it’s time for another Board Book Saturday! Hurray! Today’s featured book is the wonderful creation of author/illustrator Varda Livney, one of the members of my #JewishBoardBooks group that also includes Nancy Churnn, Ann Koffsky, and Sarah Aroeste. Varda’s book, CHALLAH!, just launched…and I’m excited to share it with all of you…as well as a day in the life of Varda, who was kind enough to give us a tiny peek into what it means to be living in Israel right now.

What a fabulous cover! Now I want a piece of challah! And the story is so adorable – all about a very little boy bunny who hasn’t said his first words – and when he does, his family worry that perhaps that will be the only word he ever says.

Dear friends, the situation in Israel is terrifying…and we are all praying that those taken hostage will be returned safely and that the terrorists will be destroyed and that the people of Israel and Palestine will be able to live in peace. Perhaps some of you watch the news and see some of what’s going on. But what is life like for a resident of Israel? I’m grateful to Varda for being willing to share the letter she wrote to our board book group a couple of days ago. I think it’s really important for us to put a face on the people of Israel – and see their hearts.

VARDA: My immediate family is so far safe.. We had sirens here for the first couple of days, but since then, nothing. 3 miles away, 5 miles away, but nothing where we are. 

The situation is really horrible and awful, and lifechanging, not in a good way, for many, many, many people.

It will never be the same.  and yet…..

Hopefully some good will come out of this when it is all over.  

No more rockets? Better government on all sides? Change of priorities? Peace?  A girl can dream, can’t she?

The good I see now, is Israel, which has been torn into itty-bitty pieces politically for the last 9 months, is now one big family (for the most part).  People are running around like bees in a beehive trying help anyone they can find. We are in Jewish-mother mode. This is us at our best. It is our superpower.

From the local council: “Hi, we need 450 meals for some soldiers who are staying nearby for a few days while they are training. Attached is an excel sheet. Meat, vegan, dessert, napkins… please sign up and have the meal here by 12.”

From the office of the kibbutz: “ Hi, our accountant is in Ashkelon, and she is not coming into work, so we need someone to drive her laptop down to her house right now.” 

“Hi, I’m leading some yoga in the clubhouse for whoever wants at 5:00, bring a mat.”

From a teacher: “Hi, we’re under the dining room, the high school kids are making gift packages of snacks for the police. Here’s a list of the kind of snacks we want. Bring them by 3 pm.”

This is just a little list from our local community. This is HUGE, and is is an incredible silver lining of this crap situation.

My daughter is in the army, but she is safe. For the first few days she was being sent to be at the funerals of soldiers from her base (loss of innocence at 21). Now they have started fitness training again, so she is back on her usual schedule, training combat soldiers. She has many friends in danger, and some who have died. But she sounds better than she did last week.

My husband is Rabbi of the synagogue on the kibbutz. He is organizing all sorts of singing sessions, going to the kindergarten to talk to the kids, raising money for assorted things. (Last week one of my daughter’s friends wrote that they have more soldiers than usual, and they had just had the first rain, and they were all kind of stressed and headach-y. So the synagogue bought umbrellas, sheets and assorted over-the-counter meds and sent them to her base.)  He was in touch with the local council about what we could do to help, and they said they need combat vests for everyone guarding the communities, so he is reaching out to his contacts in Kansas (where he is from ) to see what he can do. 

I usually have a day-job 3 days a week working for an artist who does big art with wood and metal. I didn’t go in all last week. I would never have been able to do my own writing work, except for my critique group! It was my day this past Sunday to present (we each present once every 5 weeks), so I HAD to make progress. THIS is what is so great about critique groups. I DID get something done, war and all.

Otherwise, I am buying snacks for the police when I’m asked, baking vegan for the soldiers when I’m asked, cooking for my extended family, ordering pizza for my son and the boy next door who just got home from the army (and his mom got stuck out of the country), doing Israel pr when nobody asked me to, glued to the news, and trying to find people from the south who need a house….. because we have an empty volunteers house (all of the volunteers went back to their countries) and people are clearing out of their houses to get away from the rockets. I am volunteering for watching the gate at the kibbutz, and if they come at me, I will kill them with my charm.  My friend Roxanne asked the head security guy on the kibbutz (Actually, the head of security was called to the army, so they put someone else in charge, and then HE was called to the army, so this is the 3rd in charge) “Really, you want ME to guard the kibbutz?” and he said, “I asked the army for a SWAT team, but they didn’t send one, so yes, I want you.”  

Oh my dear Varda…thank you so much. You showed us such an intimate and honest picture. Our hearts and prayers are with you.

And friends, I’m adding a giveaway of a copy of Varda’s newest board book. For a chance to win CHALLAH!, please leave a comment (maybe you can tell us what you favorite bread is) and please SHARE this post on your social media.

Other things we can do to help new books succeed:
Put the on your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf
Review them
Buy them
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Please have a wonderful weekend, everyone. I was supposed to go to Boston today to attend the 20th anniversary of the Women’s Memorial – but a day of rain convinced me to stay at home.