Winter in Israel

 When the weather turns cold in Israel, a few things happen. It starts to rain, birds start their migration from Europe and Asia to Africa, the supermarket puts away the "artiks" (sugar-water ices) and put out the Krembo, and I eat a lot of soup.

While I could wax poetic about the deliciousness of Krembo, the chocolate-covered marshmallow sitting on a cookie, there are no books about them...yet. But there are some great books about the bird migration through Israel:

Anna Levine's All Eyes on Alexandra (Kar-Ben, 2018) is about a crane who flies to the beat of a different drummer, but when leadership is needed to get the flock where they need to go, Alexandra takes charge. Chiara Pasqualotto's illustrations capture the grace of the big birds in the air.

Tami Lehman-Wilzig's new book with Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz,  The Boston Chocolate Party (Apples and Honey, 2022) about chocolate and Hanukkah is getting a lot of buzz, but Stork's Landing (Kar-Ben, 2014) remains one of my favorites. When I reviewed it for the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter, I noted that "Simple, colorful illustrations complement the text, with the white and gray of the storks set against vibrant spring blossoms and muted shades of autumn skies. Several aspects of life in Israel enhance the story: the annual migration of birds and the cooperative community environment of the kibbutz."

An interesting selection, also published this year is Storky's Journal Home by Nachshon Meir Spiegelman (The Israel Center for Libraries). "Storky loses her way during her first migration, and finds herself in a wonderland, confused by the different people she meets, all of whom seem to share one story about the longest journey of all time. This is the Jewish people's story, through the bird's eyes."

And, of course, there is The Man Who Flies with Birds (Kar-Ben, 2009) by Carole G. Vogel and Yossi Leshem. Yossi was a Senior Researcher in the Department of Zoology in the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University and is the founder and Director of the International Center for the Study of Bird Migration. He has done amazing things in his field including tracking migratory storks with GPS and working with barn owls as pest control agents. The book explains how Yossi's knowledge of bird migration reduced air collisions by rerouting planes.

Winter is also a great time to warm comfort foods. When Michael Leventhal was kind enough to send me an advance copy of Silvia Nacamulli's Jewish Flavours of Italy: A Family Cookbook (Green Bean Books, 2023), I was fascinated by the introductory chapter about the history of Jews in Italy -- in some cases dating back to the destruction of the Second Temple. But as I looked through the recipes, there weren't too many my family would be adventurous enough to try because of ingredients like anchovies and pine nuts. But I found one that is an ultimate comfort food: Minestra di Pasta e Patate (Pasta and Potato Soup) combines noodles, potatoes, and cheese. Don't tell my family that there are two anchovies!

Some other soups we'll be whipping up to warm us from the cold:

Thai Carrot Soup

Moosewood Gypsy Soup

Curried Carrot, Sweet Potato, and Ginger Soup

Happy Reading (and eating!)