ABOUT THE BOOK

The magnificent Baha'i Gardens of Haifa, Israel, have been listed by the UNESCO World Heritage Commission as a World Heritage Site. Members of the Baha'i faith have established their world center in the city of Haifa and maintain their shrine in the Gardens. In HEAVENLY GARDENS, Judith Weinshall Liberman, a native of Haifa, presents her unique insight into the symbolic meaning of the Gardens by probing the relationship between tenets of the Baha'i faith, such as the oneness of humankind, and various elements in the design of the Baha'i Gardens of Haifa.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Israel (then called Palestine ), Judith Weinshall Liberman came to the United States in 1947 to pursue higher education. She earned four American university degrees including two in law, a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and an LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School. After settling in the Boston area in 1956, she studied art and creative writing. Beginning in the early 1960s, and for four decades thereafter, Ms. Liberman created numerous series of artworks. Her art has been widely exhibited, and is represented in the collection of museums and other public institutions. During her long career in visual art, Ms. Liberman wrote several books, among them some picture books. Her book THE BIRD’S LAST SONG (Addison-Wesley, 1976), which she also illustrated, won a citation as one of the fabulous books of the year. Since 2012, she has published several additional picture books, including ICE CREAM SNOW, THE LITTLE FAIRY, COLOR IN OUR WORLD, THE VERY OLD PAINTER AND HER HUSBAND, HAIFA, ANGEL’S PUPPIES, THE GIANT HOUSE, THE BEE AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE MOUNTAIN, THE TUNNEL, THE OLD DOLL, THE LITTLE SONGBIRD, FIFTEEN FABLES, TWELVE MORE FABLES, THE BIRD WHO WENT TO HEAVEN, A PARAKEET FOR ERIC, TALES OF HUMAN FOIBLES, IN THE MILITARY CEMETERY, THE GIRL AND THE PIGEONS, MORE TALES OF HUMAN FOIBLES, MICHAEL AND THE FLAG, WHAT WILL I BE?, IF I HAD THE POWER, IF I WERE RICH, LUCY AND THE SNOWMAN, THE WHIRLPOOL, THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET, TALE OF THE ROMAN NUMERALS, IF I HAD A LITTLE SISTER, IF I WERE A MOM, GRANDMA’S GLASSES, THE SECRET, ANNE FRANK IN MY ART, RUTHIE AND HER ANCESTORS, and AN INTRODUCTION TO MY JUDAICA ART. Judith Weinshall Liberman’s archives can be found in the Arts Department of the Boston Public Library and at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Radu Costea was born and raised in Iasi, Romania, where he studied computer science. In 2001 he moved to the United States to work in the information technology industry. He has designed product packaging and logos and has had extensive experience in publishing. HEAVENLY GARDENS is the third book on which Mr. Costea and the author, Judith Weinshall Liberman, have collaborated; the first was HAIFA (2014) and the second was THE BEE AND THE BUTTERFLY (2014). Mr. Costea’s well-developed artistic sense is evident from the illustrations he has created for the present book.