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July 2008– June 2009

Adult (click here for Juvenile books)

The Jewish values finder : a guide to values in Jewish children's literature / Linda Silver

For the Association for Jewish Libraries, a retired Judaic librarian presents an annotated list of recommended children's books for a library collection in Jewish schools and homes that is an outgrowth of her online database. Following an introduction to the definition and history of Jewish children's literature in the US, Silver lists books highlighting a particular value (e.g., honor and respect, learning and wisdom, peoplehood) and short story collections illustrating multiple values. Titles listed by grade level include author, publisher, general premise, plot, and a critical evaluation; essential recommendations are highlighted. The book includes a glossary; information on Jewish holy days and festivals, the Sydney Taylor book awards, Jewish publishers; and indexing by author/ illustrator, title, and subject.  

Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices : Power / Dorff, Elliot N.

How do we use power once we’ve gained it? Is it completely for our individual benefit, or do we use it to help our neighborhoods, or society at-large? What kinds of decisions must CEOs and business owners make regarding suppliers and customers? How should bosses treat workers? Teachers treat students? Parents treat children? Government treats citizens?

Power dynamics affect people on a political level, a social level, and a deeply personal level as well. The newest volume in the Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices series examines these dynamics and includes essays by such fine contributors as U.S. Representative Henry Waxman, NBC Universal Television-West Coast President Marc Graboff, and author and scholar James Diamond.

To Heal a Fractured World : The Ethics of Responsibility / Sacks, Jonathan

The erudite author, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, contends that all people have to be both ethically and socially responsible, and supports this through examples of people he's met or read about as well as through biblical and Hasidic tales. His analysis of these stories and their lessons is beautifully informed by philosophy, psychology, theology, poetry and literature.

Code of Jewish Ethics : Love Your Neighbor As Yourself / Telushkin, Joseph Rabbi

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the best-known commandment in the Bible. Yet we rarely hear anyone talk about how to apply these words in daily life. In this landmark work, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, one of the premier scholars and thinkers of our time, gives both Jews and non-Jews an extraordinary summation of what Jewish tradition teaches about putting these words into practice.

Writing with great clarity and simplicity as well as with deep wisdom, Telushkin covers topics such as love and kindness, hospitality, visiting the sick, comforting mourners, charity, relations between Jews and non-Jews, compassion for animals, tolerance, self-defense, and end-of-life issues. This second volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics written in the English language is breathtaking in its scope and will undoubtedly influence readers for generations to come. It offers hundreds of practical examples from the Torah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and both ancient and modern rabbinic commentaries–as well as contemporary anecdotes–all teaching us how to care for one another each and every day.

Jewish Bible : A JPS Guide / Jewish Publication Society (EDT)

This new volume in the acclaimed JPS Guides series is an invaluable companion to the Jewish Bible, providing readers with ready access to important facts and Bible basics:

• how the Bible became the "Bible"; its origins, content, and organization
• distinctions between the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) and Christian Bibles
• a short history of Bible translations, and how they differ
• Bible commentaries
• storytelling, poetry, law, prophecy, and Wisdom literature
• popular methods of Bible study
• finding meaning through midrash

In addition, there are summaries of all the biblical books; dozens of text boxes; an extensive glossary of Bible terms, places, and people; maps, charts, and tables; and large foldout timelines and family trees--all in color.  

How to Read the Bible : A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now / Kugel, James L.

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the "quiet revolution" of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today's researchers differ from what people have always thought.

Five Books of Moses / Alter, Robert

Through a distinguished career of critical scholarship and translation, Robert Alter has equipped us to read the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, cohesive work of literature. In this landmark work, Alter's masterly translation and probing commentary combine to give contemporary readers the definitive edition of The Five Books.

Genesis-The Book With Seventy Faces : A Guide for the Family / Takac, Esther

Written in multiple layers, this book encourages the family to read and discuss the weekly Torah portion together. Each page includes a lyrical retelling of the biblical story as well as a layer of commentary for children and parents.

Treasury of Judaism : A New Collection and Translation of Essential Texts: Theology / Neusner, Jacob

Focusing on the formative period, this anthology sets forth teachings of Rabbinic Judaism in its classical, formative age in late antiquity, the first six centuries of the Common Era. The topical abstracts, which deal with theological expositions, are presented in documentary sequence from the Mishnah, ca. 200, through the Bavli or Talmud of Babylonia, ca. 600.

How to run a traditional Jewish household / Blu Greenberg.

A practical guide to understanding and incorporating the ways of Orthodox Judaism into one's contemporary Jewish household

Time to Every Purpose : Letters to a Young Jew / Sarna, Jonathan D.

The author uses the Jewish calendar to reflect on the major themes of Jewish life as expressed in a full year of holidays in an essential, concise introduction to the major practices of Jewish life.

Seder stories : Passover thoughts on food, family & freedom /[compiled by] Nancy Rips

Seder Stories contains the memories of childhood Seders from 101 Jewish people. Some of them are famous, like Rabbi Harold Kushner and attorney Alan Dershowitz. Others are famous only within their circle of friends and family. Some of the stories are funny, some poignant, some thought provoking and worth reading. All of them are charming.

Branching out : your Tu b'Shevat Haggadah / [written and designed by Nina Woldin

The first text that was used for a Tu B’Shevat seder was P’ri Etz Hadar which means “Fruit of the Goodly Tree.” Branching Out: Your Tu B'Shevat Haggadah includes some ideas from that book, combined with modern readings, activities, discussion questions and games. Choose those that suit your group -- there is something for every age.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism / Blech, Benjamin

From the Torah to the High Holy Days, a neophyte's tour of an ancient but living religion covers all the basic practices and beliefs of modern Judaism as it is currently practiced around the world, discussing the major denominations of Judaism, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and new concerns for the twenty-first century.

Doing Jewish Theology : God, Torah and Israel in Modern Judaism / Gillman, Neil

A respected scholar, theologian, and winner of the National Jewish Book Award offers an engaging examination of the central themes of Judaism, providing extraordinary insights into Jewish identity, theology, and one's relationship with God.

Sacred Fragments : Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew / Gillman, Neil

This is an imposing overview of contemporary Jewish theology for modern Jews. Based on courses that Rabbi Gillman taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, it offers a lucid account of current Jewish religious beliefs and doctrines across the entire spectrum, from supernaturalist Orthodoxy on the right to naturalist Reconstructionism on the left. Key topics such as God's existence, revelation, theodicy, religious authority, ritual, prayer, and eschatology are fascinatingly explored.

Traces Of God : Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life Gillman, Neil

A theologian probes for clues that will help answer the deepest questions of one's spiritual search, exploring how one knows if God really exists, how one knows when God is present, and how much control one has over their own destiny.

Death of Death : Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought / Gillman, Neil

Does death end life, or is it the passage from one stage of life to another? In The Death of Death, noted theologian Neil Gillman offers readers an original and compelling argument that Judaism, a religion often thought to pay little attention to the afterlife, delivers a deathblow to death itself. This new work is an intellectual and spiritual milestone for all of us interested in the meaning of life, as well as the meaning of death. Combining astute scholarship with keen historical, theological, and liturgical insights, Gillman traces the evolution of Jewish thought about death and the afterlife.  

[Miḳdash m’aṭ] = Small sanctuary : Shabbat shacharit service / notes...

In a stunning manifestation of hiddur mitzvah “beautification of the commandment “this new siddur brings a heightened level of personal meaning to Shabbat morning prayer, in a strikingly attractive visual form. Mikdash M'at will be a magnet for the learning worshipper, while engaging those more experienced at their own levels. Mikdash M'at has been designed especially for small groups: minyanim, havurot, and learners. Accessible commentary accompanies each prayer, allowing worshippers to explore the meaning of the prayer and its place in the service. At the same time, Mikdash M'at retains the siddur canon so that the prayer service can be experienced by all worshippers.

contemporary Jewish household

JPS commentary on the Haggadah : historical introduction, translation, and commentary / Joseph Tabory

This book features an extended introduction by Tabory, the classic Hebrew haggadah text side by side with its English translation, and Tabory's clear and insightful critical-historical commentary.

Conservative Judaism : The New Century / Gillman, Neil

Through history, photographs, and personal recollection, Conservative Judaism vividly recreates the dramatic history of a movement whose impact changed the course of American Jewry.

Tree of souls : the mythology of Judaism / Howard Schwartz

The first anthology of Jewish mythology in English, Tree of Souls reveals a mythical tradition as rich and as fascinating as any in the world. Drawing from the Bible, the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud and Midrash, the kabbalistic literature, medieval folklore, Hasidic texts, and oral lore collected in the modern era, Schwartz has gathered together nearly 700 of the key Jewish myths.

Introduction to Islam for Jews / Firestone, Reuven

Firestone (Medieval Judaism and Islam, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles) focuses on issues regarding Islam that are of particular importance to Jews, or should be if they are not, he adds. Therefore, his account includes some topics not in introductions for wider readership, and does not include some that are. His broad themes are Islamic history in brief; God, the Qur'an, and Islamic law; and the Umma and Islam in practice. He appends some religious terminology that Islam and Judaism share, and indexes passages from the Bible and the Qur'an as well as subjects generally.

Jewish Body / Konner, Melvin

Melvin Konner, a renowned doctor and anthropologist, takes the measure of the “Jewish body,” considering sex, circumcision, menstruation, and even those most elusive and controversial of microscopic markers–Jewish genes. But this is not only a book that examines the human body through the prism of Jewish culture. Konner looks as well at the views of Jewish physiology held by non-Jews, and the way those views seeped into Jewish thought. He describes in detail the origins of the first nose job, and he writes about the Nazi ideology that categorized Jews as a public health menace on par with rats or germs.  

Jewish marital status : a Hadassah study / edited by Carol Diament.

The sensitive and thought-provoking essays in Jewish Marital Status, embracing a broad spectrum of viewpoints on various lifestyles, include first-hand accounts, sociological studies, interviews with rabbis and expositions of halachah.

Ellis Island : gateway to the American dream / Pamela Reeves.

The history of Ellis Island comes to life through an extraordinary collection of personal accounts, insightful commentary, and haunting photographs.

Rabbi Harvey Rides Again : A Graphic Novel of Jewish Folktales Let Loose in the Wild West / Sheinkin, Steve

Rabbi Harvey protects the streets of Elk Spring, Colorado, using only his wit and wisdom, and faces challenges from a luckless gold miner named Abigail and the father and son outlaw team of "Big Milt" and Wolfie Wasserman.

Leaves from the Garden of Eden : One Hundred Classic Jewish Folktales / Schwartz, Howard

In Leaves from the Garden of Eden, Howard Schwartz, a three-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, has gathered together one hundred of the most astonishing and luminous stories from Jewish folk tradition.

Just as Schwartz's award-winning book Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism collected the essential myths of Jewish tradition, Leaves from the Garden of Eden collects one hundred essential Jewish tales. As imaginative as the Arabian Nights, these stories invoke enchanted worlds, demonic realms, and mystical experiences. The four most popular types of Jewish tales are gathered here—fairy tales, folktales, supernatural tales, and mystical tales—taking readers on heavenly journeys, lifelong quests, and descents to the underworld.

Resurrecting Hebrew / Stavans, Ilan

A study of the resurrection of the Hebrew language from extinction focuses on the role of Eliezer ben Yehuda in the nineteenth-century revival of Hebrew, as well as the part language plays in Jewish survival, the origins of Israel, Zionism, the Diaspora, and the idea of a promised land.

Life, Faith, and Cancer : Jewish Journeys Through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery / Kohn, Douglas J.

When the diagnosis of illness shatters the veneer of our normal, comfortable, predictable course of life, we are embittered and confused. Why me?; is a question that reverberates uncontrollably in our heads. Cancer, especially, provokes such a response. With time, Why me is replaced by, What now?; Today, more and more people are surviving cancer. How do we keep going afterward? How do we maintain the connection to Judaism and God that we once had? Do we need to rethink everything we once unwaveringly believed in? This moving volume of essays written by rabbis, cantors, and other Jewish professionals who have all experienced cancer deal with these questions and many more. Their personal stories are interwoven with Jewish texts and teachings.

Hebrew manuscript painting / Joseph Gutmann.

These magnificent pages contain illustrations of Jewish customs and holiday rituals in manuscripts from Germany, France, Spain and Italy. 40 color plates with commentaries and 19 black-and-white figures.

Entertaining America : Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting / Hoberman, J.

Entertaining America is a captivating look at one of the longest-running and most provocative public discussions in America: the relationship between the nation's Jews and its entertainment media. This colorfully written, lavishly illustrated book surveys how Jews have participated in--and been identified with--American movies, radio, and television from the nickelodeon era at the turn of the twentieth century to the present day.

Throughout, the tone is lively, the design is playful, and key points are visually enhanced by stills, publicity photos, and memorabilia. This anthology of original analyses and primary texts covers a wide range of topics, including the multiple versions of The Jazz Singer, the saga of the Hollywood movie moguls, the irrepressible Goldbergs of radio and television fame, the representation of the Holocaust, how Charlie Chaplin and other non-Jewish stars became "virtual Jews," and the dazzling success of the television series Seinfeld. There is also an illustrated gallery of more than twenty Jewish-American stars from Theda Bara to Adam Sandler.

Jewish Stories from Heaven and Earth : Inspiring Tales to Nourish the Heart and Soul / Elkins, Dov Peretz

From exile to rebirth, from degradation to renaissance, the Jewish People has undergone every human and emotion that God created. In this inspiring collection of stories, award-winning anthologist Dov Peretz Elkins captures the best and worst of Jewish experience in these spine-tingling tales of courage, devotion, passion and extraordinary achievement.

Elkins taps the famous and the not-so-famous, world-renowned figures and the little-known “person next door,” for stories that illustrate the wonder, meaning, and purpose of life as viewed through the lens of Judaism’s core values. Though drawn from the Jewish tradition, these universal stories of kindness, hope, faith and discovery will intrigue the minds and warm the hearts of people from all walks of life.

American Jewish Fiction : A JPS Guide / Lambert, Josh

This new volume in the JPS Guides series is a fiction reader's dream: a guide to 125 remarkable works of fiction. The selection includes a wide range of classic American Jewish novels and story collections, from 1867 to the present, selected by the author in consultation with a panel of literary scholars and book industry professionals.

Roth, Mailer, Kellerman, Chabon, Ozick, Heller, and dozens of other celebrated writers are here, with their most notable works. Each entry includes a book summary, with historical context and background on the author.

Suggestions for further reading point to other books that match readers' interests and favorite writers. And the introduction is a fascinating exploration of the history of and important themes in American Jewish Fiction, illustrating how Jewish writing in the U.S. has been in constant dialogue with popular entertainment and intellectual life.

Included in this guide are lists of book award winners; recommended anthologies; title, author, and subject indexes; and more.

Heritage : civilization and the Jews / Abba Eban

Abba Eban charts the 5,000 year old Jewish encounter with civilization, from its birth in the Mesopotamian desert to the rebirth of independence in the modern state of Israel.

Jacob's Legacy : A Genetic View of Jewish History / Goldstein, David B.

Who are the Jews? Where did they come from? What is the connection between an ancient Jewish priest in Jerusalem and today’s Israeli sunbather on the beaches of Tel Aviv? These questions stand at the heart of this engaging book. Geneticist David Goldstein analyzes modern DNA studies of Jewish populations and examines the intersections of these scientific findings with the history (both biblical and modern) and oral tradition of the Jews. With a special gift for translating complex scientific concepts into language understandable to all, Goldstein delivers an accessible, personal, and fascinating book that tells the history of a group of people through the lens of genetics.

A Dream of Zion : American Jews Reflect on Why Israel Matters to Them / Salkin, Jeffrey K.

The best-selling author of Putting God on the Guest List shares a diversity of views from top scholars, business leaders, authors, professionals, politicians, scientists, media personalities, and community and religious leaders, covering the entire denominational spectrum of Jewish life in America today.

Golda / Burkett, Elinor

A portrait of the former Israeli prime minister evaluates the personal and contradictory aspects of her personality behind her considerable accomplishments, offering insight into her role in establishing the Jewish homeland and the historical factors that influenced her life.

Man in the White Sharkskin Suit : My Family's Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World / Lagnado, Lucette

The daughter of a once-successful Jewish boulevardier traces her youth in post-World War II Cairo before and after Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalization of Egyptian industry, an event that caused her family to lose everything and forced them to flee to America.

Surprised by God : How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion / Ruttenberg, Danya

This memoir of a young woman's spiritual awakening and eventual path to the rabbinate tells the story of how she integrated life on the edge of the twenty-first century into the discipline of traditional Judaism without sacrificing either.

Warrior : the autobiography of Ariel Sharon / by Ariel Sharon

Profiles the often controversial figure who has served Israel as soldier and statesman, detailing his role in the formation of the country and his relations with the other leaders of Israel.

Saving Stanley : The Brickman Stories / Nadelson, Scott

In a heartwarming examination of family life, a series of interrelated short stories focuses on the spirit and resilience of the Brickmans, a Jewish family of four living in New Jersey.

The sacrifice of Tamar / Naomi Ragen

Tamar Feingold's life is haunted by the painful, yet unspoken memories of her parents' time in a Nazi concentration camp. Battling between her feelings and her religion, the secrets of her past threaten to explode and destroy everything she has.

A Pigeon and a Boy / Shalev, Meir

Mortally wounded on the battlefield during the 1948 war for Israeli independence, a young pigeon handler dispatches a final bird carrying a message to the girl he loves, while many years later, that girl's middle-aged son falls in love with a childhood friend and receives a special gift from his mother on her deathbed.

Septembers of Shiraz / Sofer, Dalia

Their serene villa life devastated by a wrongful imprisonment, the wife and children of Tehran gentleman Isaac Amin face potential betrayals within their own household and eventually plan a dangerous escape.

The commentators' Bible : the JPS Miqra'ot gedolot / Michael Carasik

First published 500 years ago as the "Rabbinic Bible," the biblical commentaries known as the Miqra'ot Gedolot have inspired and educated generations of Hebrew readers. With this edition, the voices of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, Rashbam, and other medieval commentators come alive once more, speaking in a contemporary English translation annotated and explicated for lay readers.

Each page of The Commentators' Bible contains several Hebrew verses from the book of Exodus, surrounded by both the 1917 and 1985 JPS translations and new English translations of the major commentators. This large-format volume is beautifully designed for ease of navigation among the many elements on each page, including explanatory notes and selected additional comments from the works of Bekhor Shor, Hizkuni, Abarbanel, Sforno, Gersonides, and others.

Jewish law : history, sources, principles = Ha-mishpat ha-Ivri / Menachem Elon

Assuming no prior knowledge, Elon surveys the history and basic principles of Jewish law, the legal sources and processes that enabled it to adapt, and the literary sources-ancient to contemporary-that students of Jewish law rely upon. Volume 4 focuses on the State of Israel. Elon devotes little attention to Jewish law in America, though he does treat women's issues extensively. Copious quotations from primary sources, extensive cross references, scholarly footnotes, a detailed table of contents, and a helpful glossary contribute to making this the definitive work in its field.

American Jewish year book 2006

For over a century, the Year Book has been the standard, authoritative record of events and trends in American and world Jewish life, providing reviews, analyses, reports, directories, lists, tables, calendars, and statistics.

Juvenile

A little boy named Avram / by Dina Rosenfeld

The famous tale from the Midrash of how our forefather Avraham at the early age of three, discovered the existence of the one, true G-d.

The Children's illustrated Jewish Bible / stories retold by Laaren Brown

Retells stories of the heroes and heroines from the Old Testament.

Sarah Laughs / Jules, Jacqueline

The elderly Sarah laughs in delight when she overhears three strangers tell her husband Abraham that he will soon become a father, so when a son is born to her a year later, she names him Isaac, which means "laughter."

Benjamin and the silver goblet / by Jacqueline Jules

Tells the story of Benjamin, youngest brother of Joseph, when a silver goblet is found among his belongings and he is suspected of stealing it.

Let My People Go! / Balsley, Tilda

A retelling of the story of Moses and the ten plagues sent by God to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt, in a book with color-coded text that may be used as a script for Readers Theater.

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur / Heiligman, Deborah

Describes how the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are celebrated around the world.

Passover as I remember it / written by Toby Knobel Fluek with Lillian Fleuk...

The author describes how her family prepared for and celebrated Passover in the years before World War II while living in Czernica, a small village located at that time in Poland.

My first Passover board book / [edited by] Clare Lister.

Crisp photos and preschool age-appropriate language tell the story of Passover, and describe Seder preparations, a song (with musical notation), and some of the colors of Passover (blue yarmulke, green parsley, red wine, silver candlestick). Scenes of costumed children acting out the story of Passover will help readers grasp the historical significance and rituals of the holiday.

The story of Passover / by Francis Barry Silberg

The story of how the Hebrews were set free from slavery in Egypt through the event that became known as Passover.

Hanukkah haiku / Harriet Ziefert

A traditionally Japanese poetic form is used to celebrate the eight nights of Hanukkah. There's one haiku for each night and stepped pages add one candle to the menorah every time the page is turned. The simple poetry is set off perfectly by Karla Gudeon's vibrant freewheeling artwork.

It's Israel's birthday / Ellen Dietrick

Board a make-believe plane and fly with our preschoolers to Israel to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel’s celebration of independence. The latest book in Kar-Ben's popular It's Time! series follows the young travelers as they float in the Dead Sea, munch on felafel, shop for souvenirs, and tuck prayers into the Western Wall.

A is for Abraham : A Jewish Family Alphabet / Michelson, Richard

Presents an alphabet book that covers such important Jewish people, rituals, and traditions as Bar and Bat Mitzvah, King David, Israel, klezmer music, Passover, and Tikkun Olam, from A to Z.

Richard Codor's Joyous Haggadah : the Illuminated Story of Passover by Richard Codor

The multi-layered narrative and rituals in this haggadah appeal to the eye, the imagination, the funny-bone, and the occasion. Beginning with the prequel of the Joseph story, continuing until the Israelites gain their freedom, and ending with more symbolic rituals and song, the combination of telling the story and conducting the Seder is presented clearly with charming and wacky humor (in both words and visuals). The cartoon-like illustrations not only enhance the story but will also add to a memorable and joy-filled shared family experience!

As Good as Anybody : Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom / Michelson, Richard

Provides the story of the friendship of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and their collective efforts to end discrimination through their non-violent peace protests and marches.

Ellis Island / Elaine Landau.

Discusses why immigrants came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the difficulties of the journey, the establishment of the Ellis Island Immigration Station and what went on there, and its decline and restoration.

Abraham's Search for God / Jules, Jacqueline

Tells how Abraham, considered the founder of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, was dissatisfied with the religious practice of praying to idols and came to believe in God.

Portraits of Jewish American Heroes / Drucker, Malka

Examines the influence on the nation of twenty Jewish inventors, educators, artists, civil right activists, and scientists, who lived from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century. Spanning three centuries, the influence and impact on the nation by twenty Jewish artists, inventors, civil right activists, and scientists are examined and celebrated in an informative book with multi-media illustrations.

Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present / by David J. Goldman

Teeming with fascinating facts, statistics, and historical anecdotes, athletes from the entire spectrum of popular sports are featured- from "Hammerin' Hank" Greenberg to pro-wrestler Bill Goldberg.

Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass : Igniting the Nazi War Against Jews / Fitzgerald, Stephanie

Offers an account of the November 1938 rampage by Nazi storm troopers and Hitler Youth through Jewish neighborhoods, during which property was looted and destroyed and Jews were beaten and deported to concentration camps.

Readers can follow the action as it unfolded in a series of narrated books that brings to life major events from history through first-hand accounts, quotes from participants, diagrams, photographs, and timelines.

Memories of Babi / Siegal, Aranka

While on her yearly visit to her grandmother Babi at her farm in a Ukrainian village far away from her city home, Piri learns valuable lessons about life as she works hard on the farm, witnesses the struggles of the less fortunate, and comes to realize that some of the simplest pleasures are the most treasured of all.

Bat-Chen Diaries / Shahak, Bat-chen

Presents the diaries of a young Israeli girl in which she documents her feelings about her family, friends, school, and the tumultuous political events surrounding her before her untimely death at the age of fifteen in a 1996 suicide bombing.

Keeping Israel Safe : Serving the Israel Defense Forces / Sofer, Barbara

Discusses the history, training, and structure of Israel's armed forces through stories told by four recruits from the Air Force, Navy, Army, and National Service.

Anne Frank : the young writer who told the world her story / Anne Kramer.

An introduction to Anne Frank and the circumstances that affected her life and brought about her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

The boy who dared / Susan Campbell Bartoletti

In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

The Truth About My Bat Mitzvah / Baskin, Nora Raleigh

With a Jewish mother and non-Jewish dad, Caroline finds herself struggling with who she needs to claim herself to be, yet when her grandmother dies and leaves her a Star of David necklace, Caroline attempts to reconnect with her family's religious ties and the importance of its cultural traditions.

13 / Jason Robert Brown & Dan Elish

Almost thirteen-year-old Evan Goldman learns what it means to be a man when his parents separate and he and his mother move from New York City to Appleton, Indiana, right before his bar mitzvah.

Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride / Cohen, Deborah Bodin

A sweet and creative Rosh Hashanah story, based on the first historic train ride from Jaffa to Jerusalem in 1892, follows engineer Ari as he collects goodies on his journey to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain seder / by Bryna J. Fireside

A group of Jewish soldiers, and three freed slaves, have a Passover Seder in 1862 on the battlefields of the Civil War.

Ellie's Shabbat Surprise / by Beveley Mach Geller

In this beautiful Shabbat story, Ellie has a problem. She has been practicing a special song to sing in her Shabbat group. But what has happened to her voice? It sounds funny kind of rough and low. How will she be able to sing? Find out how she deals with the problem in a unique and inventive way, and join Ellie and her family from the Sabbath s beginning, Shabbat shalom, until its end, Shavua tov

Nathan's Hanukkah Bargain / Greene, Jacqueline Dembar

Nathan's unsuccessful search for a Hanukkah menorah takes a new turn when his Grandpa teaches him about old-fashioned bargaining.

Where is the afikomen? / by Judye Groner and Madeline Wikler

Look for the hidden matzah -- is it under, on top, behind, or next to? A toddler treasure hunt for Passover.

Castle on Hester Street / Heller, Linda

Julie's grandmother deflates many of her husband's tall tales about their journey from Russia to America and their life on Hester Street, in a 25th anniversary edition of a favorite immigrant story released with new illustrations.

My Chocolate Year : A Novel with 12 Recipes / Herman, Charlotte

In 1945 Chicago, as her Jewish family anxiously awaits news of relatives left behind in Europe, ten-year-old Dorrie learns new recipes in the hope of winning a baking competition at school. Includes recipes for various foods, from chocolate pudding to chocolate mandelbread.

Brooklyn Bridge / Hesse, Karen

In 1903 Brooklyn, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's life changes for the worse when his parents, Russian immigrants, invent the teddy bear and turn their apartment into a factory, while nearby the glitter of Coney Island contrasts with the dismal lives of children dwelling under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Take care of me / written by Chana Rivka Jacobs

The story of Moishy the mezuzah as it keeps the Fine family safe from harm.

Goodnight Sh'ma / Jules, Jacqueline

A Jewish child gets ready for bed and says the traditional "Sh'ma" prayer, in a beautiful board book with rhyming text.

The Mysterious Guests : A Sukkot Story / Kimmel, Eric A

Three mysterious guests appear at generous but impoverished Ezra's table on Sukkoth and bless him, while they bring curses upon his rich but selfish brother Eben.

Hanukkah Mice / Kroll, Steven

A family of mice enjoys the doll house and furnishings that Rachel receives as gifts on the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Jodie's Hanukkah Dig / Levine, Anna

Jodie dreams of one day becoming a famous archaeologist and when her father takes her to visit a dig in Modiin, Israel, home of the Maccabees, she is uniquely able to help.

Freefall / Anna Levine

As war between Israel and Lebanon breaks out in 2006 and her compulsory service in the Israeli army draws near, teenaged Aggie considers joining an elite female combat unit.

Strange Relations / Levitin, Sonia

Thinking her summer with her Aunt Carole and her family in Hawaii is going to be filled with sun, fun, and surf, Marne quickly discovers otherwise after her aunt tells her of her life-changing marriage to a Chassidic rabbi and introduces her to her traditions and culture through inspiring, thought-provoking lessons.

The Mozart Question / Morpurgo, Michael

A young journalist goes to Venice, Italy, to interview a famous violinist, who tells the story of his parents' incarceration by the Nazis, and explains why they can no longer listen to the music of Mozart.

Harvest of Light / Ofanansky, Allison

An Israeli family raises olives and uses some of the oil to light their Hanukkah menorah.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie / Pressler, Mirjam

When Johanna discovers that her grandfather's company--and her family's wealth--was founded on injustice due to the anti-Semitic laws of the Third Reich during the Nazi regime, she must make a life-altering decision.

Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah / Rouss, Sylvia A.

A young spider wants to join in as he watches a family prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah

Sammy Spider's First Shavuot / Rouss, Sylvia A

As Sammy Spider watches Mrs. Shapiro follow a recipe to make blintzes for Shavuot, young readers will learn how the Torah, which was given on Shavuot, is also a "recipe for life."

Sammy Spider's First Sukkot / Rouss, Sylvia A.

Sammy Spider learns about the festival of Sukkot by watching the Shapiro family build their sukkah.

The glass menorah and other stories for Jewish holidays / Maida Silverman

Eight stories, describing the way the Berg family celebrates various Jewish holidays, including the Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Simchat Torah, and Hanukkah.

Honey Cake / Stuchner, Joan Betty

David and his family live in Denmark during the Nazi occupation, until September 1943 when their neighbors help smuggle them to Sweden to escape Hitler's orders to send the Danish Jews to concentration camps. Includes a recipe for honey cake, typically made to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

The Yankee at the Seder / by Elka Weber

As a Confederate family prepares for Passover the day after the Civil War has ended, a Yankee arrives on their Virginia doorstep and is invited to share their meal, to the dismay of ten-year-old Jacob. Includes historical notes about Corporal Myer Levy, on whom the story is based, and his prominent Philadelphia family.

Naming Liberty / Yolen, Jane

In parallel stories, a Ukrainian Jewish family prepares to emigrate to the United States in the late 1800s, and Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designs, raises funds for, and builds the Statue of Liberty in honor of the United States' centennial.

Bottle in the Gaza Sea / Zenatti, Valerie

After a random act of terrorism, Tal Levine, a seventeen-year-old girl from Jerusalem, writes a letter, puts it in a bottle, and sends it to Gaza, which forever changes her life--and the life of the young Palestinian man who reads her message.

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