<p>Review\nIn perfectly rhyming, rhythmic quartets and with remarkable color illustrations that evoke spectacular Israeli landscapes, Alice Blumen-thal McGinty and Rotem Teplow express pride in Israel's many accomplishments, joy in its beautiful scenery, admiration of its diverse population, and respectful recognition of its unique place in both reality and the imagination. The rhyming quartets, told from a child's perspective, alternate with pithy prose paragraphs that describe Israel and guide young readers through its varied and fascinating features.Bustling modern cities, ancient historic sites, and rural country locales are all appealingly described along with colorful marketplaces, innovative high-tech businesses, and spectacular landscapes. Ethiopian Jews and other Jews of color, nomadic Bedouins, tradition-al Jewish families of many kinds, and proud Arab-Israeli Muslims appear in these pages, drawing a variegated and realistic picture of Israel's population, each group maintaining its own thriving culture but all joining together as proud Israeli citizens.Israel is portrayed as a special place where biblical stories come alive, preservation of nature is given careful attention, and daily life is pro-ductive and meaningful. In a world in which much inconsistent, incorrect, and badly skewed information about Israel is easy to find, this lyrical-yet-realistic portrayal is a much-needed addition to the picture book genre. The poems, descriptions, and illustrations present an Israel recognizable to those who live there and know it well; a country of complexity that is both ultra-modern and ancient, innov-ative and spiritual, energetic and peaceful. -- Michal Hoschander Malen ― Jewish Book Council, December 10, 2021\nThis is the perfect book for introducing the diversity that exists in Israel. In gentle rhymes and careful detailed illustrations, the young picture book reader is introduced to Israel's bustling city life, kibbutz life, Bedouin life, Arab/Muslim life, Christian life, and Jewish life, all coexisting. Even the cats in Israel play a part in this book, along with the history of how there came to be so many cats. Theres's the varied geography of this nation (the size of New Jersey), the Negev's geography, and the story of Israel's farms and fields, and animals. A double page spread for the tourist enhances the reader's inclusion in Israel's story. Some books have back matter for the parent or teacher; this book offers additional information in a small paragraph accompanying each double page spread, which greatly enhances each section in an immediate way. While not a Jewish book per se, Jewish life is one of the topics covered in this picture book. It's not a religious book; there's no mention of the Kotel, but as each ethnicity living in Israel is mentioned, there's a Jewish family life scene that's very informative. Inclusive books about Israel are much-needed within the children's literature. -- Sandy Wasserman ― Association of Jewish Libraries / Sydney Taylor Shmooze, August 19, 2021\nFor reasons perhaps better left to speculation elsewhere, Israel-infused kidlit doesn't appear on as many book lists as it should, in both mainstream and Jewish contexts. But given the current emphasis on diversity and inclusion within both broader cultural discussions and the Jewish-book world itself, stories set in Israel―many of which feature Jews of color, Sephardic and/or Mizrahi Jews, disabled Jews, and more―are particularly worth acknowledgment and amplification. Moreover, the latest data reveal that the plurality of the world's Jews (6.93 of 15.2 million people) now lives in Israel. Lists that neglect Israel-infused books thus suffer from a dual flaw: They present incomplete pictures of contemporary Jewish life and identity while also foregoing valuable opportunities to enrich important, ongoing conversations.Here [is a] recent picture book worthy of attention in this regard, whether during Jewish Book Month (the 5782/2021 vers</p>

My Israel and Me

Children's Books

Blumenthal McGinty, Alice

Religions

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Books by Blumenthal McGinty, Alice

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Blumenthal McGinty, Alice. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

My Israel and Me