This is a very fun book and I wish I had it when I first started learning Hebrew. It explains the vowels and letters slowly and provides generous practice reading and writing common words in the Jewish lexicon. Both block and cursive scripts are taught and opportunities are given to write the letters. One of the neatest features are the extra insights each of the 10 chapters provide on different topics like root meanings, gematira, etc. This really is the most painless place to start for beginners, though it would be great to have an audio supplement for self-study if you don’t live by Hebrew speakers.