Books for Kids: Jewish American Heritage Month

May is Jewish Heritage Month. Check out some of these titles to celebrate throughout the month!

Updated April 26, 2023
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Lucky broken girl
Behar, Ruth
Paper Book
Winner of the 2018 Pura Belpre Award! A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century "A book for anyone mending from childhood wounds."--Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street In this unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age...
Tía Fortuna's new home
Behar, Ruth
Paper Book
Una conmovedora oda multicultural a la familia y a lo que significa crear un hogar cuando una nina ayuda a su tia a mudarse de su querido apartamento en Miami. Cuando Fortuna, la tia de Estrella, tiene que despedirse de su antiguo edificio de apartamentos en Miami, The...
No vacancy
Cohen, Tziporah
Paper Book
With the help of her Catholic friend, an eleven-year-old Jewish girl creates a provocative local tourist attraction to save her family's failing motel. Buying and moving into the run-down Jewel Motor Inn in upstate New York wasn't eleven-year-old Miriam Brockman's dream, but at least it's...
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...
How to find what you're not looking for
Hiranandani, Veera
Paper Book
New historical fiction from a Newbery Honor-winning author about how middle schooler Ariel Goldberg's life changes when her big sister elopes following the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, and she's forced to grapple with both her family's prejudice and the antisemitism she experiences,...
The greatest song of all : how Isaac Stern united the world to save Carnegie Hall
Hoyt, Megan
Paper Book
From the acclaimed author of Bartali's Bicycle comes the inspiring story of violin virtuoso Isaac Stern and his mission to save the beloved Carnegie Hall from demolition. When Carnegie Hall first opened its doors in 1891, no one could have predicted its incredible success. With talented...
A ceiling made of eggshells
Levine, Gail Carson
Paper Book
In A Ceiling Made of Eggshells, Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine tells a moving and ambitious story set during the expulsion of Jews from Spain, about a young Jewish girl full of heart who must play her own role in her people's epic history--no matter the sacrifice.<...
The people's painter : how Ben Shahn fought for justice with art
Levinson, Cynthia
Paper Book
The People's Painter is a lyrically told, exquisitely illustrated picture book biography of influential Jewish artist and activist Ben Shahn. A Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Winner An Association of Jewish Libraries...
I dissent : Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes her mark
Levy, Debbie
Paper Book
Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg--in the first picture book about her life--as she proves that disagreeing does not make you disagreeable! Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent a lifetime disagreeing: disagreeing with inequality,...
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk
Lowe, Mari
Paper Book
Sydney Taylor Award Winner BEST OF THE YEAR NPR · Kirkus · New York Public Library · Evanston Public Library A compelling, tender story about friendship and community, grief and healing, and one indomitable girl who...
The book rescuer : how a mensch from Massachusetts saved Yiddish literature for generations to come
Macy, Sue
Paper Book
Recipient of a Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers An ALA Notable Book A Bank Street Best Book of the Year "Text and illustration meld beautifully." --The New York Times "Stunning."​ --Kirkus Reviews (starred...
The woman who split the atom : Lise Meitner
Moss, Marissa
Paper Book
Bestselling author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fission As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like...
Gittel's journey : an Ellis Island story
Newman, Lesle a
Paper Book
Both a heart-wrenching and heartwarming story, Gittel's Journey offers a fresh perspective on the immigration journey. Gittel and her mother were supposed to immigrate to America together, but when her mother is stopped by the health inspector,...
Black bird, blue road
Pasternack, Sofiya
Paper Book
In this historical fantasy novel, praised as a "rich, omen-filled journey that powerfully shows love and its limits*" and "propulsive, wise, and heartbreaking,"** Ziva will do anything to save her twin brother Pesah from his illness--even facing the Angel of Death himself. From Sydney...
Beautiful Yetta : the Yiddish chicken
Pinkwater, Daniel Manus
Paper Book
Yetta, beautiful Yetta, manages to escape from the butcher's shop. But now she is lost in Brooklyn--a strange place filled with rude rats and dangerous buses! !?????? geVAHLT! Oh, dear! But then, brave Yetta saves a small green bird from a...
Not your all-American girl
Rosenberg, Madelyn
Paper Book
A multicultural story full of heart and hilarity about what it means to be all-American.Lauren and her best friend, Tara, have always done absolutely everything together. So when they don't have any classes together in sixth grade, it's disastrous. The solution? Trying out for the school play....
The museum of lost and found
Sales, Leila
Paper Book
Award-winning author Leila Sales's The Museum of Lost and Found is a warm, relatable middle-grade story about a friendship falling apart and the abandoned museum that becomes a shrine to lost connections--featuring black-and-white illustrations by Jacqueline Li.
Ellen outside the lines
Sass, A. J.
Paper Book
Winner of a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor! A heartfelt novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons for fans of Rain Reign and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. ...
Nicky & Vera : a quiet hero of the Holocaust and the children he rescued
Si?s, Peter
Paper Book
A Finalist for the 2022 Jane Addams Children's Book Award An NPR Best Book of 2021 A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2021 A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021 ...
The tower of life : how Yaffa Eliach rebuilt her town in stories and photographs
Stiefel, Chana
Paper Book
A moving biography of the woman who created The Tower of Faces, a powerful exhibit at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal) A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book ★ "...There are many picture books about the...

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