Jewish Heritage Month

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

Updated April 22, 2025
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1

Nothing the same, everything haunted : the ballad of Motl the cowboy
Barwin, Gary
Paper Book
A middle-aged Jewish man who fantasizes about being a cowboy goes on an eccentric quest across Europe after the 1941 Nazi invasion of Lithuania in this wild and witty yet heartrending novel from the bestselling author of Yiddish for Pirates, shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize....

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author

2

Postcard.
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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.

3

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.

4

Immigrant city : stories
Bezmozgis, David
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE 2019 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE Award-winning author David Bezmozgis's first story collection in more than a decade, hailed by the Toronto Star as "intelligent, funny, unfailingly sympathetic" In the title story, a father and his young daughter stumble into a bizarre...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

5

The Full Catastrophe: A Novel
Cook, Méira
Paper Book
Winner, 2023 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction Finalist, 2023 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award A compassionate and funny novel about defining yourself, the communities that support us, and the journeys that secrets propel. Charlie Minkoff, a thirteen...

Also available in eBook and Book Club Kit formats.

Canadian author.

6

All the shining people : stories
Friedman, Kathy
Paper Book
Finalist, 2023 Trillium Book Award Finalist, Writers Union of Canada 2023 Daunta Gleed Literary Award Finalist, 2023 ReLit Award for Short Fiction Twelve exquisitely written stories depicting the search for human connection and the attempt to fit in far from home. All...

Canadian author.

7

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 Novel...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

8

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 Novel...

Aussi disponble en format numerique.

9

Daughters of the Occupation: A Novel
Sanders, Shelly
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Shortlisted for Best Crime Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada Award Based on a true story, this powerful novel is set in Latvia's capital during the horrific Rumbula massacre when 30,000 Jews were slaughtered over two days in 1941 When Miriam and her...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

10

Room for one more
Polak, Monique
Paper Book
For twelve-year-old Rosetta Wolfson, the war in Europe seems very far off from her home in Canada. Then Mr. Schwartzberg comes to tea and asks Rosetta's parents if they will take in a young war refugee. Isaac joins the family and becomes a ready-made brother to Rosetta and her two sisters. ...

Canadian author.

11

Boy from Buchenwald : the true story of a Holocaust survivor
Waisman, Robert
Paper Book
It was 1945 and Romek Wajsman had just been liberated from Buchenwald, a brutal concentration camp where more than 60,000 people were killed. He was starving, tortured, and had no idea where his family was-let alone if they were alive. Along with 472 other boys, including Elie Wiesel, these teens...

Canadian author.

12

Brazen : [online electronic book] my unorthodox journey from long sleeves to lin
Haart, Julia, 1971-
Ebook
WALL STREET JOURNAL AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER * From the star of the Netflix reality series My Unorthodox Life, a riveting, inspiring memoir of one woman's escape from an extremist religious sect and an extraordinary rise from housewife to shoe designer, to CEO and co...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

13

The power of teamwork : how we can all work better together
Goldman, Brian
Paper Book
The national bestseller from the host of CBC Radio's White Coat, Black Art--now in paperback! In the high-pressure and complex setting of health care, a new approach to teamwork is leading to healthier patients, happier staff and more efficient operations. Doctors are learning art...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

14

Who by fire : war, atonement, and the resurrection of Leonard Cohen
Friedman, Matti
Paper Book
The incredible never-before-told story of Leonard Cohen's 1973 tour of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.  "Who by Fire is a stunning resurrection of a moment in the life of Leonard Cohen and the history of Israel. It's the story of a young artist in crisis and a young...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

15

Friends and enemies : a memoir
Amiel, Barbara
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Barbara Amiel's much-talked-about life has been a subject of endless fascination for the media, many unauthorized biographies, as well as screen depictions. An instinctive feminist and now a foe of feminism's political correctness, she covers a formidable array of...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

16

Dead mom walking : a memoir of miracle cures and other disasters
Matlow, Rachel
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Vine Award in Non-Fiction "A comedy for catastrophic times." --CBC "A hilarious memoir of effervescent misadventures." --Toronto Star...
Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

17

"Nice" Jewish girls
Merberg, Julie
Paper Book
Probing the lives of historic icons like Anne Frank to contemporary heroines such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the book also provides an overview of modern Jewish history. Subjects ranging from Anna Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic child psychology to fashion mogul Diane von Furstenberg to...

18

Seeking the fabled city : the Canadian Jewish experience
Levine, Allan
Paper Book
In this definitive and meticulously researched account of the Jewish experience in Canada, award-winning and critically acclaimed author Allan Levine documents a story that is rich, accessible, often surprising, and epic in its scope. Relying on an abundance of primary sources and first-hand...

Canadian author.

19

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...

20

We Belong Here
Wishinsky, Frieda.
Paper Book
In troubling times, two very different children find power in friendship and solidarity. Eve Bloom doesn't like being taunted at school for being a newcomer. This is her home. When Eve notices the same children bullying Mark Nakamura for his Japanese culture, she jumps in to defend him. A...

Canadian author

21

Osnat and her dove : the true story of the world's first female rabbi
Samuel, Sigal
Paper Book
Osnat was born five hundred years ago - at a time when almost everyone believed in miracles. But very few believed that girls should learn to read. Yet Osnat's father was a great scholar whose house was filled with books. And she convinced him to teach her. Then she in turn grew up...

Canadian author

22

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.

23

Jew-ish : reinvented recipes from a modern mensch : a cookbook
Cohen, Jake
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A brilliantly modern take on Jewish culinary traditions for a new generation of readers, from a bright new star in the culinary world. When you think of Jewish food, a few classics come to mind:...

Also available in eBook format.

24

Let It Glow
Meyer, Marissa.
Paper Book
Now a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestseller! When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior's center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling,...

Also available in eBook and eAudiobook formats.

Canadian author.

25

A struggle for hope
Matas, Carol
Paper Book
A gripping story of survival and hope from acclaimed author Carol Matas. Ruth survived the Holocaust and the long journey to Palestine. Now she finds herself once again in a war zone as Israel battles for its existence. Her brother is on the front lines. Ruth and her boyfriend are injured...

Canadian author.

26

By chance alone : a remarkable true story of courage and survival at Auschwitz /
Eisen, Max
Paper Book
In the tradition of Elie Wiesel's Night and Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz comes a bestselling new memoir by Canadian survivor Finalist for the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize More than 70 years after the Nazi camps were liberated by the Allies, a new Canadian Holocaust memoir...

Also available in eBook format.

Canadian author.

27

Magical meet cute
Meltzer, Jean
Paper Book
"A laugh-out-loud funny romance with depth and heart, readers will love this spellbinding novel!" --Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author Is he the real deal...or did she truly summon a golem? Faye Kaplan used to be...

Also available in eBook and Audiobook format.


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