Discover a fortress engineered for the desert. Explore Herod’s terraced palace, Roman baths, mosaics, rain channels, and cisterns capable of storing more than a million gallons of water.
Can You Read Nature? · National Parks
Climb into history. The desert fortress still speaks.
Explore Masada through lyrical storytelling, real archaeology and desert science, and museum-quality artwork created for curious families.
Ages 5–14+Family nature bookArt by Marie Shoup
Read before you go see ten times more!
Hardcover
Hardcover + free ebook
$29.95Includes instant-download ebook
- Free ebook included with hardcover
- A nature book for exploring Masada’s landscape and history
- Original art that makes archaeology memorable
- $1 to Children and Nature Network
Ebook
The nature book you can take anywhere
$12.95instant download
- Your perfect travel companion, see 10x more
- Kinder to the planet, nothing in a landfill
- Desert wildlife, archaeology, and history shine on a screen
- $1 to Children and Nature Network
Instant deliveryEbook delivered by email
Free shippingOrders over $40
Secure checkoutPowered by Shopify
Gives back$1 supports nature
Wear the story
Carry the desert fortress—and wear its story.
Pair the hardcover nature book with the matching Masada shirt for a gift that keeps the ancient landscape and its remarkable history close long after the final page.
Choose your shirt option before adding both items to your cart.
Look closer
Every stone holds a story of survival and freedom.
Read history across the mountaintop. Trace the siege ramp and camps, examine discoveries left by archaeologists, and meet ibex, ravens, hyrax, foxes, lizards, and scorpions adapted to desert life.
Meet the artist
Marie Shoup
Children’s book illustrator and lifelong artist
“I hope this story gives you a glimpse of Masada’s grandeur and immerses you in its enduring desire for freedom.”
Hi, I’m Marie, and I loved illustrating this story. I was actually in Israel in 2018, and Masada National Park was part of the tour. I felt a deep connection to illustrating this book as a result of that. One of my creative outlets is Faithbooking, and after I returned from Israel, I created this two-page spread that inspired me in several of my illustrations. I hope this story and these illustrations give you a glimpse of the site’s grandeur and immerse you in the Zealots’ desire for freedom.
I have loved art since I was a little girl and have expressed it in many different ways throughout my life. At the age of 62, I illustrated my first children’s book, “Who Shaped the Snowflakes?” Since then, I have also illustrated two other books, “Who Painted the Leaves?” and “Joy.”
Marie’s illustrations invite families to see Masada as both a breathtaking desert landscape and a living record of courage, ingenuity, and history.
About this book
What is inside
Explore Masada’s mesa landscape, Hasmonean and Herodian fortress, palaces and baths, advanced water system, Roman siege, archaeology, desert wildlife and plants, remarkable acoustics, preservation, and ten must-see experiences.
About the author
Narrated by Neil Rosen, children’s book author and founder of WildStork. Neil writes every book as an invitation to look closer, stay longer, and discover what families miss when they move too fast.
Reading level
Ages 5 to 14. Designed for the whole family, with lyrical storytelling, history, and real science to share together.