Meet Jackie the Penguin, the funniest little explorer to ever waddle across Australia!
This charming chapter‑style adventure blends real animal facts, laugh‑out‑loud moments, and kid‑friendly learning — perfect for ages 6–9 who can’t get enough of kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, and all things wild.
Parents and grandparents say their kids can’t put it down — and love discovering new animals along the way.
Give your young reader a story that sparks curiosity, builds confidence, and makes reading feel like an adventure.
⭐ LIMITED‑TIME PROMO!
For the next few days, the eBook edition is just $0.99 (regular price $4.99). A perfect chance to grab this fun, educational animal adventure at a great price.
Please save the dates for Irene’s upcoming virtual lectures:
New City Library New York, April 29th at 7:00 PM
Revisiting Scandinavia Post-October 7th
Join Irene Shaland, for a meaningful virtual journey through Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. While known for stunning fjords and modern design, these nations hold a wealth of compelling, often hidden, Jewish stories that resonate deeply with our shared heritage.
This is a chance to connect with the past and learn about the disturbing present: We will delve into the vibrant Jewish communities that once thrived in the region, examine the role each nation played during the Holocaust, and gain insight into contemporary Jewish life in Scandinavia. This exclusive presentation offers a unique and personal window into the rich tapestry of Scandinavia, seen through a distinctly Jewish lens.
On Tuesday, May 19th, at 11:00 AM, the Baltimore Zionist District organization will host Irene’s newest lecture centered on the great modernist writer Franz Kafka.
Emergence of a New Phenomenon: The Secular Jew — Understanding Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka stands at the crossroads of one of the most fascinating transformations in modern Jewish history: the rise of the secular, urban, German‑speaking Jew in Central Europe. His life and work illuminate a world where Jewish identity was both ever‑present and almost unspeakable — a tension that shaped an entire generation.
Join Irene in this journey into identity, memory, and the Jewish soul of one of the greatest modern writers — a story as relevant today as it was a century ago.
Irene’s new lecture explores the deep, thousand‑year Jewish presence in the Czech lands — Bohemia, Moravia, and Prague — and the dramatic cultural shift that produced a new kind of Jew at the turn of the 20th century. By the late 1800s, most Czech Jews identified with German culture, lived in cosmopolitan cities, and navigated a complex dual identity that was both empowering and precarious. At the center of this story stands Franz Kafka (1883–1924): born Jewish, raised Jewish, and yet famously silent about Judaism in his fiction. And still, his diaries, letters, and private reflections reveal a man who wrestled intensely with what it meant to be a Jew in modern Europe. He studied Yiddish and Hebrew, immersed himself in Jewish theater, and sensed — with uncanny clarity — the catastrophe that would soon engulf European Jewry.
In this presentation, we will explore:
Kafka in Prague — the Jewish city that shaped him
Prague in Kafka — the shadows of identity, alienation, and belonging that permeate his writing
The paradox of Jewish presence and Jewish silence in his literary world
How Kafka’s Jewishness influenced his imagination, even when unspoken
Why Kafka foresaw the coming destruction of European Jewry long before others did
Together, we will confront the central question: If Kafka had not been born and raised as a Jew, would he have become Kafka?
Registration information will be announced at a later date.
Jackie the Penguin is back—and this time, the journey is heading Down Under!
After years of exploring the globe, Jackie’s latest journey, “A Penguin’s Travel Journal: Australia,” is her biggest yet. Designed specifically as a chapter book for growing readers, this 87-page story is packed with exciting leaps from one adventure to the next and filled with charming illustrations.
Is your young reader ready to level up? Give them a story they’ll love to finish.
See what’s inside the new book.
Book Description:
Pack your curiosity — Jackie the Penguin is heading to Australia, and this adventure is anything but ordinary. With a hand-drawn wish list tucked under one wing, Jackie dreams of looking into the eyes of four remarkable animals found nowhere else on Earth: the speedy emu, the mysterious platypus, the powerful kangaroo, and the sleepy koala. But checking off this list won’t be easy. Each animal has its own secrets, surprises, and challenges waiting to be discovered.
As Jackie travels across forests, rivers, grasslands, and eucalyptus groves, young readers uncover playful animal facts woven into the story. Why does a platypus have a bill like a duck? How high can a kangaroo leap? What makes a koala’s day so… slow? Every page invites kids to wonder, observe, and learn.
Perfect for families who love exploring together, this book blends adventure with real science in a way that sparks questions long after the last page. Dive in and see which animal Jackie meets first — and whether that wish list will be completed after all.
Upcoming Virtual Lecture:How the Jews of Iberia Changed the Course of World History
Join Qesher for an extraordinary virtual journey into Portugal’s largely unknown, yet utterly fascinating, Jewish history. Acclaimed art and travel writer Irene Shaland, an internationally published historian and author, will transport you through time, from Roman and Visigoth eras to the brilliant Age of Discoveries, and right up to today’s blossoming community. Discover the resilient spirit and secret traditions that survived centuries of Inquisition and persecution, making Portugal a unique safe haven during World War II.
Would you like to know more about the specific dates and times for this virtual event, or perhaps details about Irene Shaland’s books on the topic?
Date: Thursday, January 29 – 3 pm Eastern Time
Duration: 65-75 minutes for presentation, 90 minutes total with Q&A
Irene Shaland is an internationally published art and travel writer and educator, with 7 books and over 30 magazine articles published in the US, Canada, and the UK. She is a contributing author and lecturer at academic institutions such as the Siegal College of Jewish Studies and Touro Law School in New York, and Center for Jewish History Research, as well as museums and cultural institutions, such as Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland and New York, Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, BZD, Qesher, and other communal organizations focusing on Jewish history.
Upcoming Virtual Lecture: Tuesday, January 27, 11 am Eastern Time
Event Organizer: BZD
Event Presenter: Jewish historian and author of the popular Shaland’s Portugal book series, Irene Shaland
Few people realize that, during the darkest years of the Holocaust, neutral Portugal became one of Europe’s last lifelines. As Nazi occupation spread across the continent, thousands of desperate refugees poured into Lisbon — a city suddenly transformed into a tense crossroads of diplomats, fugitives, and international spies.
More than 43,000 refugees reached Portugal during the war. Many first arrived in Lisbon before being dispersed to towns such as Cascais, Estoril, Ericeira, and Vilar Formoso. All of this unfolded under the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, led by António Salazar — a dictator who admired Hitler’s racial ideology and ordered his diplomats to restrict Jewish immigration.
And yet, in defiance of these orders, a handful of courageous Portuguese diplomats chose humanity over obedience. Irene Shaland’s lecture uncovers these largely unknown heroes who risked their careers — and often their lives — to issue thousands of life‑saving transit visas to Jews fleeing the Nazis.
You’ll also step inside wartime Lisbon’s James‑Bond‑like atmosphere, where spies, informants, refugees, and opportunists converged in a city that became a hub of intrigue and survival.
Join this eye‑opening presentation to discover:
– The hidden history of Portugal as a critical escape route
– The diplomats who defied fascism to save Jewish lives
– The political contradictions of Salazar’s regime of neutrality
– The espionage‑filled world of wartime Lisbon
Reserve your spot and uncover a chapter of Holocaust history that few people know — but everyone should.
Irene Shaland is an internationally published art and travel writer and educator, with 7 books and over 30 magazine articles published in the US, Canada, and the UK. She is a contributing author and lecturer at academic institutions such as the Siegal College of Jewish Studies and Touro Law School in New York, and Center for Jewish History Research, as well as museums and cultural institutions, such as Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland and New York, Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, BZD, Qesher, and other communal organizations focusing on Jewish history.
Our friends at BZD (Baltimore Zionist District) are organizing a trip to Israel from December 12 through 17, 2025, to experience Hanukkah in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and southern Israel.
From the windswept fjords of Norway to the quiet resilience of Danish Jewish communities, this journey from Scandinavia’s Jewish past to present invites those who cherish global Jewish heritage and thought-provoking history to uncover stories rarely told.
Title: “Scandinavia through the Eyes of a Jewish Traveler”
Presented by: Irene Shaland a Jewish historian and author of 7 books, including “The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories: Tales of Jewish Diaspora, Persecution, the Holocaust and Rebirth in Europe, Africa and Asia”
Join the BZD for a captivating journey through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with internationally published author Irene Shaland. Known for their breathtaking landscapes, royal capitals, and striking modern design, these countries also hold rich and often little-known Jewish stories.
Together we’ll explore the Jewish communities that once thrived in Scandinavia, the role each nation played during the Holocaust, and what it means to live as a Jew in these societies today. From history to modern life, this presentation offers a unique window into Scandinavia through Jewish eyes.
Step into the hidden world of Sephardic resilience and rediscovery! If you’re a Jewish history enthusiast—or planning a meaningful journey to Portugal—this virtual lecture is your gateway to a rich, little-known chapter of Jewish heritage.
Join renowned scholar Irene Shaland for her newest presentation in the “Saga of Sefarad” series: “Porto and the North: Resilience and Defiance.” From the majestic synagogue and museums of Porto to the mysterious villages “Behind the Mountains,” where Crypto-Jews secretly practiced their faith, this immersive experience will transport you through centuries of courage, ingenuity, and spiritual defiance.
Whether you’re tracing ancestral roots or mapping your next travel adventure, this lecture promises revelations you won’t find in guidebooks. Registration is open—don’t miss your chance to uncover the untold stories of Sephardic Portugal.
Lecture Title: “Porto and the North: Resilience and Defiance”
Presented by: Jewish Historian and Author Irene Shaland
Hosted by: New City Library, New York
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM EST
Place: Zoom virtual event
This virtual event is free, but registration is required to receive the link to attend this lecture.
We begin our journey in Porto: visits to Portugal would not be complete without your immersion in the history and sites of this great city. No matter why you love to travel and whether you are passionate about the arts, music, architecture, rivers, bridges, or wine, Porto offers everything for everyone!
Specifically, for the Jewish history sleuths, we will explore Porto’s fascinating Jewish narrative by unveiling one site at a time. We will also visit Porto’s beautiful synagogue, the city’s two museums dedicated to Jewish history and the Holocaust, and discuss an amazing story of Porto’s Jewish community development throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
From Porto, we will travel to small towns and villages like Braganza, Chaves, Carcão, and Guimarães, to name just a few in the region called Terras de Trás-os-Montes or “Behind the Mountains.” We will “deep-dive” into the largely unknown outside of Portugal and little-researched Jewish narratives. There, Conversos or forcibly converted to Christianity Jews, risked their lives but secretly followed their ancestral religion by ingeniously modifying it to avoid the neighbors’ suspicion.
In the small ancient city of Bragança, we visit two unique Jewish organizations where the stories of the long-gone, forgotten, and hidden “behind the mountains” Jews are preserved: The Sephardic Culture Interpretation Center and The Sephardic Memorial and Documentation Center.
In Guimarães, we will learn why this fascinating city is widely regarded as “The Birthplace of the Nation.”
But it will be in the village of Carcão, where we will discover something extraordinary: the stories of its people’s astonishing defiance of the Inquisition, and see the village’s coat of arms that has a mezuzah and a menorah!
Our journey of discoveries through the unknown Jewish history in Terras de Trás-os-Montes concludes in Tui, Spanish Galicia, where we see the only preserved collection of Sanbenitos, or the Iberian Inquisition’s clothes of shame.
Rabbi Barbara Aiello talks about Irene Shaland’s recent book: “I’ve just had the great pleasure to read historian Irene Shaland’s new and most impressive book to date, Shaland’s Porto & Northern Portugal: An Illustrated Guide to Jewish History and Sites in Northern Portugal, Its Capitol Porto and Select Sites in Central Portugal.
In these days when our mobile phones provide thumbnail sketches of places we’d like to visit, Shaland’s book is a refreshing alternative to the ‘grab and go’ approach imbedded in much of historical travel.
Do you recall the days of printed guidebooks? I still have quite a selection. These printed texts lent themselves to thought, study and consideration – values brought to life in Shaland’s up to date, illustrated guide. More than 200 pages in length and, thanks to Irene’s husband Alex, filled with breathtaking photos, this is a book that, if you let it, will guide your Sephardic Portuguese adventure to many undiscovered treasures that shaped Jewish life in this fascinating region.” – Rabbi Barbara Aiello.
New Book Release: Shaland’s Porto & Northern Portugal: An Illustrated Guide to Jewish History and Sites in Northern Portugal, Its Capital Porto, and Select Sites in Central Portugal
The new addition to Shaland’s Portugal Series
Planning a trip to Portugal and looking for sites related to the history of the Jews in Iberia? Love reading stories of Jewish existence in Europe? The Jewish story of Portugal is not complete without a deep dive into the past and present of Porto and the north of the country—part of human history that, for the most part, remained hidden for centuries.
Not anymore! Now, with this unique guidebook in hand, you can travel in time and space to explore the Jewish sites in Porto, Batalha, Tomar, Guarda, Bragança, Carção, Chaves,Guimarães, and Tui.
Read heroic stories of Jewish resilience, ingenuity, and survival in the face of the relentless Inquisition, ruthless monarchs, and the watchful eyes of neighbors. Follow the wandering Jews of Iberia on the run from expulsions, forced conversions, executions, and outright massacres to short periods of relative calm and then packing up and fleeing again.
This travel guide will help you carefully plan an itinerary that best fits your interests and the time of your stay. After browsing through pages filled with insightful, fascinating stories, practical information, maps, and well over 200 gorgeous color photos, you will be ready for the journey of a lifetime.
Once you arrive in Portugal, we will guide you, step by step, to historical monuments, former Jewish quarters and ghettos, synagogues, and Jewish museums, helping you learn about the Jewish communities of Portugal from biblical times to the present day.As you turn the pages of this richly illustrated guide, you’ll have no trouble finding each site and learning about its history right then and there.
