Jewish Heritage Month

Celebrate Canadian Jewish Heritage Month by choosing one of our recommended reads. For all ages.

Updated April 27, 2026
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1

The postcard
Berest, Anne
Paper Book
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR TIME Magazine・NPR・Library Journal・The Globe and Mail・Lilith・Forward Magazine・Toronto Star・The New Yorker Winner of the Choix Goncourt Prize, Anne Berest...

En 2003, l'ecrivaine recoit une carte postale anonyme sur laquelle sont notes les prenoms des grands-parents de sa mere, de sa tante et de son oncle, morts a Auschwitz en 1942. Elle enquete pour decouvrir l'auteur de cette missive et plonge dans l'histoire de sa famille maternelle, les Rabinovitch, et de sa grand-mere Myriam qui a echappe a la deportation.

Aussi disponible en format numerique.

2

The postcard
Berest, Anne
Paper Book
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR TIME Magazine・NPR・Library Journal・The Globe and Mail・Lilith・Forward Magazine・Toronto Star・The New Yorker Winner of the Choix Goncourt Prize, Anne Berest...

Also available in eBook or eAudiobook formats.

3

Sisters of Fortune : a novel
Chehebar, Esther Levy
Paper Book
"Syrian Jewish culture gets the Jane Austen treatment, with sisters Nina, Fortune and Lucy--the rebel, the good girl and the baby of the family, respectively--all on the marriage market. What's Mama Cohen to do? Chehebar's witty debut dives deep into Brooklyn's Syrian Jewish community."--...

4

Girl in the blue coat
Hesse, Monica
Paper Book
"A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope."―Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale   ★ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ★ Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Mystery...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

5

Girl in the blue coat
Hesse, Monica
Paper Book
"A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope."―Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale   ★ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ★ Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Mystery...

Aussi disponble en format numerique.

6

Prairie Sonata
Rabin, Sandy Shefrin
Paper Book
Richly textured and lyrically written, Prairie Sonata is the story of Mira Adler and her journey from innocence to experience. Mira grows up in post-World War II Canada, in a close-knit Manitoba community founded by secular Jews from Eastern Europe. At the heart of her journey is the friendship that...

Canadian author.

7

Daughters of the occupation : a novel of WWII
Sanders, Shelly
Paper Book
Inspired by true events in World War II Latvia, an emotionally charged novel of sacrifice, trauma, resilience, and survival, as witnessed by three generations of women.  On one extraordinary day in 1940, Miriam Talan's comfortable life is shattered. While she gives birth to her second...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

8

Girls girls girls : a novel
von Blanckensee, Shoshana
Paper Book
It's the summer of '96 and best friends (and secret girlfriends), Hannah and Sam are driving across the country from Long Beach, New York, to the fabled queer paradise of San Francisco, free from the harsh gazes of their neighbors and the stifling demands of Hannah's devout Orthodox Jewish mother....

9

Living a Jewish life : Jewish traditions, customs, and values for today's families
Diamant, Anita.
Paper Book
Living a Jewish Life describes Judaism as not just a contemplative or abstract system of thought but as a blueprint for living fully and honorably. This new edition builds on the classic guide, which has been a favorite among Jewish educators and students for years. Enriched with...

10

Do not cry when I die : a Holocaust memoir of a mother and daughter's survival in Jewish ghettos, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen
Salt, Renee
Paper Book
One of the oldest living Holocaust survivors recounts her family's imprisonment at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in this moving memoir of love, loss, courage, and hope. "I only survived because of my mother's love." When German soldiers invaded Poland in...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook format.

11

None is too many : Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933-1948
Abella, Irving M.
Paper Book

Canadian author.

12

Can posters kill? : antisemitic propaganda and World War II
Faivish, Jerry
Paper Book
How did Hitler and the Nazi Party convince millions of people that the murder of Jews during the Holocaust was not only justifiable but correct? What can we learn from one of the most horrific times in history?  Can Posters Kill?uses rare, historical posters to take readers on a...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

13

Honey and me
Drazin, Meira
Paper Book
Fans of Judy Blume, The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street, and The Penderwicks will love this funny, charismatic story of a Jewish girl striving to forge her own identity in the shadow of her fearless best friend. **A 2023 Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book!** **A...

14

Two pieces of chocolate
Kacer, Kathy
Paper Book
In 1945, young Francine and her maman are sent to the Bergen-Belsen Nazi prison camp, where life is gray and hopeless. Determined to lift Francine's spirits, Maman shares a secret: hidden inside her bag are two pieces of chocolate. They're the first sweets Francine has seen in years, but Maman...

Canadian author.

15

By chance alone : a remarkable true story of courage and survival at Auschwitz
Eisen, Max
Paper Book
An award-winning, internationally bestselling Holocaust memoir in the tradition of Elie Wiesel's Night and Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz In the spring of 1944, gendarmes forcibly removed Tibor "Max" Eisen and his family from their home, brought them to a brickyard and eventually...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

16

The promise : a story of two sisters, prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp
Bat-Zvi, Pnina
Paper Book
The night that Rachel and Toby's parents are taken away by the Nazis, they give their young daughters three gold coins with the instructions to "use these wisely to help save your lives." They also ask the girls to promise that they will always stay together. This compelling true story follows the...

Canadian author.

17

She's a mensch! : ten amazing Jewish women
Dublin, Anne
Paper Book
From the poorest neighborhoods in Kenya to the halls of the Canadian Supreme Court, the Jewish women found in these pages have accomplished remarkable feats. Some survived the horrors of the Holocaust while others had more peaceful childhoods, but all of them saw unfairness in their world and...

Canadian author.

18

Rising
Ludwig, Sidura
Paper Book
An Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Honor Book A quiet, joyful story celebrating a Jewish mother's tradition of making challah with her child merges a lyrical text with stunning illustrations--and includes the author's favorite recipe. Melt into the...

Canadian author.

19

The light keeper
Baslaw, Sheila
Paper Book
Shmuel is eager to help support his poor family, but no one in his shtetl is interested in hiring a ten-year-old boy. One day, the village installs new electric lamps, bringing light to their square and dazzling away the dark. Until a lamp breaks during a storm--and Shmuel is the only one who can...

Canadian author.


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