January 2023
Jewish Voices for Kids
Biography and Nonfiction | Fiction | Graphic Novels | Picture Books
Biography and Nonfiction
The Anne Frank Case: Simon Wiesenthal's Search for the Truth by Susan Goldman Rubin; illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Grades 6 - 8 In 1958, in Linz, Austria, demonstrators interrupted a performance of The Diary of Anne Frank, claiming that Anne Frank never existed. Determined to prove otherwise, Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, set out to find the Gestapo officer who arrested the Franks years before. |
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Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty by Linda Glaser; illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
Grades 4 - 5 Linda Glaser recounts the life story of Emma Lazarus, the Jewish American poet and humanitarian who contributed the famous verse, “The New Colossus,” to the construction of the Statue of Liberty. |
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RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone by Nadine Epstein; introduction by Ruth Bader Ginsburg; illustrated by Bee Johnson
Grades 3 - 6 The late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg collaborated with journalist Nadine Epstein to present inspiring biographical sketches of noteworthy Jewish women, from Biblical heroines to lawyers, writers, and scientists. |
Fiction
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Helen John
Grades 3 - 6 Sydney Taylor’s 1951 novel, the first in a five-book series, tells the story of a Jewish family living on New York’s East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. Although they are far from wealthy, the five sisters take joy in their everyday adventures in their home and around the city. |
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Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
Grades 4 - 8 Ellen, an autistic thirteen-year-old, navigates a new city, shifting friendships, a growing crush, and her queer and Jewish identities while on a class trip to Barcelona, Spain. |
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Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn; translated by Jeffrey Shandler
Grades 5 - 9 Taking place in Vienna, Austria two 9-year-old-boys, classmates and best friends -- one Jewish, the other not -- suddenly find themselves without homes or families on the eve of World War II. |
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Refugee by Alan Gratz
Grades 5 - 7 Three interwoven storylines follow a Jewish boy in 1930s Germany; a Cuban girl trying to leave her country in the 1990s; and a Syrian boy escaping his country in 2015, ending with unexpected connections. |
Graphic Novels
Chunky by Yehudi Mercado
Grades 4 - 8 In this graphic memoir, a Mexican-Jewish artist recalls his childhood struggle to fit in with his peers by reluctantly trying out for sports, and the imaginary companion who helped him figure out how to be true to himself. |
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Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword by Barry Deutsch
Grades 4 - 7 Eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg dreams of fighting dragons and spends her days honing her skills, even though there are no dragons in her Orthodox Jewish community, but when she accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, Mirka just might win her dragon-fighting sword after all. |
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White Bird by RJ Palacio
Grades 4 - 6 Julian, the bully from the award-winning children's novel Wonder, learns the story of his grandmother's life during the Holocaust. |
Picture Books
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman : A Story About Knitting and Love by Michelle Edwards; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
Grades PreK - 2 A sweet story about a young Mexican-American girl who performs a mitzvah by knitting a gift for her elderly Jewish neighbor/knitting teacher. |
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The Mitten String by Jennifer Rosner; illustrated by Kristina Swarner
Grades K - 3 Lovely story of a family who knit mittens for the entire village, including a very special pair for a Deaf woman and her baby. |
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New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story by April Halprin Wayland; illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
Grades K - 3 As he prepares to celebrate the Jewish New Year with his family, a young boy reflects upon the mistakes that he’s made during the past year, and the promise of a new beginning. |
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Welcoming Elijah : a Passover Tale with a Tail by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Susan Gal
Grades PreK - 3 Inside the house, a boy prepares for the Passover ritual of welcoming Elijah-- meanwhile, outside the house, a kitten lingers in the cold. |
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