On Eagles' Wings and Other Things

Poetically and memorably, this book relates stories of the mass influx of immigrants experienced by Israel at her birth. Four representative stories are told at once: of Avraham, a young Yemenite whose voyage in Operation Magic Carpet suddenly transports him and his family into the modern world; of the many changes for Eli, who leaves discrimination in Tunisia; of Mira, orphaned in the Holocaust; and of Adrena, whose family leaves America for ideological reasons. While the narrative is busy, the concerns of each child and family as they pack, travel and arrive are individually on target. For Mira, there is fear; for Avraham, a miracle in his airplane trip, for ""is it not written that we will return to our land on the wings of eagles?'' Israel's various inhabitants have not always lived together in peace, but this is a book about the realization of dreams and vibrant hopes as they existed at the country's inception. Ages 5-9. (January)