If one imagines children’s books falling along the moral persuasion spectrum between smug and subversive, a subversive book nurtures hope for a better, different future, and, by example, encourages young readers not to succumb to the often cynical despair of the grown ups around them.  This past year has been a dream-shattering one for many people who had felt hopeful about a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  And the yearning only grows greater as each side struggles to have its own dreams and reality accommodated and accepted by the other.  This year we call your attention to several hope-restoring books about Israel and other subjects.