Books for Jewish American Heritage Month and Beyond

A girl and her mom light a candle to honor the memory of a loved one in this gorgeously illustrated picture book about this special Jewish tradition.

This heartwarming winter story is perfect for those who love to knit and parents looking to teach their children about the importance of doing good for others!

An engaging picture book biography based on the incredible true story of a Jewish refugee who pioneered home video games and launched a worldwide obsession.

In this poignant tribute to grandparents everywhere, a grandfather reflects on his loving relationship with his three grandchildren. This story beautifully captures how love can make anyone “the greatest” in someone’s eyes.

In this poignant picture book about family and belonging, the child of a Jewish mother and a South Asian father hears stories about her family history. Sometimes she doesn’t feel Jewish enough or South Asian enough, but comes to realize you can feel–and be–many things at once.

Friends from different backgrounds come together in a heartwarming picture book that is perfect for Passover, from beloved children’s book author Patricia Polacco.

A poignant multicultural ode to family and what it means to create a home as one girl helps her Tía move away from her beloved Miami apartment.

A gorgeous, expressive picture-book biography of Marc Chagall by the Caldecott Honor team behind The Noisy Paint Box.

In this heartwarming story about the importance of community, a little Jewish girl living on the Lower East Side during the flu pandemic of 1918 can’t start school because her father is sick, so she makes a trade with her neighbors: chores for lessons.

A board book that introduces the youngest of readers to favorite Jewish foods — such as blintzes, kugel, and gefilte fish — brought to you by the musical band The Macaroons!

A SYDNEY TAYLOR NOTABLE BOOK • Learn about the importance of vaccines and the scientific process through the fascinating life of world-renowned scientist Jonas Salk, whose pioneering discoveries changed the world forever.

Zelly Fried has finally convinced her parents to let her get a dog, with the help of her grandfather Ace. Unfortunately, said dog (also named Ace) is a shoe-chewing, mud-tracking, floor-peeing kind of dog. Despite Zelly’s best efforts to drag Ace (literally!) to puppy kindergarten, his flunking report card says it all: “This Ace is wild.”

Meet the All-of-a-Kind  Family — Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie — who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century.

SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD HONOREE FOR OLDER READERS

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

An unforgettable coming-of-age story about comedy, loss, and friendship for fans of Jennifer L. Holm and Gary D. Schmidt.

Now in paperback! A story of what to do when you get burned by the magic you’ve been looking for all your life from the author of the National Book Award finalist The Way Back.

Junior high school girls, meet your new BFF! Izzy Kline faces all the drama of middle school with total honesty and deep heart.

When Autumn becomes the secret voice of the advice column in her middle school newspaper, she is faced with a dilemma—can she give fair advice to everyone, including her friends, while keeping her identity a secret?

Fans of Louis Sachar will welcome the adventures of a contest-crazed seventh grader who uses his wits and way with words in hopes of winning a big cash prize to help his family avoid eviction.

What if there was a ghost in your brother’s room? This kid-friendly mystery about three friends who try to help a restless spirit find peace is perfect for fans of Under the Egg and The Book Scavenger.

From the author of The Wave comes a poignant and timely novel about a group of seventh graders who are brought together—and then torn apart—by an afterschool club that plays a video game based on WW2.

How far would you go to keep a promise? Told from alternating points of view, Hidden Truths is a story of changing friendships, the lies we tell, the secrets we keep, and the healing power of forgiveness.

“A unique and compelling novel from a master storyteller.” —School Library Journal, starred review

The critically acclaimed author of Lily and Dunkin delivers another heartfelt story that will remind readers you never know who needs a friend the most.

One magical inn, two kids with supernatural powers, and an ancient Celtic creature trying to destroy their world… Wednesday meets Supernatural in this bewitching middle-grade series!

This collection of biographies of brave and brilliant Jewish female role models–selected in collaboration with Ruth Bader Ginsburg and including an introduction written by the iconic Supreme Court justice herself– provides young people with a roster of inspirational role models, all of whom are Jewish women, who will appeal not only to young people but to people of all ages, and all faiths.

From the beloved author of Hidden Truths comes a novel about take-charge sixth grader Bess Stein, who brings together friends and a group of rockstar librarians called the Book Warriors to fight a book ban happening at her middle school.

Discover what happens when one girl wants to break barriers in a sport dominated by boys in this exciting and thoughtful novel by the author of The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary.

For years, 10-year-old Zelly Fried has tried to convince her parents to let her have a dog. After all, practically everyone in Vermont owns a dog, and it sure could go a long way helping Zelly fit in since moving there from Brooklyn. But when her eccentric grandfather Ace hatches a ridiculous plan involving a “practice dog” named O.J., Zelly’s not so sure how far she’s willing to go to win a dog of her own. Is Ace’s plan so crazy it just might work . . . or is it just plain crazy?

By the author of the Newbery Honor Book The Night Diary, a thoughtful and relatable story about cultural identity, friendship, and what it means to fit in without losing who you are.

A lyrical novel-in-verse that takes us through the journey of coming of age in New York during the 80s.

Alma’s life is a series of halfways: She’s half-Chinese, half-Jewish; her parents spend half the time fighting, and the other half silent; and she’s halfway through becoming a woman. But as long as she can listen to her Walkman, hang out with her friends on the stoops of the Village, and ride her bike around the streets of New York, it feels like everything will be all right.

Inspired by a real-life incident, this riveting novel explores the dangerous impact discrimination and antisemitism have on one community when a school assignment goes terribly wrong.

Would you defend the indefensible?

A powerful coming-of-age novel, pulled from personal experience, about the meaning of friendship, the joyful beginnings of romance, and the racism and religious intolerance that can both strain a family to the breaking point and strengthen its bonds.

A tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl’s determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little’s Deathdate.

Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already knows: she’s hilarious.

The New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next delivers a poignant and hopeful novel about resilience and reinvention, first love and lifelong friendship, the legacies of loss, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

National Jewish Book Award Winner • Christy Award Finalist

A young woman survives the unthinkable in this stunning and emotionally satisfying tale of family, love, and resilience, set against the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.

A tumultuous tale of the student-led 1956 Hungarian revolution set in a colorless post-WWII Budapest—where the magical Danube river has plans of its own—from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST and a SYDNEY TAYLOR NOTABLE BOOK, now in paperback! A sweeping historical fantasy that follows two teens on a perilous journey through the Far Country, a Jewish land of spirits and demons. Perfect for readers of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman.

A Morris Award Finalist
Longlisted for the National Book Award

For fans of The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes a lushly illustrated novel about a teen Holocaust survivor who must come to terms with who she is and how to rebuild her life.