Awards

• Commended for Sydney Taylor Book Award (Younger Readers) 2009

Overview

The olive harvest in Israel is a special time. See how the tiny spring flowers blossom into green fruit, then ripen into shiny black olives. Watch the olives as they're gathered, sorted, and pressed into oil. Then celebrate Hanukkah with an Israeli family, as they use the oil to light their Hanukkah menorah. Come and enjoy the harvest of light.

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9780822573890

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Reviews

A young girl living near Safed, Israel, describes how her family grows and harvests olives to make the oil they use each year in their Hanukkah menorah. In the spring the trees bloom and tiny green olives form; in early fall the family picks and preserves a few green olives for eating; and in late fall they pick, sort, and press ripe black olives for oil. The story is simply told from the young girl's point of view, makes use of Hebrew terms (Ima and Abba for mother and father), and references Jewish holidays (Sukkot and Hanukkah) to describe the maturational stages of the olives. Alpern's clear color photographs follow each step of the cycle, emphasizing how the family works to-gether in these efforts and how they appreciate the beauty of these trees in addition to their bounty. This is a natural choice for religious collections, but it will also be useful for classes studying life in contemporary Israel. --Journal

Author Information

Allison Ofanansky, born in the U.S., moved to Israel and became an Israeli citizen in 1996. She lives in the village of Kaditah near the mystical city of Safed, with her husband Shmuel and daughter Aravah. They enjoy hiking the hills of the Galilee, gathering and eating the fruits that grow there. They are involved in environmental and eco-peace projects. Born and raised outside Chicago and now living in Israel, photographer Eliyahu Alpern has been interested in food, travel, and photography since childhood. He's been a musician, cougar rehabilitator, vegetarian chef, organic farmer and multi-media maven. His photographic specialty is 360-degree panoramic images of Israel. He lives in the Upper Galilee with his family.

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