Look­ing for a way to take a peek into the his­to­ry of Israel? Two friends, Dovid and Esty, broth­er and sis­ter, are the kids to fol­low. They not only make aliyah to Israel with their fam­i­ly, but their adven­tures take them on a time trav­el trip back to the top of Masa­da. Of course, it helps when your par­ents work at the Muse­um of Sci­ence and Antiquities.

Author Sara-Ester Var­nai uti­lizes the blend­ing of adven­ture and time trav­el to cre­ate a won­der­ful plat­form com­bin­ing Judaism, sci­ence, his­to­ry, and friend­ship while pro­vid­ing sol­id facts about life in Israel. The sto­ry starts with a sup­posed failed sci­ence project and ends with an archae­o­log­i­cal mys­tery unrav­eled. Or is it?

The resources includ­ed in the book are superb. The appen­dices, glos­sary and pho­tos are a trea­sure trove of infor­ma­tion and will pro­vide a vari­ety of jump­ing off points for widen­ing dis­cus­sions with read­ers, stu­dents and edu­ca­tors. Addi­tion­al series titles are in process. At Masa­da is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed for a fun look at Israel of the past and present.

Rec­om­mend­ed for ages 7 – 10.