In this book, the land of Israel comes alive through small, trea­sured objects found by a child. Mov­ing geo­graph­i­cal­ly from the North to the South (read­ers can trace the trip on a map includ­ed at the end), on land and in water, and up hills and down val­leys, author Miri Leshem-Pel­ly high­lights Israel’s diverse nat­ur­al terrain.

The explor­er fea­tured in this sto­ry tends to col­lect items small enough to fit in her hand, but when she is done inspect­ing them, she returns them to the spot where she found them; she does not take them home, but leaves them for the next explor­er to find and admire. These found trea­sures recall his­to­ry, the Bible, cli­mate, geol­o­gy, and the out­doors. They include feath­ers, fruits, shells, stones, ani­mals and birds. The child walks along trails in ani­mal habi­tats, clam­bers over caves and canyons, splash­es in rivers, and swims in seas, search­ing for old­er traces of Israel. The tone is calm, the art is serene and beau­ti­ful, and the chil­dren are hap­py and pur­pose­ful about being kind to the earth.

Leshem-Pelly’s mes­sage is direct and fac­tu­al: sci­ence edu­cates, nature amazes. This qui­et book show­cas­es Israel’s sur­pris­ing boun­ty of nat­ur­al wonders.