after homework. One page takes a few minutes, and it leaves you with something to talk about that is not “how was your day”.
Grandparents give it, then call to hear what the kids answered.
366 days. 19 voices.
Aesop, Plato, Confucius, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Montaigne, Thoreau, Emerson, William James, Mary Wollstonecraft, Margaret Fuller, Thomas à Kempis, Nitobe Inazō, Francis Bacon, the Buddha, Kahlil Gibran, Laozi, Zitkala-Ša and the Bhagavad Gita. Not from one direction. From a lot of them.
- One page a day. A few real words from the thinker, a short story that brings the idea home, one question for everyone.
- Room to answer. Every day ends with lines for your family's answer and who gave it. A keepsake you fill in together.
- A portrait on every page. A pencil drawing of the thinker, and a soft drawing for every month of the year.
- Made to be held. 390 pages on cream paper, 5.5 by 8.5 inches, paperback or hardcover. It stays on the shelf for next year too.
Every Friday after the meal, my father gave us a subject. Then we all talked about it. Everyone got a turn. We felt heard. We felt together. I couldn't do it like him. Quotes were too short, books were too long. So I made this book.
Ezra Halevi, who made Tovana. The whole story.
It starts on January 1. Or whenever it arrives.
The days are dated, January to December, with a theme for every month: new starts, friends and love, feelings, wonder, making things. Open to today's date and begin. Miss a day? Turn to today.
Questions parents ask
What ages is the book for?
Kids from about 3 can listen and answer, and the questions keep working to 12 and past it. Parents answer too. That is the point: everyone gets a turn.
Is it religious?
No. The thinkers come from many directions: Greek and Roman philosophers, Confucius, a Buddhist text, a Lakota writer, English and American essayists. Nobody preaches. Every page names who said it and where.
Do we need the app?
No. The book stands on its own. Tovana, the app, is the same idea on your phone: a new card every day and their answer kept in their own voice.
Is it a journal?
A book first. Each day ends with a few lines for your family's answer, so it turns into a keepsake. Next year you can read what they said.
Can we start in the middle of the year?
Yes. Open to today's date and start there. Miss a day, turn to today. There is nothing to catch up on.
Where can I buy it?
On Amazon, as a paperback or a hardcover, in the United States and the other Amazon stores listed on this page.
Tonight could be the first page.
Prefer your phone? The same idea, a new card every day.