The Beauty of Israel

I cannot help but wonder at the irony of my blog when Israel is being attacked on all sides by her enemies. But I think this is an important post. We in Israel basically want to live in peace and enjoy our beautiful homeland.

 Jewish librarians have lamented that there are very few books for children about Israel that are just positive, good books -- no politics, no agenda. This season, there are three excellent children's books and a "coffee table book" that highlight the beauty of Israel, its diverse plants and animals and their ecosystems, and the wonder and miracle that is the Land of Israel.

Hava Divon's Barefoot in the Sand (Green Bean Books, 2023) is a story about making dreams come true. From the time he was a boy and heard stories about an amazing place, Saul longed to go to the Land of Israel and put his bare feet in the sand. When he grows up, he charts the way there from his home in Romania. Walking many miles, then taking a train, then taking a boat, he finally arrives in Tel Aviv. He then takes off his heavy boots and dances barefoot in the sand, joyfully singing Psalm 114 - “When the Jews left Egypt – a place so strange to Jacob and all his descendants – the Land of Israel became their haven and their home.” But wait! As Saul is reveling in being in Israel, another man, who has dark skin and is holding his sandals, is also barefoot and completes the verse from the Psalm. He is Solomon, and he has ridden a donkey all the way from Yemen. Rotem Teplow's illustrations complement the text, and they capture the dream and yearning of Jews to be in Israel in the past and today.

Thank you to the folks at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for an advance copy of Martin Lemelman's The Miracle Seed because as I read this book, I keep saying "Cool!"

Graphic novel - cool

Archeology in Israel - cool

Discovering a 2,000-year-old date seed - very cool

Planting the seed and growing a date palm - really cool

And harvesting the dates - super cool

The graphic novel format is perfect for the combination of history and science. I can hardly wait to visit the Arava Institute in southern Israel and see the trees for myself!

Wikipedia Commons

A Feather, a Pebble, a Shell (Kar-Ben, 2024) is written and illustrated by Miri Leshem-Pelly, the author and illustrator of over a dozen children's books, including Chloe's Nature Journal and Penny and the Plain Piece of Paper. Based on her childhood experiences, Leshem-Pelly captures the beauty and diversity of Israel. From north to south, there are so many interesting and wonderful places. I was pretty excited to see the Twins Cave, also known as the Bat Cave included in the book because my family has often hiked there. It always amazes me that there are lush green parks in the center of Israel, and about two hours' drive south, the landscape is dry and stark, with totally different animals and plants. 

Unlike the girl in the book, who leaves the feathers, pebbles and shells she discovers for other people to find, I love having a little souvenir of my visit:

In My Israel: Seventy Faces of the Land (Gefen Publishing, 2023), "seventy prominent Israelis write movingly about their own special corner of the Land of Israel." Compiled by Nechemia (Chemi) J. Peres (son of Shimon) and Ilan Greenfield (Gefen's publisher), the book is divided into five sections: Zionist History: Sacrifice for the Homeland, Nature: The Land of Milk and Honey, Social Equality: Coexistence and Unity, Spirituality: History of the Jewish People, and Culture and Leisure: Life in Israel. Full disclosure: we like looking at pictures better than reading essays, although the one by Miriam Peretz, which describes why Samuel's Tomb is significant to her is touching (her sons Eliraz and Uriel "fell in battle during their service in the IDF"). Other contributors include Israeli executives, rabbis, and IDF officers, who describe their connection to places like Akko, Ben Gurion Airport, military cemeteries and historical sites like the Atlit Detention Camp, the Western Wall, and Habima National Theater. The mayor of our fair city (running for re-election, by the way) talks about Tel Beit Shemesh archeological site and the challenge of preserving it in the midst of a growing city. Our favorites: the dramatic landscapes of the Ramon Crater and the Negev and the gorgeous beaches at Arsuf Kedem and Tel Aviv.

As for the Real Cats of Israel, the ones are the Jerusalem Zoo are definitely a part of the beauty of Israel:

Happy Reading!