Award Overview
The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries since 1968, the award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult. Honor Books are awarded silver medals, and Notable Books are named in each category. A Body-of-Work Award is given periodically for significant contributions to the genre of Jewish children’s literature.
To order gold or silver seals to place on your own copies of winning titles, or to buy a Sydney Taylor Book Award poster, please scroll down to the bottom of this page. For bulk purchases, please contact the Past Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, Rebecca Levitan.
This Year's Winners
Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal, author and illustrator of The Tower of Life; Mari Lowe, author of Aviva vs. the Dybbuk; and Sacha Lamb, author of When the Angels Left the Old Country, are the 2023 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award.
Read the full press release for 2023.
See the complete list of Sydney Taylor award, honor, and notable books for 2023. The Committee recommends them for library, classroom, and home use.
Hear a podcast interview with the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award committee chair.
Read reviews of winning titles and others on AJL’s mock award blog, The Sydney Taylor Shmooze.
You can buy STBA seals on the AJL shops page.
All Past Winners
PLEASE NOTE:
Dating system changed in 2005 to reflect year in which award is announced instead of year of publication. Award-giving did NOT skip a year
In 2005, there was no award winner in the Younger Reader category, .
Prior to the 2007 STBA, there was no Young Adult category
| Title | Contributors | Publisher | Publication Year | Award Year | STBA Award | Category | Annotation | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs | Stiefel, Chana & Gal, Susan | Scholastic Press | 2022 | 2023 | Winner | Picture Book | Thirty-five years after Nazis destroyed her beloved shtetl of Eishyshok, Poland, Yaffe Eliach recovered thousands of precious photographs preserved by relatives and survivors to recreate her community at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Susan Gal’s expressive illustrations bring to life this true story of love and remembrance. | 9781338225891 |
| Aviva vs. the Dybbuk | Lowe, Mari | Levine Querido | 2022 | 2023 | Winner | Middle Grade | Aviva and her widowed mother live next door to their temple in rooms above the mikvah, rumored to be haunted by a dybbuk only Aviva can see. This inside look at a close-knit Orthodox community explores changing friendships, antisemitic vandalism, and the many ways of dealing with grief. | 9781646141258 |
| When the Angels Left the Old Country | Lamb, Sacha | Levine Querido | 2022 | 2023 | Winner | Young Adult | Uriel the Angel and Little Ash the demon have been Talmud study partners for centuries. When a shtetl girl goes missing, they journey to America to find her. Brimming with Yiddishkeit, this brilliant, queer historical fantasy novel richly depicts the immigrant experience and tells an ageless tale of love, justice, and friendship. | 9781646141760 |
| Big Dreams, Small Fish | Cohen, Paula | Levine Querido | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Picture Book | Shirley has many ideas for her family’s new store, but they think she’s too young to help. Left alone one day, her “free with purchase” deal has the diverse clientele finally clamoring for her mother’s gefilte fish. Vibrant, comical illustrations expand the story. Delicious. Yiddish glossary and recipe are included. | 9781646141265 |
| The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from Uganda | Nambi, Shoshana & Yogev, Moran | Kalaniot/Endless Mountain | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Picture Book | Each year, the Ugandan Abayudaya community has a sukkah decorating contest. Competitive Shoshi hopes her family will win. After a storm wrecks one sukkah, all the neighbors help rebuild it, and Shoshi learns the value of people coming together. Illustrations are in bold folk-art colors and patterns. Informative backmatter included. | 9781735087580 |
| Sitting Shiva | Silver, Erin & Theodore, Michelle | Orca | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Picture Book | This beautiful, age-appropriate picture book about the loss of a girl’s mother teaches readers about the meaningful act of sitting Shiva and the importance of family and friends supporting each other through grief. Soft illustrations complement the text and the book includes informative back matter about Jewish mourning practices. | 9781459827721 |
| Honey and Me | Drazin, Meira | Scholastic | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Middle Grade | When outgoing, confident Honey enters the Modern Orthodox school attended by quiet, thoughtful Milla during their bat mitzvah year, their best friendship shifts along with other changes in their lives. Milla must learn to recognize her own qualities and talents, while learning to appreciate more in the people around her. | 9781338155433 |
| Black Bird, Blue Road | Pasternack, Sofiya | Versify/HarperCollins | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Middle Grade | Ziva will stop at nothing to keep her gravely ill brother alive, even if that means teaming up with a half-sheyd to outrun the Angel of Death. Racing across a folkloric ancient Khazaria to a city where it is said Death cannot enter, the companions must confront their greatest fears. | 9780358572039 |
| Ellen Outside the Lines | Sass, A. J. | Little, Brown/Hachette | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Middle Grade | Ellen thrives on planning, knowing what’s going to happen, and strict categories. When she must confront sudden changes during a school trip to Barcelona, including distance from her best friend, a new non-binary classmate, and a scavenger hunt through the city, Ellen must learn to think outside the lines. | 9780759556270 |
| My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement | Cohen, Jennieke | HarperTeen/HarperCollins | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Young Adult | Bossy Helena Higgins and her Culinarian classmate, Penelope Pickering, attempt to turn a Covent Garden peddler, Elijah Little, into a gentlemen chef. This clever epicurean riff on My Fair Lady, set in 19th century England, spotlights prejudices of the time, especially against Jewish Elijah. | 9780063047532 |
| Some Kind of Hate | Littman, Sarah Darer | Scholastic | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Young Adult | In this gut-wrenching novel, told in dual perspectives, we meet Declan as he gets radicalized online by white supremacists, to the horror of his Jewish best friend, Jake. With an intense but hopeful ending, this book peels back the curtain on the terrifying reality of extremists and antisemitism. | 9781338746815 |
| Eight Nights of Flirting | Reynolds, Hannah | Razorbill/Penguin Random House | 2022 | 2023 | Honor | Young Adult | Shira wants to date Isaac, but she’s a disaster at flirting. After a night snowed in with her nemesis Tyler, they strike a bargain: flirting lessons in exchange for connecting Tyler to her family’s business empire. Set during Hanukkah, this story is full of love, light, family, and romantic twists. | 9780593349755 |
| Tia Fortuna’s New Home: Jewish Cuban Journey | Behar, Ruth & Holzwarth Devon | Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Picture Book | Estrella’s Tia Fortuna is about to leave another home. Having emigrated from Cuba to Miami years before, she is now entering an assisted living facility. Tia Fortuna’s loving memories comfort Estrella and show her that difficult changes can be accepted with grace. Colorful illustrations include Sephardic imagery. | 9780593172414 |
| Madame Alexander: The Creator of the Iconic American Doll | Rubin, Susan Goldman & Dvojack, Sarah | Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Picture Book | This picture book brings to life the creator of the Madame Alexander doll company with illustrations as elegant as the iconic dolls. Repairing dolls with her father, Beatrice Alexander learns to use her talents to bring joy and comfort to other children. Accompanying backmatter further illuminates her life and work. | 9781250138590 |
| Shoham’s Bangle | Sassoon, Sarah & Kelner, Noa | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Picture Book | Sad because she can’t take her gold bangle bracelet, Shoham is entrusted to carry Nana Aziza’s homemade pita bread when her family leaves Iraq. Arriving in Israel, Shoham finds a welcome memento of her homeland. Kelner’s art lovingly depicts the refugee families during the 1951 Operation Ezra & Nehemiah airlifts. | 9781728438962 |
| Raquela’s Seder | Stein, Joel Edward & Ugolotti, Sara | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Picture Book | Although Raquela’s family must keep their Jewish faith a secret during the Spanish Inquisition, her clever father, a fisherman, finds a way for the family to have a Passover seder. Lovely illustrations, rich with ocean and sky blues, accompany the story of “a night different from all other nights.” | 9781728424293 |
| Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis | Hood, Susan & Dawson, Greg | Harper/HarperCollins | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Middle Grade | “I don’t care what you do. Just live,” implores their father while marching to the killing fields of Drobitsky Yar, prompting Zhanna and her sister to procure false papers and become part of a troupe entertaining Nazi officers. This taut, true story-in-verse includes quotes from Zhanna and comprehensive back matter. | 9780063083899 |
| The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner | Moss, Marissa | Abrams | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Middle Grade | Mixing prose with comic panels, this biography tells the often-neglected story of Lise Meitner, whose work identifying nuclear fission would change the world forever. A Jewish woman working in Europe amidst the rise of Nazism, Meitner’s resilience and moral compass proves a stark contrast to her too-complacent colleagues. Extensive backmatter included. | 9781419758539 |
| The Prince of Steel Pier | Nockowitz, Stacy | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Middle Grade | Joey’s boisterous family has run a senior resort for decades, but casino development is changing Atlantic City in 1975. A run-in with a mob boss sets Joey off to a summer of new experiences, squiring an older teen girl around town as he tries to avoid getting into serious trouble. | 9781728430331 |
| Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems | Krasner, Barbara | Calkins Creek/Astra Books | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Young Adult | Ethel Rosenberg, who loved to sing, is given voice in this heartfelt and unsettling biographical novel-in-verse. She rises above difficulties through hard work and idealism, but is tragically and wrongfully labeled a spy and betrayed by the judicial system, the FBI, and her family. Includes extensive notes and bibliography. | 9781635926255 |
| The Ghosts of Rose Hill | Romero, R.M. | Peachtree Teen/Peachtree | 2022 | 2023 | Notable | Young Adult | Sixteen-year-old budding violinist Ilana visits Prague, where she encounters ghosts and a river monster (vodnik) while tending the graves in an abandoned Jewish cemetery. This suspenseful novel-in-verse combines elements of Judaic tradition with magical realism and is divided into movements, resembling the classical music Ilana plays. | 9781682633380 |
| The Passover Guest | Kusel, Susan & Rubin, Sean | Neal Porter Books/Holiday House | 2021 | 2022 | Winner | Picture Book | During the Great Depression, Muriel invites a ragged juggler to celebrate Passover with her family. When he arrives, they are stunned to discover a magnificent feast to share with their neighbors. Based on I. L. Peretz’s “The Magician” with illustrations influenced by Marc Chagall, Kusel’s debut picture book will resonate with readers young and old. | 9780823445622 |
| How to Find What You’re Not Looking For | Hiranandani, Veera | Kokila/Penguin Random House | 2021 | 2022 | Winner | Middle Grade | It's 1967, and Ariel Goldberg is trying to cope with her older sister’s elopement with a man from India and estrangement from the family, the financial troubles of their family-owned bakery, and her own struggles at school. Narrated in the second person, Hiranandani perfectly captures this turbulent period in history through the lens of a sympathetic and compelling preteen girl. | 978052555032 |
| The City Beautiful | Polydoros, Aden | Inkyard Press | 2021 | 2022 | Winner | Young Adult | Romanian immigrant Alter Rosen embraces his Jewish identity while trying to adapt to American life. When a friend is murdered, Alter is inhabited by a dybbuk and must find the killer before it consumes him. Masterfully combining fantasy, mystery, LGBTQ romance, and historical fiction, this gripping story is set against the sparkling and lurid façade of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. | 978133540259 |
| Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued | Sis, Peter | Norton Young Readers/W.W. Norton & Company | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Picture Book | Realizing that Nazis would soon invade Czechoslovakia, British banker Nicky Winton sponsors eight trains in 1939 that rescue 669 children from Prague, including 10-year-old Vera Diamantova. With creatively placed texts and intricate art that includes unique perspectives, fanciful figures, and personified countries, Sís reminds readers that even humble men can accomplish acts of heroism. | 9781324015741 |
| Dear Mr. Dickens | Churnin, Nancy & Stancliffe, Bethany | Albert Whitman & Company | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Picture Book | Eliza Davis writes to Charles Dickens expressing her concern about the villainous Fagin. She eventually convinces Dickens that his portrayal of Jewish characters emboldens “a vile prejudice,” resulting in revisions to Oliver Twist and the famous writer’s subsequent support of England’s Jewish community. Charming illustrations accompany this graceful testament to speaking out against injustice. | 9780807515303 |
| The Christmas Mitzvah | Gottesfeld, Jeff & Laurentia Agatha, Michelle | Creston Books | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Picture Book | One Christmas Eve, Al Rosen takes over a Christian friend’s job. For the next 30-plus years, Al repeats this holiday mitzvah, starting a tradition of helping people of other faiths. Based on a true story, this feel-good narrative, with bright, humorous illustrations, shows how one person’s actions can inspire others to perform good deeds. | 9781939547941 |
| The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain | Yelchin, Eugene | Candlewick Press | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Middle Grade | Yelchin recounts his 1960s Leningrad childhood, when his entire family lived in a small room next to a KGB informer. Eugene finds comfort in drawing on the underside of Grandma’s table in this humorous, yet understated narrative that combines Soviet and Cold War history, droll black-and-white sketches, and a vivid depiction of life for Soviet Jews. | 9781536215526 |
| Linked | Korman, Gordon | Scholastic Press/Scholastic | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Middle Grade | When a swastika appears in a small-town middle school, the students counter antisemitism by creating a paper chain in memory of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. A social media instigator stirs up trouble, one boy learns about his Jewish ancestry, and archaeologists digging nearby make a startling discovery. Told from multiple perspectives, this book is entertaining and insightful. | 9781338629118 |
| The Last Words We Said | Scheier, Leah | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Young Adult | Nine months after their friend Danny disappears, Modern Orthodox teens Ellie, Deenie, and Rae are coping in wildly different ways. Chapters alternate between past and present, revealing secrets and exploring the depths to which guilt can drive a person’s actions. | 9781534469396 |
| Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero | Lockhart, E. & Preitano, Manuel | DC Comics | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Young Adult | In this graphic novel, Jewish teen Willow Zimmerman accepts a job from an old family friend to pay for her mother’s cancer treatments. The back-alley position leads to a run-in with villain Killer Croc, after which Willow acquires dog-like superpowers that she uses to battle an enemy who is trying to destroy her neighborhood. | 9781401293222, PBK |
| The Summer of Lost Letters | Reynolds, Hannah | Razorbill/Penguin Random House | 2021 | 2022 | Honor | Young Adult | When Abby inherits a box of love letters written to her grandmother from a mysterious stranger, she decides to spend the summer on Nantucket looking for clues. There, she uncovers the truth about O’ma’s Holocaust history and her secret lost love, while finding unexpected romance herself. | 9780593349724 |
| Red and Green and Blue and White | Wind, Lee & Zelinsky, Paul O. | Levine Querido | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Picture Book | In a neighborhood of houses decorated Red and Green, Isaac’s shines Blue and White. After someone throws a stone through their window, the family continues to light their menorah and is gratified to see the community take a stand against bigotry. Zelinsky’s digital art features cheerful, light-filled interiors set against dark backgrounds. Based on an actual incident. | 9781646140879 |
| A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah | Churnin, Nancy & Nayberg, Yevgenia | Creston Books | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Picture Book | Queen Esther’s courage to act and save her people inspired Henrietta Szold to aid American immigrants and ensure healthcare to millions by founding Hadassah. Read about Szold’s incredible drive to help others throughout her life in this outstanding picture book biography. | 9781939547958 |
| The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art | Levinson, Cynthia & Turk, Evan | Abrams Books for Young Readers/ABRAMS | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Picture Book | Illustrated in a style paying homage to Ben Shahn, this biography of the Lithuanian-born, American artist tells the story of a determined man who experienced and observed oppression and pain, and used his art as a way to help people in their search for justice and peace. | 9781419741302 |
| Benny Feldman’s All-Star Klezmer Band | Marks, Allison & Marks, Wayne | Green Bean Books | 2021 | 2021 in US (2020 in England) | Notable | Middle Grade | In an effort to finally recover from a bad stage experience, sixth grader Benny signs up his klezmer band for the middle school talent show. The problem is, he doesn’t actually have a band - yet. The search for musicians brings about new friendships and a lot of appreciation of this very Jewish style of music. | 9781784385552, PBK |
| Sorry for Your Loss | Levy, Joanne | Orca Book Publishers | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Middle Grade | Evie, whose parents own and run a Jewish funeral home, is thrust into a relationship with Oren, who is struggling to cope after surviving the car crash that killed his parents. Issues of how to support mourners and handle death with dignity are sensitively handled in this beautiful story of loss, guilt, and the power of friendship. | 9781459827073 PBK |
| The Magical Imperfect | Baron, Chris | Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Publishing Company | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Middle Grade | Ethan - traumatized after his mother leaves - is unable to speak, his new friend Malia suffers from debilitating eczema, and his father and grandfather argue about observing the High Holy Days during the World Series. Set in a multicultural community in 1989, this story in verse weaves elements of history and magical realism in a memorable tale of families, friendship, and faith. | 9781250767820 |
| The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos (Young Readers’ Edition) | Batalion, Judy | Harper/HarperCollins | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Young Adult | Read about Renia Kukielka and other brave Jewish women who fought Nazi oppression and genocide during World War II. Follow these young people on their inspiring journeys as they smuggle weapons, deliver messages, and trick the Gestapo in this true account of heroism against seemingly unbeatable odds. | 9780063037694. |
| The Seventh Handmaiden | Pransky, Judith | Green Bean Books | 2021 | 2021 in US (2020 in England) | Notable | Young Adult | Darya can’t remember her life before enslavement, but she finds kindness and dignity when assigned to Lady Esther, in the court of the Persian king. As their stories entwine, their fates, and those of the Jewish people, are at stake. A fascinating and satisfying schpiel on an ancient tale. Winner of the 2018 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award. | 9781784385897 PBK |
| Boy From Buchenwald | Waisman, Robbie & McClelland, Susan | Bloomsbury Children’s Books/Bloomsbury Publishing | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Young Adult | This autobiographical post-Holocaust story features Romek Wajsman, a Polish teen and comrade of Elie Wiesel, as he spends time in a home for recovery in France. The story stands out among survivor narratives because of its focus on personal relationships with his peers, mentors, and teachers as Romek learns how put his life back together. | 9781547606009. |
| Why We Fly | Jones, Kimberly & Segal, Gilly | Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks | 2021 | 2022 | Notable | Young Adult | Overachieving and privileged high school seniors and cheerleaders, Eleanor (Jewish) and Chanel (African American), lead the radical choice to “take a knee” at the season’s first football game. This timely page-turner highlights the complexities of being woke and the role of Jews in the anti-racist movement. | 9781492678922 |
| Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail | Newman, Lesléa & Gal, Susan | Charlesbridge | 2020 | 2021 | Winner | Picture Book | This warmly illustrated, poetic book parallels the experiences of a young boy at a Passover seder and a small white kitten outdoors. When the boy opens the door to welcome the prophet Elijah, he finds a furry friend instead. Simple text, diverse characters, and a timeless feel make this a story to be treasured. | 9781580898829 |
| Turtle Boy | Wolkenstein, M. Evan | Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Winner | Middle Grade | Will’s bar mitzvah service project helps him face challenges in his own life in this engaging story by a debut author. Bullied at school and a loner, turtle-loving Will completes a bucket list of milestone activities for a terminally ill boy and gains the strength to face his own upcoming surgery. | 9780593121573 |
| Dancing at the Pity Party | Feder, Tyler | Dial Books/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Winner | Young Adult | This debut memoir in graphic form is a funny, sad, confidently illustrated meditation on grief. It’s both a tribute to Tyler’s wonderful mom, who died of breast cancer at the age of 47, and a guide to Jewish mourning practices. A singular achievement. | 9780525553021 |
| I Am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book | Copeland, Mychal & Ceolin, André | Apples and Honey Press/Behrman House | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Picture Book | Clear instructions on how to do different yoga poses are complemented by brief, boldly illustrated stories from the Bible. Back matter includes reflection on yoga practice and a discussion of “What’s Jewish about yoga?” | 9781681155524 |
| Miriam at the River | Yolen, Jane & Le, Khoa | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Picture Book | The poetic tale of young Miriam placing baby Moses in the river is strikingly and vividly illustrated in palettes of blues, oranges, and purples. | 9781541544000 |
| No Vacancy | Cohen, Tziporah | Groundwood Books | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Middle Grade | Miriam and her new friend Kate concoct a “miracle” in order to attract visitors to Miriam’s family’s small town motel in this story about community, interfaith understanding, making a home, and keeping up Jewish traditions. | 9781773064109 |
| Anya and The Nightingale | Pasternack, Sofiya | Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Middle Grade | In this sequel to her 2020 Sydney Taylor Honor book, Anya and the Dragon, Anya and her friends travel to Kiev and encounter the mythical Nightingale. Vivid descriptions of tenth-century Russia, a memorable Shabbat dinner, and an exciting rescue highlight this wonderful fantasy. | 9780358006022 |
| The Blackbird Girls | Blankman, Anne | Puffin Books/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Middle Grade | In 1986, Valentina and Oksana flee the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In 1941, Rifka finds refuge while escaping the Nazis. Blackman masterfully merges the timelines of these two stories in this compelling work of historical fiction. | 9781984837356 |
| They Went Left | Hesse, Monica | Little, Brown Books/Hachette | 2020 | 2021 | Honor | Young Adult | A historical mystery with an unreliable narrator, this post-war page-turner is set primarily in a displaced persons camp. It tells the story of Zofia, desperately searching for her little brother Abek...and the possibility of a life after trauma | 9780316490573 |
| The Eight Knights of Hanukkah | Kimmelman, Leslie & Bernstein, Galia | Holiday House, | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Picture Book | The eight knights of Hanukkah are charged by Lady Sadie to go out and perform “deeds of awesome kindness and stupendous bravery” before the Hanukkah celebration that evening. A little silly and very sweet, this punny title is a wonderful story of performing mitzvot for others and celebrating Hanukkah. | 9780823439584 |
| The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine | Marshall, Linda Elovitz & Anchin, Lisa | Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Picture Book | Brightly illustrated, this is the timely true story of a young Jewish boy who grew up to be a chemist who helped eradicate polio. Author’s note and sources included. | 9780525646518 |
| The Ninth Night of Hanukkah | Perl, Erica S.& Kober, Shahar | Sterling | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Picture Book | Max and Rachel have just moved to a new apartment, but they can’t find any of their Hanukkah stuff. With help from their new neighbors, they do their best to celebrate, even though “it didn’t feel quite like Hanukkah.” On the ninth night, they decide to celebrate “shamash night,” thanking all the helpers in their building. | 9781454940883 |
| Beni's War | Stein, Tammar | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Middle Grade | A follow-up to the Sydney Taylor Honor book Six-Day Hero, this tense narrative describes the 1973 Yom Kippur War from the point of view of a twelve-year old boy living in the Golan. | 9781541578869 |
| We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport | Hopkinson, Deborah | Scholastic | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Middle Grade | Hopkinson weaves together primary sources —memoirs, interviews, and photographs —to piece together the accounts of 21 children and teens who were saved from the Nazis via the Kindertransport in this meticulously researched World War II nonfiction book. Back matter includes a timeline, additional resources, source notes, and an index. | 9781338255720 |
| A Place at the Table | Faruqi, Saadia & Shovan, Laura | Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Middle Grade | Pakistani Muslim Sara and British-Jewish Elizabeth meet in a school cooking class where they gradually navigate friendship, family problems, and fitting in. A delicious blend of serious themes (racism, mental illness, financial insecurity) and classic sixth-grade angst, told in vivid alternating voices. | 9780358116684 |
| Letters from Cuba | Behar, Ruth | Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Middle Grade | On the eve of WWII, Esther describes her journey from Poland to Cuba, where everything from the people to the climate are foreignto her. A heartwarming and satisfying immigrant narrative that brings a lesser known Jewish community to light. | 9780525516477 |
| Today Tonight Tomorrow | Solomon, Rachel Lynn | Simon Pulse/Simon and Schuster | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Young Adult | n one wild 24-hour period, high school rivals Rowan and Neil go on a scavenger hunt throughout Seattle and (spoiler alert) fall in love. A sweet, funny, Jewishly inflected romp. | 9781534440241 |
| The New Queer Conscience | Eli, Adam | Penguin Workshop/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Young Adult | A guide to queer activism and collective responsibility, Eli’s clear and concise call to action is filled with autobiographical Jewish reflections and teachings. | 9780593093689 |
| The Way Back | Savit, Gavriel | Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Young Adult | A dark and spooky journey from the world of the shtetl into the underworld of Jewish demons...and back again. | 9781984894625 |
| The Assignment | Wiemer, Liza | Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House | 2020 | 2021 | Notable | Young Adult | Based on a true incident, a high school teacher assigns students to argue in favor of the Final Solution. Two students fight back, and the resulting schism rocks the school and community. | 9780593123164 |
| The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come | Macy, Sue & Innerst, Stacy | Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster, | 2019 | 2020 | Winner | Picture Book | The Book Rescuer celebrates the power of an individual to preserve history and culture, while also exploring timely themes of identity and immigration. In a folksy voice, this biography tells the story of Yiddish Book Center founder Aaron Lansky’s commitment to rescuing Yiddish language books and ensuring that despite all odds, Yiddish language and culture will stay alive for future generations | 9781481472203 |
| White Bird: A Wonder Story | Palacio, R.J. | Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2019 | 2020 | Winner | Middle Grade | This beautifully illustrated graphic novel connects the Holocaust to familiar contemporary characters, as Julian from the Wonder series learns his grandmother’s powerful story of rescue in Vichy-occupied France. | 9780525645535 |
| Someday We Will Fly | DeWoskin, Rachel | Penguin Young Readers/Penguin Random House, | 2019 | 2020 | Winner | Young Adult | In this lushly written historical novel, Lillia and her father and sister flee Warsaw during the Holocaust and take refuge in Shanghai. There, Lillia’s need to support her family, her relationships with others, and her awareness of her privilege even as a refugee all contribute to her growth | 9780670014965 |
| The Key from Spain: Flory Jagoda and Her Music | Levy, Debbie & Wimmer, Sonja | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Picture Book | This ethereally illustrated picture book spans generations and continents to show how the composer of “Ocho Kandelikas” came to share Ladino music. | 9781541522183 |
| Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story | Newman, Lesléa & Bates, Amy June | Abrams | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Picture Book | In this beautifully designed, lavishly illustrated picture storybook, young Jewish immigrant Gittel unexpectedly must complete the journey from “the Old County” to America on her own. Look closely at Bates’s use of borders for references to the ocean wavesand Gittel’s beloved candlesticks. | 9781419727474 |
| Games of Deception: The True Story of the First US Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany | Maraniss, Andrew | Philomel Books/Penguin Random House | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Middle Grade | Maraniss weaves two stories, an Olympics charged with antisemitism, and the broader tale of basketball's history, to create this engaging, well-contextualized work of nonfiction. | 9780525514633 |
| Anya and the Dragon | Pasternack, Sofiya | Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Middle Grade | Heroine Anya’s magical abilities are closely tied in with her Judaism in a tale set in tenth-century Russia andtinged with Russian folklore. | 9780358006077 |
| Sick Kids in Love | Moskowitz, Hannah | Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Young Adult | This frank, compelling portrayal of life for two Jewish teens withchronic illnesses is funny, romantic, and thoughtful. | 9781640637320 |
| Dissenter on the Bench | Ortiz, Victoria | Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 2019 | 2020 | Honor | Young Adult | A portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg spotlights her experiences with Judaism and Jewish identity and shares stories of landmark cases in which she was involved | 9780544973640 |
| Parrots, Pugs and Pixie Dust: A Book about Fashion Designer Judith Leiber | Blumenthal, Deborah & D’yans Masha | Little Bee Books | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Picture Book | Poetic text and sparkling illustrations tell the story of Lieber’s journey from war-torn Europe to the world of designer handbags. | 9781499808988 |
| A Scarf for Keiko | Malaspina, Ann & Liddiard, Merrilee | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Picture Book | In 1940s Los Angeles, a young Jewish boy realizes he has more in common with a Japanese neighbor than he’d thought. Distinctive illustrations lend this picture book a vintage feel. | 9781541521643 |
| Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope | Rockliff, Mara & Dzierzawska, Zosia | Candlewick Press | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Picture Book | L. L. Zamenhoff, who faced suspicion for his Jewishness as a child in 1860s Eastern Europe, invented a universal language in the interest of bringing people together. Text and illustrations combine to give a sense of how Esperanto works. | 9780763689155 |
| Masters of Silence | Kacer, Kathy | Annick Press, | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Middle Grade | Jewish siblings Helen and Henry hide in a convent during the Holocaust. The theme of their need to keep silent about who they are is underscored by the help they receive from real-life mime Marcel Marceau. | 9781773212623 |
| A Boy is Not a Bird | Ravel, Edeet | Groundwood Books | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Middle Grade | Naive but evolving narrator Natt, growing up under Communism, tells a story not usually told about events during the Holocaust. | 9781773061740 |
| Rachel’s Roses | Wolff, Ferida | Holiday House, | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Middle Grade | Rachel, who lives on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the early twentieth century, tries to earn money for rose buttons in time for Rosh Hashanah in a middle-grade novel with a warm, classic feel. | 9780823443659 |
| In the Neighborhood of True | Carlton, Susan Kaplan | Algonquin Young Readers/Workman Publishing | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Young Adult | In the 1950s South, teenage Ruth is conflicted about whether to revealher Jewish identity and where she fits in with the Civil Rights movement. A novel with a strong sense of place that urges readers to consider big questions. | 9781616208608 |
| A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, andthe Holocaust | Marrin, Albert | Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2019 | 2020 | Notable | Young Adult | Marrin’s vivid narrative shares Korczak’s heroism and dedication to caring for orphans during his lifetime, with diversions into the larger historical picture giving context to Korczak’s life. | 9781524701208 |
| All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah | Jenkins, Emily & Zelinsky, Paul | Schwartz & Wade/Random House | 2018 | 2019 | Winner | Picture Book | In this meticulously researched Hanukkah story based on the classic children’s book All-of-a-Kind Family, poetic language and exuberant illustrations perfectly capture the emotions of each of the iconic sisters as they prepare latkes and celebrate the holiday in New York’s Lower East Side in 1912. | 9780399554193 |
| Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster | Auxier, Jonathan | Amulet Books/Abrams, | 2018 | 2019 | Winner | Middle Grade | Auxier masterfully weaves Jewish themes and characters into the story of Nan Sparrow, a chimney climbing girl in Victorian London, and her remarkable friendship with Charlie, the soot golem who saves her life. | 9781419731402 |
| What the Night Sings | Stamper, Vesper | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2018 | 2019 | Winner | Young Adult | This beautifully illustrated novel tells the story of teen Holocaust survivor Gerta as she struggles to reconcile her identity and desires in the wake of tragedy. | 9781524700386 |
| Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall’s Life | Rosenstock, Barb & GrandPré, Mary | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2018 | 2019 | Honor | Picture Book | Beautiful illustrations that evoke Chagall’s style accompany this lyrical biography that chronicles the famous artist’s life from humble beginnings to world renown. | 9781524717513 |
| A Moon for Moe and Mo | Zalben, Jane Breskin & Amini, Mehrdokht | Charlesbridge, | 2018 | 2019 | Honor | Picture Book | When Moses Feldman and Mohammed Hassan are mistaken for brothers while out shopping, a friendship is born. Sharing date cookies and Rugelach, the boys and their families mark their respective holidays and share wishes for peace | 9781580897273 |
| All Three Stooges | Perl, Erica | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2018 | 2019 | Honor | Middle Grade | When Noah’s best friend loses his father to suicide, comedy-buff Noah’s responses call into question his readiness to become a bar mitzvah. Perl integrates details of modern Jewish life--and comedy--into this story of growth in a very difficult situation. | 9780399551758 |
| The Length of a String | Weissman, Elissa Brent | Dial Books/Penguin Random House | 2018 | 2019 | Honor | Middle Grade | Imani’s wonderings about her past and her adoption dovetail with the diary she discovers that belonged to her great-grandmother, an evacuee during the Holocaust. A thoughtful exploration of family and Jewish identity. | 9780735229471 |
| You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone | Solomon, Rachel Lynn | Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster | 2018 | 2019 | Honor | Young Adult | Twins Tovah and Adina are tested for Huntington’s disease and receive opposite results. Their differing responses to the situation, and to their family’s Jewish faith, make for an authentic portrayal of a family struggling against grief, with religion naturally integrated. | 9781481497732 |
| Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing | Churnin, Nancy & Sanchez, James Rey | Creston Books | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Picture Book | This picture book biography of Irving Berlin emphasizes the “God Bless America” composer’s immigrant background and his Jewish heritage--including the fascinating connection between that song and Judaism’s most important prayer. | 9781939547446 |
| Write On, Irving Berlin! | Kimmelman, Leslie & Gardner, David C. | Sleeping Bear Press | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Picture Book | Song by song, Kimmelman spins the story of Israel Baline, who grew up to be composer Irving Berlin. Gardner’s cheerful pastel illustrations swirl with musical notes. | 9781585363803 |
| French Toast Sundays | Spielman, Gloria & Bousidan, Inbal Gigi | Apples and Honey Press/Behrman House | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Picture Book | For Mina, Sundays and Grandma’s French toast go together...until they don’t. This sensitive picture book depicts Jewish traditions for dealing with death while it shows Mina’s quiet way of processing loss. | 9781681155296 |
| The Passover Parrot | Zusman, Evelyn & Brooker, Kyrsten | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Picture Book | With plenty of authentic Passover detail, a text slightly revised from the 1983 original combines with new illustrations full of warm nostalgia to tell the funny story of Hametz, a parrot who steals the afikomen. | 9781512428827 |
| Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation | Frank, Anne & Folman, Ari & Polonsky, David | Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House, | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Middle Grade | This graphic adaptation brings Anne Frank and the other residents of the Secret Annex to life. Though it makes the fear inherent in their situation clear, it also conveys plenty of ordinary, even humorous moments, reminding readers just how real the people were. | 9781101871799 |
| 12 Before 13 | Greenwald, Lisa | Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Middle Grade | Arianna and her best friend Kaylan make a list of twelve goals to accomplish before their thirteenth birthdays-and Arianna’s bat mitzvah. A breezy, entertaining read, full of insight as Arianna’s personal relationship to Judaism develops | 9780062411778 |
| Light the Menorah: A Hanukkah Handbook | Jules, Jacqueline & Swarner, Kristina | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Middle Grade | Beautifully illustrated, this handbook includes songs, activities, rituals, and reflections to help enhance Hanukkah for all families. | 9781512483697 |
| The Sound of Freedom | Kacer, Kathy | Annick Press | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Middle Grade | As Hitler and the Nazis rise to power, Anna, the daughter of a prominent Polish clarinet player feels more and more unsafe. When she finds out that an orchestra is being formed in Palestine by musician Bronislaw Huberman, she pushes her father to audition. Though they encounter challenges, Anna and her family ultimately have hope for the future. | 9781554519699 |
| Resistance | Nielsen, Jennifer | Scholastic | 2018 | 2019 | Notable | Young Adult | When her family is upended in Nazi-occupied Poland, teenager Chaya Linder is determined to make a difference. Circumstances send her from being a courier, to raiding Nazi supplies, to finally the biggest mission of all, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. | 9781338148473 |
| The Language of Angels: A Story about the Reinvention of Hebrew | Michelson, Richard & Gudeon, Karla | Charlesbridge | 2017 | 2018 | Winner | Picture Book | This beautiful picture book tells the story of how Hebrew became an everyday language in Israel, after being out of use for two thousand years. The folk art illustrations are an illuminating match | 9781580896368 |
| Refugee | Gratz, Alan | Scholastic | 2017 | 2018 | Winner | Middle Grade | The journeys of three different young refugees from Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba and present-day Syria come together to form an emotional and timely narrative about the refugee experience. | 9780545880831 |
| The Librarian of Auschwitz | Iturbe, Antonio & Thwaites, Lilit | Godwin Books/Henry Holt a | 2017 | 2018 | Winner | Young Adult | This powerful story of Dita Kraus and her protection of a handful of books in the Auschwitz concentration camp shows the importance of hope in the darkest of times | 9781627796187 |
| Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam | Gilani-Williams, Fawzia & Fedele, Chiara | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Picture Book | Jewish Yaffa and Arab Fatima are neighbors whose concern for each other during a date shortage provides a new twist on the "Brothers" legend. Burgundy and teal against neutral backgrounds providestriking illustrations for a story with a subtle, yet timely message. | 9781467789387 |
| Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva | Jules, Jacqueline & Nayberg, Yevgenia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Picture Book | Skeptical that he can start learning Torah at the age of forty, when illiterate shepherd Akiva sees the way water has worn down the rocks in the brook, he applies himself and becomes the greatRabbi Akiva, thanks in great part to his wife Rachel's devotion and trust. Colorful and folksy illustrations complement the text. | 9781512420906 |
| Viva Rose! | Krawitz, Susan | Holiday House | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Middle Grade | Rose's brother Abraham joins Pancho Villa's army. When trying to get a letter to him, Rose is kidnapped and becomes the playmate of Dorotea First-person narrative and historic details of the late 19th century Mexican revolutionary enhance the story. | 9780823437566 |
| This Is Just a Test | Rosenberg, Madelyn & Shang, Wendy Wan-Long | Scholastic | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Middle Grade | David Da-Wei Horowitz is preparing for his bar mitzvah, and trying to appease both his Jewish and Chinese grandmothers, and digging a fallout shelter, and trying to balance his friends. Add a little 1980s David Hasselhoff and Betamax for a quirky and fast-paced read. | 9781338037722 |
| The Six-Day Hero | Stein, Tammar | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Middle Grade | Stein has penned an "intense read about family, love, identity and spirituality" that takes place on the eve of Israel's Six-Day War in 1967, with twelve-year-old Motti both idolizing and resenting his older brother Gideon, who will be a soldier in the war. | 9781512458718 |
| To Look a Nazi in the Eye: A Teen's Account of a War Criminal Trial | Kacer, Kathy & Lebowitz, Jordana | Second Story Press | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Young Adult | Lebowitz attended the first week of the trial of Oskar Groening, known as "the bookkeeper of Auschwitz." She blogged about her experience, and as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, went through a myriad of emotions. Kacerchronicles both her account and the trial testimony. She returned to Canada and closely followed the rest of the trial (Groening was found guilty of facilitating mass murder and sentenced to four years in prison, but he died before he began his sentence).Lebowitz is now a human rights advocate | 9781772600407 |
| Almost Autumn | Kaurin, Marianne & Hedge, Rosie | Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Young Adult | Ilse Stern's is stood up for what was to be her first date with her crush and neighbor Hermann Rod, and things get more complicated from there. Hermann joins the resistance and Ilse's family faces the anti-Semitism of Quisling's Norway during World War II. Will first love triumph? | 9780545889650 |
| The Girl with the Red Balloon | Locke, Katherine | Albert Whitman | 2017 | 2018 | Honor | Young Adult | Time travel and a red balloon propel Ellie Baum to 1988 East Berlin, where she must fight the evilsof dark magic that are trying to change history. | 9780807529379 |
| Yom Kippur Shortstop | Adler, David A. & Ceolin, Andre | Apples & Honey/Behrman House | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Picture Book | Inspired by Sandy Koufax's legendary dilemma, Jacob must decide whether to play the championship Little League game or sit it out on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. | 9781681155210 |
| Under the Sabbath Lamp | Herman, Michael & Massari, Alida | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Picture Book | Instead of Sabbath candles, Izzy and Olivia Bloom have an interesting Sabbath lamp that burns olive oil. Their neighbors learn that its history is also interesting, traveling from the shtetl to America one piece at a time with each family member that immigrated. | 9781512408416 |
| Big Sam: A Rosh Hashanah Tall Tale | Kimmel, Eric A. & Starr, Jim | Apples & Honey/Behrman House, | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Picture Book | How big is Big Sam? So big that in order to make his challahs for the New Year, he digs out the Grand Canyon for a mixing bowl and bakes it in Mount St. Helens. Then, it being the time of year for repentance, he cleans up the mess he made in his preparation and shares his Rosh Hashanah foods with friends. Beautiful illustrations of the American West amplify the text. | 9781681155258 |
| The Knish War on Rivington Street | Oppenheim, Joanne & Davis, Jon | Albert Whitman, | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Picture Book | Square or round? A price war ensues, but either way, everyone loves knishes, so there will be plenty of business for both Benny's family store and theTisch's new store across the street. | 9780807541821 |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality | Winter, Jonah & Innerst, Stacy | Abrams | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Picture Book | How many injustices did Ruth Bader Ginsburg suffer before becoming a Supreme Court Justice (and a hipster idol)? The case presented to the reader includes the biases against Jews, women, and working mothers in both academia and the work world. The gouache, ink and Photostop illustrations add humor, while the author's note supplies the details of the decimation Ginsberg faced throughout her career | 9781419725593 |
| Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust | Bisson, Michelle & El Primo Ramón | Capstone Press | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Middle Grade | Hedy leaves Hungary in 1941, and she must way her way to America alone. Her journey is fraught with bothfortune and misfortune, and both happiness and sadness. Based on the author's mother's experiences. | 9781515782223 |
| The Children of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Hope and Survival during Wold War II: Young Readers Edition | Golabek, Mona & Cohen, Lee | Little, Brown Books/Hachette | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Middle Grade | Adapted from the original (Grand Central Publishing, 2003), Golabek's mother's leaves her idyllic life in Vienna, and travels on the Kindertransportto her new home in an orphanage outside London. Worried about family and old friends, her new friends bolster her as she fulfills her potential as a musical prodigy and eventually attends the RoyalAcademy of Music on a scholarship. | 9780316554886 |
| Wordwings | Pearl, Sydelle | Guernica Editions | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Middle Grade | Emanuel Ringelblum organized an archive and collected diaries and documents to chronicle life in the Warsaw Ghetto. Twelve-year-old Rivka Rosenfeld writes her thoughts between the pages of a Hans Christian Andersen book, which is also hidden in a milk can for posterity. | 9781771831963 |
| The Dollmaker of Krakow | Romero, R. M. | Delacorte Press/Random House | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Middle Grade | Fairy tale and harsh reality intertwine as Karolina the doll, is brought by a "kind wind" to the shop of Cyryl the dollmaker. They try to help violinist Josef and his daughter Rena escape the Krakow ghetto and avoid extermination by the Nazis. | 9781524715397 |
| Man's Search for Meaning: Young Reader Edition | Frankl, Viktor E. | Beacon Press | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Young Adult | Frankl's best-selling work has been abridged, with much of the discussion of scientific and philosophical references left out and more focus on the meaning of life and the meaning of suffering John Boyne (Boy in the Striped Pyjamas(David Fickling Books, 2006), wrote the Foreword which describes his introduction to Frankl's book and its "profound effect" on him. | 9780807067994 |
| Ronit & Jamil | Laskin, Pamela L. | Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Young Adult | Much like Romeo and Juliet, Israeli Ronit and Palestinian Jamil are star-crossed lovers whose families are against their relationship. Their story is told with quotes from Shakespeare and Arab poets and use of the ghazal (the rhyme is repeated in the even lines) form of poetry. | 9780062458544 |
| Stolen Secrets | Schulman, L. B. | Boyds Mills Press/Highlights | 2017 | 2018 | Notable | Young Adult | Livvy's grandmother Adelle, whom Livvy had thought was dead, suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. As Livvy gets to know her grandmother and reads her journal entries, she learns that Adelle was in a concentration camp and may have a connection to Anne Frank. Things go awry when Livvy's mother ends up back in rehab, and Livvy and friend Franklin D. must protect Adelle. | 9781629797229 |
| I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark | Levy, Debbie & Wimmer, Sonja & Baddeley, Elizabeth | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 2016 | 2017 | Winner | Picture Book | This delightful biography of the Supreme Court Justice teaches children that dissent does not make a person disagreeable, and can even help change the world. The grab-your-attention illustrations help explain the text. | 978-1481465595 |
| The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog | Gidwitz, Adam & Aly, Hatem | Dutton/Penguin Random House, | 2016 | 2017 | Winner | Middle Grade | Part fantasy and part adventure, thisis the tale of strangers who become friends while on a quest to save thousands of volumes of Talmud. The beautiful illuminations reflect the medieval flavor of the book. | 978-0525426165 |
| Anna and the Swallow Man | Savit, Gavriel | Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Winner | Young Adult | Anna is left alone in 1939 Krakow when the Nazis take her father away. She meets the mysterious Swallow Man who is able to speak “bird,” and travels with him in the forestsof Poland, where they spend four years hiding and eluding capture. This is a haunting story that may be allegory or folktale or perhaps both | 978-0553513349 |
| A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love | Edwards, Michelle & Karas, G. Brian | Schwartz & Wade/Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Honor | Picture Book | Kind Mrs. Goldman, assisted by her young next-door neighbor Sophia, knits hats for everyone in their neighborhood. But who will knit a hat for Mrs. Goldman? Sophia tries, and the result is much appreciated (if not perfectly executed). A warm intergenerational and intercultural friendship story. | 978-0553497106 |
| Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy | Michelson, Richard & Rodriguez, Edel | Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Honor | Picture Book | Michelson, longtime friend and gallerist for the Star Trek actor and photographer, presents a personal and heartfelt picture-book biography of the late Leonard Nimoy, from Nimoy’s observant Jewish upbringing to his childhood interest in photography to his iconic television role. Groovy, out-of-this-world illustrations reflect the time period. | 9781101933305 |
| Dreidels on the Brain | Ben Izzy, Joel | Dial Books/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Honor | Middle Grade | In this semi-autobiographical story set during Hanukkah 1971, twelve-year-old Joel describes his family and life in the L.A. suburbs. His observations are frequently hilarious, even as his family faces serious events (his father spends much of that week in the hospital). | '9780803740976 |
| A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day | Pinkney, Andrea Davis & Johnson, Steve & Fancher, Lou | Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Honor | Middle Grade | This gorgeously illustrated ode to the author of the iconic picture book The Snowy Day focuses on Keats’s background as a child of Polish immigrants, his early artwork, and his attention to discrimination and social justice. The lyrical text is addressed to Peter, Keats’s most well-known and beloved character. | 9780425287682 |
| The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat | Bietz, Barbara & Kanzler, John | August House | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | In this unique Southwestern-set frontier tale, the young narrator’s family introduces Shabbat foods and customs to its new community, making someplace far away from extended family feel more like home. An author’s note tells more about Jews in the “Wild West” and about hachnasat orchim(“the act of welcoming guests”). | 9781939160942 |
| On One Foot | Glaser, Linda & Balaguer, Nuria | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | A young Torah scholar asks: “Can you teach me the whole Torah while standing on one foot?” He’s repeatedly rebuffed (“That’s preposterous!” “Ha! Not even the great Rabbi Hillel can do that!”), before finally meeting that learned man himself and fulfilling his quest. Mixed-media illustrations cleverly incorporate papers with Hebrew writing. | 9781467778428 |
| The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank’s Window | Gottesfeld, Jeff & McCarty, Peter | Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | Lyrical text and dramatic brown-ink illustrations on creamy paper depict the story of the Frank family from the third-person perspective of the tree that stood outside Anne’s window of the attic annex. An afterword tells more: “Saplings and seedpods from Anne Frank’s tree have been planted around the world.” | 9780385753975 |
| Gabriel’s Horn | Kimmel, Eric & Surducan, Maria | Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | On Erev Rosh Hashanah, a soldier knocks on Gabriel’s family’s door, owners of an antique shop. About to deploy, the soldier entrusts his French horn to them. Good fortune follows the family as they perform other good deeds, shown in luminous illustrations. | 9781467789363 |
| Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup | Mayer, Pamela & Melmon, Deborah | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | “Two grandmas. Two soup pots. Two family traditions” leads to “the first ever Jewish Chinese Kreplach Wonton Chicken Soup!” prepared by young Sophie, which pleases both her bubbe and her nai nai (Chinese for grandmother). | 9781467789349 |
| Not This Turkey! | Steinberg, Jessica & Pike, Amanda | Albert Whitman & Company, | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Picture Book | Papa wins a Thanksgiving turkey at work. The only problem is... it’s a live turkey. Papa takes the turkeyhome with him on the subway. Mama’s reaction: “A turkey doesn’t belong in a fourth-floor walk-up!” The humorous tale is based on a true story. | 9780807579084 |
| The Ship to Nowhere: On Board the Exodus | Arato, Rona | Second Story Press | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Middle Grade | In this work of historical fiction set in 1947 and based on actual events, eleven-year-old Rachel, her sister, and their mother are Jewish refugees aboard the Exodus taking them to Palestine. In view of land, the ship is detained by British warships and prevented from docking. The refugees’ plight gained international attention and aid from caring individuals. | 9781772600186 |
| Irena’s Children: Young Readers Edition: A True Story of Courage | Mazzeo, Tilar J. & Farrell, Mary Cronk Farrell | Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Middle Grade | The Young Readers Edition of Irene’s Children: A True Story of Courage about Irena Sendler, a brave Christian Polish woman who rescued thousands of Jewish children during World War II. | 9781481449915 |
| The Bicycle Spy | McDonough, Yona Zeldis | Scholastic | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Middle Grade | In a French village in 1942, twelve-year-old Marcel joins the Resistance and delivers messages via bicycle to help his Jewish friends evade capture. | 9780545850957 |
| Skating with the Statue of Liberty | Meyer, Susan Lynn | Delacorte Press/Random House | 2016 | 2017 | Notable | Middle Grade | This sequel to Black Radishes (a 2011 Honor Book) finds Gustave’s family in New York, having escaped Occupied France. Gustav’s friendship with September Rose, a young African American girl, helps him adjust to his family’s new life as American immigrants. | 9780385741552 |
| Ketzel the Cat who Composed | Newman, Lesléa & Bates, Amy June | Candlewick Press | 2015 | 2016 | Winner | Picture Book | Inspired by a true story, this picture book tells the story of Moshe, a young composer who takes in a stray cat. Together, the two manage to create music in the most interesting way. | 9780763665555 |
| Adam and Thomas | Appelfeld, Aharon & Green, Jeffrey M. & Dumas, Phillipe | Seven Stories Press | 2015 | 2016 | Winner | Middle Grade | Adam and Thomas are two nine-year-old boys who must fend for themselves in the forest during WWII. With only minimal help, the boys live under harsh conditions, fighting for survival and experience small miracles. | 9781609806347 |
| The Hired Girl | Schlitz, Laura Amy | Candlewick Press | 2015 | 2016 | Winner | Young Adult | After running away from her father who forbids education and burns her beloved books, fourteen-year-old Joan heads to Baltimore where she is hired as a maid for a Jewish family. Set in the early 1900s and told first person via diary entries, Joan dreams of love, learning and the future. | 9780763678180 |
| Shanghai Sukkah | Hyde, Heidi Smith & Tsong, Jing Jing | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2015 | 2016 | Honor | Picture Book | To escape the war, Marcus and his family move from Berlin to China. With his new friend Liang, Marcus learns to celebrate Sukkot while embracing his new surroundings and Chinese customs. | 9781467734745 |
| Everybody Says Shalom | Kimmelman, Leslie & Shipman, Talitha | Random House | 2015 | 2016 | Honor | Picture Book | With colorful pictures and a helpful historical guide inthe back, this rhyming picture book is a child-friendly tour guide of Israel. | 9780385383363 |
| Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish | Deutsch, Barry | Amulet Book/Abrams | 2015 | 2016 | Honor | Middle Grade | The third installment in the Hereville series, this graphic novel continues the whimsical saga of Mirka, a spunky time-traveling Jewish girl. | 9781419708008 |
| Stones on a Grave | Kacer, Kathy | Orca Book Publishers, | 2015 | 2016 | Honor | Young Adult | It's 1964 and eighteen-year-old Sara, an orphan from Ontario, treks to Germany to unravel the truth about her Jewish parentage. This book is part of the Secrets series | 9781459806597 |
| Serendipity’s Footsteps | Nelson, Suzanne | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2015 | 2016 | Honor | Young Adult | Linked by a pair of shoes, this book chronicles the lives of three different girls throughout time and distance. | 9780385392129 |
| Hanukkah Cookies with Sprinkles | Adler, David A. & Ebbeler, Jeffrey | Apples & Honey/Behrman House/Gefen | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Picture Book | As Hanukkah approaches, Sarah learns the importance of tzedakah, helping those in need, friendship and kindness and Jewish tradition. | 9781681155005 |
| Sadie and Ori and the Blue Blanket | Korngold, Jamie & Fortenberry, Julie | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Picture Book | Through the connection of a hand-knit blanket, this is a sweet story depicting the relationship between a grandmother and her two grandchildren throughout time. | 9781467711920 |
| The Parakeet Named Dreidel | Singer, Isaac Bashevis & Berkson, Suzanne Raphael | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Picture Book | Unable to find its owners, David and his family are delighted to take in a Yiddish speaking parakeet they name Dreidel. Many years later, David connects to Dreidel's past in the most unexpected way | 9780374300944 |
| The Safest Lie | Cerrito, Angela | Holiday House | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Middle Grade | Nine-year-old Anna struggles to conceal and relinquish her Jewish heritage whenshe must pose as a Catholic girl in order to escape the Warsaw Ghetto. | 9780823433100 |
| Mr. Doctor: Janusz Korczak and the Orphans of the Warsaw Ghetto | Cohen-Janka, Irene & Quarello, Maurizio A. C. | Annick Press | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Middle Grade | Based on a true story, this illustrated book is about Janusz Korczak, a Polish doctor who cared for and housed and ultimately refused to abandon a group of Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto. | 9781554517152 |
| Watch Out for Flying Kids: How Two Circuses, Two Countries, and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community | Levinson, Cynthia | Peachtree Publishers | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Middle Grade | This non-fiction book takes readers behind the scenes of two traveling kid circuses. Unique social aspects are highlighted as the circuses include kids from a variety of different cultures, religions and races. | 9781561458219 |
| The Wren and the Sparrow | Patrick Lewis, J. & Nayberg, Yevgenia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Middle Grade | Forced to surrender their musical instruments to the Nazis, this lyrical story based on true events focuses on the story of a musician, his clever student and the miraculouspreservation of a beloved hurdy-gurdy that withstands the war and sees through generations. | 9781467719513 |
| The Girl in the Torch | Sharenow, Rob | Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Middle Grade | After being denied entry at Ellis Island, twelve-year-old Sarah makes the brave decision to jump ship and make a home for herself inside the Statue of Liberty. | 9780062227959 |
| Last Night at the Circle Cinema | Franklin, Emily | Carolrhoda Lab | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Young Adult | On the eve of high school graduation, three best friends decide to spend the night in the Circle Cinema, an abandoned movie theater where they unravel secrets, cope with past struggles and triumphs and ultimately face their futures. | 9781467774895 |
| Courage and Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark | Hopkinson, Deborah | Scholastic Press | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Young Adult | This book chronicles the true stories of the brave people behind the Nazi resistance efforts and the countless lives they saved during the Holocaust. | 9780545592208 |
| Imagining Katherine | Solomon, Carol | Tova Press | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Young Adult | Through high-schooler Katherine's eyes, the novel tackles topics such as racism, segregation, the civil rights movement and Jewish identity in the cultural climate of 1960s Baltimore. | 9780692486481 |
| Deep Sea | Thor, Annika | Delacorte Press | 2015 | 2016 | Notable | Young Adult | Three years earlier, Jewish sisters Stephie and Nellie were sent to live with foster families on a Swedish island. Now sixteen-years-old, Stephie deals with “typical” teen issues such as school and friends while grappling with the fact that her parents remain in an Austrian concentration camp. This is the third book about the Steiner Sisters. | 9780385743853 |
| My Grandfather's Coat | Aylesworth, Jim & McClintock, Barbara | Scholastic Press | 2014 | 2015 | Winner | Picture Book | A delightful retelling of the Yiddish folksong “I Had a Little Overcoat,” in which, the main character is a Jewish immigrant to the United States who works as a tailor. The descriptive illustrations expand on the narrative and weave their own tale of the man’s life cycle events. | '9780439925457 |
| Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust | Dauvillier, Loïc & Siege, Alexis | First Second | 2014 | 2015 | Winner | Middle Grade | In graphic novel format, a grandmother recounts to her granddaughter her experiences as a hidden Jewish child in Nazi-occupied France during the Holocaust. The grey and brown-tinted illustrations portray a dark and scary time. However, the text and images provide a gentle introduction to the Holocaust for elementary grade and middle grade readers | 9781596438736 |
| Storm | Napoli, Donna Jo | Simon & Schuster | 2014 | 2015 | Winner | Young Adult | A novel based on the Bible Story Noah’s Ark told through the viewpoint of Sebah, a sixteen-year-old woman, who is a stowaway on the Ark. Sebah describes the severe conditions of the flood which took the lives of her family. Also, she shares her observations of the turmoil on the Ark between Noah and his family members as well as amongst the animals. | 9781481403023 |
| Goldie Takes a Stand | Krasner, Barbara & Garrity-Rile, Kelsey | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Picture Book | A young Golda Meir is the president of the American Young Sisters Society where she uses her leadership skills to raise money to purchase books for immigrant students. | 981467712019 |
| Never Say a Mean Word Again: A Tale from Medieval Spain | Jules, Jacqueline & Bernhard, Durga Yael | Wisdom Tales | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Picture Book | A universal story of friendship and cross-cultural understanding based on a Spanish legend. Samuel’s father, a Jewish vizier, advises Samuel after offends his friend Hamza and Hamza (son of the tax collector) responds with anger.Samuel’s father says, "make sure Hamza never says a mean word to you again." As a result, Samuel and Hamsa begin to enjoy activities together, and their friendship grows in spite of their challenging beginnings. | 9781937786205 |
| Death by Toilet Paper | Gephart, Donna | Delacorte Press | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Middle Grade | Benjamin Epstein faces many challenges since his father’s death, most significantly, being evicted from his home. Benjamin does his best to help out his mom, by entering contests, including one for a toilet paper company slogan. When his aging grandfather moves in trouble escalates for Ben. Realistic, deeply touching, with just the right balance of kid friendly humor. | 9780385743990 |
| Whispering Town | Elvgren, Jennifer & Santomauro, Fabio | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Middle Grade | A picture book for older readers set in 1943 Nazi-occupied Denmark. In a small fishing village Anett and her parents hide a Jewish mother and son in their cellar until they can travel safely to Sweden. Evocative illustrations add depth to the story. | 9781467711944 |
| Isabel’s War | Perl, Lila | LizzieSkurnick Books/IG Publishing | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Young Adult | Isabel is a self-centered American girl who is not happy about having to spend her summer vacation in a resort with her parents. She is even more unhappy when she finds out she will have to share her room with Helga, a beautiful German girl. Gradually, Isabel learns what is happening to the Jews in Europe, that Helga was saved by the Kindertransport, and tries to learn the terrible secret Helga is keeping. The story integrates factual material about World War II, the status of refugees, attitudes of Americans towards the German refugees and some the experiences of the Kindertransport children. | 9781939601278 |
| Like No Other | LaMarche, Una | Razor Bill/Penguin Group | 2014 | 2015 | Honor | Young Adult | The story of a Hasidic girl, Devorah, who has a chance meeting in a hospital elevator, during a power out, with a young black teen named Jaxon. Contrary to Devorah’s stereotype of black boys, Jaxon is respectful and tries to help them escape from the dark elevator. An unlikely friendship develops. Although they would both like their friendship to develop into something more, Devorah realizes that she does not want to give up her relationship with her family and her community, and they each must go on with their individual lives. | 9781595146748 |
| Anna & Solomon | Snyder, Elaine & Bliss, Harry | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | Anna and Solomon were Russian Jews in the 1890’s. They had only enough money for one ticket to America. Solomon sailed alone. He worked hard to save money for Anna to join him. As each of 3 ships dock in New York, various members of Anna’s family disembark without Anna. Finally, Anna made the journey. The story is based on the author’s grandparent’s immigration experience. | 9780374303624 |
| Here is the World | Newman, Lesléa & Gal, Susan | Abrams Books | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | Here isa book of simple rhymes for each Jewish holiday (and a baby naming). Here isa custom to make the holiday come alive. Here arerecipes or crafts to enrich the celebrations Here is a description of each holiday. Here isthe repetition of the rhyme that will keep young children reading along with the text. | 9781419711855 |
| The Mitten String | Rosner, Jennifer & Swarner, Kristina | Random House | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | This is an original folktale about a girl who knits, a deaf woman, and a piece of blueyarn. Ruthie’s family raise sheep and young Ruthie loves to knit mittens from the wool. Her family invites a deaf woman and her baby to spend the night. Ruthie wonders how the mother will hear the child during the night. Her discovery leads to an invention for not losing mittens. ( | 9780385371186 |
| Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons | McGinty, Alice B. & Reinhardt, Jennifer Black | Charlesbridge | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | Rabbi’s Benjamin’s Congregation give him a beautiful vest to wear on Jewish holidays. As he eats and eats the special foods (recipes included), the 4 silver buttons pop off. Over the summer, he loses the extra weight by helping his friends with physically active holiday preparations. Charming and colorful illustrations. | 9781580894326 |
| Simon and The Bear | Kimmel, Eric & Trueman, Matthew | Disney-Hyperion | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | A zany and fun Hanukkah tale of Simon, a Russian boy on his way to America. After a shipwreck he is stranded on an iceberg. Simon is saved by a polar bear that shares his latkes, enjoyshis songs, goes fishing for him and keeps him warm at night. Simon experiences miracle after miracle during his journey | 9781423143550 |
| The Story of Passover | Adler, David & Weber, Jill | Holiday House | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Picture Book | A beautifully illustrated and accurate retelling of the children of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom. Many of the “gruesome” parts of the story are included, such as the death of the firstborn child and the Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea | 9780823429028 |
| Fleabrain Loves Franny | Rocklin, Joanne | Harry N. Abrams/Amulet Books, | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Middle Grade | In 1952 Pittsburgh, a young Jewish girl convalescing from polio is befriended by an erudite flea with supernatural powers. The book is both an engaging work of historical fiction and a highly imaginative animal fantasy. | 9781419710681 |
| From Foe to Friend & Other Stories: A Graphic Novel | Agnon, S. Y. & Charka, Shay & Saks, Jeffrey | Toby Press | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Middle Grade | Charka’s witty, approachable panel-art illustrations capture the essence of three tales by Nobel Prize laureate Agnon, who died in 1970. Themes include kindness, persistence, creativity, and Jewish mysticism. | 9781592643950 |
| I Lived on Butterfly Hill | Agosín, Margorie & White, Lee & O’Connor, E. M. | Atheneum Books | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Middle Grade | Eleven-year-old Celeste idyllic life in Valparíso—where her abuela settled after fleeing the Nazis—is violently upended with Chile’s bloody coup d’état (here fictionalized). Agosin’slyrical writing—her sensory descriptions of Chile and sensitive portrayal of one girl’s coming-of-age—is pure poetry. | 9781416953449 |
| Schools of Hope: How Julius Rosenwald Helped Change African American Education | Finkelstein, Norman H. | Calkins Creek | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Middle Grade | Inspired by Booker T. Washington, the president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, Julius Rosenwald, helped build over 5300 schools for African Americans in the segregated South. A well-researched account of one man’s act of tzedakah, on a grand scale. | 9781590788417 |
| Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi | Rubin, Susan Goldman | Holiday House | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Young Adult | Rubin commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of “Freedom Summer” with an informative look at events, including the tragic murders of three young civil rights workers. Her firsthand interviews bring immediacy and intimacy to history. | 9780823429202 |
| Gottika | Becker, Helaine & Griggs-Burr, Alexander | Dancing Cat Books | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Young Adult | In a futuristic society, “Stoons”—a learned and peaceful people—are persecuted by the Nazi-like Gottikan rulers. Dany’s father conjures a “gol” to protect their people. Dramatic interspersed panel illustrations help set the pace for this gripping tale. | 9781770863910 |
| Playing for the Commandant | Zail, Suzy | Candlewick | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Young Adult | In Auschwitz, young pianist Hanna must perform for the Nazis to keep her mother and sister alive. She falls in love with the commandant’s son, Karl, whose kindness in the face of horror helps sustain her. | 9780763664039 |
| Prisoner of Night and Fog | Blankman, Anne | Balzer + Bray | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Young Adult | In 1923 Munich, seventeen-year-old Gretchen, a favorite of “Uncle Dolph,” has her eyes opened to the coming atrocities by a courageous young Jewish reporter. Taut mystery, engaging historical fiction, and romantic love story. | 9780062278814 |
| Rachel’s Hope | Sanders, Shelly | Second Story Press | 2014 | 2015 | Notable | Young Adult | This conclusion to the Rachel Trilogy, based on true events, finds the protagonist settling into life in early1900s San Francisco. Alternating chapters describe Sergei’s flight from Siberian exile. The book’s ending is cathartic, if heartbreaking. | 9781927583425 |
| The Longest Night: A Passover Story | Snyder, Laurel & Chein, Catia | Schwartz & Wade Books, | 2013 | 2014 | Winner | Picture Book | Written in gentle verse, the tumultuous days leading up to the Jews’ flight from Egypt are described from the perspective of an unnamed slave girl in this beautifully illustrated story | 9780375969423 |
| The Blessing Cup | Polacco, Patricia | Simon & Schuster | 2013 | 2014 | Winner | Middle Grade | The miraculous journey from the shtetl to America of the remaining teacup from a china tea set, deliberately left behind when her Jewish ancestors were forced to leaveCzarist Russia, will strike an emotional chord with readers. | 9781442450479 |
| The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi | Bascomb, Neal | Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic | 2013 | 2014 | Winner | Young Adult | A stunning account of the mission to capture Adolf Eichmann by an elite team of Israeli spies is dramatically brought to life by Neal Bascomb. | 9780545430999 |
| Rifka Takes a Bow | Perlov, Betty Rosenberg & Kawa, Cosei | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Picture Book | A young girl shares her experiences being the daughter of performers in the Yiddish theater during the 1920’s in New York City. | 9780761381273 |
| Stones for Grandpa | Londner, Renee & Avilés, Martha | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Picture Book | The Jewish custom of placing stones on a gravestone is gently explained to young children, through the eyes of a young boy as he remembers his grandfather. | 9780761374954 |
| The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler's List | Leyson, Leon & Harran, Marilyn J. & Leyson, Elisabeth B. | Atheneum | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Middle Grade | The late Leon Leyson has created an inspiring memoir about his experiences during the Holocaust. He was one of the youngest children on Oskar Schindler’s list. | 9781442497818 |
| Dear Canada: Pieces of the Past: The Holocaust Diary of Rose Rabinowitz, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1948 | Matas, Carol | Scholastic Canada | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Middle Grade | Rose’s fictional diary depicts her struggle to adjust to a new life as an orphan in Canada after WWII and shares her horrific experiences during the war. | 9781443113076 |
| Dancing in the Dark | Bavati, Robyn | Flux | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Young Adult | Ditty Cohen, an orthodox teen, is forced to keep her passion and talent for ballet dancing hidden from her family. She studies ballet in secret, but ultimately must choose between a life on the stage as a dancer and her family. | 9780738734774 |
| The War Within These Walls | Sax, Aline & Strzeleck, Caryl & Watkinson, Laura | Eerdmans | 2013 | 2014 | Honor | Young Adult | The appalling conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto are shown in this unforgettable illustrated novel. The narrator, a teenage Jewish boy’s, story begins with the invasion of Poland and dramatically shows the role the he plays in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. | 9780802854285 |
| Benny’s Mitzvah Notes | Lumer, Marc | Hachai Publishing | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | Benny, a young Orthodox Jewish boy, loves the mitzvah notes his parents make for him. Benny grows up and writes a touching mitzvah note of his own. | 9781929628698 |
| Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 | Markel, Michelle & Sweet, Melissa | Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins P | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | In 1909, Clara Lemlich and her fellow garment workers ban together to create better conditions. With resilience and courage, young Clara stands up for what she believes | 9780061804427 |
| The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street | Stampler, Ann Redisch & Carabelli, Francesca | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | Cranky fish shop owner Mr. Modiano and his neighbor Mrs. Spiegel are brought together in the most unlikely of ways with the help of two mischievous cats. | 9780761381235 |
| Hanukkah in Alaska | Brown, Barbara & Schuet, Stacey | Henry Holt | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | A girl living in Alaska is frustrated when a moose won't leave her backyard, threatening to chomp down the tree holding up her beloved swing. Even the celebration of Hanukkah doesn't distract her. | 9780805097481 |
| The Passover Lamb | Marshall, Linda Elovitz & Mai-Wyss, Tatjana | Random House | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | On the morning of Passover, Miriam discovers one of the sheep on her family’s farm has given birth to triplets! Miriam has a clever plan to attend the seder and celebrate Passover with the help of a baby lamb. | 9780307931771 |
| Our Special New Baby | Cohen, Chava & Braverman, Rivkie | Feldheim Publishers | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Picture Book | Racheli’s father explains that her new baby brother is very special. He was born with Down syndrome. Racheli and her siblings learn about understanding, acceptance, and love | 9781598269604 |
| The Barefoot Book of Jewish Tales | Boyd, Shoshana Gelfand & Hall, Amanda & Messing, Debra | Barefoot Books I | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Middle Grade | A charming collection of eight different stories, each tale highlights a Jewish value depicted in a child-friendly manner. | 9781846868849 |
| B.U.G. (Big Ugly Guy) | Yolen, Jane & Adam Stemple | Dutton’s Children Books/Penguin | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Middle Grade | Tired of being bullied, Sammy decides to build a golem out of clay for protection. The golem even becomes drummer in his band. But when the golem takes on a life of its own, Sammy must rethink his plan. | 9780525422389 |
| Odette's Secrets | Macdonald, Maryann | Bloomsbury Children’s Books, | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Middle Grade | After the Nazis invade Paris, Odette is sent to live with a Catholic family in the countryside. In order to stay safe, she must shed her Jewish identity. Based on a true story and told in free verse poetry, Macdonald tells the story of a young girl burdened by loss and secrets. | 9781599907505 |
| Touched by Fire | Watts, Irene N. | Tundra Books | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Middle Grade | An enthralling story of perseverance and strength, Watts depicts the chronology of Miriam and her family from 1905 when they flee the pogroms of Russia to their journey to reach Ellis Island and the tragedy of the Triangle Shirt Waist Fire. | 9781770495241 |
| When Hurricane Katrina Hit Home | Karwoski, Gail Langer & Marshall, Julia | The History Press | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Middle Grade | Although they come from two very different backgrounds, Chazz and Lyric are both affected when Hurricane Katrina roars through New Orleans. Told in alternating points of view, the children realize what is important in the aftermath of a storm that has changed their lives. | 9781626190832 |
| Helga’s Diary: A Young Girl’s Account of Life in a Concentration Camp | Weiss, Helga & Bermel, Neil | W.W. Norton & Company | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Young Adult | Cemented in a brick wall and miraculously retrieved after the war, Helga's real-life diary depicts her experiences in Terezin. With updated with family photos, footnotes, recollections, Helga's childhood drawings, journal entries, and diagrams, the bravery of a young girl during such a perilous time is illuminated. | 9780393077971 |
| Lauren Yanofsky Hates the Holocaust | Lieberman, Leanne | Orca Book Publishers | 2013 | 2014 | Notable | Young Adult | Seventeen-year-old Lauren doesn't want to be Jewish anymore. She is tired of Holocaust memoirs and Jewish summer camps. She believes Judaism is all about sadness, persecution, and loss. But when her friends start playing Nazi War games, Lauren realizes that her heritage is more important than she realized. | 9781459801097 |
| Hannah’s Way | Glaser, Linda & Gustavson, Adam | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2012 | 2013 | Winner | Picture Book | When Hannah’s teacher tries to arrange carpools for a Saturday class picnic, she is in a quandary. She cannot ride on the Sabbath, but she neither wants to miss the picnic nor draw attention to her Jewish heritage. Well researched illustrations with details of rural northern Minnesota during the Depression Era complement the story of how a child does not have to give up his or her heritage in order to fit in, a message that serves contemporary populations as well. | 9780761351382 |
| His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg | Borden, Louise | Houghton Mifflin | 2012 | 2013 | Winner | Middle Grade | Borden’s biography of the Swedish hero of Hungarian Jewry during World WarII has all the hallmarks of excellent non-fiction: extensive research, lists of sources, and prose and visual materials that make a complicated chapter of history easily accessible. | 9780618507559 |
| Intentions | Heiligman, Deborah | Knopf Books/Random House | 2012 | 2013 | Winner | Young Adult | When Rachel overhears an encounter between her rabbi and a female congregant in the synagogue sanctuary, her world starts unraveling as she questions whom she can trust. She evaluates her relationships with parents, friends, and the rabbi, and learns about her own motivations in the process. Well-developed characters and authentic voice emphasize the many nuances of the title. | 978-0375868610 |
| Zayde Comes to Live | Sinykin, Sheri & Swarner, Kristina | Peachtree Publishers | 2012 | 2013 | Honor | Picture Book | A “poignant, powerful, sweet” story of a girl and her grandfather that deals with death and the afterlife from a Jewish perspective. | 9781561456314 |
| The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale | Strauss, Linda Leopold & Natchev, Alexi | Holiday House | 2012 | 2013 | Honor | Picture Book | Next door neighbors Rachel Galinsky and David Lippa are in love, but their families are feuding. With spring in the air, Passover preparations and some help from the rabbi, “it takes a village” to bring the couple together. The shtetl is brought to life with vibrant woodcuts and a definite Yiddish cadence to the text. | 9780823419111 |
| The Wooden Sword: A Jewish Folktale from Afghanistan | Stampler, Anne Redisch & Liddiment, Carol | Albert Whitman | 2012 | 2013 | Honor | Middle Grade | A shoemaker’s faith that everything will turn out as it should is tested by the Afghan shah, who forces him to work as a water carrier, woodcutter and soldier. But when the shoemaker is asked to do a beheading, his own cleverness saves the day. Colorful, detailed illustrations lend a strong sense of place | 9780807592014 |
| Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust | Rappaport, Doreen | Candlewick Press | 2012 | 2013 | Honor | Young Adult | The author presents “a sampling of actions, efforts, and heroism with the hope that [she] can play a role in helping to correct the damaging and persistent belief that Jews ‘went like sheep to the slaughter.’” Five years of research results in an important informational book, with back matter that includes a pronunciation guide, chronology, source notes, detailed bibliography, and an index. | 978-0763629762 |
| Speak Up, Tommy! | Greene, Jacqueline Dembar & Melmon, Debbi | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Picture Book | Inspired by real events, Tommy's classmates stop teasing him about his Israeli accent when he helps the policeman manage his Israeli-trained dog. | 9780761374978 |
| Sadie and the Big Mountain | Korngold, Jamie & Fortenberry, Julie | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Picture Book | Sadie's synagogue preschool is spending the week preparing for Shavuot, the culmination of which will be a mountain hike similar to Moshe ascending Mount Sinai. Sadie does not like hiking, and she imagines getting sick with different ailments so she won't have to go. | 9780761364948 |
| A Sweet Passover | Newman, Lesléa & Slonim, David | Abrams | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Picture Book | By the last day of Passover, Miriam has had her fill of matzah. But as the family recounts why Jews eat matzahon Passover, she is convinced and tries her grandfather's matzah brei.Recipe included. | 9780810997370 |
| The Schmutzy Family | Rosenberg, Madelyn & Meisel, Paul | Holiday House | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Picture Book | All week the family discovers new ways to get dirty and the mother is never flustered. But when Shabbat comes, it's time to clean up. | 9780823423712 |
| A Song for My Sister | Simpson, Lesley & Mai-Wyss, Tatjana | Random House | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Picture Book | Mira longed for a little sister, but she didn't realize how much noise a baby could make, or the big changes to family life. When the baby cries the day of her simchat bat(baby naming), Mira calms her with a song. | 9781582464275 |
| Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite | Deutsch, Barry | Amulet Books/Abrams, | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Middle Grade | That plucky, knitting, Sabbath-observing heroine is back with another adventure that involves a meteorite, an evil twin, and a witch. | 9781419703980 |
| Small Medium at Large | Levy, Joanne | Bloomsbury USA | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Middle Grade | At her mother's wedding reception, Lilah is struck by lightning, which enables her to communicate with the dead. With the help of her grandmother and various other spirits, Lilah is able to overcome her shyness and help others. | 9781599908366 |
| Looking for Me | Rosenthal, Betsy R. | Houghton Mifflin | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Middle Grade | Written in free verse about the author's mother, who grew up as the fourth child of twelve in Baltimore during the 1930's, this book explores her challenges of being her own person while getting along with her siblings. | 9780547610849 |
| Now | Gleitzman, Morris | Henry Holt | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Young Adult | Felix is now a retired doctor and grandfather in the final book of this award-winning trilogy (Onceand Then, Honor Books in 2011 and 2012, respectively). It is narrated by his granddaughter, Zelda, who deals with the absence of working parents, bullying, and raging fires in Australia. | 9780805093780 |
| Rachel's Secret | Sanders, Shelly | Second Story Press | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Young Adult | The Kishiniev riots of 1903 are the basis for a story of love and friendship as Rachel and Sergei grow closer amid the tension and anti-Semitism of pre-Revolutionary Russia. | 9780926920375 |
| The Last Song | Wiseman, Eva | Tundra Books, | 2012 | 2013 | Notable | Young Adult | Isabel dislikes her intended husband, but her parents hope to protect her from the dangers of the Inquisition by marrying her off to the scion of an important Catholic family. As Isabel discovers her Jewish roots, she rights to save her family in this historical fiction. ( | 9780887769795 |
| Chanukah Lights | Rosen, Michael J. & Sabuda, Robert | Candlewick | 2011 | 2012 | Winner | Picture Book | Simple text combines with amazing pop-ups to tell the story of Chanukah from its origins in the Temple throughout history and the world. A page for each night, including depictions of a ship and a skyscraper, will delight readers of all ages. | 9780763655334 |
| Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein | Rubin, Susan Goldman | Charlesbridge | 2011 | 2012 | Winner | Middle Grade | A chronicle of the pianist/composer/conductor’s early life –from his childhood in Boston to his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall, is full of photographs, direct quotes, and interesting anecdotes. The excellent back matter includes biographies of famous associates, a discography, bibliography, and an index | 9781580893442 |
| The Berlin Boxing Club | Sharenow, Robert | Harper Teen/HarperCollins | 2011 | 2012 | Winner | Young Adult | Karl Stern, an assimilated fourteen-year-old Jew living in 1930s Berlin, becomes the unlikely student of boxing champion and source of German pride, Max Schmeling. A coming of age novel that entwines Karl’s personal struggles with the historical ones of the period including “degenerate” artand the Nazi menace, well-developed characters and a tense plot propel this page turner | 9780061579684 |
| Naamah and the Ark at Night | Bartoletti, Susan Campbell & Meade, Holly | Candlewick | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Picture Book | Using an extremely disciplined poetry form, Bartoletti crafts a lullaby about Naamah, Noah’s wife, calming the animals at night with her singing. Meade’s lush, dramatic artwork brings the inhabitants of the ark to life. | 9780763642426 |
| Around the World in One Shabbat | Bernhard, Durga Yael. | Jewish Lights Publishing | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Picture Book | Starting Friday afternoon in the Jerusalem marketplace, author/illustrator Bernhard circles the globe through Argentina, Australia, Turkey, Russia, France, America, Ethiopia, Germany, Canada, Morocco, Thailand, and India to explore the different customs and rituals of the Sabbath. Havdalah is recited in a home near the Kotel, as the trip around the world is complete. Colorful ovals of activity accompany the descriptive narrative. | 9781580234337 |
| Lily Renee, Escape Artist: from Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer | Robbins, Trina & Timmons, Anne and Oh, Mo | Graphic Universe/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Middle Grade | Not only did Lily Wilheim survive, she triumphed over circumstances that forced her from a loving home in pre-war Vienna, on a Kindertransport to England, to the United States and through a variety of jobs and situations to become a comic book illustrator. Timmons and Oh’s vibrant graphic format, and the back matter with photographs, a glossary and historical descriptions, make for an exciting and educational biography. | 9780761381143 |
| Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg: Baseball Pioneer | Sommer, Shelley | Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Middle Grade | Sommer’s biography follows Greenberg’s achievements on and off the baseball field, including the challenges of anti-Semitism and parental disapproval of professional sports. | 9781590784525 |
| Irena’s Jars of Secrets | Vaughan, Marcia & Mazellan, Ron | Lee & Low Books | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Middle Grade | Polish social worker (and Righteous Gentile) Irena Sender rescued over 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto. The story of her bravery and quiet heroism is complemented by Mazellan’s somber-toned, expressive illustrations. | 9781600604393 |
| Then | Gleitzman, Morris | Henry Holt | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Young Adult | Continuing where 2011 Honor Book Onceleft off, Felix tells how he and Zelda find refuge in a Polish farm village but must still use quick thinking and imagination to survive the degradations of the Holocaust. | 9780805090277 |
| The Blood Lie | Vernick, Shirley Reva | Cinco Puntos Press | 2011 | 2012 | Honor | Young Adult | Inspired by a real blood libel that took place in upstate New York in 1928, Jack Pool’s promising career as a cellist is jeopardized when a young girl disappears in the woods and he is accused of murdering her for a Jewish blood ritual. | 9781933693842 |
| Picnic at Camp Shalom | Jules, Jacqueline & Melmon, Debbi | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | Carly and Sara become fastfriends during activity-filled days of camp, but there is also a lesson to be learned about dealing with friends and trying to make things right after a misunderstanding | 9780761366614 |
| The Golem's Latkes | Kimmel, Eric A. & Jansinsk, Aaron | Marshall Cavendish | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | Hanukkah is a busy time fr Rabbi Judah Loew and his household. The housemaid tasks the Maharal's Golem to keep making potato pancakes until she returns. When she loses track of time and the streets start to overflow, it turns into a latke party for the whole city. Acrylic on wood illustrations gives dimension to the man of clay and Prague | 9780761459040 |
| Joseph and the Sabbath Fish | Kimmel, Eric A. & Peluso, Martina | KarBen/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | Joseph is a poor man who spends his meager budget to honor the Sabbath by welcoming guests and serving delicacies. His neighbor, a wealthy merchant, is worried that Joseph will gain his riches. The merchant converts his holdings into one large gem, which ends up in the water. When local fishermen net a large beautiful fish, they know Joseph will buy it. When Joseph cuts it open, he finds the neighbor's jewel, and both learn the lesson from the Talmud (Shabbat 119a): if someone provides money for the benefit of the Sabbath, the Sabbath will more than repay him. | 9780761359081 |
| Sadie's Sukkah Breakfast | Korngold, Jamie & Fortenberry, Julie | KarBen/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | Sadie and her sister Ori wake up early and decide to eat in the sukkah. After schlepping all the food and utensils outside, they decide breakfast would be nicer with guests, so they bring out their stuffed animals. | 9780761356479 |
| The Shabbat Princess | Meltzer, Amy & Aviles, Martha | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | While Sabbath is often referred to as a "queen," Rosie channels her obsession with princesses to make sure her family's Shabbat is worthy of royalty. | 9780761351429 |
| Lipman Pike: America's First Home Run King | Michelson, Richard & Pullen, Zachary | Sleeping Bear Press | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | What's a nice Jewish boy doing playing baseball? This picture-book biography follows Pike from his father's store in Brooklyn through his rise to fame as the first paid baseball player in America. | 9781585364657 |
| The Littlest Mountain | Rosenstock, Barb & Hall, Melanie | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | God determines that the world needs rules, and He decides to "speak" from a mountain. But which mountain should it be? Mount Carmel is beautiful, Mount Hermon has three peaks, Mount Tabor is majestic, and Mount Gilboa has flower-filled meadows. According to the Midrash Rabbah(Bereshit99:1), God chooses little" Mount Sinai because its unassuming and humble bearing is deemed the perfect spot. Hall's vibrant color illustrations give each mountain a distinct "personality." | 9780761344957 |
| I Will Come Back to You: A Familyin Hiding during World War II | Russo, Marisabina | Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House, | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | A grandmother's (Nonna) charm bracelet tells the story of life in Italy before World War II and subsequent events that led to Nonna's immigration to America. A donkey, a piano, a bicycle, and piglets all play a part. Gouache-painted illustrations and vintage photographs on the endpapers add visual context. | 9780375966958 |
| Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime | Spielman, Gloria & Gauthier, Manon | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | This beautiful picture book details the famous mime's lifelong love of performing, as well as his Jewish heritage and role in the French resistance during World War II. | 9780761339618 |
| One LittleChicken | Weber, Elka & Kleven, Elisa | Tricycle Press | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Picture Book | Leora is thrilled to find a chicken in her yard. Her mother reminds her that "finders aren't keepers," even if the result is caring for a yard full of livestock until the owner can be found. Vibrant colors and varied page layouts illustrate the story based on Talmudic discussions of returning lost items. | 9781582463742 |
| The Mishkan: Its Structure and Its Sacred Vessels | Biderman, Rabbi Avrohom | Artscroll/Mesorah Publications | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | The intricacies and significance of the Tabernacle are "now vividly brought to life in a masterpiece of imagery, insight, and detail." | 9781422610749 |
| Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy | Marrin, Albert | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | One hundred years after the tragedy, Marrin uses the event as a focal point to discuss immigration, unions, and life in early 20th century New York City. | 9780375868894 |
| The Cats in the Doll Shop | McDonough, Yona Zeldis & Maione, Heather | Viking/Penguin | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | The Breittlemann sisters, who were introduced in The Doll Shop Downstairs (Viking, 2009), have new adventures when their cousin Tania immigrates from Russia and they help some stray cats that are being mistreated. | 9780670012794 |
| When Life Gives You O.J. | Perl, Erica S. | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | Zelly Fried desperately wants a dog. Her grandfather, Ace, suggests that Zelly shows how responsible she can be by taking care of a practice dog --an empty orange juice container. In the process,Zelly learns a lot about loyalty, friendship, and being true to herself. | 978037585923 |
| Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto | Rubin, Susan Goldman & Farnsworth, Bill | Holiday House | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | The story of the Polish woman who defied the Nazis and risked her life to save Jewish children is brought to life with detailed narrative and expressive, colorful paintings. | 9780823422517 |
| Terezin: Voices from the Holocaust | Thomson, Ruth | Candlewick Press | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Middle Grade | Using present-day and archival photographs, pictures of daily life created by internees, and artifacts, a chronological history of the infamous concentration camp captures both the eye and the reader's interest. | 9780763649630 |
| Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto | Janeczko, Paul B. | Candlewick Press | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Young Adult | "Solemn songs to the memory of the people who died within the walls of Theresienstadt" is how the author describes his works of sparse, yet powerful poetry. The book includes art created in the concentration camp, as well as historical notes and related resources. | 9780763647378 |
| OyMG | Dominy, Amy Fellner & Swarner, Kristina | Walker & Company | 2011 | 2012 | Notable | Young Adult | Ellie Taylor hopes her debating skills will get her a scholarship to a prestigious Christian-affiliated private school. She attends summer speech camp and falls for Devon, a cute shaygetz whose grandmother happens to be the anti-Semitic sponsor of the scholarship. With some nudging from her zaydeh, Ellie faces her toughest argument as she must decide between the scholarship and her Jewish identity. | 9780802721778 |
| Gathering Sparks | Schwartz, Howard | Roaring Brook/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Winner | Picture Book | Dreamy, nature-filled watercolor, gouache, and pastel paintings beautifully illustrate the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world, through an intimate dialogue between a grandchild and grandfather. While based on the ancient mystical teaching of the famous sixteenth century Rabbi Isaac Luria, the gentle, inspiring text and soothing illustrations are accessible to readers of all faiths. | 9781596432802 |
| Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword | Deutsch, Barry | Amulet/Abrams | 2010 | 2011 | Winner | Middle Grade | Eleven-year-old Mirka, living in a contemporary Orthodox community, has more on her mind than learning the “womanly arts” her stepmother insists she acquire. She is on a quest to find a sword and slay a dragon, when she encounters witches, trolls, a vicious pig, and a ghost along the way. Computer generated illustrations in a muted palette create an amusing and refreshing graphic novel adventure | 9780810984226 |
| The Things a Brother Knows | Reinhardt, Dana | Wendy Lamb Books/Random House | 2010 | 2011 | Winner | Young Adult | When Levi’s older brother Boaz makes an uncharacteristic decision to join the Marines, his Israeli-American family is shocked. He returns safely but hardly speaks to anyone and barely leaves his room. When Boaz claims he is going on a hiking trip, Levi follows him on a journey from Boston to Washington, DC on foot and comes to understand the depth of his brother’s pain, and his love and loyalty for his family | 9780375844553 |
| Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book | Gershman, Sarah & Swarner, Kristina | EKS Publishing | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Picture Book | A lyrical interpretation of a selection of Morning Blessings taken from the “Birchot HaShachar” and written with a simplicity and elegance that can be understood by young listeners and readers. The illustrations are full of emotion, expressing the mystery of the dawn, the innocence of a child, the warmth of family, and the excitement and awe of facing each new day. | 9780939144648 |
| Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty | Glaser, Linda & Nivola, Claire A. | Houghton Mifflin B | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Picture Book | This beautiful blending of words and pictures explores the life of Emma Lazarus and her work as a writer and humanitarian, focusing on her inspiring words of poetry in “The New Colossus” which would become the permanent inscription for the Statue of Liberty. | 9780547171845 |
| Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Zollars, Jaime | Marshall Cavendish | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Picture Book | Young, blind Hershel wishes he could help his widowed mother more. When an angel appears in his dream, Hershel finds that he has special gifts he can use to help his mother bake for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Rich, full-spread illustrations in collage and acrylic paint warmly depict the Eastern European shtetl setting with expression and dimension in thisupdate of the 1991 classic. | 9780761457015 |
| Resistance | Jablonski, Carla & Purvis, Leland | First Second/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Middle Grade | Paul must help his family run their hotel while his father is being held by the Nazi authorities. But when his best friend Henri, who is Jewish, escapes a roundup and is left behind, Paul and his sister decide to hide him and help him escape with the French Resistance. A graphic novel that provides a cinematic story of prejudice, fear, courage, and bold ingenuity. | 9781596432918 |
| One Is Not a Lonely Number | Krieger, Evelyn | YM Books | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Middle Grade | As an only child, Talia is an anomaly at her Jewish day school, where large families are the norm. When a young woman stays for an extended visit, Talia is forced to share her family and her home. Talia's journey toward understanding herself, her parents, and her friends is guided by her Jewish morals and values providing a positive and authentic portrayal of the contemporary Orthodox community for readers of all backgrounds. | 9780984162420 |
| Black Radishes | Meyer, Susan Lynn | Delacorte/Random House | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Middle Grade | Shortly before France is invaded, Gustave and his parents flee Paris for the countryside. Lonely for the friends he left behind, Gustave also faces anti-Semitism at school and an uncertain future while the family waits for visas to immigrate to America. Action, tension, and well-developed characters coupled with compelling details and beautifully crafted prose create a detailed picture of life for Jewish families in France during World War II. | 9780385738811 |
| Hush | Chayil, Eishes | Walker & Compan/Bloomsbury | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Young Adult | Eight years after her best friend hangs herself, Gittel breaks her silence and risks her own reputation, and that of her family, to come forward to the police with the real reason that led to the suicide. Written anonymously by a former member of a Chassidic sect in Brooklyn, the story painfully and vividly reveals the ongoing effects of incest and molestation on the victim, as well as on friends, family, and the community. | 9780802720887 |
| Once | Gleitzman, Morris | Henry Holt a | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Young Adult | The brutality and devastation of the Holocaust is shown through a Polish orphan named Felix and his experiences after he runs away from the orphanage where he lived for almost four years. Believing that his parents might still be alive, he tries to find them at their family-owned bookstore only to discover that his town no longer has any Jews still living in it and all the books in his family shop are gone. | 9780805090260 |
| Life, After | Littman, Sarah Darer | Scholastic | 2010 | 2011 | Honor | Young Adult | Daniella Bensimon’s comfortable world in Buenos Ares, Argentina is slipping away after the country spirals into an economic meltdown. Faced with increasing economic distress and personal loss, the family makes the difficult decision to emigrate and struggles to adjust to their new life in New York. | 9780375844553 |
| Engineer Ari and the Sukkah Express | Cohen, Deborah Bodin & Kober, Shahar | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | picture Book | Engineer Ari, the first conductor of the new train from Jaffa to Jerusalem, builds a Sukkah using leftover wood and other materials gathered from friends along his route. When the Sukkah is complete, Ari and his friends figure out how to share it with everyone who contributed -- by turning one of the train cars into the Sukkah Express! | 9780761351269 |
| Feivel's Flying Horses | Hyde, Heidi Smith & van der Sterre, Johanna | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | picture Book | A wood carver of synagogue arks and Torah scrolls uses his talents to create magnificent carousel horses on Coney Island. By the time the carousel is complete, he has earned enough money to bring his family to America. | 9780761339571 |
| Miriam in the Desert | Jules, Jacqueline & Ugliano, Natascia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | picture Book | Bezalel, the artist chosen by God to build the Holy Ark, is represented here as Miriam's grandson, who plays a crucial role in developing a new spiritual future for the Jews. Miriam offers encouragement and guidance to the weary Israelites as they continue their journey through the desert after they escape slavery in Egypt. | 9780761344940 |
| The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah | Kimmelman, Leslie & Meisel, Paul | Holiday House | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | The Little Red Hen wants to make matzah for Passover and hopes her friends will help. Just like in the familiar story, Sheep, Horse, and Dog flatly refuse. But, remembering the words from the Haggadah, "Let all who are hungry come and eat," Little Red Hen welcomes her friends to her Seder. And after the meal, guess who does the dishes? | 9780823419524 |
| Say Hello, Lily | Lakritz, Deborah & Aviles, Martha | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | Although shy at first, Lily becomes a regular volunteer at the Shalom House, a "place for older people to live if they need extra help," and performs a mitzvah when she chooses to celebrate her birthday with the residents. | 9780761345114 |
| Beautiful Yetta, the Yiddish Chicken | Pinkwater, Daniel & Pinkwater., Jill | Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | In a tri-lingual story, utilizing English, Yiddish, and Spanish, a brave and clever fowl is determined not to become Friday night's dinner. But poor, Yiddish speaking Yetta is homesick and lonely in Brooklyn, New York, until she gains new friends and a family among the Spanish speaking parrots on the telephone wires. | 9780312558246 |
| A Tale of Two Seders. | Portnoy, Mindy Avra & Cis, Valeria | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | A young girl describes the six Passover meals that she has shared with her divorced parents over the last three years when the charoset, the traditional dish of apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine, never tastes quite right. When her parents surprise her by joining together at the synagogue's community Seder, the girl realizes that her family is special in its own way. | 9780882599074 |
| Jackie's Gift | Robinson, Sharon & Lewis, E. B. | Viking/Penguin | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | Steve Satlow is shocked when his favorite baseball hero, Jackie Robinson, moves onto his street. When Jackie discovers that Steve's family does not have a Christmas tree, he decides to surprise the family with one, not realizing they are Jewish. The author, Robinson's daughter, wrote the story in the hopes that it will "inspire families for generations to come to look beyond race and religion and into people's hearts." | 9780670011629 |
| Zishe the Strong Man | Rubenstein, Robert & Miller, Woody | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | A picture book biography that recounts the true-life story of Siegmund Breitbart, or Zishe, a young Polish Jew, who went from a tiny village to touring the world demonstrating great feats of physical strength including hauling a wagonload of ten men with his teeth for a half a mile down Fifth Avenue | 9780761339588 |
| Sara Finds a Mitzva | Simhaee, Rebeka & Weber, Michael | Hachai | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | When Sara finds a lost stuffed toy, her grandmother helps her perform the mitzva of returning lost articles. A series of clues, including a candy wrapper, a receipt, and a birthday hat, lead Sara to the toy's owner. | 9781929628469 |
| Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to be Kosher | Snyder, Laurel & Goldin, David | Tricycle Press/Crown/Random House | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | Baxter desperately wants to experience Shabbat dinner, but is devastated when he learns that, according to Jewish law, pork is a forbidden food. He stuffs his face with kosher pickles and raisin challah, hoping to become kosher and even tries to become a cow. When a kind rabbi sets him straight, inviting him to spend Shabbat with her, Baxter realizes that it is much better to be a guest than an item on the menu. | 9781582463155 |
| The Rooster Prince of Breslov | Stampler, Ann Redisch & Yelchin, Eugene | Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2 | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | When the prince rips off his clothes and insists on crouching naked on the floor, crowing like a rooster, the kind and queen offer a bag of gold to anyone who can cure him. The doctor, the magicians, and the sorcerers all fail. Yet a frail old man with a very peculiar plan turns the rooster prince into a real mensch, full of compassion and ready to become a wise and benevolent king. | SBN: 9780618989744 |
| Dear Tree | Weber, Doba Rivka & Saroff, Phyllis | Hachai | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Picture Book | On Tu B'Shvat, the birthday of the trees, a young boy simply and sweetly states his wishes for the trees in the coming year including rain, blossoms, and fruit. | 9781929628483 |
| Is It Night or Day? | Chapman, Fern Schumer | Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | Based on the author's mother's experiences, this is an honest and moving account of a twelve-year-old girl who leaves her parents behind to travel to American with the assistance of the One Thousand Children Project, a group whose goal was to rescue German children during the Holocaust. | 9780374177447 |
| Kings and Carpenters: One Hundred Bible Land Jobs You Might Have Praised or Panned | Coulter, Laurie & Newbigging, Mary | Annick Press | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | Offering a wealth of information about life in biblical times, this book focuses on jobs and the people who performed them in a fun and friendly format, peppered with illustrations and interesting graphics. | 9781554512263 |
| Hot Pursuit: Murder in Mississippi | Deutsch, Stacia & Cohon, Rhody & Orback, Craig | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | The authors offer an age-appropriate account of Mikey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chauncey, three young civil rights activists, who were murdered in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. | 9780761339557 |
| The Orphan Rescue | Dublin, Anne & Leng, Qin | Second Story Press | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | In 1937, after the death of their parents, Miriam and David live with their grandparents in Poland. Unable to care for them, David is brought to the Jewish Orphanage of Sosnoweic and Miriam is forced to quit school to help support the family. But when David is sold to a cruel man who puts him to work in a factory, it is up to Miriam to rescue him and reveal the truth about the orphanage director. | 9781897187814 |
| The Year of Goodbyes | Levy, Debbie | Hyperion Books/Disney, | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | Jutta Salzberg is a typical German teen who shares her thoughts and feelings with her friends in their special albums, called poesiealbums. Through real entries, drawings and personal messages, coupled with emotive verse, readers see the events of Hitler's reign and the impace it had on families and communities. | 9781423129011 |
| Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp | Marx, Trisha | Lee & Low | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | This photographic essay presents the experiences of a group of Palestinian and Jewish children attending a summer peace camp together in Israel through the eyes of Alya, a Palestinian girl and Yuval, a Jewish boy. | 9781584302605 |
| Mitzvah the Mutt | Rouss, Sylvia & Rast, Martha | Yaldah Publishing | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Middle Grade | Mitzvah the Mutt narrates his experiences celebrating Shabbat, Hanukkah, and Passover with his adoptive Jewish family. He mistakes a matzah ball for a tennis ball, accidentally eats horseradish, and shakes water all over Bubbie to share his bath. | 9781592871803 |
| An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank | Alphin, Elaine Marie | Carolrhoda Books/Lerner, | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | Utilizing primary sources such as newpaper articles, photographs and excerpts from letters, the author recounts the story of Leo Frank, who was unjustly accused and tried for the murder of thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan in 1913 Atlanta, and was ultimately lynched. | 9780822589440 |
| Annexed | Dogar, Sharon | Houghton Mifflin B | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | While Anne Frank's story is well known, what about Peter Van Pels, the teenage boy who hid with her? This fictionalized account begins in the Mauthausen concentration camp as Peter reflects back on his life in the Annex and his romantic relationship with the iconic diarist. | 9780547501956 |
| Inconvenient | Gelbwasser, Margie | Flux/Llewellyn Worldwide | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | Russian-Jewish culture in America is the backdrop for an emotional story of how fifteen-year-old Alyssa copes with her mother's alcohol addiction while dealing with typical teenage issues such as friendship, underage drinking, and first love. | 9780738721484 |
| Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography | Jacobson, Sid & Colon, Ernie | Hill and Wang | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | This graphic novel offers a new perspective on Anne Frank's life and legacy beginning with her parents' childhoods and marriage and concluding with the publication of her diary and the effects it has had on the world. | 9780809026852 |
| Queen of Secrets | Meyerhoff, Jenny | Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | Loosely based on the story of Queen Esther, contemporary Essie is poised to have an amazing sophomore year when she makes the cheerleading squad and captures the attention of Austin, the captain of the football team. But things get complicated when her religious cousin Micah moves back to town and becomes a target of antiSemitism, bullying and hazing by members of the football team. | 9780374326289 |
| Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania | Molnar, Haya Leah | Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | A child's perspective of growing up in post-World War II Romania is lovingly shared in this memoir. Each chapter is a beautiful vignette about Eva, a young girl, discovering her Jewish identity, her family's experiences during the war, and their dramatic journey to Israel. | 9780374318406 |
| Cry of the Giraffe | Oron, Judie | Annick Press | 2010 | 2011 | Notable | Young Adult | Wuditu, a young Ethiopian Jewish girl, and a group of fifteen family members set out on a dangerous journey on foot to reach a refugee camp in the Sudan with the hopes of being secretly airlifted to Israel. Based on a true story. | 9781554512713 |
| New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story | Wayland, April Halprin & Jorisch, Stéphane | Dial/Penguin | 2009 | 2010 | Winner | Picture Book | The author employs her own memories of community tashlich at the beach in this loving, charmingly illustrated depiction of Izzy and his family and friends as they gently apologize for misdeeds, grant forgiveness, and toss breadcrumbs into the sea as part of their Rosh Hashanah observance. | 9780803732797 |
| The Importance of Wings | Friedman, Robin | Charlesbridge | 2009 | 2010 | Winner | Middle Grade | The title of this coming-of-age novel refers to both the layered hairstyle Roxanne wants but cannot achieve with her straight locks, and what happens when an Israeli teen who wants to be more American discovers her inner beauty and self confidence with the help of a friend. | 978158893305 |
| Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba | Engle, Margarita | Henry Holt/Macmillan | 2009 | 2010 | Winner | Young Adult | Newbery Honor Winner Engle continues to illuminate the lesser known history of Cuba -- the challenge of German refugees seeking a new home after Kristallnacht. Free verse in the voices of a German boy, a Cuban girl, and a Russian immigrant paint different perspectives of a complicated political and historical era. | 9780805089363 |
| Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim: A Passover Story | Cohen, Deborah Bodin & Jago | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Picture Book | Nachshon is not afraid of anything, except swimming. As the Jews leave Egypt, he realizes that in order to reach freedom he must face his fears and step into the water of the Red Sea. Imaginative artwork complements this story based on the Midrash. | 9780822587651 |
| Benjamin and the Silver Goblet | Jules, Jacqueline & Ugliano, Natascia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Picture Book | Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s sons, must accompany his brothers to Egypt and meet the governor (Joseph). This young boy’s perspective of events remains true to the biblical narration while making it accessible to younger readers. | 9780822587583 |
| Yankee at the Seder | Weber, Elka & Gustavson, Adam | Tricycle Press | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Picture Book | Based on a true tale, this beautifully illustrated story recounts the participation of a “Yankee Jew,” Myer Levy, as a guest at a Virginia Passover Seder shortly after the end of the Civil War. Ten-year-old Jacob sees the words of the Haggadah ring true, as all who are hungry are welcome at the table. | 9781582462561 |
| You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? | Winter, Jonah & Carrilho, André | Schwartz & Wade/Random House | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Picture Book | Koufax's rise from a Jewish boy in Brooklyn to one of the all-time greats of baseball as a Los Angeles Dodger is told in conversational style by an imagined teammate. A lenticular cover and magnificent artwork brings the left-hander’s style to life. | 9780375837388 |
| Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures from the Archives of the Anne Frank House | Metselaar, Menno & van der Rol, Ruud & Pomerans, Arnold J. | Roaring Brook Press/Flash Point/Macmillan | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Middle Grade | Archival photographs of Anne and her family, her actual writing and diary, and the annex are powerful and instrumental in bringing her life into context. The text details world events as well as Anne’s life. | 9781596435469 |
| A Faraway Island | Thor, Annika & Schenck, Linda | Delacorte/Random House | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Middle Grade | Stephie and Ellie Steiner are sent from Vienna to Sweden to escape the Nazi threat, and must adjust to life on a small island off the mainland. Stephie comes of age as she meets the challenge of a new culture, a strict foster mother, and the worries about family in Austria. | 9780385736176 |
| Lost. Tarrytown, New York: | Davies, Jacqueline | Marshall Cavendish | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Young Adult | The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire provides the backdrop for this historical novel about friendship and loss. | 9780761455356 |
| Naomi’s Song | Silverberg, Selma Kritzer | Jewish Publication Society | 2009 | 2010 | Honor | Young Adult | Following the biblical Book of Ruth, Naomi's Song imagines the life experiences of Naomi, taking her from girlhood when she is orphaned to when Ruth marries and gives birth to Naomi’s grandson. | 9780827608863 |
| Where Is Grandpa Dennis? | Abraham, Michelle Shapiro & Fried, Janice | URJ Press | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | Gentle and wise, Devorah's mother (Grandpa Dennis' daughter) allows her to come up with her own answers and also helps her daughter feel a special closeness to her lost loved one by explaining some of the Jewish modes of remembrance. | 9780807410837 |
| Around the Shabbos Table | Berman, Seryl & Binus, Ari | Hachai | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | "In any seat, no matter where, in any spot, in any chiar, whether it is here or there, I'll be happy anywhere!" is Tova Leiba's refrain as she gladly switches seats to accommodate her siblings. | 9781929628445 |
| The Secret Shofar of Barcelona | Greene, Jacqueline Dembar & Chyka, Douglas | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | A concert with "New World" instruments provides the opportunity for Conversos (hidden Jews) to blow the shofar on Rosh Hanshanah. | 9780822599449 |
| Menorah Under the Sea. | Heller, Esther Susan & Ginsberg, David | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | A beautifully photographed story shares the adventures of marine biologist David Ginsberg as he creates an underwater menorah out of starfish and sea urchins. | 9780822573869 |
| Today Is the Birthday of the World | Heller, Linda & Jay, Allison | Dutton/Penguin | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | Drawn from the liturgy of Rosh Hashanah, God is happy when his helpers are the best that they can be because "then the world is the best place that it can be, and there is no better birthday present." | 9780525479055 |
| The Waiting Wall | Levy, Leah Braunstein & Katz, Avi | Hachai Publishing | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | As two children visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem, they notice the details of their surroundings: the many steps to get there, the whiteness of the stone and its golden reflection of the sun, the shapes of the stones, and the special feeling of holiness that permeates this most holy site to Judaism. Amazing illustrations chronicle their path, providing both perspective and depth. | 9781929628490 |
| Sukkot Treasure Hunt | Ofanansky, Allison & Alpern, Eliyahu | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | A family collects the four species needed to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the area surrounding their home in Tsfat, Israel. | 9780822587637 |
| Fox Walked Alone | Reid, Barbara | Albert Whitman & Company, | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Picture Book | Fox follows the pairs of animals he sees, and eventually comes to Noah's Akr. Plasticine is the medium used to create vibrant, three-dimensional art for this story in rhyme. | 9780807525487 |
| The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak | Bogacki, Tomek | Farrar Straus Giroux Books/Frances Foster Books/ Macmillan | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | A warm, moral, true story, with beautiful illustrations, about a Holocaust hero -- Dr. Janusz Korczak -- who loved children and cared to Jewish orphans until they and he perished in the gas chambers. | 9780374341367 |
| Guardian Angel House (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers | Clark, Kathy | Second Story Press | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | Based on the experiences of the author's mother and aunt, this fictionalized story of more than 100 girls hidden in a Budapest convent from 1944 until the liberation of Hungary emphasizes the relationships between the nuns and the Jewish children they sheltered. | 9781897187586 |
| Rebecca Series (American Girl Collection) | Greene, Jacqueline Dembar & Hunt, Robert | American Girl | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | The latest historical character in the American Girl Collection lives on the Lower East Side in 1914, hopes to be an actress, and tries to balance an American way of life with traditional Jewish values. | Various |
| Strawberry Hill | Hoberman, Mary Ann & Halperin, Wendy Anderson | Little Brown Books for Young Readers | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | When her family moves from New Haven to Stamford, Allie Sherman has to adjust to making new friends, juggle alliances, and handle the disappointment that her new street, Strawberry Hill, is not the bucolic, strawberry-laden lane she had envisioned. | 9780316041362 |
| The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair | Martin, Russell & Nibley, Lydia | Charlesbridge Publishing, | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | There is considerable Jewish content in this excellent and highly readable account of Beethoven's life, the posthumous travels of a lock of his hair, and the search for clues to his illnesses via sophisticated scientific testing in the 20th century. | 9781570917141 |
| The Man Who Flies with Birds | Vogel, Carol Garbuny & Leshem, Yossi | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | Readers will learn about different kinds of birds, how they fly, and how the weather and wind affect their migration. Israeli ornithologist Leshem's work has encouraged cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and is helping with environmental concerns, which are recounted in a narrative accompanied by spectacular pictures of birds and clear maps and illustrations. | 9780822576433 |
| The Golem of Prague | Watts, Irene N. & Shoemaker, Kathryn E. | Tundra Books | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | There are many legends of the man of mud created by Rabbi Yehudah Loew to help the Jews of Prague during the precarious times of the late 1500's. This retelling by the Maharal's imagined young son works well to illustrate the wonder at this strange and mighty creature. | 9780887768804 |
| Elvina's Mirror | Weil, Sylvia | Jewish Publication Society | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Middle Grade | In this sequel to Guardian Angel (Scholastic, 2004), Elvina still talks to Mazal, her Guardian Angel, for help with two challenges: a family from German shunned by the community; and a handsome knight who befriends her. Rashi's granddaughter uses her thirst for knowledge and her compassion for others to handle both situations. | 9780827608856 |
| The Disappearing Dowry: An Ezra Melamed Mystery | Astaire, Libi | Zahav Press/Targum | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | A mystery with Jewish practices and values embedded: the narrator, A Jewish girl in 1810 London, tells the "megillah" of her wealthy, observant family's plans for her sister Hannah's wedding, which are suddenly interrupted by the loss of the family fortune through bank failures and theft. | 9781568715019 |
| A Family Secret | Heuvel, Eric | Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | The situation in the Netherlands during World War II is explored in these graphic novels. | 978037432271 |
| The Search | Heuvel, Eric | Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | In A Family Secret, Helena tells her grandson Jeroen about her experiences during the German occupation and how she lost both her father and her best friend Esther at the hands of the Nazis. In The Search, Esther remembers her own experience during the Holocaust as a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, and recounts to her grandson Daniel and his friend Jeroen how she survived by going into hiding in the countryside. | 9780374365172 |
| So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) | Ostow, Micol & Ostow, David | Flux | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | The Ostows combine graphic novel vignettes filled with sarcastic commentary with a coming-of-age novel in which Ari Abramson is struggling to find his true calling and identity while also trying to fit in, hoping that playing in a band will win him popularity and the girl of his dreams. | 9780738714714 |
| Cursing Columbus | Tal, Eve Goldberg | Cinco Puntos Press | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | Told in the duel voices of Raizel and Lemmel in alternating chapters and scenarios, Tal crafts a realistic and poignant picture of an immigrant family's struggles in the early 20th century in this sequel to Double Crossing (2005). | 9781933693590 |
| Puppet | Wiseman, Eva | Tundra Books | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | A servant girl disappears from her Hungarian village in the sprint of 1882, and the Jews of the community are blamed in this fictionalized account of "the last blood libel trial in Europe." Narrated b Julie, another servant girl with her own challenges, the ills of religious superstition, prejudice, and false accusations come to bear in this emotionally charged novel. | 9780887768286 |
| The Other Half of Life | Whitney, Kim Ablon | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | Young Adult | Thomas, a fifteen-year-old boy forced to leave his parents in Nazi Germany, experiences many emotions aboard a ship destined for Cuba. This historical fiction is based on the story of the MS St. Louis. | 9780375852190 |
| JPS Illustrated Children's Bible | Frankel, Ellen & Katz, Avi | Jewish Publication Society | 2009 | 2010 | Notable | All Ages | Fifty-three uniquely chosen Bible legends capture the language and cadence of the Hebrew bible. Frankel succeeds in creating an age-appropriate interpretation of the most intriguing and familiar stories that allow families to glean the essence of Jewish teachings, ethics, and history | 9780827608917 |
| As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom. | Michelson, Richard & Colon, Raul | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2008 | 2009 | Winner | Picture Book | This fictionalized parallel biography of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, presents a beautiful and inspiring tribute to a little known alliance in American history. Colon’s stunning illustrations with subtle coloring bring the text, and the message of persistence, justice, and brotherhood, to life. | 9780375833359 |
| Brooklyn Bridge | Hesse, Karen | Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, | 2008 | 2009 | Winner | Middle Grade | While his family left the anti-Semitism of Russia to build the American dream, Joey Michtom’s dream is to visit the glittering Coney Island. Crafting a story from the spark of a true event, the invention of the Teddy bear in 1903, Hesse masterfully weaves multiple themes of hard-work, survival, homelessness, and familial dedication. | 9780312378868 |
| A Bottle in the Gaza Sea | Zenatti, Valerie | Bloomsbury | 2008 | 2009 | Winner | Young Adult | This honest yet hopeful story about the relationship between an Israeli girl and a Palestinian boy via e-mail and instant messaging conveys the confusion, anger, exhaustion, and depression felt by many young people during the 2003 Intifada. | 9781599902005 |
| Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride | Cohen, Deborah Bodin & Kober, Shahar | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Picture Book | Ari is selected to engineer the first train between Jaffa and Jerusalem. Filled with pride, he boasts to his friends and neglects to say good-bye before he sets off. As the train stops to collect the necessary items to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Ari is reminded of the true meaning of the holiday. Charming, colorful illustrations give the reader a sense of what Israel’s countryside might have looked like in 1892. | 9780822586487 |
| Sarah Laughs | Jules, Jacqueline & Ugliano, Natascia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Picture Book | The story of Sarah, the biblical matriarch, is told beginning with her childhood in Ur and continuing through her marriage to Abraham, their journey to Canaan, and the eventual birth of Isaac. Vibrant illustrations show her sweet, generous and loving personality, as well as the starry nights and windswept deserts on the way to Canaan. | 9780822599340 |
| A is for Abraham: A Jewish Family Alphabet | Michelson, Richard & Mazellan, Ron | Sleeping Bear Press/Gale | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Picture Book | From A for Abraham to Z for Zayde, this alphabet book, illustrated by fluid, realistic paintings, provides a wealth of information about Jewish culture, history, personalities, holidays, customs, and ceremonies. | 9781585363223 |
| Naming Liberty | Yolen, Jane & Burke, Jim | Philomel Books/Penguin | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Picture Book | Parallel stories tell the arrival of two young ladies to the United States - Gitl, the daughter of a Russian family, who decide to emigrate to avoid the pogroms and persecution of Czarist Russia and the Statue of Liberty, conceived and developed by the young French artist Frederic Auguste Bartholdi as a commemoration for America’s centennial birthday. Illustrations in counterpart oil paint panels reflect the 19th century Eastern European village against the more modern cities of Paris and New York. | 9780399242502 |
| Memories of Babi | Siegal, Aranka | Farrar Straus and Giroux, | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Middle Grade | Eight short episodic stories reflect the author’s childhood in a small village in Hungary and incorporate Jewish values of kindness, generosity, honesty, help for the less fortunate, and special moments filled with a little adventure, amusing escapades, and lots of love. | 9780374399788 |
| Freefall | Levine, Anna | Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, | 2008 | 2009 | Honor | Young Adult | Aggie Jacobs, a typical eighteen-year-old Israeli girl, decides to try out for an elite female combat unit in the Israeli army. Realistic dialogue and a first-person narrative provide a genuine look at the realities of Israeli military life through the eyes of a young woman. | 9780061576546 |
| Mysterious Guests: A Sukkot Story | Kimmel, Eric & Krenina, Katya | Holiday House | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | During the festival of Sukkot, Eben builds a fancy sukkah, but he makes the poor stand in the corner and eat leftovers. His brother Ezra's sukkah is plain, but he welcomes all who come with a full heart. When the ushpizin visit they bestow an identical blessing -- may this sukkah's outside be like its inside -- with very different results. | 9780823418930 |
| Jodie's Hanukkah Dig | Levine, Anna & Topaz, Knesia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | Jodie wants to be an archaeologist in Israeli like her father. When they visit a dig in Modi'in, she finds a way to help out and makes an important discovery related to the history of Hanukkah. | 9780822573913 |
| Harvest of Light | Ofanansky, Allison & Alpern, Eliyahu | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | From the first spring blossoms to the harvesting of green olives before Sukkot, an Israeli family works together throughout the year, culminating in the celebration of Hanukkah with flickering wicks floating in the precious oil they have produced together | 9780822573890 |
| Sammy Spider's First Shavuot | Rouss, Sylvia & Kahn, Katherine Janus | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | Continuing the popular series, Sammy Spider learns about Shavuot, first with the traditional blintz and fruit recipes, then with the holiday's significance, and finally with a little experimentation of his own. | 9780822572244 |
| My Tzitzis Book | Schreiber, Elisheva & Ravad, Batsheva & Gross, Sherie | Feldheim Publishers | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | This informative explanation of the meaning of wearing a four-cornered garment with tzitzis is augmented with creative clay figures of scenes of boys and men wearing their tallis katan beneath their everyday clothing. | 9781598261154 |
| Hanukkah Haiku | Ziefert, Harriet & Gudeon, Karla | Blue Apple Books, | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Picture Book | Eight haikus reflect on specific aspects of the Hanukkah such as candle lighting, dreidel spinning, and latke frying. The simply poetry is embellished with rich and deeply colored paintings and graduated paper size is used to uncover each new candle | 9781934706336 |
| The Boy Who Dared: A Novel Based on the True Story of a Hitler Youth | Bartoletti, Susan Campbell | Scholastic Press | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | A powerful work of historical fiction portraying key moments in the life of a real German teenager during World War II. As he waits in prison, Helmuth Hubener reflects on events that led to the day of his execution for the crimes of listening to foreign newscasts, creating and distributing pamphlets, and for his resistance to the Nazi Party. | 9780439680134 |
| The Walls of Cartegena | Durango, Julie & Pohrt, Tom | Simon & Schuster | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Because of his intelligence and facility with languages, thirteen-year-old Calepino escapes the usual fate of slaves delivered by ship from Africa to Cartagena (Columbia), and grows up to become a protégé of a kind Jesuit priest, an interpreter, and a helper in the leper colony where he befriends a Jewish doctor, a convert to Christianity. | 9781416941026 |
| Capturing the Moon | Feinstein, Edward M. | Behrman House | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Each story in this collection includes a short description of the value presented and follow-up discussion questions. Stories are grouped into six categories: "What Really Matters in Life?" "Doing What's Right," "It's Up to You," "Teachers and Friends," "Hidden Truths," and "The Miracle of Jewish Life." | 9780874418408 |
| Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass: Igniting the Nazi War Against Jews | Fitzgerald, Stephanie | Compass Point Books | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Created for school research, this well-designed book includes clear, accurate information, historic photographs with informative captions, a glossary, bibliography, source notes, and timeline. Personal reflections and memories by eyewitnesses add to the impact of the account, which directly confronts Nazi lies about the Jews. | 9780756534899 |
| My Chocolate Year | Herman, Charlotte & Pham, LeUyen | Simon & Schuster | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Fifth grader Dorrie Meyers embarks on an exciting school year with a favorite teacher and the Sweet Semester dessert and essay contest. World War II has just ended, and when her cousin Victor, the sole Holocaust survivor of the family come to live with her family, he shares a recipe from his family's bakery to help her with the contest. | 9781416933410 |
| The Mozart Question | Morpurgo, Michael & Forman, Michael | Candlewick Press | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Paolo Levi, a fictional Italian violin prodigy, tells the secret tale of his parents' experience as musicians in a concentration camp orchestra. | 9781406306484 |
| Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman | Nobleman, Marc Tyler & McDonald, Ross | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | A picture book biography of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two shy, nerdy, bespectacled Jewish teens from Cleveland who succeed in creating an American icon of bravery, super strength, and altruistic invincibility. | 9780375838026 |
| The Bat-Chen Diaries: Selected Writings | Shahak, Bat-Chen | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | This is the published diary, including poems, letters, and eulogies, of an Israeli girl who was murdered by a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv's Disengoff Center at Purim on her fifteenth birthday. | 9780822588078 |
| Keeping Israel Safe: Serving in the Israel Defense Forces | Sofer, Barbara | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | Four different experiences told through the voices of individual Israeli teenagers, two girls and two boys, preparing to enter Israeli military service recount the history and many levels and opportunities available for youth reaching the required draft age. | 9780822572213 |
| Honey Cake | Stuchner, Joan Betty & Nugent, Cynthia | Stepping Stone/Random House | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Middle Grade | This easy chapter book gently introduces readers to World War II and the Danish resistance through the story of ten-year-old David, who lives in Copenhagen during the German occupation. | 9780675851896 |
| Nothing | Friedman, Robin | Flux | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | In alternating chapters, Parker Rabinowitz and his younger sister Danielle gradually reveal the terrible secret -- a serious eating disorder -- that hides behind Parker's good looks, great grades, ambitious college resume, premed plans, and success with girls. | 9780738713045 |
| Rutka's Notebook: A Voice from the Holocaust | Laskier, Rutka | Time, Inc. Home Entertainment | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | A Jewish girl's diary, describing her life in the days before her family was sent to Auschwitz, was hidden under Polish floorboards in 1943, retrieved in 1945, and miraculously rediscovered in 2006, allowing Zahava Laskier Scherz to explore the brief life of the half-sister she never knew. | 9781603200196 |
| Gravity | Lieberman, Leanne | Orca Book Publishers | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | When Elisheva, a nature-loving sophomore in an all-girls Jewish high school, feels a sexual attraction to Lindsay, a girl she meets during a summer by the lake, all of her Orthodox upbringing and observances come into question. | 9781554690497 |
| The Freak | Matas, Carol | Key Porter Books | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | When fifteen-year-old Jade awakens from a life-threatening illness and finds she can see the future, her life takes some very strange turns. This is the first book in a series, which continues with Visions and Far. | 9781552639304 |
| Genesis -- The Book with Seventy Faces: A Guide for the Family | Takac, Esther & Pignataro, Anna | Pitspopany Press | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | This beautifully designed guide, filled with watercolor, pen and ink, and crayon drawings illuminates the twelve parshiot of the book of Genesis and provides a wonderful resource to learn, study, and interpret from the perspective of the sages, modern scholars, midrash, legends, and kabbalah. | 9781932687927 |
| Celebrating with Jewish Crafts | Ruzansky, Rebecca Edid & Zeballos-Peralta, Roberto | Rebecca Edid Ruzansky | 2008 | 2009 | Notable | Young Adult | Crafts for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot are presented with explicit instructions, clear color photographs and tips on techniques and supplies. A Jewish crafter's dream! | 9780615171142 |
| The Bedtime Sh'ma | Gershman, Sarah & Swarner, Kristina | EKS Publishing | 2007 | 2008 | Winner | Picture Book | With accessible language, this book helps young children understand the meaning and concepts of the Sh’ma prayers. A CD is included creating a soft sound for falling asleep or learning the Hebrew of the nighttime prayers. | 0939144557 |
| The Entertainer and the Dybbuk | Fleischman, Sid | HarperCollins | 2007 | 2008 | Winner | Middle Grade | When the spirit of a 12-year old Jewish boy, murdered by the Nazis, possesses the body of an American GI traveling through Europe as a second-rate ventriloquist, the pair is able to unmask the Nazi responsible. | 0061344451 |
| Strange Relations | Levitin, Sonia | Knopf/Random House | 2007 | 2008 | Winner | Young Adult | Fifteen-year-old Marne decides to spend the summer with her Aunt Carole in Hawaii. But Aunt Carole is now Aunt Chaya, married to a Chabad Rabbi with seven children. What Marne anticipates will be a relaxing summer of jogging on the beach, surfing, sun tanning, and shopping turns out to be a summer of exploration, spirituality, and growth. | 0375837515 |
| The Castle on Hester Street | Heller, Linda & Kulikov, Boris | Simon & Schuster | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Picture Book | A young girl visiting her grandparents learns the story of their immigration to the United States, their life on the Lower East Side of New York City, and how they met in this newly illustrated edition, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award when it was first released in 1982. | 0689874340 |
| Letter on the Wind: A Chanukah Tale | Lamstein, Sarah Marwil & Waldman, Neil | Boyds Mills Press | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Picture Book | When his village suffers a drought and there will be no olives oil for the Chanukah menorahs, Hayim, a poor and humble man, writes a letter to the Almighty to request enough oil for the entire village. | 1932425748 |
| Light | Zalben, Jane Breskin | Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Picture Book | The concepts of tikkun olam and making the world a better place are explained simply yet lyrically in this gorgeously illustrated volume inspired by a 16th-century Midrash. | 0525478272 |
| Holocaust: The Events and Their Impact on Real People | Wood, Angela Gluck & Stone, Dan | DK Publishing | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Middle Grade | This comprehensive, readable, impressively visual history of the Holocaust ranges across the years from the origins of Jews, life in Europe, and the history of anti-Semitism to the post-war period, including the survivors, Nazi trials, stolen property, and concentration camps and present-day memorials. The book is supplemented by a DVD of personal testimonies from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. | 0756625351 |
| The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story | Taylor, Peter Lane & Nicola, Christos | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Middle Grade | The amazing story of how a group of thirty-eight Jews managed to survive during World War II for nearly a year in the underground caves of the Western Ukraine is told with captivating narratives and descriptions, sharp full-color photographs, and an attractive lay-out and design. | 1580132618 |
| Let Sleeping Dogs Lie | Pressler, Mirjam & Macki, Erik J. | Front Street | 2007 | 2008 | Honor | Young Adult | Seventeen-year-old Johanna Riemenschneider’s idyllic, privileged childhood comes to an abrupt end when she travels to Israel with her German classmates to meet Jewish alumni of their high school who fled the town during World War II. | 1932425845 |
| My Cousin Tamar Lives in Israel | Abraham, Michelle Shapiro & Koffsky, Ann D. | URJ Press | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | A young North American boy compares his observances of the Jewish holidays to those of his cousin Tamar who lives in Israel. | 0807409898 |
| A Nickel, a Trolley, a Treasure House | Baker, Sharon Reiss & Peck, Beth | Viking /Penguin | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Young Lionel loves to draw, a hobby not much appreciated by his immigrant parents. When his teacher sees his drawings, she arranges to take him, by trolley, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. | 9780670059829 |
| Shuli and Me: From Slavery to Freedom | Benjamin-Farren, Joan | Black Jasmine | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Accompanied by the text for counting the Omer in Hebrew and English, a young girl narrates what happens to the Children of Israel from their first Passover until the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. | 097888020X |
| Papa Jethro | Cohen, Deborah Bodin & Dippold, Jane | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | A young girl asks her grandfather why she goes to synagogue and he goes to church. He explains that she is Jewish and he is Christian and retells the biblical story of Jethro, the Midianite father-in-law of Moses. | 9781580135803 |
| Hanukkah Moon | da Costa, Deborah & Mosz, Gosia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Isobel spends the first three nights of Hanukkah with her Aunt Luisa, who has just emigrated from Mexico. She learns how to take pictures with her new camera, creates a bird scrapbook, bakes dreidel-shaped cookies while singing "I Have a Little Dreidel" in English and Spanish, and observes Rosh Chodesh, the celebration of the new moon. | 9781580132442 |
| Celebrate Passover with Matzah, Maror and Memories (Holidays Around the World) | Heiligman, Deborah | National Geographic | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Full-color photographs and an attractive layout combine with an informative text to create a wonderful introduction to the Jewish holiday of Passover. The photographs include contemporary Jews in the United States, Peru, Portugal, Morocco, Ukraine, Thailand, Israel, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Uganda, and China. | 9781426300189 |
| Celebrate Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur with Honey, Prayers, and the Shofar (Holidays Around the World). | Heiligman, Deborah | National Geographic | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Full-color photographs and an attractive layout combine with an informative text to create a wonderful introduction to the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The photographs include contemporary Jews in the United States, Peru, Portugal, Morocco, Ukraine, Thailand, Israel, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Uganda, and China. | 9781426300769 |
| Five Little Gefiltes | Horowitz, Dave | G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin, | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Instead of ducklings, it's five little gefilte fish balls wearing black bowler hats who daily wander away from their worried mother as they set out to see the sights of New York | 9780399246081 |
| Mendel's Accordion | Hyde, Heidi Smith & Van Der Sterre, Johanna | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Mendel plays the accordion in his small village, but when things become difficult for the Jews of Eastern Europe, Mendel takes his accordion to America. When his great-grandson discovers the old accordion in the attic, he repairs it and pledges to learn to play. | 9781580132121 |
| Abraham's Search for God | Jules, Jacqueline & Ugliano, Natascia | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | Based on midrashim, this is the story of how Abraham came to believe in only one God when everyone around him worshipped idols. | 978580132435 |
| A Mezuzah on the Door | Meltzer, Amy & Fried, Janice | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | When Noah's family moves from an apartment in the city to a house in the suburbs, his family plans a Hanukkat Habayit party to put up the mezuzot and celebrate their new home. | 9781580132497 |
| Ten Good Rules: A Counting Book | Topek, Susan Remick & Cohen, Tod | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Picture Book | With the same simple, child-friendly text as the original 1991 edition, this new version features full-color photographs of contemporary children illustrating the Ten Commandments. | 9781580132091 |
| Out of Line: Growing Up Soviet | Grimberg, Tina | Tundra Books | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Tina Grimberg's memoir of growing up in the Soviet Union in the 1960's and 1970's provides the detailed descriptions of family, school and home that bring history to life. | 9780887768033 |
| A Picture for Marc | Kimmel, Eric A. & Trueman, Matthew | Random House | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Very loosely based on the life of Marc Chagall, this highly fictionalized, light-hearted biography focuses on the beginning of the artist's experience with drawing. | 9780375832536 |
| Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told the World Her Story (World History Biographies) | Kramer, Ann | National Geographic | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Presented in simple language and enhanced by a wealth of photos, maps, timelines, and information boxes, this well-designed book nicely combines the Frank family's experiences with events in Europe before and during World War II. | 9781426300042 |
| The Silver Cup | Leeds, Constance | Viking/Penguin | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | The Crusades, as well as the superstitions and bleakness of Germany in 1096, are the backdrop for the story of Anna, a young girl who befriends Leah, the lone Jewish survivor of the massacre of the Worms Ghetto. | 9780670061570 |
| Passover Around the World | Lehman-Wilzig, Tami & Wolf, Elizabeth | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | The customs and observances of Passover are described in this colorful book that includes stories, recipes, and a brief history and description of the Jewish communities of the United States, Gibraltar, Turkey, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Iran, and Morocco. | 1580132138 |
| Whirlwind | Matas, Carol | Orca Book Publishers | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Fifteen-year-old Ben immigrates to Seattle in 1942 with his family. He quickly befriends John, a Japanese-American classmate, as both boys endure taunting from their peers because of their origins. | 9781551437033 |
| Penina Levine Is a Hard-Boiled Egg | O'Connell, Rebecca & Sue, Majella Lue | Roaring Brook Press, | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Penina Levine is one of only two Jewish children in her sixth grade class. When her teacher gives the class an assignment -- writing a letter as the Easter Bunny -- Penina balks. Is she standing up for a meaningful principle, or is it okay to willingly participate in someone else's culture? | 9781596431409 |
| All-Star Season | Yavin, T. S. | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Middle Grade | Brothers Reuven and Avi are the best pitcher and catcher duo in the league. But, when only one player from each team makes the All-Stars, which brother will be selected? | 978580132114 |
| How to Ruin My Teenage Life | Elkeles, Simone | Flux | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Young Adult | Continuing her adventures from How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, Amy Nelson-Barak is now living with her Israeli father in Chicago and spending her senior year at the Chicago Academy while she waits for the summer so she can return to Israel to see her family and her "non-boyfriend" Avi again. | 9780738710198 |
| Cures for Heartbreak | Rabb, Margo | Delacorte Press/Random House | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Young Adult | Mia Pearlman's mother dies just days after being diagnosed with melanoma, leaving Mia, her older sister Alex, and her father bereft. Mia and Alex's lives become further complicated when their father has a heart attack only month later. A poignant and insightful study of grief and life in one Jewish family. | 9780385734028 |
| Hidden on the Mountain: Stories of Children Sheltered from the Nazis in Le Chambon | DeSaix, Deborah Durlan & Ruelle, Karen Gray | Holiday House | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Young Adult | A small, Protestant town in the plateau region of South Central France became an example of faith and courage during World War II when the citizens sheltered thousands of refugees, most of them Jewish, and protected them from the Nazis. | 9780823419289 |
| Homeland: The Illustrated History of the State of Israel | Wolfman, Marv & Ruiz, Mario | Nachshon Press | 2007 | 2008 | Notable | Young Adult | This over-sized graphic non-fiction volume begins with Biblical Israel, proceeds through Jewish history, the creation of the modern state of Israel, the wars, the Intifada, Arab terrorism, efforts toward peace, and includes the broad contemporary accomplishments of Israelis in various fields. | 9780977150717 |
| Hanukkah at Valley Forge | Krensky, Stephen & Harlin, Greg | Dutton Children’s Books | 2006 | 2007 | Winner | Picture Book | During the grim winter at Valley Forge, a Polish-born soldier tells General Washington about Hanukkah, who draws a parallel between the Macabbee’s war against their foes with the American war against the British oppressors. Beautiful watercolor illustrations add immeasurably to a delightful and inspirational account of this legendary encounter. | 0525477381 |
| Julia’s Kitchen | Ferber, Brenda A. | Farrar Straus Giroux | 2006 | 2007 | Winner | Middle Grade | When Cara Segal loses her mother and younger sister in a house fire, she questions her belief in God, struggles with her relationship with her father, and tries to find ways to hold onto the memories of her family in this deeply moving novel that will touch the hearts of all readers. | 0374399328 |
| The Book Thief | Zusak, Markus | Alfred A. Knopf | 2006 | 2007 | Winner | Young Adult | Death narrates the story of Leisl Meminger, a Lutheran girl in Nazi Germany who sustains herself and those close to her with her love of books and reading. An engaging story that resonates with the full spectrum of human emotions and experiences | 375831002 |
| The White Ram: A Story of Abraham and Isaac | Gerstein, Mordicai | Holiday House | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Picture Book | This beautifully illustrated book adds another dimension to the biblical account of when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Although “the Evil One” seeks to deter him from his mission, the ram is able to complete it, and his sacrifice provides a rich inheritance for the Jewish people, including the foundations of Jerusalem, and the strings of David’s harp. | 0823418979 |
| I Am Marc Chagall | Landmann, Bimba | Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Picture Book | With text loosely based on Marc Chagall’s autobiography, this picture book features detailed, intricate threedimensional mixed media illustrations that are a collage of fabrics, metals, woods, papers, clay, photographs, and objects from nature. | 0802853056 |
| Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost | Stampler, Ann Redisch & Cohen, Jacqueline M. | Clarion Books | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Picture Book | Bright, colorful, animated illustrations enhance this delightfully entertaining story of Shlemazel who is so convinced that he is the most unlucky person in the world that he is afraid to get off his front porch. But when he believes that he has the amazing, remarkable spoon of Pohost, Shlemazel learns the pleasure of a good day’s work, finds a wife, and discovers that he doesn’t need luck to be happy. | 0618369597 |
| Rebecca’s Journey Home | Sugarman, Brynn Olenberg & Shapiro,Michelle | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Picture Book | The story of a Jewish-American family who adopts a child from Vietnam is recounted with warmth and sensitivity from the adoption procedure and the trip to Asia to the baby’s first Shabbat with her new family and her conversion and naming ceremony. | 1580131573 |
| Vive La Paris | Codell, Esme Raji | Hyperion Books for Children | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Middle Grade | Fifth-grader Paris McCray reveals what she has discovered about life in the process of taking piano lessons from Mrs. Rosen, a Holocaust survivor with a sense of humor. | 0786851244 |
| Solomon and the Ant and Other Jewish Folktales | Oberman, Sheldon & Schram, Peninnah | Boyds Mills Press | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Middle Grade | From simple stories, to valuable lessons, to an idea of what life was like in Rambam’s time or how a holiday was celebrated in Russia, these folktales are brilliant in their simplicity. They can be read straight through, compared and contrasted, embellished upon, or edited for educational purposes | 1590783077 |
| Yellow Star | Roy, Jennifer | Marshall Cavendish | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Middle Grade | Told in verse, this is the story of Syvia Perlmutter, one of twelve surviving children, who hid in the Lodz Ghetto with her family. | 076145277X |
| The Night of the Burning: Devorah’s Story | Wulf, Linda Press | Farrar Straus Giroux | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Middle Grade | This first-person narrative is an insightful exploration of the effects of traumatic experiences, and an ultimately hopeful portrait of a young Jewish girl who survives a brutal pogrom in Russia, and journeys to an orphanage and a new life in South Africa. | 0374364192 |
| Incantation | Hoffman, Alice | Little, Brown and Company | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Young Adult | Amidst book burnings, trials, and murders, sixteen-year-old Estrella DeMadrigal, living in Spain in 1500, learns that her family is part of a secret community of Jews who converted to Catholicism to avoid persecution. | 0316010197 |
| A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life | Reinhardt, Dana | Wendy Lamb Books | 2006 | 2007 | Honor | Young Adult | In this poignant story, Simone Turner meets Rivka, her biological mother, and learns about the circumstances of her adoption – how Rivka, a Hasidic Jew, became pregnant at sixteen and was shunned by her family, became a photographer and moved to Cape Cod, and now suffers from terminal cancer. | 0385746989 |
| I Have a Little Dreidel | Baum, Maxie & Paschkis, Julie | Scholastic Press | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | The familiar dreidel song is embellished with new verses detailing a contemporary family's celebration of Hanukkah. Besides playing dreidel, the family makes potato latkes, lights the menorah, and enjoys a delicious dinner together. | 0439649978 |
| Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue | Celenza, Anna Harwell & Kitchel, JoAnn E. | Charlesbridge | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | A fictionalized account of the creation of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" details how the composer was inspired b the rhythm of a train ride, the klezmer band at his brother's Bar Mitzvah, and the harmonies of nightclub dance music, ragtime and the blues. | 1570915563 |
| Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale | Cleary, Brian P. & Udovic, David | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | This rhyming story depicts a family celebration that includes: cleaning the house, inviting friends and neighbors, spills, a new method of winning gelt, the miracle of toilet paper, a broken VCR, a scary side dish, presents that were not on the wish list, donuts, singing, and finally quiet and calm | 1580131522 |
| On Sukkot and Simchat Torah | Fishman, Cathy Goldberg & Hall, Melanie | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | A young girl narrates her family's celebration of Sukkot and Simchat Torah: building and decorating the sukkah, inviting the ushpizin, eating and sitting in the sukkah, blessing the lulav and etrog, going to the synagogue for Shemini Atzeret, marching and dancing on Simchat Torah, and listening to her mother chant from the Torah. | 1580131654 |
| With All Your Heart: A Shabbat and Festival Companion | Gordon, Rabbi Julie K. | Minneapolis Jewish Day School | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | With adorable color illustrations by students and Hebrew, English and transliterations for all of the prayers and readings, this is a great resource for families and schools and will encourage all levels of participation in the Jewish holidays and Shabbat | 1580132634 |
| Celebrate Hanukkah with Light, Lakes and Dreidels (Holidays Around the World 48 Series | Heiligman, Deborah | National Geographic | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | Full-color photographs from Israel, India, Peru, Uganda, Poland, Los Angeles, Ghana, and Rome combine with an interesting, informative text to create a stunning introduction to Hanukkah focusing on light, Jewish identity, freedom, and the celebration of miracles. | 0792259246 |
| Much, Much Better | Kosofsky, Chaim & Schiffman, Jessica | Hachai Publishing | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | Each week Shlomo and Miriam tidy up their house and prepare for Shabbat. When a strange guest visits, he is so appreciative of their hospitality that he offers them a blessing. It is not until Shlomo and Miriam welcome the birth of their baby boy that they fully understand the visitor's blessing and his true identity as Elijah the Prophet. | 1929628226 |
| It's Shofar Time! | Kropf, Latifa Berry & Cohen, Tod | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | In this installment of the photo essay series by Kropf and Cohen, children blow the shofar, create New Year's cards, bake round challah, dip apples in honey, see the Torah dressed in white, and perform tashlich. Instructions for making a shofar craft project are included along with a brief note about Rosh Hashanah. | 1580131581 |
| Willy & Max: A Holocaust Story | Littlesugar, Amy & Low, William | Philomel Books | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | This heartwarming tale of kindess, truth, honesty, and friendship during the Holocaust also introduces readers to the widespread theft and looting by the Nazis of artwork belonging to European Jews. | 0399234837 |
| Hammerin' Hank: The Life of Hank Greenberg | McDonough, Yona Zeldis & Zeldis, Malcah | Walker & Company | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | This picture book biography details Hank Greenberg's childhood and his college basketball and professional baseball career, as well as the anti-Semitism that he faced from frans and players and his encounter with Jackie Robinson. | 0802789978 |
| Across the Alley | Michelson, Richard & Lewis, E. B. | G.P. Putnam's Sons, | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | Willie, an African-American, and Abe, a Jew, become friends as they look out their bedroom windows in post-World War II Brooklyn, New York. They form a unique bond and bash stereotype as Abe plays baseball and Willie gives a violin concert in the synagogue. | 0399239707 |
| A Grandma Like Yours/A Grandpa Like Yours | Rosenbaum, Andria Warmflash & Bjornson, Barb | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | In this two-in-one "flip book," animal grandmothers and grandfathers have great fun with their grandchildren baking challah, delivering Purim treats, planting trees for Tu B'Shvat, and making matzah. | 1580131674 |
| The Little, Little House | Souhami, Jessica | Frances Lincoln | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Picture Book | Joseph can no longer tolerate being "jammed and crammed, so squashed and squeezed," so he goes to Aunty Bella, who suggests he brings the chickens, rooster, cow and goat into the house. When she finally tells him to put the animals back in the yard, Joseph and his family enjoy the quiet and spaciousness of their house at a Shabbat meal. | 1845071085 |
| The Secret World of Kabbalah | Abrams, Judith Z | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | Short chapters, text boxes, illustrations and diagrams dissect the complicated subject matter of Kabbalah, mysticism, Kabbalistic texts and more in this highly readable, succinct and fascinating introduction. | 15801322403 |
| Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini | Fleischman, Sid | Greenwillow Books | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | Full of colorful language, this biography of Houdini is infused with the showman's Jewish side, recalling his birth as Ehrich Weiss to an impoverished but scholarly rabbi in a Budapest ghetto, his self-invention and brashness as an immigrant, the effects of anti-Semitism, and his lifelong love of learning. | 0060850949 |
| Escaping into the Night | Friedman, D. Dina | Simon & Schuster | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | When her mother and others do not come back from work, Halina is forced to deal with her absence and escape from the ghetto to save her own life. She joins the partisans in the woods, and survives World War II by using her wits and inner strength. | 1416902589 |
| Emil and Karl | Glatshteyn, Yankev & Shandler, Jeffrey | Roaring Brook Press | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | This story of two boys left alone in Vienna after their parents have been arrested by the Nazis is particularly significant because it was the first book written for children about the Holocaust. It was published in the United States in Yiddish in 1940 before the full horrors of World War II had unfolded. Shandler's seamless translation now makes the story accessible to contemporary readers. | 1696431199 |
| Hiding Edith: A True Story. (Holocaust Remembrance Series | Kacer, Kathy | Second Story Press | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | Through the story of Edith Schwalb Gelbard, who survived the Holocaust by continually moving and hiding, the reader can relate to the situation in Europe before World War II, the plight of the Jews, the virtue of righteous gentiles who helped them, and the courage and strength it took to survive. | 1897187068 |
| In the Days of Sand and Stars | Pinsker, Marlee & Thisdale, François | Tundra Books | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | A compilation of stories, in the tradition of Midrash, about the everyday lives and personalities of the biblical women Eve, Naamah, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Dina and Yocheved. | 0887767249 |
| The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin | Rubin, Susan Goldman & Weissberger, Ela | Holiday House | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | This impressively researched photographic memoir tells of a young girl from Czechoslovakia who studied with Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and participated in the children's opera Brundibar at the Terezin concentration camp during World War II. | 0823418316 |
| A Pickpocket's Tale | Schwabach, Karen | Random House | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | In 1730, Molly is a ten-year-old orphan who is convicted of pick-pocketing in London and deported to America. When a Jewish family purchases her to be their indentured servant, Molly learns to follow and respect the Jewish traditions and also learns about the importance of family, forgiveness, and faith. | 037583379X |
| Stealing Home | Schwartz, Ellen | Tundra Books | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Middle Grade | Nine-year-old Joey Sexton, living in the Bronx in 1947, is orphaned after the death of his mother. When his aunt welcomes him into her home, the rest of the family and their neighbors aren't as accepting of Joey's biracial heritage. Inspired by Jackie Robinson, Joey learns how to shake off the taunts of the neighborhood bullies, grains an appreciation for his Jewish heritage, and builds a loving and respectful relationship with his grandfather. | 0887767656 |
| Lilith's Ark: Teenage Tales of Biblical Women | Cohen, Deborah Bodin | Jewish Publication Society | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Young Adult | This collection of stories about Jewish matriarchs and other women associated with the book of Genesis includes Lilith, Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Dinah, Tamar, and Asenath. The discussion guide for each chapter consists of themes, questions, and a mother-daughter dialogue. | 0827608330 |
| Notes from the Midnight Driver | Sonnenblick, Jordan | Scholastic Press | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Young Adult | Alex Gregory gets drunk, takes his mother's car, and crashes into a lawn gnome. He must pay his debt to society by doing 100 hours of community service in a nursing home attending to Sol Lewis, a cantankerous resident who suffers from emphysema. | 0439757797 |
| The Unresolved | Welsh, T. K. | Dutton Books | 2006 | 2007 | Notable | Young Adult | The spirit of Mallory Meer, a teenage girl who died on the General Slocum, haunts those involved with the 1904 disaster. While history records that a fire started and spread quickly, this work of fiction explores what might have happened when two love struck teenagers steal a moment together below deck and another vents his jealousy by causing the blaze and blaming his nemesis. | 0525477314 |
| Note: Prior to the 2007 STBA, there was no Young Adult category | ||||||||
| Sholom’s Treasure: How Sholom Aleichem Became a Writer | Silverman, Erica & Gerstein, Mordicai | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2005 | 2006 | Winner | Picture Book | Chronicles Sholom Aleichem’s childhood, revealing the influences that turned him into the great Yiddish writer who would give us the story that became Fiddler on the Roof. This is a vital, engaging, living-and-breathing portrait of one of modern Jewish culture’s most famous and beloved champions | 0374380554 |
| Confessions of a Closet Catholic | Littman, Sarah | Dutton Children’s Books | 2005 | 2006 | Winner | Middle Grade | Justine Silver struggles to balance her family’s expectations that she should be Jewish “but not too Jewish.” Frustrated, she follows a Catholic friend’s example by giving up Judaism for Lent, and thus begins a search for identity and belonging that will resonate with readers of all religions | 0525473653 |
| The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey | Borden, Louise & Drummond, Allan | Houghton Mifflin | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Picture Book | This delightfully written story tells how Margret and H.A. Rey escaped from Nazi-occupied France in 1940, carrying in their bicycle baskets the manuscripts that would become their beloved picture books about Curious George, the little monkey. | 0618339248 |
| Ruth and Naomi: A Bible Story | Marzollo, Jean | Little, Brown | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Picture Book | In all of her biblical retellings, this author condenses details while preserving the stories’ spirit and meaning. This one exemplifies chesed (loving-kindness), shown by Ruth and Naomi’s caring for one another and by the kindness extended to them by Boaz | 0316741396 |
| Shlemiel Crooks | Olswanger, Anna & Koz, Paula Goodman | Junebug Books | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Picture Book | Told with Yiddish inflected English, sprinkled with familiar Jewish curses and words, Anna Olswanger elaborates on the true story of the attempted robbery of her great-grandfather’s saloon in St. Louis in 1919. | 158838165X |
| Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me | Taback, Simms | Viking | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Picture Book | Brimming with humor and bursting with life, this dynamically illustrated collection of anecdotes and short stories about kibitzers, schlemiels, noodniks, meshuganers and other Yiddish types is reminiscent of Raback’s award winning Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. | 0670059552 |
| Memories of Survival | Krinitz, Esther Nisenthal & Steinhardt, Bernice | Hyperion | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Middle Grade | Esther Nisenthal Krinitz retells the story of her childhood in a small Polish village through a series of handstitched embroidered panels. | 0786851260 |
| The King of Mulberry Street | Napoli, Donna Jo | Wendy Lamb Books/Random House | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Middle Grade | This powerful historical novel about an Italian-Jewish immigrant child reveals to readers that just 100 years ago, children as young as eight came to this country alone, with nothing but their wits and good luck to help them survive. | 0385746539 |
| Prince William, Maximilian Minsky, and Me | Rahlens, Holly-Jane | Candlewick Press | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Middle Grade | Nelly Sue Edelmeister learns to play basketball, copes with a major crush on Prince William, makes a true friend, and finds meaning in becoming a bat mitzvah in this funny and touching novel that takes place in modern Berlin. | 0763627046 |
| The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela: Through Three Continents in the Twelfth Century | Shulevitz, Uri | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2005 | 2006 | Honor | Middle Grade | Known only from the book he wrote about his travels, Benjamin left Spain in 1159 and spent fourteen years traveling. This beautifully illustrated chronicle describes and shows a 12th century world as it might have been experienced by Benjamin of Tudela, complete with muddy roads, searing deserts, walled cities and might seas. | 0374377545 |
| Love Me Later | Baer, Julie | Bollix Books | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | A tender slice of life story that reveals family love and the wonders of childhood for a boy who just happens to be Jewish. | 1932188037 |
| Hanukkah, Shmanukkah! | Codell, Esme Raji & Pham, LeUyen | Hyperion | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | An adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol with protagonist old Scroogenmacher visited by three ghostly rabbis who take him back in time to the Maccabees, to present day tenements (early 20th century) and then on to the future. Will he get the message? | 0786851791 |
| Seventh Day: A Shabbat Story | Cohen, Deborah Bodin & Hall. Melanie W. | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | The story of creation with God as potter, painter and musician. After much hard work, there is a joyous "whole world" celebration of Shabbat. Beautiful mixed media illustrations enhance this metaphorical version of the creation myth. | 158013125 |
| A Box of Candles | Jacobs, Laurie & Ephraim, Shelly | Boyds Mills Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | Seven-year-old Ruthie learns about the annual Jewish cycle of Sabbaths and holidays when her grandmother gives her a candlestick and a box of candles. She also learns about accepting others as Grandma Gussie and Mr. Adler begin spending a lot of time together. | 1590781694 |
| It's Purim Time! | Kropf, Latifa Berry & Cohen, Tod | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | Another in the holiday series, this photo essay depicts the history and customs of the holiday including crafts (graggers and costumes), snacks and a reading of the story of Queen Esther. | 1580131530 |
| In God's Hands | Kushner, Lawrence & Schmidt, Gary & Baek, Matthew J. | Jewish Lights Publishing | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | A delightful retelling of the legend of the loaves in the synagogue Torah ark, beautifully illustrated. | 1580232248 |
| Dreamer from the Village: The Story of Marc Chagall | Markel, Michelle & Lisker, Emily | Henry Holt | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | ntroduces young readers to the life of Marc Chagall beginning with his birth in a small Russian village, his childhood, his family's observances of the Jewish holidays, and the development of his artistic talent, despite being discouraged and unappreciated by his family. Lisker's Chagall inspired illustrations beautifully depict the places and characters of Chagall's life. | 0805063730 |
| Jerusalem Sky: Stars, Crosses, and Crescents | Podwal, Mark H. J. | Doubleday Books for Young Readers | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | A poetic evocation of the sky over the world's most beloved city shows that the love borne by Jews, Christians, and Muslims for Jerusalem can be something that brings us together instead of tearing us apart. | 038574689X |
| The Ark | Reinhart, Matthew | Simon & Schuster | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | Stunning and intricate three-dimensional pop-ups bring the story of Noah's Ark to life. | 0689859090 |
| Before You Were Born | Schwartz, Howard & Swarner, Kristina | Roaring Brook Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | With sophisticated, lyrical prose, noted storyteller Howard Schwartz retells the midrash of the angel Lailah. | 1596430281 |
| The Matzoh Ball Boy | Shulman, Lisa & Litzinger, Rosanne | Penguin Group | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | A new take of "The Gingerbread Boy" as Bubbe's matzoh ball is off to see the world with an interesting twist at the end. Glossary included. | 0525471693 |
| It's Tu B'Shevat | Zolkower, Edie Stoltz | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Picture Book | The simply, rhyming text of this board book beings with "Grab a shovel. Pick a spot. Plant a tree, it's Tu B'Shevat!" and continues as a young boy and his family plant a tree, say a blessing, enjoy the shade, the fruit, and the birds, and watch the tree grow. | 1580131271 |
| The JGirls' Guide: The Young Jewish Woman's Handbook for Coming of Age | Adelman, Penina & Feldman, Ali & Reinharz, Shulamit | Jewish Lights Publishing | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | For the teen or preteen girl who asks "Where do I fit in?," this includes lessons based on mitzvoth, interpretations of text, diary entries, and the views of young girls on contemporary issues | 1580232159 |
| The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden | Avrech, Robert J. | Seraphic Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | In the years following the Civil War, twelve-year-old Ariel Isaacson and his family, Jewish immigrants from Russia, are kicked out of their Arizona town by an anti-Semitic mayor and townspeople, and are forced to embark on a difficult and dangerous journey through the unsettled Arizona territory | 0975438212 |
| Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow | Bartoletti, Susan Campbell | Scholastic Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | This well-researched, large format book describes the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, and World War II and its aftermath, through the eyes of twelve ordinary young people in Germany including those who participated in the Hitler Youth movement and those who resisted. | 0439353793 |
| Four Sides, Eight Nights: A New Spin on Hanukkah | Ben-Zvi, Rebecca Tova & Natti, Susanna | Roaring Brook Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | A delightful exploration of the science, traditions, customs, and meaning of Hanukkah, with the dreidel used as a sort of road map. | 1596430591 |
| Genius: A Photobiography of Albert Einstein | Delano, Marfe Ferguson | National Geographic Children's Books | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Meet the 20th century's most important scientist in this very attractive book and learn that the man with the big brain also had a big heart. Delano achieves a stunning balance between words and sepia-toned photos. | 0792295447 |
| Bridge to America | Glaser, Linda | Houghton Mifflin Company | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Young Fivel and his family endure hunger, cold, fear and poverty in a Polish shtetl while waiting to hear from his father in America. Once in America, Fivel must adjust to Minnesota and learn to appreciate his past. | 0618563016 |
| A Promise Fulfilled: Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weitzmann, and David Ben-Gurion, and the Creation of the State of Israel | Greenfeld, Howard | Greenwillow Books | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | An engrossing account of three very different men who were central to the founding of modern Israel. | 006051504X |
| Broken Soup | Lasky, Kathryn | Viking | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | A historical novel set in the Russian Pale of Settlement in the late 1800s shows the conditions that led to massive Jewish emigration from Russia. A companion to Lasky's 1981 award-winning book The Night Journey. | 0670059315 |
| Hidden Child | Millman, Isaac | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | This unique, large format personal narrative beautifully tells the story of the author's experience as a hidden child in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Well-captioned black and white photographs along with double-spread full-color composite paintings accompany the first-person narration. | 0374330719 |
| Zayda Was a Cowboy | Nislick, June Levitt | Jewish Publication Society | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | When their grandfather moves in with them, Bill and Danny are off put by his habits, but are then fascinated by his stories of immigration from Russia and work as a cowboy in Texas. | 0817608179 |
| Anne Frank | Poole, Josephine & Barrett, Angela | Alfred A. Knopf | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Depicts the life of Anne Frank as a young girl in Frankfurt, Germany and in Amsterdam, her experiences in school, her friends, and her life in hiding. The illustrations are beautiful and haunting -- with intricate detail they show how Anne changes, grows and matures into a young woman. | 0375832424 |
| The Secret Seder | Rappaport, Doreen & McCully, Emily Arnold | Hyperion Books | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Jacques, a young French boy whose family lives as Catholics during World War II, attends a secret Seder with his father in a secluded cabin, where despite the danger and meager menu, the participants are inspired and hopeful. | 0786807776 |
| The Flag with Fifty-Six Stars | Rubin, Susan Goldman & Farnsworth, Bill | Holiday House | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Through extensive research, eyewitness accounts and personal interviews, Goldman tells the inspiring, moving, and hopeful story of a group of prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp who secretly created an American flag to present to the liberating forces. | 0823416534 |
| Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War I | Russo, Marisabina | Atheneum Books | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Russo relates the experiences of her own family, and how love helped them survive the Holocaust. | 0689869207 |
| Lost in America | Sachs, Marilyn | Roaring Brook Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Thirty-two years after the publication of A Pocket Full of Seeds (1973), Marilyn Sachs continues the story of Nicole Nieman focusing on the end of World War II and Nicole's experiences as a new immigrant in America. | 1596430400 |
| Light Years | Stein, Tammar | Alfred A. Knopf/Random House | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Twenty-year-old Maya Laor is on her way to meet her boyfriend Dov to tell him that she has decided to leave Israel to study at the University of Virginia when he is killed by a suicide bomber. In alternating chapters between Virginia and Israel, Tammar Stein pieces together Maya and Dov's relationship, Maya's life in Israel, her army service, and her family. | 0375830235 |
| Double Crossing: A Jewish Immigration Story | Tal, Eve | Cinco Puntos Press | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | Raizel and her father face rejection at Ellis Island, but with a change in attitude and the help of kindly fellow passengers, their second attempt at immigration is successful. Based on a true story | 0938317946 |
| When I Was a Soldier: A Memoir | Zenatti, Valerie & Hunter, Adriana | 2005 | 2006 | Notable | Middle Grade | The memoir of an Israeli girl thrust from her typical teenage life into compulsory military service, where she learns to adapt to the physical rigors and emotional challenges. | 1582349789 | |
| Dating system changed in 2005 to reflect year in which award is announced instead of year of publication. Award-giving did NOT skip a year. | ||||||||
| In 2005, there was no award Winner in the Picture Book category. | ||||||||
| Real Time | Kass, Pnina Moed | Clarion Books | 2004 | 2004 | Winner | Middle Grade | In this powerful and compelling young adult novel, the lives of sixteen different characters, spanning several countries and continents, intersect over the course of six days preceding and following a bus bombing in present day Jerusalem. | 0618442030 |
| Daniel in the Lions’ Den | Marzollo, Jean | Little, Brown | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Picture Book | A simple retelling of the Biblical tale about faith, courage, and heroism introduces the Bible story while a column of ants at the bottom of each page comments on events. | 316741329.00 |
| Daniel, Half-Human | Chotjewitz, David & Orgel, Doris | Atheneum Books | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Middle Grade | In 1933, best friends Daniel and Armin admire Hitler, but as anti-Semitism buoys Hitler to power, Daniel learns he is half Jewish, threatening the friendship even as life in their beloved Hamburg, Germany, is becoming nightmarish. | 0689857470 |
| Bobbie Rosenfeld: The Olympian Who Could Do Everything | Dublin, Anne | Second Story Press | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Middle Grade | With clear, concise writing, an easy, conversational tone, relevant and helpful text boxes, and interesting photographs and illustrations, Anne Dublin not only tells the story of Bobbie Rosenfeld but provides an impressive history of Canadian women’s sports. She also puts Bobbie’s life in perspective by providing background information about Canadian and world history and culture, and supplies details about Bobbie’s Jewish background and identity. | 1896764827 |
| The Cats in Krasinski Square | Hesse, Karen & Watson, Wendy | Scholastic | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Middle Grade | Two Jewish sisters, escapees of the infamous Warsaw ghetto, devise a plan to thwart an attempt by the Gestapo to intercept food bound for starving people behind the dark Wall. | 0439435404 |
| Wonders and Miracles: A Passover Companion | Kimmel, Eric | Scholastic | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Middle Grade | Presents the steps performed in a traditional Passover Seder, plus stories, songs, poetry, and art that spans 3,000 years, four continents, and fifteen countries – a book for the whole family to read before and during the holiday. | 0439071755 |
| My Guardian Angel | Weil, Sylvie & Rosner, Gillian | Scholastic | 2004 | 2004 | Honor | Middle Grade | In 11th century Troyes, France, Elvina, the unusual granddaughter of renowned Jewish rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), who prefers studying and writing to activities considered respectable for girls, takes a great risk by helping a young boy who has run away from a group of Christian Crusaders. | 0439576814 |
| The Mystery Bear: A Purim Story | Adelson, Leone & Howland, Naomi | Clarion | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A young bear is mistaken for a costumed reveler when he wakes up from his winter sleep and follows the wonderful smells coming from a cottage where the townspeople are celebrating Purim. | 0618337253 |
| Papa's Latkes | Edwards, Michelle & Schuett, Stacey | Candlewick | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A sad, sweet and unsentimental story that takes place at Hanukkah, the first a father and his two daughters have observed since Mama died. | 0763607797 |
| Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah | Glaser, Linda & Cote, Nancy | Albert Whitman | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | Instead of going with her parents to do errands on the first night of Hanukkah, Rachel visits Mrs. Greenberg next door and proceeds to mess up her immaculate kitchen while making potato latkes | 1930143877 |
| What You Will See Inside a Synagogue | Hoffman, Lawrence A. & Wolfson, Ron & Aron, Bill | Jewish Lights Publishing, | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A short introduction to the Jewish religion precedes many photographs that how what goes on in Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist synagogues in North America, such as prayer, life cycle events, and holidays. | 2895074127 |
| The Coat of Many Colors | Koralek, Jenny & Baynes, Pauline | Eerdmans | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A simple retelling of the biblical story of Joseph, boldly illustrated. | 0802852777 |
| It's Sukkah Time! | Kropf, Latifa Berry & Cohen, Tod | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | Photographs of preschoolers decorating a sukkah and celebrating the holiday make this book a delight. Don't miss Kropt's other 2004 holiday books, It's Seder Time! and It's Hanukkah Time! | 1580130844 |
| David and Goliath | Marzollo, Jean | Little Brown | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A simple retelling of the biblical story of David and Goliath, with talking lambs at the bottom of each page. | 0316471388 |
| Jonah and the Whale (and the Worm) | Marzollo, Jean | Little Brown | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | The biblical story of Jonah is told with the help of a worm and the octopus at the bottom of each page. | 0316471345 |
| Miriam and Her Brother Moses | Marzollo, Jean | Little Brown | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | The biblical story of Moses' adoption has fish giving commentary at the bottom of each page. | 0316741310 |
| Apples and Pomegranates: A Family Seder for Rosh Hashanah | Musleah, Rahel & Jarrett, Judy | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | Musleah gives us a complete Seder for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, including background information, stories, and songs, all centered upon special foods from different Jewish communities around the world | 1580131239 |
| Where Do People Go When They Die? | Portnoy, Mindy Avra & Haas, Shelly O. | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Picture Book | A variety of answers to the title question, "where do people go when they die?" are offered appropriately for young children. | 158013081X |
| The Kids' Catalog of Hanukkah | Adler, David A. | Jewish Publication Society | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Another title in the Kids' Catalog series, focusing on Hanukkah and filled with facts, stories, songs, games, recipes, and crafts. | 0827608055 |
| The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls | Allon, Hagit & Zehavi, Lena & Abulafia, Yossi | Jewish Publication Society | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | n this over-sized illustrated chapter book, readers follow the adventures of Daniel, an eleven-year-old boy living in contemporary Jerusalem, as he works on a project for school about the Dead Sea Scrolls. | 0152163913 |
| Walking the Bible: An Illustrated Journey for Kids | Feiler, Bruce & Meret, Sasha | HarperCollins | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Feiler, accompanied by Israeli archaeologist Avner Goren, visits places in the Middle East where biblical stories may have taken place including the Creation story, Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark, Exodus, and the receiving of the Ten Commandments. | 0060511176 |
| L'Chaim: to Jewish life in America | Goldman Rubin, Susan | Harry N. Abrams | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Historical exploration of the history Jews in America through the experiences of individuals. Photographs, maps, and other resources provided. | 0810950359 |
| Israel in Pictures | Goldstein, Margaret J. | Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | This revised overview of Israel, which is part of the Visual Geography series, focuses on the geography and history of both ancient and modern Israel. It includes a timeline, suggested websites, and an index. | 1580130887 |
| Duel | Grossman, David & Rosenberg, Betsy | Bloomsbury | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | David attempts to unravel the mystery between two elderly men who he meets in the Hebrew Home for the Aged while doing community service. | 1582349304 |
| The Harmonica | Johnston, Tony & Mazellan, Ron | Charlesbridge | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | A young boy survives in a concentration camp because he can play Shubert on his harmonica, which the commandant asks for every night. | 1570915474 |
| The Underground Reporters | Kacer, Kathy | Second Story Press | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | A group of Jewish children in a small town in Czechoslovakia publish a newspaper called Klepy or "gossip" in Czech, during World War II, until they are deported to concentration camps. | 1896764851 |
| The Dog of Knots | Kaplan, Kathy Walden | Eerdmans | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | A slice of life in Haifa, Israel during the time of the Yom Kippur War as told through the eyes of Mayim, a young Jewish girl. | 0802852599 |
| Quake! Disaster in San Francisco, 1906 | Karwoski, Gail Langer & Papp, Robert | Peachtree | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | The 1906 San Francisco earthquake is the backdrop for a story of two thirteen-year-old boys -- one Jewish, one Chinese -- who have banded together along with a stray dog, in search of their respective families from whom they were separated. | 1561453102 |
| Rosie in Los Angeles: Action! | Matas, Carol | Aladdin/Simon & Schuster | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Rosie finds adventure when her family moves to the foothills of Los Angeles to start their own film production company. This third book in the series follows Rosie in New York: Gotcha! And Rosie in Chicago: Play Ball! | 0689857160 |
| Esther | McKay, Sharon E. | Penguin Canada | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Esther, a young Jewish girl in 18th century France, must conceal her real identity to survive and disguises herself as a boy in order to become the first Jew to arrive in New France. | 0143312049 |
| Albert Einstein | McPherson, Stephanie | Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | An upbeat biography of Einstein using anecdotes and photographs. | 1580130941 |
| The Queen of Persia | Moscowitz, Moshe & Sokoloff, David | Shazak Productions | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | A lively "graphic novel" presentation of the story of Purim. | 1930925093 |
| Missing Persons: The Chocolate Lover | Rabb, M.E. | Speak/Penguin Putnam | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Teenaged Jewish sisters Sam and Sophie Shattenberg change their identities as they flee from New York to a small town in Indiana and open a detective agency. The Chocolate Lover is full of Jewish flavor, but the focus is on the solving of mysteries. Don't miss the rest of the Missing Persons series: The Rose Queen, The Venetian Policeman and The Unsuspecting Gourmet. | 0142500429 |
| Six Million Paper Clips | Schroeder, Peter W. & Schroeder-Hildebrand, Dagmar | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | One teacher's desire to teach about intolerance led to a three-year project in which the entire community of Whitwell, Tennessee participated, culminating in the building of a Holocaust memorial. | 1580131697 |
| Your Travel Guide to Ancient Israel | Sherman, Josepha | Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Written as a time travel log back to an ancient culture, the reader can experience daily life in Ancient Israel. | 0822530724 |
| Ilan Ramon: Israel's Space Hero | Sofer, Barbara | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | This basic biography covers Ilan Ramon's childhood, his Bar Mitzvah, his service in the Israeli Air Force, and his path to becoming the first Israeli astronaut, with details about his family, friends and colleagues. | 1580131158 |
| Ilan Ramon: Jewish Star | Speregen, Devra Newberger | Jewish Publication Society | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | A well-written biography of Ilan Ramon concentrating on his military career and life as an astronaut. | 0827607695 |
| Matzah Meals: A Passover Cookbook for Kids (revised edition) | Steinberg, Judy & Tabs, Barbara & Hauser, Bill | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2004 | 2004 | Notable | Middle Grade | Good advice to young cooks plus suggestions and crafts for the Seder are the prelude to this collection of recipes that range from the no-cooking variety for young children to more complicated ones for teens. | 1580130860 |
| Bagels from Benny | Davis, Aubrey & Petricic, Dusan | Kids Can Press | 2003 | 2003 | Winner | Picture Book | After accepting the compliments for the tasty bagels made at the family bakery, Benny's grandfather explains that God is really to thank for the delicious creations, causing Benny to begin leaving a bag of bagels for God every week at the synagogue as a demonstration of his gratitude | 1553374177 |
| Who Was The Woman Who Wore The Hat? | Patz, Nancy | Dutton | 2003 | 2003 | Winner | Middle Grade | Offers a reflection on a woman's hat that was on display in the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam that questions who the woman might have been, what her life may have been like, and how she may have ended up a Holocaust victim. | 0525469990 |
| The Moses Basket | Koralek, Jenny & Baynes, Pauline | Eerdmans | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Picture Book | A simple retelling of how Moses, who grew to lead the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt, was saved when his mother and sister set him adrift in a water-tight basket where Pharoah's daughter would find him. | 0802852513 |
| Chanukah on the Prairie | Schuman, Burt E. & Kaye, Rosalind Charney | UAHC Press / URJ Press | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Picture Book | After the Zalcman family immigrates to Grand Forks, North Dakota, they are welcomed by the local Jewish community and celebrate their first Chanukah on the prairie. | 080740814X |
| When the Chickens Went on Strike: A Rosh Hashanah Tale | Silverman, Erica & Trueman, Matthew | Dutton | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Picture Book | A Jewish boy living in Russia learns a lesson from the village chickens at the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. | 0525468625 |
| Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide | Broida, Marian | Chicago Review Press | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Middle Grade | Examines the ancient cultures of the Israelites, the Philistines, and the Phoenicians, focusing on art, architecture, food, clothing, writing, history, religion, and work. Includes related activities. | 1556524579 |
| Tough Questions Jews Ask: A Young Adult's Guide to Building a Jewish Life | Feinstein, Edward | Jewish Lights Publishing, | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Middle Grade | Provides questions and answers for some major concerns facing Jewish youths, and includes explanations about such issues as God, prayer, good and evil, and the afterlife. | 158023139X |
| Birdland | Mack, Tracy | Scholastic | 2003 | 2003 | Honor | Middle Grade | Fourteen-year-old, tongue-tied Jed spends winter break working on a school project filming a documentary about his East Village, New York City, neighborhood, where he is continually reminded of his older brother, Zeke, a promising poet who died the year before. | 0439535905 |
| I Only Like What I Like | Baer, Julie | Bollix Books | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | Vignettes about childhood likes and dislikes are strikingly illustrated with quilt-like designs whose images, lines, and colors evoke a small child's imaginative perception of his world. | 1932188002 |
| Long Johns for a Small Chicken | Blanc, Esther Silverstein & Eagle, Godeane & Dixon, Tennessee | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | When a fierce Nebraska hailstorm batters a little chick, Mama makes him his own pair of long johns to keep him warm. The vintage setting, kindness, and humor of the story are captured in its illustrations. | 1884244238 | |
| Avram's Gift | Blumberg, Margie & McGaw, Laurie | MB Publishing | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | A well-illustrated chapter book that affirms the values of family, tradition, and continuity. The sounding of the shofar during the High Holidays is an important part of the plot. | 0962416622 |
| A Sweet Year: A Taste of the Jewish Holidays | Podwal, Mark | Doubleday | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | A lyrically written and rather sophisticated look at the Jewish holidays through the food traditionally associated with each of them. Podwal's gouache and acrylic paintings are inspired. | 0385746377 |
| Five Alive! My Yom Tov Five Senses | Rosenfeld, Dina & Leff, Tova | Hachai Publishing | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | Through a simply rhyming story and cheerful illustrations, young children are encouraged to see, hear, smell, taste and touch some of the major Jewish holidays. | 1029628064 |
| Tali's Jerusalem Scrapbook | Rouss, Sylvia & Oppenheimer, Nancy | Pitspopany Press | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | An Israeli child's feelings about the conflict in her beloved city are explored in this illustrated story. | 1930143699 |
| Turn, Turn, Turn | Seeger, Pete & Halperin, Wendy Anderson | Simon & Schuster | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | Readers will turn, turn, turn their heads to appreciate all of the details in the circular illustrations that complement passages from Ecclesiastes made into a song by Pete Seeger. An audio CD is included. | 0689852355 |
| The Passover Seder. | Sper, Emily | Scholastic/Cartwheel | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | Lift the flaps, rub the textures, turn the wheels, and pull the tabs to learn about the Seder and a few Hebrew words. | 0439443121 |
| It's a Miracle! A Hanukkah Storybook | Spinner, Stephanie & McElmurry, Jill | Atheneum | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | Those bedtime stories that Grandma Karen tells Owen during Hanukkah remind him of people he knows. At a family celebration on the eighth night, he finds out for sure that the story characters are his very own relatives! | 068984493X |
| Something for Nothing | Stampler, Ann Redisch & Cohen, Jacqueline M. | Clarion | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | In a captivating trickster tale, a peace-loving dog foils three rowdy cats who terrorize the neighborhood by playing upon their greed. This wry look at the oft-disturbed peace of the Eastern European shtetl is beautifully illustrated. | 0618159827 |
| Rachel's Gift | Ungar, Richard | Tundra Books | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Picture Book | The prophet Elijah appears in many guises and only young Rachel realizes that he has visited her house and left a very precious gift. | 0887766161 |
| Golda Meir | Claybourne, Anna | Heinemann Library | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | The life of Golda Meir and the history of modern Israel are inseparably woven into this readable biography. | 1403408351 |
| My Grandmother's Stories: A Collection of Jewish Folktales | Geras. Adéle & Lobel, Anita | Alfred A. Knopf | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | Sparkling new illustrations grace this collection of Jewish folktales. An earlier edition illustrated by another artist won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 1990. | 0375922857 |
| The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories of Hanukkah through History | Hesse, Karen & Pinkney, Brian | Hyperion Books | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | Narrative poems about times of crisis in Jewish history. Striking illusrations and very discussable! | 0786806192 |
| Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York: 1880-1924 | Hopkinson, Deborah | Orchard Books/Scholastic | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | Documentary photographs and the voices of five young immigrants transport readers into the teeming streets and crowded tenements of New York's Lower East Side. | 0439375908 |
| Brundibar | Kushner, Tony & Sendak, Maurice | Michael Di Capua Books/Hyperion | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | A sassy narrative style and splendid, multi-meaningful illustrations capture both the fairy tale charm and the underlying menace of a children's opera that was performed by prisoners in the Terezin concentration camp. | 0786809043 |
| Room in the Heart | Levitin, Sonia | Dutton | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | The German occupation of Denmark and its impact on a circle of middle-class families -- Jewish and nonJewish -- compel them to act on their beliefs. | 0525468714 |
| Rosie in New York City: Gotcha! | Matas, Carol | Aladdin/Simon & Schuster | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | It's 1909 and plucky Rosie becomes a labor organizer, participating in the making of the American Jewish community. The first in a series. | 0689857144 |
| The Enemy Has a Face | Miklowitz, Gloria D. | Eerdmans | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | An Israeli teenager's disappearance propels this suspenseful story that reveals some of the tensions in Israeli-Palestinian relations. The Los Angeles setting brings the conflict home to American teens; the ending is painful. | 0802852432 |
| Abraham Joshua Heschel: Man of Spirit, Man of Action | Rose, Or | Jewish Publication Society | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | The life and work of one of the 20th century's most important Jewish thinkers are introduced. | 082760758X |
| Murder at the 1972 Olympics in Munich | Sonneborn, Liz | Rosen Publishing | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | A detailed account of the Palestinian terrorist attack on a group of Israeli athletes and its aftermath. | 0823936546 |
| Milkweed | Spinelli, Jerry | Alfred A. Knopf | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | The horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto are plumbed in this powerful story about a homeless, orphan boy who survives by stealing food and whose first real experience of love is for a doomed Jewish family. | 0375813748 |
| Ilan Ramon: Israel's First Astronaut | Stone, Tanya | Millbrook Press | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | sraeli hero, role model and mensch -- Ilan Ramon fits all descriptions, as this poignant biography makes clear. | 0761328882 |
| Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen | Tryszynska-Frederick, Luba & McCann, Michelle & Marshall, Ann | Tricycle Press | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | Deeply colored, dramatic illustrations enhance this true story of a woman who rescued and risked her life to save a group of abandoned Jewish children in a Nazi concentration camp. | 1582460981 |
| Marc Chagall | Welton, Jude | Franklin Watts | 2003 | 2003 | Notable | Middle Grade | The artist's long, productive and exciting life is documented with family photographs and handsome illustrations. | 0531166457 |
| Chicken Soup by Heart | Hershenhorn, Esther & Litzinger, Rosanne | Simon and Schuster Books | 2002 | 2002 | Winner | Picture Book | When Rudie's sitter gets the flu, he uses her recipe to make her a batch of special chicken soup, including the secret recipe of stories from the heart. | 0689826656 |
| Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story | Levine, Karen | Second Story Press | 2002 | 2002 | Winner | Middle Grade | A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese Holocaust center learned about her life after Hana's suitcase was sent to her. | 0807531480 |
| Noah’s Ark | Pinkney, Jerry | SeaStar/North-South Books | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Picture Book | Retells the biblical story of the great flood and how Noah and his family faithfully responded to God's call to save animal life on earth. | 0587172011 |
| Sammy Spider’s First Trip to Israel: A Book about the Five Senses | Rouss, Sylvia & Kahn, Katherine Janus | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Picture Book | Sammy Spider joins the Shapiro family on a vacation, and he uses his five senses to experience Israel. | 1580130356 |
| Pearl’s Passover: A Family Celebration through Stories, Recipes, Crafts, And Songs | Zalben Jane Breskin | Simon and Schuster | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Picture Book | As an extended family prepares for their Passover celebration, they explain the various customs and traditions related to this holiday. | 0689814879 |
| One Candle | Bunting, Eve & K. Popp, Wendy | Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Middle Grade | Every year a family celebrates Hanukkah by retelling the story of how Grandma and her sister managed to mark the day while in a German concentration camp. | 0060281154 |
| A Picture of Grandmother | Hautzig, Esther & Peck, Beth | Frances Foster/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Middle Grade | A letter inviting Sara's mother and grandmother to come from Poland to America and mentioning a mysterious photograph arouses Sara's curiosity and leads her to discover a family secret. | 0374359202 |
| Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust, Revised and Expanded | Rogasky, Barbara | Holiday House | 2002 | 2002 | Honor | Middle Grade | An account of the tragic fate of the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust is set against a chronicle of the roots of Nazi anti-Semitism, Hitler's rise to power, World War II, and the Nazi program of extermination. | 0823416771 |
| Night Lights: A Sukkot Story | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Sucher, Laura Sucher, | UAHC Press/URJ Press | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | picture Book | A little boy is scared to sleep outdoors in a sukkah but with his older sister for companionship, he comes to see the stars in the sky as night lights. The new illustrations for a story first published in 1995 are gentle and comforting. | 0807408034 |
| The Beautiful World That God Made | Greene, Rhonda Gowle & Wilson, Anne | Eerdmans Books | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | A free rendering of the Creation story is given by a short, rhyming verse that builds in cumulative detail. Adding drama to the narrative are outstanding ink and collage illustrations. | 0802852130 |
| Matzah Man | Howland, Naomi | Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | "Hot from the oven I jumped and ran, so clever and quick, I'm the Matzah Man!" Sprightly illustrations show all of the action in this Passover version of "The Gingerbread Boy." | 061811750 |
| It's Challah Time! | Kropf, Latifa Berry & Cohen, Tod | Kar-Ben/Lerner | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | Colorful photographs of adorable children in a real Jewish preschool are engaging companions to a simple text that captures the fun of making challah in preparation for Shabbat. | 1500130364 |
| The Animals and the Ark | Kuskin, Karla & Grejniec, Michael | Atheneum | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | A poem based on the Bible story of Noah's Ark, originally published in 1957, is enhanced with splashy, rollicking illustrations, a creative book design, and a typeface called "Kentucky Fried." | 0689830955 |
| Runaway Dreidel | Newman, Lesléa & Brooker, Krysten | Henry Holt | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | "Twas the first night of Chanukah and on the fifth floor, there was holiday hustling and bustling galore" begins this engaging tale of a dreidel that leads a little boy, his family, and neighbors on a merry chase. | 0805062378 |
| The Sukkah That I Built | Vorst, Rochel Groner & Victor-Elsby, Elizabeth | Hachai Publishing | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | A read-aloud story modeled on the classic nursery rhyme, "The House That Jack Built." As a little boy smugly relates how he is doing all the building of the sukkah, his bemused family looks on. | 1929628072 |
| Noah's Ark | Wilson, Anne | Chronicle Books | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Picture Book | Written in a sparse style and illustrated with flat, bright colors and simple lines, this faithful retelling of the biblical account of the flood celebrates obedience to God and the beauty of the world God made. | 0811835634 |
| The Kids' Cartoon Bible | Burstein, Chaya | Jewish Publication Society | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | In a rousing rendition of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, the dialogue is colloquil and the cartoon illustrations are often inspired. | 0827607296 |
| Alexandra's Scroll: The Story of the First Hanukkah | Chaikin, Miriam & Fieser, Stephen | Henry Holt | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | A young female scribe records the political, social, and religious complexities of the Maccabean world in this believable portrait of a Judean family at war. | 0805063846 |
| Angels Sweep the Desert Floor: Bible Legends about Moses in the Wilderness | Chaikin, Miriam & Koshkin, Alexander | Clarion/Houghton Mifflin | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | A companion to the author's Clouds of Glory (2001), these stories draw on biblical text and Midrash to tell how Moses and the liberated Israelites were guided by angels. | 0395978254 |
| Marika | Cheng, Andrea | Front Street | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | A fifteen-year-old Hungarian girl, nominally Roman Catholic but with Jewish ancestry, seeks an identity and a way out after the Germans march into Budapest. | 1886910782 |
| Jewish Holidays All Year Round: A Family Treasury | Cooper, Ilene & Savadier, Elivia & the Jewish Museum of New York | Harry N. Abrams | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | The history and message of each Jewish holiday are combined with stories, legends, photographs of objects from the Jewish Museum and delightful original illustrations. | 0810905507 |
| Forged in Freedom: Shaping the Jewish-American Experience | Finkelstein, Norman H. | Jewish Publication Society, | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | From the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to the nomination of a Jew for Vice President, Finkelstein surveys trends and highlights events and personalities that shaped Jewish American history, especially in the 20th century. | 08276074827 |
| And God Cried, Too: A Kid's Book About Healing and Hope | Gellman, Rabbi Marc & Bliss, Harry | Harper Trophy/HarperCollins | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Through a fictional dialogue between Mikey, an angel-in-training, and the chief angel, Gabe, the author gives readers honest yet hopeful answers to questions about injustice and evil. Inspired by the attacks of 9/11. | 0060098864 |
| The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler | Giblin, James C. | Clarion/Houghton Mifflin | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | This outstanding biography of the 20th century's greatest monster includes information about his legacy of hatred, carried on by neo-Nazis and skinheads. | 00395903718 |
| Auschwitz: The Story of a Nazi Death Camp | Lawton, Clive A. | Candlewick Press | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | The author traces the history of Auschwitz from construction to liberation and comments on its post-war legacy in this visually powerful presentation. | 07636115951 |
| Anne Frank's Story: Her Life Retold for Children | Lee, Carol Ann | Troll Communications | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | The important events in Anne Frank's brief life and the essence of her personality are conveyed to readers of this accessible biography. | 0816774277 |
| Sparks Fly Upward. | Matas, Carol | Clarion/Houghton Mifflin | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Jewish immigrant girl in Winnipeg, Canada is sent to a foster home after the family farm burns down. Learning to stand up for herself and to make her own decisions doesn't come easy but Rebecca is a plucky heroine. | 061859649 |
| Too Young for Yiddish | Michelson, Richard & Waldman, Neil | Talewinds/Charlesbridge | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Inspired by the work of Aaron Lansky, founder of the National Yiddish Book Center, this is the story of a boy who learns to love Yiddish from his grandfather, who has almost given up on it. | 0881061182 |
| Jeremiah's Promise: An Adventure in Modern Israel | Roseman, Kenneth | UAHC Press/URJ Press | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Readers are presented with choices...and consequences. Signing on here means learning a great deal about Israel, kibbutz life, archaeology, the religious divide, the role of women, diplomacy, and military exploits. | 0807407879 |
| Invisible Kingdoms: Jewish Tales of Angels, Spirits, and Demons | Schwartz, Howard & Fiese, Stephen | HarperCollins | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Folktales like these have been part of the Jewish oral tradition since biblical times. These tales are simply told but they treat profound human issues from an unaccustomed perspective. | 0060278552 |
| Facing the Music | Vogiel, Eva | Judaica Press | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | In Vogiel's third novel set in an Orthodox girls' school in England in the late 1940's, a caring faculty helps a student adjust to the discovery that she has a twin siste | 1880582945 |
| The Promised Land: The Birth of the Jewish People | Waldman, Neil | Boyds Mills Press | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Why have Jews survived? The author presents his views, based on God's promise of Israel to the Jewish people. Evocative illustrations and an unusual book design add interest | 1563973324 |
| Finding Sophie: A Search for Belonging in Postwar Britain | Watts, Irene N. | Tundra Books | 2002 | 2002 | Notable | Middle Grade | Following Good-bye Marianne (1999) and Remember Me (2000), this riveting novel, set in London, completes the author's "Kindertransport Trilogy." | 0887766137 |
| Rivka’s First Thanksgiving | Rael, Elsa Okon & Kovalski, Maryann | Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster | 2001 | 2001 | Winner | Picture Book | Having heard about Thanksgiving in school, nine-year-old Rivka tries to convince her immigrant family and her Rabbi that it is a holiday for all Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike. | 0689839014 |
| Sigmund Freud: Pioneer of the Mind | Reef, Catherine | Clarion Books | 2001 | 2001 | Winner | Middle Grade | A biography of Sigmund Freud explains the methods he used to treat the mentally ill which led to the birth of psychoanalysis, and explores his controversial theories connecting dreams, desires, and behavior | 0618017623 |
| Behold the Trees | Alexander, Sue & Gore, Leonid | Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Recalling the history of Eretz Yisrael from Canaanite times to the founding of the modern state, this beautifully designed book has splendid illustrations that mirror the rise, trials, and achievements of the Jewish people as reflected by Israel's trees. | 0590762117 |
| Solomon and the Trees | Biers-Ariel, Matt & Silverberg-Kiss, Esti | UAHC Press/URJ Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Drawing from legends about King Solomon and Jewish teachings about humankind's responsibility to care for nature, this serious, dramatically illustrated story stresses personal responsibility | 0807407496 |
| The God around Us, Volume 2: The Valley of Blessings | Brichto, Mira Pollak & Alko, Selina | UAHC Press/URJ Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Prayers and blessings for many of the events that occur in the lives of young children are presented in Hebrew, transliteration, and English, accompanied by lively multicultural illustrations. | 0807407380 |
| Hanukkah Cat (Revised Edition) | Burstein, Chaya & Hanks-Henn, Judy | Kar-Ben Copies | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Amusing new illustrations add sparkle to this appealing story of a little boy who finds a kitten at the stat of Hanukkah. The story of the Maccabees and Lenny's adventures with the mischievous kitten are deftly interwoven. | 1580130291 |
| Snow in Jerusalem | da Costa, Deborah & Van Wright, Cornelius & Hu, Ying-Hwa | Albert Whitman & Company | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | During a rare day of snow in Jerusalem, a Jewish boy and an Arab boy who live in the Old City experience a rare moment of friendship when they put aside their differences to help a stray cat. Ethereal watercolor and pencil drawings portray the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem. | 0807575216 |
| The Rabbi Who Flew | Dollinger, Renate | Booksmythe | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Colorful gouache paintings in the author-illustrator's primitive style decorate this story about a saintly rabbi with holes in his shoes. The plot expresses the mitzvah of Jew helping Jew within an idealized shtetl setting. | 0945585209 |
| On Shabbat | Fishman, Cathy Goldman &Hall, Melanie W. | Atheneum Books | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | A holiday book, part of a series, that is both stylish and steeped in Jewish knowledge. The dreamy illustrations capture the spirit of the Sabbath. | 0689838948 |
| A Mountain of Blintzes | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & McGrory, Anik | Gulliver/Harcourt Books | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | In this humorous story of Jewish life in New York State's Catskill Mountains resort region in the 1920's, a poor family finds a way to celebrate Shavuot. The characters and action recall the traditional tales of Chelm. | 0152019022 |
| The Friday Nights of Nana | Hest, Amy & Nivola, Claire | Candlewick Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | In this serene picture book, a little girl helps her grandmother prepare for Shabbat. The celebration of tradition provides an atmosphere of closeness and warmth, a contrast to the wintry world outside | 0763606588 |
| The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story | Jules, Jacqueline & Kahn, Katherine Janus | Kar-Ben Copies | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | The Ziz, a giant bird from Jewish legend, is a softy at heart. He confesses to accidentally doing wrong and God assigns him a penance: to find the hardest word. The quest is a joyful learning experience. | 1580130305 |
| Zigazak! A Magical Hanukkah Night | Kimmel, Eric A. & Goodell, Jon | Doubleday/Random House | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | A pair of devils make mischief in the shtetl of Brisk, but the rabbi puts and end to their escapades. This jolly story transmits the traditional message that sparks of holiness can be found in unlikely places. | 0385326521 |
| Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace | Sasso, Sandy & Rothenberg, Joani Keller | Jewish Lights Publishing, | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Bold splashes of color illustrate this interpretation of a Bible story that emphasizes the destructive power of anger. Running through the narrative is the midrashic tradition of nature's mourning for Abel. | 1580231233 |
| The Shabbat Box | Simpson, Lesley & Bosch, Nicole in den | Kar-Ben Copies | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | When Ira loses his class's treasured Shabbat box, he solves the problem by making a new one, all on his own. This empowering story portrays a loving family, a multicultural preschool class, and a child with imagination and perseverance. Instruction for making a Shabbat box are included. | 1580130275 |
| Lemuel, the Fool | Uhlberg, Myron & Lamut, Sonja | Peachtree Publishers | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | Lemuel sails off in search of the city of his dreams, returns home without realizing it, and is astonished that all the people and places look so familiar! A droll, gentle story, beautifully illustrated. | 1561452203 |
| Rachel Captures the Moon | Ungar, Richard | Tundra Books | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Picture Book | The foolish folk of Chelm, not content to wait for the moon to rise each evening, try to capture its luminescence permanently. When neither a ladder, a net, nor delicious smelling soup can lure the moon down to earth, a little girl named Rachel captures its reflection in a barrel of water. | 088776505X |
| Hans and Sophie Scholl: German Resisters of the White Rose (Holocaust Biography Series) | Attema, Martha | Rosen Publishing | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | A factual account of a small group of courageous German students who resisted Hitler. Photographs, documents, a glossary, bibliography and index increase the book's value for research and reports. | 0825933164 |
| Death on Sacred Ground | Feder, Harriet | Lerner Publishing | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | She's back! Vivi Hartman, rabbi's daughter and teenage sleuth, uses Talmudic reasoning to solve a crime committed on the Seneca Reservation in New York State. | 0822507412 |
| Clara's War | Kacer, Kathy | Second Story Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Thirteen-year-old Clara and her family are deported from Prague to the concentration camp of Terezin. Through their experiences, the grimness and terror of the camp are shown in contrast to its rich cultural life. | 1896764428 |
| Rivka's Way | Kanefield, Teri | Front Street/Cricket Books | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Set in eighteenth century Prague, this tells of teenage Rivka's longing to leave the safety of the Jewish Quarter and venture into the larger world that fascinates her outside. | 0812628705 |
| Understanding Buddy | Kornblatt, Mark | Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | A fifth grader discovers that the withdrawn, silent new boy in class is grieving over the sudden death of his mother. Rebuffed by Buddy when he tries to be friendly, Sam searches for answers, including Jewish answers, to the disturbing questions that arise as he tries to understand Buddy. | 0668983215X |
| Stolen Words | Koss, Amy | American Girl | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Everything is going wrong on Robyn's vacation with her family in Austria! As recorded in her diary, Robyn's comments and observations are filled with both biting teenage wit and deep concern about her mother, who cannot get over the death of her sister. A colloquial style imparts a serious theme. | 1584853778 |
| Daughter of Fire: Heroines of the Bible | Manushkin, Fran & Shulevitz, Uri | Silver Whistle/Harcourt | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Drawing on both the Bible and on legend, the author portrays heroines of passion and purpose, representing Jewish history from the period of the Patriarchs to the Persian era. | 0152018697 |
| The War Within | Matas, Carol | Simon & Schuster | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | After General Grant issues an order expelling all Jews from the territory under his control, teenaged Hannah Green, a Southern belle in the making, begins to question many of the values she took for granted, including slavery. | 0689829353 |
| Secrets in the House of Delgado | Miklowitz, Gloria | Eerdmanns | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | In a gripping story about "New Christians" and the Inquisition, the author captures the terror of the times and the varying degrees of Jewish loyalty among members of one family. | 0802852068 |
| Shoes for Amelie | Steiner, Connie & Rodier, Denis | Lobster Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | The heroism of the people of the town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France is portrayed through a story about one courageous and "ordinary" family who sheltered a Jewish child during the Holocaust. | 1894222377 |
| Friend or Foe? | Vogiel, Eva | Judaica Press | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | The headmistress of an Orthodox boarding school for girls in England is anxious to discover who, among the school's neighbors, seems to be trying to close it down. Likeable characters and an engrossing plot convey a theme of tolerance. | 188058266X |
| Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps | Warren, Andrea | HarperCollins | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | An inspiring account of the Holocaust experiences of Jack andelbaum, who survived three years as a teen in several camps. His zest for life and ability to form friendships enabled him to begin a new life in the United States. | 0688174973 |
| Mendel Rosenbusch: Tales for Jewish Children | Weber, Ilse & Fisher, Ruth & Fisher, Hans | Herodias | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Mendel is a good and wise man who has been granted the power to become invisible. He uses his gift to help the poor and right wrongs. These tales paint a knowing portrait of small town life and culture in pre-Holocaust Central Europe. | 1928746195 |
| The Magic Menorah: A Modern Chanukah Tale | Zalben, Jane Breskin & Diamond, Donna | Simon & Schuster | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | An encounter with a Yiddish-spouting genie named Fishel changes Stanley's mind about Hanukkah and family traditions. | 06898226060 |
| After the Holocaust | Greenfield, Howard | Greenwillow Books | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | Focusing on eight Holocaust survivors now living in the United States, this powerful book shows the hardships faced by young survivors, many of whom were without homes, families, identities or hope. | 0688177552 |
| Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Dark | Schmidt, Gary | Henry Holt | 2001 | 2001 | Notable | Middle Grade | In the night and fog of a concentration camp, women and children gather at night to listen to stories told by a prisoner named Mara, the daughter of a rabbi. The stories are adapted from Jewish lore; the listening is an act of resistance. | 0805067949 |
| Gershon’s Monster: A Story for The Jewish New Year | Kimmel, Eric A. & Muth, Jon J. | Scholastic Press | 2000 | 2000 | Winner | Picture Book | When his sins threaten the lives of his beloved twin children, a Jewish man finally repents of his wicked ways. | 043910839X |
| The Key is Lost | Vos, Ida & Edelstein, Terese | Morrow/HarperCollins | 2000 | 2000 | Winner | Middle Grade | Based on a true story, this historical fiction tells of two young sisters who get separated from their parents and are forced to live hidden away in the attics of Holland in order to escape from being caught by the Nazis. | 0688162835 |
| The Market Wedding | Fagan, Cary & Ricci, Regolo | Tundra Books of Northern New York | 2000 | 2000 | Honor | Picture Book | A fishmonger falls in love with the milliner whose cart is across the street from his in the turn-of-the-century Kensington Market, and even though his plan for a fine wedding backfires, all ends well. | 0887764924 |
| The Wisdom Bird: A Tale of Solomon and Sheba | Oberman, Sheldon & Waldman, Neil | Boyds Mills Press | 2000 | 2000 | Honor | Picture Book | When the Queen of Sheba, the wisest woman in the world, comes to Jerusalem to present an unusual request to King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, the fate of every bird in the world is at stake. | 1563978164 |
| Love You, Soldier | Hest, Amy & Lamut, Sonja | Candlewick Press | 2000 | 2000 | Honor | Middle Grade | Katie, a Jewish girl living in New York City during World War II, sees many dynamic changes in her world as she ages from seven to ten waiting for her father to return from the war. | 0763609439 |
| Fireflies in the Dark: The Story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the Children of Terezin | Rubin, Susan Goldman | Holiday House | 2000 | 2000 | Honor | Middle Grade | Recounts how Friedl Dicker, a Jewish woman from Czechoslovakia, taught art to children at the Terezin Concentration Camp. | 082341681X |
| The Legend of Freedom Hill | Altman, Linda Jacobs & Van Wright, Conrelius & Hu, Ting-Hwa | Lee and Low | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | California in the Gold Rush era is the setting for this heartwarming story of an inter-racial relationship. Two little girls, one Jewish and one African-American, find enough gold to ransom the runaways the slave catcher has in his clutches. Colorful, realistic illustrations reflect the setting, characters, and drama. | 1584300035 |
| On Purim | Fishman, Cathy Goldman & Hall, Melanie W. | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | One of the best of the books on holidays created by Fishman and Hall, this combines evocative illustrations with a narrative that is sensitive to the paradoxes of a holiday in which God's name is never mentioned. | 0689823924 |
| Dance, Sing, Remember | Kimmelman, Leslie & Eitan, Ora | HarperCollins | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | A light-hearted writing style and child-like illustrations give panache to this cheerful holiday collection. | 0060277254 |
| Come, Let Us Be Joyful: The Story of Hava Nagila | Manushkin, Fran & Kaye, Rosalind Charney | UAHC/URJ Press | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | Children who have sung and danced to "Hava Nagila" will learn how it may have come to be transformed from a sad Yiddish melody to the musical embodiment of pioneering Zionism. An ebulliently written and illustrated story set in Israel before statehood. | 0807407313 |
| Moishe's Miracle | Melmed, Laura Kraus & Slonim, David | HarperCollins | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | One the eve of Hanukkah, a poor man receives a magic frying pan that produces endless latkes. Moishe wants to feed the whole village but his wife, Baila, has other ideas... The deep, dusky pictures glow with magic. | 0688146821 |
| Thread of Kindness: A Tzedaka Story | Shollar, Leah & Mekibel, Shoshana | HaChai Publishing | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Picture Book | Goodness rewarded is the theme of this traditional story about a poor family who use the six years of plenty given to them by Elijah to help others. The message is conveyed gently and illustrated with soft pastels. | 1929628013 |
| Samir and Yonatan | Carmi, Gabriella & Lotan, Yael | Arthur A. Levine /Scholastic | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Frightened to be the only Palestinian in the children's ward of a hospital in Israel, Samir withdraws into himself. Gradually, Yonatan, the boy in the next bed, draws him into another world where Jews and Palestinians can be friends. A Mildred L. Batchelder Award Winner. | 0439135044 |
| The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark | Deedy, Carmen Agra & Sorensen, Henry | Peachtree Publishers | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | A beautifully illustrated tribute to the tolerance of the Danish People and their king, who took many risks on behalf of the Jewish population during the German occupation of World War II. | 1561452084 |
| Photo Odyssey: Solomon Carvalho's Remarkable Western Adventure, 1853-1854 | Hirschfelder, Arlene B. | Clarion | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Carvalho, a Baltimore Jew of Sephardic ancestry, was a tenderfoot when he joined an expedition led by the explorer John Charles Fremont. This well-researched biography gives a stirring account of his adventure. | 0339589123X |
| Torn Thread | Isaacs, Ann | Scholastic Press | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Based on the experiences of a Holocaust survivor, this is the story of two teenaged sisters who survive a Nazi slave labor camp where they were imprisoned for several years. Through a large cast of characters, the author touches on some central Holocaust issues. | 0590603639 |
| Tales for the Seventh Day | Jaffe, Nina & Sutherland, Kelly Stribling | Scholastic Press | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Seven tales follow a gracefully written introduction describing traditional observances that have maintained Jewish identity and continuity. The tales are adapted from Talmud, folk literature, and oral traditions. | 0590120549 |
| The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories from Chelm | Kimmel, Eric A. & Gerstein, Mordicai | Holiday House | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Too delicious to be enjoyed only at Hanukkah, these effervescent tales show how the wisdom of fools might be the wisest kind of all! | 0823414639 |
| Pharaoh's Daughter | Lester, Julius | Silver Whistle/Harcourt | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | A dazzling portrait of ancient Egypt and a provocative story of religious and cultural identity are created in this free interpretation of the youth of Moses and his older sister. | 0152018265 |
| Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews | Levine, Ellen | Holiday House | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Interviews with individuals involved in the Danish resistance, documentary photographs, and a lucid text combine to tell an inspiring true story. | 0823414477 |
| Hannah's Journal: The Story of an Immigrant Girl (Young American Voices Series) | Moss, Marissa | Silver Whistle/Harcourt | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | The exciting story of Hannah's trip from Russia to America is told through her journal entries. The format, with lined pages, hand lettering, and Hannah's drawings and comments in the margins, is especially appealing. | 0152021558 |
| Why on This Night? A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration | Musleah, Rahel & August, Louise | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Intended to give children a central part in planning and participating in the Passover Seder, this includes every major part of the Haggadah in Hebrew, English and transliteration. And, as if that weren't enough, there are also superb illustrations, songs, games, crafts, recipes, and other ideas for making the Seder truly familycentered. | 088776519X |
| The Butterfly | Polacco, Patricia | Philomel Books | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | During the Nazi occupation of France, a child discovers that her mother is hiding Jews. The "little ghost" who appears in her bedroom at night is one of them. Monique and Sevrine become friends, sharing hope for a brighter future symbolized by the butterfly. A poignant story whose illustrations (by the author) express its mood. | 0399231706 |
| Escaping to America: A True Story | Schanzer, Rosalind | HarperCollins | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | In the early twentieth century, a family of Polish Jews, headed by a determined father, leaves the Old Country. This book, vibrantly illustrated (by the author), expresses their thankfulness and pride in becoming Americans. | 0688169899 |
| The Day the Rabbi Disappeared: Jewish Holiday Tales of Magic | Schwartz, Howard & Passicot, Monique | Viking | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | The magic in these tales -- of dreams, heavenly journeys, and secret names -- is used to protect and save the Jewish people. Several of the stories feature learned women and all 12 of them are associated with the major festivals, Rosh Chodesh, and Shabbat. | 0670887331 |
| My Secret Camera: Life in the Lodz Ghetto | Smith, Frank Dabba & Grossman, Mendel | Gulliver/Harcourt | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Mendel Grossman did not survive the Holocaust, but his photographs did.They are heartbreaking reminders of everyday life in a community destined for destruction. | 0152023062 |
| Faraway Home | Taylor, Marilyn | O'Brien Press | 1999 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | An Austrian brother and sister are sent on the Kindertransport to Northern Ireland, where a farm for Jewish refugees from Hilter was established near Belfast. Actual events are integrated with sympathetic characters, believable relationships, well-paced action, and a portrayal of lives forever changed by war. | 0531145247 |
| Invisible Chains | Vogiel, Eva | Judaica Press | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | An Orthodox boarding school in England is the setting for this story of two sisters. A wise headmistress and a concerned young teacher intervene to solve the girls' potentially destructive relationship. Traditional Judaism guides and supports all of them. | 1880582570 |
| Remember Me: A Search for Refuge in Wartime Britain | Watts, Irene | Tundra Books, | 2000 | 2000 | Notable | Middle Grade | Twelve-year-old Marianne, who was introduced in Goodbye, Marianne (Tunda, 1998), is sent on the Kindertransport to England. Missing her parents and yearning for the familiarity of Jewish family life, she struggles in a series of foster homes. A fascinating picture of war-time England -- of courage and narrow social attitudes -- is painted. | 088776519X |
| The Peddler’s Gift | Schur, Maxine Rose & Root, Kimberly Bulcken | Dial Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Winner | Picture Book | A young boy in turn-of-the-century rural Russia learns that appearances are often deceiving after he steals and then tries to return a dreidel to the traveling peddler Shnook. | 080371987 |
| Speed of Light | Rosen, Sybil | Anne Schwartz Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Winner | Middle Grade | An eleven-year-old Jewish girl living in the South during the 1950s struggles with the antisemitism and racism which pervade her small community. | 0689841515 |
| Noah and the Great Flood | Gerstein, Mordicai | Simon & Schuster | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Picture Book | A retelling of the biblical story of how Noah and his family were saved, along with two of every living creature, when God destroyed the wicked of the world with a devastating flood. | 0689813716 |
| Joseph Had a Little Overcoat | Taback, Simms | Viking Children’s Books | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Picture Book | An old Eastern European folk song provides the basis for a tale about a peasant who devises clever uses for his worn-out overcoat. | 0670878553 |
| Baby’s Bris | Wilkowski, Susan & Friedman, Judith | Kar-Ben Copies | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Picture Book | Sophie becomes a big sister and, during the first eight days of her brother's life, learns about the custom of bris (circumcision) and celebrates the event with her family and new brother Ben. | 1580130534 |
| Journeys with Elijah | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Pinkney, Jerry | Gulliver Books/Harcourt Brace & Company | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Middle Grade | Presents eight stories about the biblical prophet Elijah, set in a variety of time periods and in places all over the world where Jews have lived. | 0152004459 |
| When The Beginning Began: Stories About God, the Creatures and Us | Lester, Julius & Lisker, Emily | Silver Whistle/Harcourt Brace & Company | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Middle Grade | A collection of traditional and original Jewish tales interpreting the Biblical story of the creation of the world. | 0152012389 |
| When the Soldiers Were Gone | Propp, Vera | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | 1999 | 1999 | Honor | Middle Grade | After the German occupation of the Netherlands, Benjamin leaves the Christian family with whom he had been living and is reunited with his real Jewish parents who returned from hiding and whom Benjamin doesn't remember. | 0698118812 |
| David and the Trash-Talkin' Giant: Mr. Grungy's Seek and Find Bible Stories | Anderson, Joel & Goolsby, Abe | Tommy Nelson | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | The story of David and Goliath is retold in rhyme with clever illustrations of scrap creations that have been digitally photographed. | 0849959187 |
| Queen Esther, the Morning Star | Gerstein, Mordicai | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | A highly sophisticated interpretation of tradition. A visual treat and atmospherically a Jewish Arabian Nights. | 0689813724 |
| How Yussel Caught the Gefilte Fish: A Shabbos Story | Herman, Charlotte & Krenina, Katya | Dutton Children's Books, | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | When Yussel goes fishing with his father, it's both a bonding experience and an opportunity to bring home his favorite treat. | 0525454497 |
| This Is Our Seder | Hildebrandt, Ziporah & Roraback, Robin | Holiday House | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | This title, which is organized around the themes of continuity and extended family, presents events and symbolic activities associated with Passover. | 0823414361 |
| The Lion and the Unicorn | Hughes, Shirley | DK Publishing | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | When Lenny Levi is evacuated from World War II London to an aristocrat's estate, he must find the courage to conquer loneliness and the rejection that comes with being "different." Stirring illustrations of war and rural beauty. | 07899425556 |
| The Ten Commandments for Jewish Children | Nerlove, Miriam | Albert Whitman & Company | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | A traditional approach in clear language. The author emphasizes the contemporary validity of these ancient teachings and suggests how they may be put into practice. | 0807577707 |
| The Very Best Hanukkah Gift | Rocklin, Joanne & O'Neil, Catherine | Delacorte Press | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | Daniel, an awkward eight-year-old middle child, anticipates Hanukkah with anxiety, but unexpected events bolster his self-esteem and his status within the family. | 0385326564 |
| Matzah Ball Soup | Rothenberg, Joan | Hyperion Books for Children | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | The humble matzah ball is the vehicle of transmission of Jewish tradition from generation to generation. | 0786821701 |
| For Heaven's Sake | Sasso, Sandy E. & Finney, Karyn Kunz | Jewish Lights Publishing | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | A young boy grieving for this much-loved grandfather seeks to understand the concept of heaven. | 1580230547 |
| Raisel's Riddle | Silverman, Erica & Gaber, Susan | Farrar Straus & Giroux | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | A Jewish orphan girl finds happiness with her "prince," a rabbi's son who appreciates her learning as well as her beauty. | 0374351681 |
| Streets of Gold | Wells, Rosemary & Adreasen, Dann | Dial Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | Based on Mary Antin's classic immigration memoir, The Promised Land (1912), this story describes a young girl's adaptation to American life and her love for her adopted country. | 0803721498 |
| King Solomon and His Magic Ring | Wiesel, Elie & Podwal, Mark | Greenwillow Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | A collection of wonder tales, based on Talmud and Midrash, featuring angels, demons, flying carpets, and conversations with animals. | 0688169597 |
| The Memory Coat | Woodruff, Elvira & Dooling, Michael | Scholastic Press | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Picture Book | Rachel saves the day when it appears that her cousin, Grisha, will fail the health examination at Ellis Island and be sent back to Russia. | 0590677179 |
| With All My Heart, With All My Mind: Thirteen Stories about Growing Up Jewish | Asher, Sandy | Simon & Schuster | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | Original stories dealing with teen identity crises by American-Jewish authors, followed by interviews. Varied and highly readable. | 0689820127 |
| Two Suns in the Sky | Bat Ami, Miriam | Front Street/Cricket Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | In 1944, in wartime Oswego, New York, two teens, a Yugoslavian Jewish refugee boy and an American Roman Catholic girl from a strict family reach out to one another. Their relationship results in sorrow and growth. | 081269000 |
| My Bridges of Hope: Searching for Life and Love after Auschwitz | Bitton-Jackson, Livia | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | This sequel to I Have Lived a Thousand Years (1997) takes Elli Friedman from liberation to her arrival in the United States six years later. As a survivor and displaced person, the heroine attempts to form relationships and continue her education, yet feels guilty for wanting a normal life. | 0689820267 |
| Escape: Teens Who Escaped the Holocaust to Freedom. (Teen Witnesses to the Holocaust Series) | Giddens, Sandra | Rosen Publishing Group | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A well-written account of four teens who survived due to courage, luck, and the assistance of others. All went on to lead productive lives and build new families. | 0823928438 |
| Miriam | Gormley, Beatrice | Eerdmans Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | Moses' sister, a strong and passionate woman, is portrayed as a prophetess and leader of her people, faced with all the temptations to assimilate that ancient Egypt had to offer. | 0802851568 |
| Running on Eggs | Levine, Anna | Front Street/Cricket Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A tentative friendship develops between an Israeli girl from a kibbutz and an Arab girl from a nearby village when both become members of a track team. | 0812628756 |
| The Cure | Levitin, Sonia | Harcourt Brace & Company | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A stunning work that moves in time from a sterile future civilization to the rich but dangerous world of medieval Jewry and back. | 152018271 |
| My Name Is Not Gussie | Machlin, Mikki | Houghton Mifflin | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A high-spirited girl experiences the trials and joys of immigrant life. | 0395956463 |
| The Good Liar | Maguire, Gregory | Clarion Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | To the dismay of their devout and gentle mother, three French brothers delight in telling outrageous lies. When Jews are hidden in their village after the fall of Paris, lying is no longer a game. | 0395906970 |
| In My Enemy's House | Matas, Carol | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | Marissa, a fifteen-year-old Jewish girl, poses as a Roman Catholic worker in wartime Germany. She makes her way in a world of random cruelty, a world that imposes terrible choices. | 0689813546 |
| Missing Girls | Metzger, Lois | Viking | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | After her mother's death, Carrie's father sends her to live with her Holocaust survivor grandmother. Slowly, the teenager begins to recapture her engagement with life and other people. | 0670877778 |
| A Coat for the Moon and Other Jewish Tales | Schwartz, Howard & Rush, Barbara & Iofin, Michael | Jewish Publication Society | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A fine collection, often subtle. Beautifully illustrated. | 082760596X |
| Einstein: Visionary Scientist | Severance, John | Clarion Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A readable account of Einstein's momentous scientific discoveries and his often troubled personal life. | 0395931002 |
| Star of Luís | Talbert, Marc | Clarion Books | 1999 | 1999 | Notable | Middle Grade | A Hispanic boy, raised as a Roman Catholic, struggles to understand and to be reconciled with his newly discovered Iberian-Jewish ancestry. | 039591423X |
| Nine Spoons | Stillerman, Marci & Gerbe, Pesach | HaChai Publishers | 1998 | 1998 | Winner | Picture Book | A few brave souls in a Nazi camp are determined to gather nine spoons to make a menorah for Chanukah. | 0922613842 |
| Stones in Water | Napoli, Donna Jo | Dutton Books | 1997 | 1998 | Winner | Middle Grade | After being taken by German soldiers from a local movie theater along with other Italian boys including his Jewish friend, Roberto is forced to work in Germany, escapes into the Ukrainian winter, before desperately trying to make his way back home to Venice. | 0141306009 |
| Queen Esther Saves Her People | Gelman, Rita Golden & Lessac, Frane | Scholastic Press | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Picture Book | Retells the story of how a beautiful Jewish girl became the Queen of Persia and saved her people from death at the hands of the evil Haman. | 0590470256 |
| You Never Know: A Legend of the Lamed-Vavniks | Prose, Francine & Podwal, Mark | Greenwillow Books, | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Picture Book | Though mocked by the rest of the villagers, poor Schmuel the shoemaker turns out to be a very special person. | 0688157580 |
| On the Wings of Eagles: An Ethiopian Boy’s Story | Schrier, Jeffrey | Millbrook Press | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Picture Book | A Jewish Ethiopian boy recounts the story of Israel's 1991 airlift rescue of his threatened people. | 076130004X |
| The Magic of Kol Nidre | Siegel, Bruce & Haas, Shelly O. | Kar-Ben Copies | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Picture Book | The magic of the Kol Nidre prayer, central to the Yom Kippur service, is explored from the viewpoint of three generations. | 158013002X |
| The Treasure in the Tiny Blue Tin | Ducharme, Dede Fox | Texas Christian University Press | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Middle Grade | In the early 1900’s in Texas, a twelve-year-old Jewish immigrant runs away to search for his father who he fears is sick, and he is joined on his dangerous journey by a prejudiced country boy. | 0875651801 |
| The Singing Mountain | Levitin, Sonia | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Middle Grade | While traveling in Israel for the summer, seventeen-year-old Mitch decides to stay and pursue a life of Jewish orthodoxy, forcing him to make some important decisions about the family and life he is leaving in southern California. | 068983523X |
| No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War | Lobel, Anita | Greenwillow Books | 1998 | 1998 | Honor | Middle Grade | The author describes her experiences as a Polish Jew during World War II and for years in Sweden afterwards. | 0380732858 |
| Agnon's Alef Bet: Poems by S. Y. Agnon | Agnon, S. Y. & Friend, Robert & Zeldich, Arieh | Jewish Publication Society | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Playful illustrations match each of these poems inspired by the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and written by the Nobel Prize winning Israeli writer. The original Hebrew versions are included. | 0827605994 |
| Journey to Ellis Island: How My Father Came to America | Bierman, Carol, with Hehner, Barbara & McGaw, Laurie | H yperion Books for Children | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | An effective combination of documentary photographs, postcards, and realistic sepia-tone illustrations highlight this engrossing true story, based on the experiences of the author's father. | 0786803770 |
| The Way Meat Loves Salt | Jaffe, Nina & August, Louise | Henry Holt | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Charming to the eye and ear, this Jewish version of the Cinderella story is stunningly illustrated and perfect for shared reading. | 080504043845 |
| Noah's Ark | Janisch, Heinz & Lanning, Rosemary & Zwerger, Lisbeth | North-South Books | 1997 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | A new perspective on an oft-told tale is given by slightly surreal illustrations that show sunken towns from underwater and mythical as well as human figures scurrying for higher ground. | 1558587845 |
| Once Upon a Shabbos | Jules, Jacqueline & Kahn, Katherine Janus | Kar-Ben Copies | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Whether or not readers are familiar with a variant of this story called "Sody Sallyratus," they are sure to be captivated by this Yiddish-flavored version, set in New York, featuring a lost bear and a resourceful bubbe. | 1580130208 |
| One More Border | Kaplan, William & Tanaka, Shelley & Taylor, Stephen | Douglas & McIntyre | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Fans of fiction and non-fiction will both enjoy this suspenseful memoir of a family's escape from war-ravaged Europe during World War II. | 0888993323 |
| When Mindy Saved Hanukkah | Kimmel, Eric A. & McClintock, Barbara | Scholastic Press | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | New York's historic Eldridge Street shul is the setting for a winsome story about a family of little people, akin to the Borrowers, who live within its walls. Illustrations and book design impart Victorian charm. | 0590371363 |
| Miriam's Cup | Manushkin, Fran & Dacey, Bob | Scholastic Press | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Vivid illustrations enhance this story about Miriam, which draws on Biblical, Midrashic, and modern feminist sources. | 0590677209 |
| The Menorah Story | Podwal, Mark | Greenwillow Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | A clearly written account of the two menorahs of Jewish tradition, enhanced by deeply colored, symbolic illustrations (by the author). | 0688157580 |
| The Kugel Valley Klezmer Band | Stuchner, Joan Betty & Row, Richard | North Winds Press | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | In a Canadian village around the turn of the century, Shira learns to play the fiddle and realizes her dream of performing with the klezmer band. | 0590038338 |
| In Our Image: God's First Creatures | Swartz, Nancy Sohn & Hall, Melanie | Jewish Lights, | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Each of the creatures that the Almighty created is asked to share its special gift with humankind, the last to be brought into the world. | 1879045990 |
| Annushka's Voyage | Tarbescu, Edith & Dabcovich, Lydia | Clarion Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Picture Book | Two little girls leave their village in Russia to take an arduous and adventure-filled voyage aboard a steamship to join their papa in New York. | 039564366X |
| Clouds of Glory | Chaikin, Miriam & Frampton, David | Clarion Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | Vibrant woodcuts illustrate legends from the Bible based on traditional and modern Midrash. | 039574654X |
| Faraway Summer | Hurwitz, Johanna & Azarian, Mary | Morrow Junior Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | In the summer of 1910, a Jewish girl from the teeming streets of New York City spends two weeks with a Vermont farm family -- an experience that changes all of them. | 0688153348 |
| A Hanukkah Treasury | Kimmel, Eric A. & Lisker, Emily | Henry Holt | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | Information, stories, poetry, and sprightly illustrations distinguish this outstanding collection. | 0805052933 |
| The Storyteller's Beads | Kurtz, Jane | Harcourt Brace | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | A blind Jewish girl and a Christian girl overcome prejudice and suspicion as they help one another on a hazardous exodus from Ethiopia to a refugee camp in the Sudan. | 0152010742 |
| Dreams of the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, A Jewish Immigrant Girl | Lasky, Kathryn | Scholastic Press | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | Part of the popular "Dear America" series, this engaging story captures the emotions, experiences, and aspirations of an immigrant girl as she records them in her diary. | 0590029738 |
| Greater Than Angels | Matas, Carol | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | A courageous teenage heroine joins the righteous gentiles of Le Chambon sur Lignon, France in resisting the Nazis and smuggling her fellow Jews over the border to Switzerland. | 0689813538 |
| Israel: The Founding of a Modern Nation | Silverman, Maida & Avishai, Susan | Dial Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | A very readable introduction to the people and events leading to the establishment, in 1948, of the State of Israel, after thousands of years of exile, struggle, and hope. | 0805721558 |
| Masada | Waldman, Neil | Morrow Junior Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Middle Grade | Looming high above the Dead Sea, the ancient fortress of Masada possessed secrets that modern archaeology helped to reveal. | 0688144814 |
| Walk the Dark Streets | Baer, Edith | Farrar Straus & Giroux | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Young Adult | A moving fictionalized chronicle of the deterioration of life for German Jews in the 1930s. | 0374382298 |
| To Bigotry No Sanction: The Story of the Oldest Synagogue in America | Fisher, Leonard Everett | Holiday House | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Young Adult | The history of Newport, Rhode Island's Touro Synagogue sets the stage for a succinct examination of the odyssey of Sephardic Jews to North America and the development of religious liberty in the United States. | 0823414019 |
| Masada: The Last Fortress | Miklowitz, Gloria | Eerdmans Books for Young Readers | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Young Adult | Antagonists in the Roman siege of Masada, one a teenage zealot boy and the other the Roman general leading the attach, tell their stories as the conflict progresses to its tragic conclusion. | 0802851657 |
| Thanks to My Mother | Rabinovici, Schoschana & Skofield, James | Dial Books | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Young Adult | From the Vilna ghetto to the camps and a death march, young Susie's survival depended on her indomitable mother. | 0803722354 |
| Katarina | Winter, Kathryn | Farrar Straus & Giroux | 1998 | 1998 | Notable | Young Adult | Outcast and struggling, virtually alone, to survive in Slovakia during the Holocaust, Katarina is sustained by a child's blend of imagination, hope, and faith in Catholic saints. A remarkable story about identity and difference. | 0374339848 |
| When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street | Rael, Elsa Okon & Priceman, Marjorie | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, | 1997 | 1997 | Winner | Picture Book | While staying with her grandparents in New York City in the mid-1930’s, eight-year-old Zeesie joins in the celebration of Simchat Torah and sees a different side of her stern grandfather | 0689804512 |
| The Mysterious Visitor: Stories of the Prophet Elijah | Jaffe, Nina & Savadier, Elivia | Scholastic | 1997 | 1997 | Winner | Middle Grade | A collection of folktales featuring the prophet Elijah, a messenger from heaven who comes to earth in many disguises. | 0590484222 |
| When Jessie Came Across the Sea | Hest, Amy & Lynch, P.J. | Candlewick Press | 1997 | 1997 | Honor | Picture Book | A thirteen-year-old Jewish orphan reluctantly leaves her grandmother and immigrates to New York City, where she works for three years sewing lace and earning money to bring Grandmother to the United States, too. | 076361274X |
| I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust | Bitton-Jackson, Livia | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Honor | Middle Grade | The author describes her experiences during World War II when she and her family were sent to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. | 0689823959 |
| On Passover | Fishman, Cathy Goldberg & Hall, Melanie | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | The symbols, customs, and meaning of Passover are explained from the point of view of a young child and enhanced with attractive illustrations. | 0689805284 |
| On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur | Fishman, Cathy Goldberg & Hall, Melanie | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | The spiritual significance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are experienced concretely by a little girl and expressed with reverence and sincerity. Winsome illustrations extend the simple story. | 0689805268 |
| Jonah and the Two Great Fish | Gerstein, Mordicai | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Strands of legeng embellish a fancifully illustrated version of the Bible story. | 0689813732 |
| The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes | Glaser, Linda & Cote, Nancy | Albert Whitman & Company | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | A little girl and her lonely neighbor are the focal point of this intergenerational story about kindness and sharing. | 0807508411 |
| Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors | Kassirer, Sue & Jarecka, Danuta | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Beginning readers will enjoy reading this Bible story on their own. Colorful illustrations complement the story. | 0689812272 |
| Annie's Shabbat | Lamstein, Sarah Marwil & Lang, Cecily | Albert Whitman & Company | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | In six short, attractively illustrated chapters that begin with preparations for Shabbat and end with Havdalah, Annie and her family celebrate Shabbat at home, at synagogue, and with some stories from our past. | 0807503762 |
| Marven of the Great North Woods | Lasky, Kathryn & Hawkes, Kevin | Harcourt Brace | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Large, evocative illustrations are a stunning backdrop to this story of a small Jewish boy and a bearish French Canadian lumberjack who become friends in a logging camp during the influenza epidemic of 1918. | 0152001042 |
| The Boat of Many Rooms | Lewis, J. Patrick & Cartwright, Reg | Albert Whitman & Company | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Each stylized, large-eyed figure, whether human or animal, is sharply defined and distinctively composed upon the pages of this somewhat unusual Noah story, written in several styles of verse. | 0689801181 |
| Elisabeth | Nivola, Claire | Farrar Straus & Giroux | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Years after fleeing from the Nazis, a young woman is reunited with the beloved doll she left behind in Germany. The writing style and illustrations are elegant, restrained, and moving. | 0374320853 |
| By the Hanukkah Light | Oberman, Sheldon & Waldman, Neil | Boyds Mills Press | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | Parallels between ancient and modern Jewish history are shown in a story celebrating religious freedom through the primary symbol of a family menorah that survived the Holocaust. A warm tone suffuses hope into cold history. | 1563976587 |
| The Angel's Mistake: Stories of Chelm | Prose, Francine & Podwal, Marc | Greenwillow Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | In a charming marriage of words and pictures, this version of some of the Chelm stories, adapted successfully for a younger than usual audience, tells of how a botched mission by two angels created Chelm, the town of fools. | 0688149057 |
| Purim Play | Schotter, Roni & Hafner, Marilyn | Little Brown | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | By means of a play rehearsal, the story of Purim is filtered through the personalities and perspectives of several children and their reaction to an elderly neighbor asked to play Haman. Rollicking illustrations. | 0316775185 |
| In My Pocket | Sim, Dorrith M. & Fitzgerald, Gerald | Harcourt Brace | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | On a morning in July 1939, a young Jewish child sails from Holland to the safety of a new life in Scotland. A simply told, strikingly illustrated story of the Kindertransport. | 0152013571 |
| The Never-Ending Greenness | Waldman, Neil | Morrow Junior Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | A Tu B'Shvat story set in Israel, this tenderly tells of building a new life and a new land through the mitzvah of planting trees. The pointillist-style illustrations are stunning. | 0688133799 |
| The Two Brothers: A Legend of Jerusalem | Waldman, Neil | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | A new version of a beloved Talmudic legend about loving-kindness, each page awash in softly colored, highly textured illustrations that are reminiscent of ancient frescoes. | 0689319363 |
| Joseph | Wildsmith, Brian | W.B. Eerdmans Publisher | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | No wonder the wandering Israelites longed for the fleshpots of Egypt if it looked as glorious as it does in Wildsmith's intensely colored and richly detailed illustrations. | 0802851614 |
| Pearl's Marigolds for Grandpa | Zalben, Jane Breskin | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Picture Book | The pain of loss and the solace of memory are expressed in this warm story about the death of Pearl's grandpa. Small, delicate illustrations with floral motifs are appealing. | 0689804482 |
| Two Cents and a Milk Bottle | Batterman, Lee Cha'ah & Wattling, James | Alef Design | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Strong Jewish identity and positive Jewish values underscore this nostalgic story of first generation Americans in a New York immigrant neighborhood set in the 1930s. | 11881283178 |
| The Dead Sea Scrolls | Cooper, Ilene & Thompson, John | Morrow Junior Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Few archaeological finds can match the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls for drama and controversy. These elements are treated thoroughly, accurately and fairly in this excellent account that includes reference aids. | 0688143008 |
| The Broken Mirror: A Novella | Douglas, Kirk | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | This short, absorbing novel deals with the loss of faith and its recovery in the aftermath of the Holocaust. | 0689814933 |
| Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend | Gold, Alison Leslie | Scholastic Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | The clipped style of this double Holocaust memoir, that of the famous Anne and her unknown friend, Hannah, will keep readers absorbed and eager to see what happens to Hannah as well as to learn more about Anne. | 0590907220 |
| While the Candles Burn: Eight Stories for Hanukkah | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Greenstein, Elaine | Viking | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Each story in this refreshing collection represents a Hanukkah theme, with settings ranging from Biblical times to modern Israel. A few of the stories are original, but most are based on traditional sources. | 0670858757 |
| Hidden Music: The Life of Fanny Mendelssohn | Kamen, Gloria | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Sister of the more famous Felix, Fanny was a dutiful daughter, an adoring sister, and a talented musician in her own right. A well-crafted biography with a restrained but strong feminist thrust. | 068931714X |
| God's Story: How God Made Mankind | Mark, Jan & Parkin, David | Candlewick Press | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Following the narrative order of the Tanakh, Mark's retellings are strong, poetic, and subtly witty, capturing the Biblical meaning while sculpting each story into a spare shape that is reflected by the illustrations. | 0763603767 |
| The Garden | Matas, Carol | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Amidst an action-packed plot set in Israel on the eve of independence, this sequel to After the War (1996) deals with some of the themes implicit in the founding of the Jewish state. | 0689803494 |
| Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story | Mochizuki, Ken & Lee, Dom | Lee and Low | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Illustrated in sepia tones to resemble old photographs, this recalls a Japanese righteous person through the eyes and voice of a five-year-old boy who witnessed his diplomat father defy official orders and follow his own conscience. | 1880000490 |
| The Koufax Dilemma | Schnur, Steven & Treatner, Meryl | Morrow Junior Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Of course Danny will pitch the season's opening game. But what if it's on the first night of Passover? | 0688142214 |
| Of Heroes, Hooks, and Heirlooms | Silton, Faye | Jewish Publication Society | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Told in the first person by a preteen whose parents are Holocaust survivors, this sincere and deeply touching novel about a school project, peer relationships, and family memories will engross adolescent readers. | 082760582X |
| A Place Not Home | Wiseman, Eva | Stoddard Kids | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | Thirteen-year-old Nellie tells the story of her family's harrowing flight from Hungary following the revoluation of 1956, imbuing it with adventure, humor, and humanity as well as hardship. | 0773758348 |
| Heeding the Call: Jewish Voices in America's Civil Rights Struggle | Finkelstein, Norman H. | Jewish Publication Society | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | An even-handed and accurate account of the conflicts and commonalities between American Jews and AfricanAmericans as they have been played out in the arena of civil rights. Includes reference aids. | 0827605909 |
| Sacred Shadows | Schur, Maxine Rose | Dials Books | 1997 | 1997 | Notable | Middle Grade | The teen-aged heroine struggles with family duty, her own interests, and a foreboding sense that Jews have no place in a Europe succumbing to anti-Semitism and Nazi barbarism. Polished prose and a serious subject. | 0803722958 |
| Shalom, Haver: Goodbye, Friend | Sofer, Barbara | Kar-Ben Copies | 1996 | 1996 | Winner | Picture Book | A photo essay in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995. | 0929371976 |
| When I Left My Village | Schur, Maxine Rose Schur & Pinkney, Brian | Dial Books | 1996 | 1996 | Winner | Middle Grade | An Ethiopian Jewish family leaves their oppressed mountain village to make a difficult and treacherous journey in the hope of reaching freedom in Israel | 0803715617 |
| Dybbuk: A Story Made in Heaven | Prose, Francine & Podwal, Mark | Greenwillow | 1996 | 1996 | Honor | Picture Book | Because forty days before a baby is born the angels in heaven decide whom it will marry, nothing prevents the wedding of Leah and Chonon from taking place. | 0688143075 |
| Esther’s Story | Wolkstein, Diane & Wijngaard, Juan | Morrow Junior Books | 1996 | 1996 | Honor | Middle Grade | Almost twenty-five centuries ago, a shy orphan girl was unexpectedly chosen as queen of Persia. Blessed with majesty and humanity, she risked the wrath of a king to save her people. | 0688121276 |
| Becky and Benny Thank God | Bogot, Howard & Gorbaty, Norman | CCAR | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | Tiny tots can see, smell and feel creation in this lively, likable board book that mimics the Pat-the-Bunny format. Contents carefully attend to biblical detail; the quality packaging reflects concern for manipulation abilities. | 0881230650 |
| Hirsh's Secret: A Baal Shem Tov Story | Citron, Sterna & Eydel, Igor | Kerem | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | A heart-warming tale of the Baal Shem Tov delivers the concept of mitzvoth. A well-developed plot and expressive art solve the mystery of why Hirsh, a troger in a Yiddish shtetl, is so poor when he has so much goat milk to sell. | 0881230650 |
| Just Stay Put | Clement, Gary | Douglas &McIntyre | 1995 | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | Chelm's illogical logic arrives through outstandingly inventive art that captures the sly humor of the silly plot. Mendel unknowingly retraces his own steps, finds the "new" town just like home, and wonders why he ever left. | 0888992394 |
| Bone Button Borscht | Davis, Aubrey & Petricic, Dusan | Kids Can Press | 1995 (US 1997) | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | Based on the folktale "Stone Soup," this rollicking, snappy, humorous, ethnic redo serves a Jewish tale of tzedakah from the point of view of the beggar. The dialog bursts with Yiddish phrases. Superb art adds to the charm, irony and fun of this delicious book. | 1550742248 |
| The Angel and the Donkey | Paterson, Katherine & Koshkin, Alexander | Clarion Books | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | Dramatic story line, chipper dialogue and rich art combine in this entertaining version of Balaam's talking donkey. The well-paced text stresses God-fearing action and exploits everyone's greedy desires despite their regal positions. | 0395689694 |
| The Jewish Children's Bible: Genesis | Prenzlau, Sheryl & Smelkhov, Zely | Pitspopany Press | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Picture Book | This upbeat bible retells selected stories from Genesis with major personalities and details in proper Tanach order. Extra lines from Midrash suggest motives. The illustrations are not as good as the text. | 0943706319 |
| God's Mailbox: More Stories about Stories in the Bible | Gellman, Marc & Tilley, Debbie | Morrow Junior Books, | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | With feeling, humor and bite, Gellman interprets moral lessons in familiar bible stories and unfamiliar one line laws. His point of view is human, his Midrash modern. The stories are light hearted, but not light weight. | 0688131697 |
| Celebrating Hanukkah | Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane & Migdale, Lawrence | Holiday House | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | This personal photo essay presents Hanukkah from the joyous point of view of a fifth grade girl. Positive, loving explanations clearly deliver religion, history, tradition, symbols and the significance of all. | 0823412520 |
| Sky | Ippisch, Hanneke | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | The memoir is an honest reflection on the author's life, her Holocaust resistance activities in Holland, imprisonment, and the character of her Dutch compatriots. Poetic language describes pre-war innocence and war time fear. | 068980508X |
| Fitting In | Kirsch, Sharon | Second Story Press | 1995 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | A peer protagonist shares the tribulations of being different in an age-appropriate initiation into the world where religious identity is baggage. Set in 1960s Canada before ethnic roots were chic, intrinsically Jewish, this delightful read for pre-puberty girls boasts careful plotting, appealing characters, amusing dialogue and genuine emotions. | 0929005740 |
| Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story | Perl, Lila & Lazan, Marion Blumenthal | Greenwillow Books | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | An innocent hopeful memoir plots the fate of German Jews in Dutch concentration camps. Third person narration recalls a young girl's life metamorphosed from refugee to prisoner to DP to immigrant to positive survivor. | 068814294X |
| Teddy Kollek: Builder of Jerusalem | Rabinovich, Abraham | Jewish Publication Society | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Details about the famous mayor of Jerusalem include his days as a Zionist pioneer, gun runner and rescuer of Nazi victims. JPS adds a star to its biography series with this exciting read about a likeable man who liked his life. | 0827605617 |
| The Golem | Rogasky, Barbara & Hyman, Trina Schart | Holiday House | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Rogasky retells the traditional sci-fi legend of medieval Prague's clay giant in riveting fashion, shrinking not from violence or gore. Sophisticated art frames a strong test for seekers of the dark, dramatic and Gothic. | 0823409643 |
| The Wonder Child and Other Jewish Fairy Tales | Schwartz, Howard & Rush, Barbara & Fiese, Stephen | HarperCollins | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | The charmed lives of kings and queens, the eerie ones of demons and werewolves involve Jews in this collection of eight fairy tales from various countries. They introduce readers to lore and escapades with Jewish references. | 0060235179 |
| Women of Valor: Stories of Great Jewish Women Who Helped Shape the Twentieth Century | Segal, Sheila | Behrman House | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Focus on gender, time and mission carries this delightful collection of eight female lives. Each bio is set in a brief world history. The common thread, principle over fame, unites disparate women whose deeds affect us now. | 0874416124 |
| Elie Wiesel: A Voice for Humanity | Stern, Ellen | Jewish Publication Society | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Evocative words and photographs propel a quiet biography of a famous Holocaust survivor. The author absorbs youngsters in a significant Jewish personality with a dangerous, active youth, but a passive, reflective adulthood. | 0827605749 |
| Back of Beyond: A Bar Mitzvah Journey | Waysman, Dvora | Pitspopany | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | A Jewish boy on a trip to Australia is kidnapped by an Aborigine on his walkabout. Manhood ceremonies drive and solve the plot of this page turner. Jewish identity is a source of personal satisfaction to a realistic teen hero. | 0943706548 |
| Golem | Wisniewski, David | Clarion Books | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Glorious art (by the author) supports a violent retelling of the legendary Prague Golem. The text turns a medieval thriller into a modern warning against uncontrolled violence. The Caldecott Award winning, multilayered, three-dimensional paper cuts are fascinating. Illustrations capture light, set an eerie local and propel a giant through mist, flame and smoke. | 0395726182 |
| Unfinished Dreams | Zalben, Jane Breskin | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | The "tread carefully" main topics of terminal illness and death are sensitively handled for children. A sixth grade Jewish boy, determined to be a champion violent, loses his adored elementary school principal and chief supporter to AIDS. Jewish characters are assimilated Americans. | 0689800339 |
| The Amazing Life of Moe Berg: Catcher, Scholar, Spy | Andryszewski, Tricia | Millbrook Press | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | This well-paced biography presents a genuine eccentric, a famous Jews who as all the subtitle declares. The text, based on letters and clippings, contains, many quotes and delivers the brewing World War II as well as the man. | 1562946102 |
| Moe Berg: The Spy Behind Home Plate | Grey, Vivian | Jewish Publication Society | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | This is a very detailed biography of an observant Jew who becomes a professional athlete and atomic spy. His wild character stands out despite a worshipful tone. His life will attract non-sports fans to the man and world politics. | 0827605862 |
| Night Flight | Hausman, Gerald | Philomel Books | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, self-awareness and self-worth combine in a plot to discover who poisoned the town dogs. The preteen protagonist sifts moral choices in a scary summer vignette that molds and matures him. A boy's story, the spare autobiographical novel is a dark read for boys and girls. | 039922758X |
| Sarah with an H. | Irwin, Hadley | Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | The plot of "new Jewish girl in town triggers prejudice" arrives through female athletes and an unusual point of view. The focus is on anguished reaction to anti-Semitism by the perpetrator, rather than the recipient. | 0689804942 |
| After the War | Matas, Carol | Simon & Schuster | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | This likeable historical novel covers the immediate post war period in short chapters at a fast pace. Fictional characters personalize the drama of Polish Holocaust survivors who escape to Palestine and succeed at illegal entry. | 0689803508 |
| Gideon's People | Meyer, Carolyn | Harcourt Brace | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | Rebellion sparks a compelling story of two preteen boys from immigrant families struggling to keep closed tradition in an alluring open society. A peddler's wagon accident plots groups you wouldn't think of comparing: Orthodox Jews and strict Amish. The theme, "know another to know thyself," moves readers to evaluate friends and heritage. | 0152003037 |
| Behind the Bedroom Wall | Williams, Laura E. | Milkweed Editions | 1996 | 1996 | Notable | Middle Grade | A teenager converts from Bund Deutscher Madel to Jewish protector after stumbling onto her family's secret -- Jews her parents hide behind her bedroom wall. The decision to report or support them propels a suspenseful plot from the righteous gentile's point of view. The fiction highlights the pivotal importance of parental attitude in creating tolerance. | 157131606X |
| Star of Fear, Star of Hope | Hoestlandt, Jo & Kang, Johanna & Polizzotti, Mark | Walker and Company | 1995 | 1995 | Winner | Picture Book | Nine-year-old Helen is confused by the disappearance of her Jewish friend during the German occupation of Paris. | 0802775888 pbk. |
| Dancing on the Bridge of Avignon | Vos, Ida & Edelstein, Terese & Smidt, Inez | Houghton Mifflin | 1995 | 1995 | Winner | Middle Grade | Relates the experiences of a young Jewish girl and her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. | 0395720397 |
| The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate | Cohn, Janice & Farnsworth, Bill | Albert Whitman | 1995 | 1995 | Honor | Picture Book | Describes how people in Billings, Montana joined together to fight a series of hate crimes against a Jewish family. | 0807511536 pbk. |
| Drummers of Jericho | Meyer, Carolyn | Gulliver Books/Harcourt Brace | 1995 | 1995 | Honor | Middle Grade | A fourteen-year-old Jewish girl goes to live with her father and stepmother in a small town and soon finds herself the center of a civil rights battle when she objects to the high school band marching in the formation of a cross. | 0152001905 pbk. |
| One Yellow Daffodil | Adler, David & Bloom, Llyod | Gulliver Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Two children help a survivor reconnect to his religious tradition when their family includes him in Hanukkah celebrations. He introduces the youngsters to the Holocaust. The art is dark; the text is polite and moving. | 0152005374 |
| A Yom Kippur Think | Feinberg, Miriam & Ostrove, Karen | United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Commission on Jewish Education | 1994 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Simple language and engaging pictures state the values of Yom Kippur for Conservative and Reform Jews. | (none given) |
| Night Lights: A Sukkot Story | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & August, Louise | Gulliver Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | In a clever slant for a Sukkot story, a little boy overcomes his fear of the dark. He finds security by considering starts as night lights when he sleeps with his sister in the sukkah. The art is refreshing and expressive. | 0152005366 |
| When a Grandparent Dies | Liss-Levinson, Nechama | ewish Lights | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Part journal, part lesson, all heart, this sensitive, useful book guides a youngster through shiva and the year after, supporting memory, grief and other feelings. | 1879045443 |
| When Solomon Was King | MacGill-Callahan, Sheila & Johnson, Stephen T. | Dial Books for Younger Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Solomon's ability to speak to animals underlies an apocryphal basis of why Jews don't hunt. | 0803715897 |
| The Matzah That Papa Brought Home | Manushkin, Fran & Bittinger, Ned | Scholastic Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | A cumulative "House That Jack Built"-type rhyme captures the traditions and history of the Seder. Family and Passover bask in humor and fond memory through text and misty art. | 0590471465 |
| Starlight and Candles | Manushkin, Fran & Chwas, Jacqueline | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Delightful art delivers a warm story about three generations of a modern family as they prepare for and celebrate Shabbat at home and in the synagogue | 0689802749 |
| Strudel, Strudel, Strudel | Sanfield, Steve & Lisker, Emily | Orchard Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Superb, stylized art delivers Sanfield's version of the Chelm story about the couple who roll down the hill in a trunk. The text is upbeat, fun, silliness laced with logic and human frailty. | 053106879X |
| The Tie Man's Miracle: A Chanukkah Tale | Schnur, Steven & Johnson, Stephen | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | A young boy hears about the Holocaust for the first time from a salesman who joins the family Chanukkah. The old man recounts the power of the last night's candles; the boy makes a poignant wish for him. The art is realistic. | 0688134627 | |
| Passover Magic | Schotter, Roni & Hafner, Marilyn | Little, Brown and Company | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | Passover brings an energetic family together; even though the magician uncle is outdone by the wonders of Seder preparation in observance. Words and art reflect warmth, humor and happy Judaism at a manic pace. | 0316774685 |
| The Golden City: Jerusalem's 3000 Years | Waldman, Neil | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | This chronological reflection on Jerusalem's history sets a text focusing on competitors for the city in glorious art (by the author) which captures landmarks in glowing light. | 0689800800 |
| Child of the Warsaw Ghetto | Adler, David & Ritz, Karen | oliday House | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Picture Book | This slim, grim volume chronologically details the Ghetto's graphic history through a surviving child | 0823411605 |
| Listen to the Trees | Cone, Molly & Doty, Roy | AHC (now URJ Press), | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | A Tu B'Shvat resource tool recounts the ancient and continuing nexus between Judaism and ecology. Stories, cartoons and quotes of uneven quality mix in a well-organized format. | 0807405361 |
| Ezra Jack Keats: A Biography with Illustrations | Engel, Dean & Freedman, Florence | Silver Moon Press | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Surprise! A beloved children's author-illustrator is Jewish, not black, as everyone deduces from his famous pictures. His life provides a lesson on anti-Semitism in secular careers; he hid his Judaism to succeed, not survive. | 1881889653 |
| How Do You Spell God?: Answers to the Big Questions from Around the World | Gellman, Marc, and Hartman, Thomas & Smith, Joseph A. | Morrow Junior Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | A thoughtful, clever volume explains major world religions according to the meaningful questions they answer, and compares them through their different answers. The authors sport "with it" voice and humorous drawings. | 0688130410 |
| Bat Mitzvah | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Weihs, Erika | Viking | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Bat Mitzvah from the point of view of an outsider who wants to understand. The focus is history and changing ancient tradition in our century, in our country. The tone is feminist/didactic. Illustrations are charming. | 0670860344 |
| The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol | Kimmel, Eric A. & Hyman, Trina Schart | Holiday House | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Ten classic stories about poor, but clever Hershel of Ostropol abound in humorous Yiddish culture. A separate chapter quotes his witty epigrams. | 08234322105 |
| Bar Mitzvah | Kimmel, Eric A. & Weihs, Erika | Viking, | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Bar Mitzvah from the point of view of the participant who performs as expected and wishes he knew more. The focus is memory and meaning. The tone is warm and sharing. The illustrations are charming. | 0670855405 |
| Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein | McPherson, Stephanie | Carolrhoda Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Clear prose and great photographs advance a chronological narration of Einstein's life, theories of space and time, eccentric habits and fame. His is proud of his Jewish identity and connects its teachings to his acts. | 0876147880 |
| Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Life of a Storyteller | Perl, Lila & Ruff, Donna | Jewish Publication Society | 1994 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | This laudatory life of Singer gains charm from facts about his Polish youth and full-page sketches | 0827605129 |
| Golem: A Giant Made of Mud | Podwal, Mark | Greenwillow Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Imaginative, historically detailed paintings by the author adorn this remarkable retelling of the classic Golem in Prague folklore including Rabbi Loew and the emperor's fascination with alchemy. Lovely art is striking in a scary story. | 068813811X |
| Bearing Witness: Stories of the Holocaust | Rochman, Hazel & McCampbell, Darlene Z. | Orchard Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Carefully selected, brilliantly pared and well-arranged literary excerpts from long works create a comprehensive chronological Holocaust history which builds in tension, interest and emotion. Superb for classroom use. | 053109488X |
| The Rose Horse | Rose, Deborah Lee & Shed, Greg | Harcourt Brace | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | The information is fresh: Yiddish immigrants carving carousel horses, Coney Island side show incubators saving premature babies, the counting of the Omer. Local color is turn of the century. Pencil sketches fit the tone. | 0152000682 |
| Flying Lessons | Semel, Nava & Halkin, Hillel | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | A bittersweet story romanticizes the time when Israel was a new state through a humorous teen narrator stuck in a provincial town. A sensitive shoemaker teaches her to balance dreams and reality through his Holocaust experience which is portrayed in original symbols. | 0689801610 |
| Yoni Netanyahu: Commando at Entebbe | Speregen, Devra | Jewish Publication Society | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | An Israeli hero is a role model in this reprise of the stirring 1976 raid on Entebbe he led. | 0827605234 |
| Life in the Warsaw Ghetto | Stewart, Gail B. | Lucent Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | All the ugly details of the Warsaw Ghetto and the Jews who suffered there are documented in this emotionally tough book. The photographs are incredible. The lesson is clear: it never should have happened. | 1560060751 |
| Legends of the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng | Xu, Xin & Friend, Beverly & Cheng, Ting | KTAV | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Oral legends chronologically detail the curious history of 1000 years of Judaism in Kaifeng, China. | 0881255289 |
| And Twelve Chinese Acrobats | Yolen, Jane & Gralley, Jean | Philomel Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Middle Grade | Spirited language and pictures mesh in this brisk biographical tale of the idolized, mischievous older brother sent away to military school. It is rich in humor and Russian-Jewish rituals and tradition. | 0399226915 |
| Under the Domim Tree | Almagor, Gila & Schenke, Hillel | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | Three teens in an Israeli youth village after the Holocaust deal with tough emotions sharpened by German war reparations in Israel. They search for lost parents and confront survivor guilt in this autobiographical novel. | 0671890204 |
| Parallel Journeys | Ayer, Elanor | Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | Holocaust experiences from both sides simultaneously! A Jewish girl and a Nazi boy alternate voice revealing what happened, confessing how it felt, and deducing moral lessons. | 0689318308 |
| Broken Bridge | Banks, Lynne Reid | Morrow Junior Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | A sensitive look at the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict opens with the murder of an American teen in Israel. In this sequel (25 years later) to One More River, the extended family faces the consequences along with relevant politics, minimum violence and romance. | 0688135951 |
| Look to the Hills | Krantz, Hazel | Jewish Publication Society | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | Local color fills this romance set in late 19th century Colorado which details a thriving Reform Jewish community and the origin of the Jewish Hospital. A chart explains real and imagined characters. | 0827605528 |
| But Can the Phoenix Sing? | Laird, Christa | Greenwillow Books | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | An angry teen discovers the incredible details of his stern stepfather's partisan career during World War II in a wide-ranging story that contains heroic information scantily covered in YA fiction. | 0688136125 |
| Days of Judgment: The World War II War Crimes Trials | Morin, Isobel V. | Millbrook | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | This is a clear, concise evaluation of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. Photographs and no-frills vocabulary combine to weigh facts, sift results, recall prevailing passions and establish contemporary relevance. | 1562944428 |
| Fat Chance | Newman, Lesléa | G.P. Putnam's | 1994 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | Through diary entries, a teen recounts her struggles to lose weight, hide her bulimia from her mother, find a boyfriend and a career. It's a mainstream novel with a comfortably Jewish heroine, humorous and moving. | 0399227601 |
| The Lady with the Hat | Orlev, Uri & l Halkin, Hille | Houghton Mifflin | 1995 | 1995 | Notable | Young Adult | A teen survivor in Poland joins a group of young people headed for a Palestine kibbutz unaware that his sole living relative, now an English citizen, is looking for him. Readers follow an exciting man hunt. | 0395699576 |
| The Always Prayer Shawl | Oberman, Sheldon & Lewin, Ted | Boyds Mill Press | 1994 | 1994 | Winner | Picture Book | A prayer shawl is handed down from grandfather to grandson in this story of Jewish tradition and the passage of generations. | 0140561579 pbk |
| The Shadow Children | Schnur, Steven & Tauss, Herbert | Morrow Junior Books | 1994 | 1994 | Winner | Middle Grade | While spending the summer on his grandfather's farm in the French countryside, eleven-year-old Etienne discovers a secret dating back to World War II and encounters the ghosts of Jewish children who suffered a dreadful fate under the Nazis. | 0688138314 |
| Day of Delight: A Jewish Sabbath in Ethiopia | Schur, Maxine & Pickney, Brian | Dial Books for Young Readers | 1994 | 1994 | Honor | Picture Book | Depicts a young Ethiopian Jewish boy and his family, including their typical daily routine followed by preparation for and celebration of the Sabbath. | 0803714149 |
| One Foot Ashore | Greene, Jacqueline Dembar | Walker and Company | 1994 | 1994 | Honor | Middle Grade | Arriving alone and destitute in Amsterdam in the spring of 1654, sixteen-year-old Maria Ben Lazar finds refuge and friendship in the household of the artist Rembrandt and continues to search for her parents and her younger sister. | 0802776019 pbk. |
| Northern Lights: A Hanukkah Story | Conway, Diana & Haas, Shelly O. | Kar-Ben Copies | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | Sara is grounded in a remote Eskimo village by a storm. She shares an unusual Hanukkah celebration interwoven with Eskimo customs. | 0929371798 |
| After the Flood | Geisert, Arthur | Houghton Mifflin | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | Imaginative and visually appealing to the youngest child, this is a hopeful account of Noah's family life after the ark was left on Mount Ararat. | 039566612 |
| Don't Forget | Lakin, Patricia & Rand, Ted | Tambourine Books | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | Little Sarah, wanting to bake a surprise birthday cake for her mother, learns that one must remember "bad things" so they won't happen again. The book can be shared with a child who may be too young to ask about the Holocaust. | 0688120768 |
| Tikvah Means Hope | Polacco, Patricia | Delacorte Press | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | With focus on the environment and concern for living creatures, this colorful, pastel-crayoned story interweaves Succot and Thanksgiving. Placed during the terrible Oakland fire, the cat named Tikvah symbolizes a rebirth and rebuilding of the community. | 0385320590 |
| Matzah Ball | Portnoy, Mindy Avra & Kahn, Katherine Janus | Kar-Ben Copies | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | An original Passover story, especially for boys, based on the Elijah legend. The book has an entertaining baseball theme with a moral about Jewish dietary restrictions. It will appeal to second and third graders. | 0929371682 |
| King Solomon and the Bee | Renberg, Dalia Hardof & Heller, Ruth | HarperCollins Publishers | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Picture Book | This is an adaptation of a traditional Jewish legend written decades ago by Hayyim Nahman Bialik. It is the story of a small bee who repays King Solomon for his mercy, presented with finely detailed, gloriously colorful illustrations suitable for story hour. | 0060229020 |
| The Night Crossing | Ackerman, Karen & Sayle, Elizabeth | Alfred A. Knopf | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | Mama's Sabbath candlesticks become the focal point of the suspenseful 1938 escape from Austria. Written for second and third graders, with large print and wonderful black and white pencil drawings, it is an excellent introduction to the events of the Holocaust. | 067983169X |
| Hilde and Eli: Children of the Holocaust | Adler, David A. & Ritz, Karen | Holiday House | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | A moving introduction to the Holocaust through an account of the short lives of two young victims. Hilde's life in Frankfurt and Eli's in rural Czechoslovakia under the Nazi onslaught are depicted through straightforward text and subtly toned illustrations. | 3823410919 |
| Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust. | Bachrach, Susan D. | Little Brown and Company | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | A photo and textbook of many individual lives drawn from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Collection of artifacts, photos, maps, and histories. The book presents powerfully documented stories of people who did and did not survive. Complete with bibliography, glossary and index. | 031669264 |
| The Old Brown Suitcase | Boraks-Nemetz, Lillian | BenSimon Publications | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | Documentary fiction written by a Polish Holocaust survivor who made it to Canada with her parents in 1947. The story works on the problems of adjustment and resettlement for a teenaged girl who must deal with her trauma of the war years. | 0914539108 |
| Make a Wish Molly | Cohen, Barbara & Jones, Jan Naimo | Doubleday Books for Young Readers | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | A Passover sequel to Molly's Pilgrim (published posthumously) this story is about the alienation of a Jewish child in a strange, new land, compounded by the restrictions of Jewish dietary laws. This elementary school level story highlights realistic childhood experiences and feelings and will be excellent for classroom discussion. | 038531079X |
| Myriam Mendilow, Mother of Jerusalem | Cytron, Barry and Phyllis | Lerner Publications | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | The life of Myriam Mendilow is a monument to the values of persistent hard work and creative imagination. Written for grades five and up, it is about the founder of Jerusalem's Lifeline for the Old projects, a modern day Jewish heroine. | 0822549190 |
| The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays | Drucker, Malka & Patz, Nancy | Little, Brown and Company | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | This is a beautifully presented collection of favorite, previously published stories, poems and songs assembled to help parents and teachers share ideas and values crucial to each Jewish holiday, with children of all ages. The book includes chapters of Tu B'Shvat, Yom HaShoah and Yom HaAtzma'ut. | 0316193437 |
| The Passover Journey: A Seder Companion | Goldin, Barbara Diamond & Waldman, Neil | Pengiun Group | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | Explained as an annual journey, the Seder, both ancient and current, is made meaningful for children in the third grade and older. The artwork is exquisite, creating a treasured volume of information. | 0670824216 |
| Grey Striped Shirt: How Grandma and Grandpa Survived the Holocaust | Jules, Jacqueline & Cressy, Michael | Alef Design Group | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | A large print, comparatively gentle Holocaust story, told for third and fourth graders, brings out the thoughts and feelings of survivors. It underlines the message "we will not forget." | 1881283062 |
| Escape from Egypt | Levitin, Sonia | Little, Brown and Company | 1994 | 1994 | Notable | Middle Grade | An exciting, imaginative retelling of the Exodus expanded and embroidered with drama, love and serious discussion of religious belief. It is well written with finely developed fictional as well as historical characters, suitable both for young and more mature adults. | 0316522732 |
| The Uninvited Guest | Jaffe, Nina & Savadier, Elivia | Scholastic | 1993 | 1993 | Winner | Picture Book | Includes background information and retellings of traditional tales from Jewish folklore and legend related to major holidays, such as Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, and Purim. | 0590446533 |
| Sworn Enemies | Matas, Carol | Bantam Doubleday Dell | 1993 | 1993 | Winner | Middle Grade | In nineteenth-century Russia, betrayed by a fellow Jew, sixteen-year-old Aaron is taken by officers of the Czar and forced into military service. | 0533083260 |
| Neve Shalom Wahat Al-Salam: Oasis of Peace | Dolphin, Laurie & Dolphin, Ben | Scholastic | 1993 | 1993 | Honor | Picture Book | Text and photos present the lives of two boys, one Jewish and one Arab, who attend school in a unique community near Jerusalem where Jews and Arabs live together in peace. | 0590457993 |
| A Candle for Grandpa | Techner, David & Techner, Judith & Iskowitz, Joel | UAHC Press | 1993 | 1993 | Honor | Picture Book | A young boy describes the events surrounding the death of his grandfather including his and his family’s feelings of grief and the Jewish funeral service that they participate in. Also includes answers to frequently asked questions regarding death and funerals | 0807405078 |
| Raoul Wallenberg: The Man Who Stopped Death | Linnea, Sharon | Jewish Publication Society | 1993 | 1993 | Honor | Middle Grade | Traces the life of the Swedish diplomat who saved Hungarian Jews during World War II and then mysteriously disappeared after the Russians occupied Budapest | 0827604483 pbk. |
| The Kingdom of the Singing Birds | Aroner, Miriam & Haas, Shelly O. | Kar-Ben Copies | 1993 | 1993 | Notable | Picture Book | A beautifully illustrated story of Rabbi Zusya, wise in the ways of nature, and of a young king who did not understand that birds must be free in order to sing. A Hasidic tale teaching honesty and courage | 0929371437 |
| The Gift | Brodmann, Aliana & Carnabuci, Anthony | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | 1993 | 1993 | Notable | Picture Book | Through tender, muted illustrations and carefully chosen descriptive text, the joy of giving tzedakah is beautifully taught for first through third grades. | 0671751107 |
| Blessed Are You | Edwards, Michelle | Lothrop, Lee & Shepard | 1993 | 1993 | Notable | Picture Book | A collection of colorfully illustrated Jewish blessings that express joy, grief, and praise. | 068810759 |
| David and Goliath | Fisher, Leonard | Holiday House | 1993 | 1993 | Notable | Picture Book | Well-detailed, sensitively handled text of this dramatic confrontation. Suitable for both Jewish and non-Jewish children of a very young age. | 082340997< |