Children's books with a Jewish theme: Recently received
This guide lists children's books and young adult literature in Cubberley Education Library featuring Jewish lands, people, and culture.
Recently received
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An etrog from across the sea by Deborah Bodin Cohen; Kerry Olitzky; Stacey Dressen McQueen (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2024Ages 4-9; K-Gr.4; Sydney Taylor Papa has promised to bring home a perfect etrog for Sukkot from his journey across the sea. Leah and Aaron go to the docks every day to wait for his ship. But Rosh Hashanah passes, then Yom Kippur, and still Papa's ship doesn't arrive. Grandpapa Luis comforts Leah with a beautiful silver etrog cup, but will her papa return in time for Sukkot, bringing the promised etrog? -
Across so many seas by Ruth Behar
Publication Date: 2024Lexile measure 840; Ages 10 and up; Gr.3-7; Newbery award honor; 2025; Sydney Taylor Middle Grade Literature, Silver Medal Award 2025.
In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Benvenida and her family are banished from Spain for being Jewish, and must flee the country or be killed. They journey by foot and by sea, eventually settling in Istanbul. Over four centuries later, in 1923, shortly after the Turkish war of independence, Reina's father disowns her for a small act of disobedience. He ships her away to live with an aunt in Cuba, to be wed in an arranged marriage when she turns fifteen. In 1961, Reina's daughter, Alegra, is proud to be a brigadista, teaching literacy in the countryside for Fidel Castro. Finally, in 2003, Alegra's daughter, Paloma, is fascinated by all the journeys that had to happen before she could be born. A keeper of memories, she's thrilled by the opportunity to learn more about her heritage on a family trip to Spain, where she makes a momentous discovery. -
Sharing shalom by Danielle Sharkan; Selina Alko (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2024Ages 4-8; PrK-Gr.3.
A girl's community joins hands to fight intolerance in this richly illustrated picture book that sings with hope for young readers. Leila loves going to Hebrew school and hearing stories of mighty kings and quick-witted queens. Being Jewish is a part of her story, and learning Hebrew connects her to her ancestors. L'dor V'dor! From one generation to the next! But when Leila's synagogue gets vandalized, she isn't sure what she wants. Something that used to make her feel special now just makes her feel different. Then Leila's classmates and community come together to repair the synagogue. This compassionate gesture makes Leila realize that everyone around her is different--and that's a beautiful thing. Lyrical text and gorgeous, textured collage art by award-winning illustrator Selina Alko enhance this uplifting story about honoring a diverse community. Back matter provides a springboard for age-appropriate conversations about inclusion and bridge-building between cultures. Perfect for fans of All Are Welcome and The Proudest Blue. A Sydney Taylor Notable Book National Jewish Book Award - Tracy and Larry Brown Family Award Winner An NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book -
Night owls by A. R. Vishny
Publication Date: 2024Ages 13 and up; Gr.8 and up; Sydney Taylor book award, winner 2025.
In this thrilling paranormal YA romance debut steeped in folklore, two estries--owl-shifting female vampires from Jewish tradition--face New York's monstrous underworld to save the girl one of them loves with help from the boy one of them fears before they are, all of them, lost forever. -
Everybody's book: the story of the Sarajevo Haggadah by Linda Leopold Strauss; Tim Smart (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2024Ages 4-8; PreK-gr.2; Sydney Taylor notable book, 2025.
This true story begins long ago in Spain, where a bride and groom are gifted a hand-painted haggadah. It is used at many Passover seders until the Spanish Inquisition when the family escapes. The haggadah survived for centuries in different countries. Scholars declared it a treasure. To protect it from the Nazis, a curator smuggled it out of a Sarajevo museum and hid it in a village mosque. On Passover of 1995, with bombs exploding overhead, the Bosnian president brought out the book from an underground vault to show the world that it was safe. The Sarajevo Haggadah has become a symbol of people of many faiths and cultures working together. -
Golem crafters by Emi Watanabe Cohen
Publication Date: 2024Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
On the same day Faye's brother comes home with a black eye, a package arrives from a relative they have never met. It's a slab of clay: some weird kind of bar mitzvah present? The strange gift turns out to be an invitation to learn a craft that has been in their family for centuries. And it's not pottery. Faye and Shiloh are driven to New York City by their grandfather for a spring break filled with magical instruction. -
When we flew away: a novel of Anne Frank, before the diary by Alice Hoffman
Publication Date: 2024Lexile measure 940; Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Alice Hoffman delivers a stunning novel about one of contemporary history's most acclaimed figures, exploring the little-known details of Anne Frank's life before she went into hiding. Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius. -
Finn and Ezra's bar mitzvah time loop by Joshua S. Levy
Publication Date: 2024Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Finn and Ezra's bar mitzvah weekend takes on a Groundhog Day twist in this hilarious and magical middle grade novel from Joshua S. Levy. Finn and Ezra don't have a lot in common--except, of course, that they're trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. -
The midnight mitzvah by Ruth Horowitz; Jenny Meilihove (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2024Ages 3-7. Prk-Gr.2.
Hanina Chipmunk's favorite thing to do is gather nuts and share them with her hungry friends. But not everyone is thankful for her good deed. When Hanina realizes Mathilda Squirrel is embarrassed to admit she needs help, she hatches a plan to deliver nuts in secret under the midnight hour. As a daytime animal venturing out at night, Hanina will need all the wits and bravery she has to complete her mitzvah. -
Safiyyah's war by Hiba Noor Khan
Publication Date: 2024Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Inspired by the true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II, Hiba Noor Khan weaves a breathtaking tale of suspense, compassion, and courage, starring an extraordinary young heroine readers will never forget. Safiyyah loathes the brutal Nazi occupation of Paris, even though her Muslim identity keeps her safe--or, at least, safer than her Jewish neighbors. Violence lurks in the streets, her best friend has fled, and even her place of refuge--the library--has turned shadowy and confusing, as the invaders fear the power of books. Safiyyah longs to fight back and hates feeling powerless to help her Jewish friends. Worse yet, her father--who taught her to always do the right thing--is acting strangely and doing nothing to help them either. Or is he? -
Two New Years by Richard Ho; Lynn Scurfield (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2023Ages 3-5; Gr.1-3.
This warm and welcoming New Year celebration invites readers to learn about Rosh Hashanah and Lunar New Year traditions and to reflect on the rich blends of cultures and traditions in their own lives. -
Impossible escape: a true story of survival and heroism in Nazi Germany by Steve Sheinkin
Publication Date: 2023Gr.8 and up.
From Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust--one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape. -
Harboring Hope: the true story of how Henny Sinding helped Denmark's Jews escape the Nazis by Susan Hood
Publication Date: 2023Ages 10-13; Gr.5-7.
The inspirational true story of how twenty-two-year-old Henny Sinding courageously helped smuggle hundreds of Jewish families in occupied Denmark to safety in Sweden during the Holocaust. In 1943, Henny Sinding, only twenty-two years old, and the crew of Gerda lll, a lighthouse supply boat, risked everything to smuggle their Jewish compatriots across the Øresund strait to safety in Sweden during World War ll. -
The dubious pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe
Publication Date: 2023Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7 Sydney Taylor Book award winner 2024.
SHAINDY is a twelve-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl who struggles in school and has no good friends. She watches with envy as her next-door neighbor, GAYIL, excels socially and academically. They have little to do with each other, and it comes as a surprise when Shaindy looks out her window one September evening and sees Gayil staring out at her from her own window with a sign reading want to know a secret? The secret (at first) is that Gayil has a key fob that will allow them to break into their school after hours. Together, they set up a harmless prank in their classroom. But under Gayil's instigation the mischief becomes malice, and Shaindy sees that the pranks and humiliations are targeted only at certain girls. -
The blood years by Elana K. Arnold
Publication Date: 2023Ages 14 and up; Gr.9 and up.
From Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania. Frederieke Teitler and her older sister, Astra, live in a house, in a city, in a world divided. Their father ran out on them when Rieke was only six, leaving their mother a wreck and their grandfather as their only stable family. He's done his best to provide for them and shield them from antisemitism, but now, seven years later, being a Jew has become increasingly dangerous, even in their beloved home of Czernowitz, long considered a safe haven for Jewish people. -
Hidden hope: how a toy and a hero saved lives during the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer; Amy June Bates (Ill)
Publication Date: 2023Ages 4-8; Gr.4-6.
During World War II, a social worker named Jacqueline bicycled through the streets of Paris, passing Nazi soldiers and carrying a toy duck to share with the children she visited. What the Nazis didn't know, however, was that Jacqueline wasn't a social worker at all, but a Jewish member of the French Resistance. She risked her life in secret workshops, where forgers created false identity papers. But how to get these life-saving papers to families in hiding? The toy duck held the answer. -
Aviva vs the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe
Publication Date: 2022Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7; Sydney Taylor Book Awards winner, 2023.
A long ago "accident." An isolated girl named Aviva. A community that wants to help, but doesn't know how. And a ghostly dybbuk, that no one but Aviva can see, causing mayhem and mischief that everyone blames on her. That is the setting for this suspenseful novel of a girl who seems to have lost everything, including her best friend Kayla, and a mother who was once vibrant and popular, but who now can''t always get out of bed in the morning.
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- Last Updated: May 8, 2025 2:11 PM
- URL: https://guides.library.stanford.edu/childrensjewishtheme
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