The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland

2030 S. Taylor Rd.

Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118

Phone: 216-371-0446 Fax: 216-371-2523

A young Orthodox boy explains why the symbols and customs of his home make it the place he loves.

Rosenbaum, Andrea Warmflash. A Grandma like Yours; a Grandpa like Yours. Kar-Ben/Lerner, 2006.

A beautifully illustrated book for preschoolers on the joys of grandparents. A menagerie of happy animals - elephant grandmas, a kangaroo savta, porcupine papas, and snail sabas - portrays many of the wonderful Jewish things that grandparents do with and for their grandchildren. Told in a rhyming format, one side of the book is about grandmas and the other side is about grandpas.

Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg. Adam & Eve's New Day. Skylight Paths Publishing, 2006.

A board book based on the midrash in which Adam and Eve pray to G-d for the sun to rise. They thank G-d for bringing day and night, light and darkness. Includes colorful illustrations of the Garden of Eden.

A board book with photographs describing different occupations and their association with mitzvot.

A re-telling of a Jewish folktale. Yenkel gossips to his friends about the stories he overhears in his father's village store. The rabbi has Yenkel spread a sack of feathers and Yenkel see the feathers fly away for good. The rabbi teaches him that what he says about people like feathers cannot be taken back. Vivid illustrations by Cindy Revell.

Blumenthal, Scott, E. The Explorer's Bible, Vol.1: From Creation to the Exodus. Behrman House, 2006.

Burstein, Chaya M. The Kids' Catalog of Animals and the Earth. Jewish Publication Society, 2006.

The catalog’s emphasis is on the Bible, Israel, and the Jewish perspective on the environment. It is quite comprehensive, written at an elementary level, with facts, lore, cartoons, activities, games, stories plus an index. Very useful for Tu B’shvat and study of the environment throughout the year.

Twenty-six years old George Gershwin was asked to compose a concert in only five weeks. He based the concerto on his love of New York City and a rhapsody of music: including klezmer, foxtrot, ragtime and blues. He called the concerto: Rhapsody in Blue. The book contains a CD of the music. Little Jewish content.

The first gift we are given is our name. In this story about names, a boy recalls his namesake, King David, and talks about names in general, including the various names by which a single person might be known. Includes full page illustrations with simple colors and shapes to support the text.

Excerpted from the Book of Genesis, written in Hebrew and English, and well illustrated. Part of a series by this author and illustrator.

A Sephardic folktale about the prophet Eliyahu Hanavi who disguised himself as a guest of a young couple in Baghdad on Shabbat. When he leaves, he tells the couple their house could be better, if it was a little untidy. After the couple has a baby, he reappears and tells them how much better the house is. Jessica Schiffman colorfully illustrates the Middle Eastern scenery.

In this picture book biography, the painter, Marc Chagall, tells the story of his life, emphasizing the people, places, and visions that inspired his paintings. The mixed media collage illustrations that surround the text on every page are truly impressive.

A colorful picture biography of Hank Greenberg. The illustrations are striking and the text is clear and concise. A fine introduction to a true Jewish American hero.

Rosenthal, Betsy R. It's not Worth Making a Tzimmes Over! Albert Whitman, 2006.

When the challah dough to which she has mistakenly added too much yeast threatens to engulf the neighborhood, Rebecca’s grandmother reminds her, "It's not worth making a tzimmes over." Instead, they hop on Grandma's motorcycle and invite the whole town to share in the dough.

Large color photographs give an account of different religious beliefs and customs in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The theme of the book is that while people's religions can be quite diverse, many of their underlying beliefs are similar. With just a few lines of text per page, this serves as an introduction to comparative religion in America.

Selig was misunderstood because of his passion for words. He kept an ongoing list of new words with him at all times. Then, a genie, in the image of a Hasidic man, came to Selig in a dream. The genie told him that he had a mission to use his collection of words to help people searching for the perfect word. Giselle Potter integrated descriptive words in the illustrations.

This book is based on a story taken from the Talmud. During a terrible drought in ancient Israel, two messengers are sent to the great Abba Chilkiya to ask him to pray for rain. What are the reasons behind the wise man's unusual behavior? Most importantly, what is the secret of powerful prayer?

Sper, Emily. The Kids' Fun Book of Jewish Time. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2006.

An introduction to the Jewish calendar, night and day, the seven-day week, Shabbat, the Hebrew months, seasons and dates. Special features include: turning wheels, pull tabs and lift the flats.

Stampler, Ann Redisch. Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost. Clarion Books, 2006.

In the village of Pohost, lived a man, Shlemazel, whom everyone thought was lazy. Shlemazel refused to work, because he thought he had bad luck. One day, a hard working man named Moshke gave Shlemazel a spoon to dig for his luck. His luck changes and success follows. Colorfully illustrated by Jacqueline M. Cohen.

A picture book about the adoption of a Vietnamese child by a Jewish family. The welcoming of the child and the process of giving her a Jewish identity are part of this warmly told story.

A young girl, who lives on a farm in Kiev, watches her family struggle financially due to Czarist soldiers stealing from them. They cannot afford to give tz'dakah or to pay for the Sukkot celebration this year. She tries to help her family raise money for the holiday.

A sad but hopeful story about death. Grieving for her mother and younger sister, who died in a house fire, eleven year old Cara questions God's lack of power to keep her family safe. Finally, she realizes that she cannot live without her Jewish faith. But healing and self-assurance finally come with her decision to continue her mother's home-based baking business: Julia's Kitchen and her reconciliation wit her father.

Eleven-year-old Gus Moskowitz is still grieving for his father, who was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center two years earlier. When he starts oboe lessons with an elderly Holocaust survivor in the neighborhood, who teaches him both music and something about his Jewish roots, Gus surprises himself by finding his own way to honor Dad.

Gerstein, Mordicai. The White Ram: a Story of Abraham and Isaac. Holiday House, 2006.

According to midrash, a white ram was created by G-d on the sixth day for the sole purpose of saving the future Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac. The book contains beautiful watercolor illustrations by the author.

Originally published in Yiddish in 1940, this novel is about two boys growing up in pre-World War II Vienna. Emil and Karl are school friends. Emil is Jewish and Karl is not. Due to the Nazis, the two boys are totally alone and must escape the omnipresent storm troopers and find food and shelter. They become both observers and victims of the attacks on Jews. Helped by resistance fighters, they eventually escape the city. Excellent as an introduction to the Holocaust.

Goldman, David J. Jewish Sports Stars, Revised Ed.: Athletic Heroes Past and Present. Kar-Ben/Lerner, 2006.

Brief biographies of Jewish athletes are organized by sport and accompanied by black and white photographs. A list of Maccabee Award winners and many sports statistics are appended.

Hotchkiss, Ron. The Matchless Six: The Story of Canada's First Women's Olympic Team. Tundra, 2006.

An exhaustively detailed account of the 1928 Canadian Olympic women's track and field team, which is important in the history of women's sports and for their outstanding achievements. A Jewish woman, Fannie Bobbie Rosenfeld, was one of the six.

From the Gali Girls Jewish History Series, a short historical novel about Reyna Li, a Jewish girl who lived in China in 1175 with her father who was a trader. She had the uncanny ability to sense people's true characters and used the ability to help her father with his trading business. She embarks on an adventure to save her father from a deceitful man trying to smuggle silkworms.

A poignant story of a friendship between two little boys that is interrupted by the German invasion of Belgium. It also involves art stolen by the Nazis and recovered years later. Excellent illustrations.

Oberman, Sheldon. Solomon and the Ant and other Jewish Folktales. Boyds Mills Press, 2006.

An outstanding collection of forty-three Jewish folktales that include religious, trickster and wisdom tales. An excellent source for storytellers and storytelling, with background notes, commentary, variants, and IFA (Israel Folktale Archives) motif numbers. Includes notes and commentary by Peninnah Schram, who finished the book after the author died.

A handsomely illustrated and well designed collection of short stories about women of the Bible: Eve, Naamah, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Dina, and Yocheved. Each story is meant to honor its subject for particular qualities that give her strength and grace.

Rubin, Susan Goldman. The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin. Holiday House, 2006.

Amply illustrated with photographs and reproductions of children's artwork, this is the true story of an imprisoned Jewish child's experiences in the concentration camp. It focuses on the importance of the opera Brundibar to the children who performed it, but it also includes insights into life in the camp, the importance of friendship and adult guidance, and the camaraderie of the girls of Room 28, of whom the co-author, Ela Steinova Weissberger, was one. The conclusion tells of the reunion of the girls who survived and ends the book on a positive note. Excellent for classroom reading and discussion.

Set in Brooklyn in 1947, this is the story of a biracial orphan who is sent to live with his Jewish relatives. As Joey yearns for acceptance, especially from his stern grandfather, his struggle is mirrored by that of his favorite baseball player, Jackie Robinson, who stoically endures prejudice on the baseball field. Well written and fast-paced, this has believable characters and a plot with sports-appeal, as well as sound values.

In 1730 London, Molly, a Jewish orphan, pickpockets for survival on the streets of London. When she gets caught and sent to the colony of New York as a prisoner, she becomes an indentured servant to a Jewish family. She has difficulty leaving behind her days on the London streets and adjusting to living with an observant Jewish family. This book provides a description of Jewish life in colonial America and portrays the horrible conditions of the prisons and poor treatment of prisoners in England in the late 1700s.

Shapiro, David L. Sara's Journey. Jewish Publication Society of America, 2005.

Sara is a 12-year-old Jewish girl in 1919 Russia. Suddenly orphaned, her home and shtetl destroyed, she begins a daring journey toward Budapest and her eventual destination, Palestine. Set against a backdrop of stormy historical events -- pogroms, the influenza epidemic, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the struggle to create the State of Israel. The story weaves back in time to Sara's journey and thirty years later to her daughter telling of Israeli Independence.

A useful origami book, organized by level of difficulty and cross-indexed by Jewish holiday. Directions and diagrams for each model are clear and the finished craft is shown in a black and white photograph.

The artist, Neil Waldman's autobiography, covering his childhood, family, and artistic inspirations. Illustrated with reproductions of art created by Waldman and members of his family.

Waldman, Neil. Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories. Holiday House, 2006.

Two loosely connected tales bring to mind the days when baseball legends interacted with ordinary fans. In the first story, which takes place in 1927, Babe Ruth hits a ball into the stands and strikes a young Jewish spectator. As Mona Finkel recovers after the game, Ruth presents her with a ball signed by the entire Yankee team. It is a cherished family heirloom, until her brother, Harry, loses it down a sewer hole while playing stickball. The second tale is set in 1951 and concerns Harry's son, Peter, who loves playing stickball and watching Giants great Willie Mays. When Peter hears that Mays is playing stickball in Harlem, he goes to watch and ends up rediscovering his family's missing treasure. Sidebars: provide some baseball facts; explain the equipment, rules, and history of stickball; and include anecdotes from players.

A clearly written introduction for young people to kabbalah, explaining how it is much more than wearing a red string around your wrist. The author, a rabbi, discusses basic kabbalistic concepts, several different approaches to its study, and gives advice on how to find a good kabbalah teacher. She shows readers how kabbalah is something that is "hiding in plain sight" and gives examples of how it can be found in the Torah, in gemara, and in synagogue services.

Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. David Fickling/Random House, 2006.

A controversial story set at Auschwitz and told through the innocent eyes of the commandant's nine year old son. Readers will grasp the meaning of the story and feel its shock gradually. Excellent for class discussions.

At the time of her late uncle's stone setting, Phoebe, a sixteen-year-old girl struggles with her mother's manic depression and the mystery of her uncle's death. She discovers the truth about her uncle and resolves her struggles when faced with a near-death experience in a cave exploration.

Amy, a teenager, is dragged to Israel for a summer by her estranged father. There, she meets a family she didn't know existed and who didn't know she existed, either. Amy is transformed from a self-centered girl to a loving and caring young woman because of her experience. Life in modern Israel is presented positively, with emphasis on love of country, responsibility, and Israeli determination.

Forman, Sharon G. Honest Answers to Your Child's Jewish Questions: a Rabbi's Insights. URJ Press, 2006.

A helpful guide for parents whose children ask questions about G-d, the life cycle, Israel, anti-Semitism, etc.

A novel for teenagers about the persecution of Jews in Spain. It contains some very brutal scenes.

Lutes, Jason. Houdini: the Handcuffed King. The Center for Cartoon Studies,
2006.
In graphic form, a snapshot of Houdini's life, centering on one of his most famous jumps. As Houdini prepares for a death-defying leap into the icy Charles River in Boston, the comic strip reveals much about Houdini’s life. Includes an introduction by Glen David Gold.

Mann, Gil. Sex, God, Christmas & Jews. Intimate Emails about Faith and Life Challenges. Leo & Sons Publishing, 2006.
A compilation of the most compelling emails received by Gil Mann in his section of America Online titled "Judaism Today" along with his responses. The emails range from challenges in peoples' lives and Jewish faith to ethical discussions such as: body piercing, circumcision and organ donation.

A fast-paced and suspenseful piece of historical fiction, set in Shanghai during World War II. Its main characters are an Austrian-Jewish family who have fled the Nazis and become "stateless refugees" in a city occupied by the Japanese.

Written in free verse form that reads like prose, sixteen year old Sarah tells the story of the summer she spends on an Israeli kibbutz. For a Jewish American girl from a small, mostly Christian town, it is a transformative experience. Along with the thrill of belonging as a Jew in a Jewish country, Sarah experiences her first taste of independence and her first romantic encounters with boys. Her experiences and feelings are conveyed realistically. This is engaging and honest look at life in present-day Israel.

Sheinkin, Steve. The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wisdom and Wit in the Old West. Jewish Lights Publishing, 2006.

A collection of Jewish folktales and Hasidic legends in graphic novel format about Rabbi Harvey, the wise man of the Western frontier town, Elk Spring, Colorado. He offers Talmudic insight and Hasidic wisdom in order to solve the disputes and problems of the townspeople. The dialogue in the comic strip is very amusing.

A short novel that explores moral dilemmas. The main character is a young man working for the Jewish resistance in pre-State Palestine who is assigned to assassinate a British soldier.

Elie Wiesel’s personal narrative about his experience in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

Zar, Rose. In the Mouth of the Wolf. The Jewish Publication Society, 1983.
An autobiography of a teenage girl in Poland during the Holocaust. She hid her Jewish identity by posing as a gentile Polish girl and working for the military.

Death, shocked by the cruelty of people, narrates this story, set in World War II Germany, about a young orphan girl, Liesel, and her foster parents. Liesel feels relief from her personal sadness and the poverty around her when she steals books. The only affection she receives is from her foster father and her best friend Rudy. Through their love of stories, she finds unexpected companionship with Max, the Jewish man that her foster parents hide in their basement.

Allard, Peter, et al. Open it up! Integrating the Arts into Jewish Education. Behrman House, 2006.

Sixty-four dynamic activities weave the arts directly into curriculum and "open up" the big ideas of Jewish education for students. This book guides any classroom teacher from "Inspiration" to "Big Idea." An extensive introduction examines the importance of the arts in Jewish life and Jewish education, and explains the philosophy of this unique integrative approach.

Artson, Rabbi Bradley Shavit. Gift of Soul, Gift of Wisdom: A Spiritual Resource for Mentoring and Leadership. Behrman House, 2006.
A learning tool for those who wish to become effective spiritual guides and mentors for others. Rabbi Artson draws from his personal experiences and sacred texts to provide wisdom, spiritual guidance and life lessons. He offers suggestions for: how to enhance communication skills, how to reach out with affection and how to overcome challenges that arise in the mentoring relationship.

Ciaccio, Joseph. Totally Positive Teaching: A Five-Stage Approach to Energizing Students and Teachers. ASCD, 2004.
The Totally Positive Approach highlights the positives of teaching. The chapters explain five techniques for teachers to connect with their students and help them achieve. The techniques are: 1)meeting mutual needs 2)changing counterproductive feelings 3)ending behavior problems 4)helping underachievers 5)using active-learning strategies.

Copeland, Michael A. Connecting Leadership with Learning: A Framework for Reflection, Planning, and Action. ASCD, 2006.
The Leading for Learning Framework is introduced. This framework highlights five areas of action for improvement including: (1)establishing a focus on learning (2)building professional communities that value learning (3)engaging external environments that matter for learning (4)acting strategically and sharing leadership and (5)creating coherence.

Dodge, Diane Trister, et al. The Creative Curriculum for Preschool. Fourth Edition. Teaching Strategies, Inc., 2002.
Designed for early childhood programs serving children ages 3-5. Defines the vital role of the teacher in connecting content, teaching and learning for preschool children. Contains two parts: "The Curriculum Framework" which presents five components of the Creative Curriculum and "Interest Areas" which applies the five components of the Curriculum framework to 11 areas of interests.

Grade Seven: Bar and Bat Mitzvah. Newly Revised. The Colton Group, 2006.
Part of the "Growing Up Jewishly: a Parent and Child Learning Together Series." A discussion guide for teaching parents and Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. Contains four units: Personal Identity Issues, Jewish Identity Issues, Jewish Community Identity Issues, and Bar or Bat Mitzvah begins with Torah.

Harms, Thelma, et al. Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale. Revised edition. Teachers College Press, 2006.
ITERS was designed for use in center-based child care programs for infants and toddlers up to 30 months of age. ITERS can be used by program directors for supervision and program improvement, by teaching staff for self-assessment, by agency staff for monitoring, and in teacher training programs. The scale is organized in seven subscales: space and furnishings, personal care routines, listening and talking, activities, interaction, program structure and parents and staff.

Harms, Thelma, et al. School-age Care Environment Rating Scale. Teacher College Press, 1996.
SACERS is a comprehensive rating scale designed to assess group-care programs for children of school age, 5 to 12. It consists of 49 items, organized under seven categories: space and furnishings, health and safety, activities, interactions, program structure, staff development and supplementary items (for children with special needs).

Hill, Jane D. Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners. ASCD, 2006.
A guide for mainstream teachers with English language learners (ELLs) in their elementary school classrooms. The authors review nine categories of research-based instructional strategies that affect student achievement then show how these strategies can be modified to help ELLs acquire content and language skills.

Ingall, Carol K. Down the Up Staircase: Tales of Teaching in Jewish Day Schools. The Jewish Theological Seminary, 2006.
The longitudinal study of three new Jewish day school teachers over a ten-year period.

Lesso-Hurley, Judith. Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners: An Educator's Guide. ASCD, 2006.
Judith Lesso-Hurley, a former bilingual teacher, wrote this guide for educators of second language learners. She discusses common beliefs about English-only and immersion programs. Then, she explains how schools can successfully educate students from diverse backgrounds without unintended prejudice.

Pekarsky, Daniel. Vision at Work: The Theory and Practice of Beit Rabban. The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 2006.
A study of Beit Rabban, a vision-guided Jewish day school located on the Upper West Side of New York City. Taken from the time period of 1996 through 1998, observations of the school, examinations of documents and conversations with Devora Steinmatz, the school's founder. The book's format is in letters from Daniel pekarsky, author, to an imaginary supplementary educational director Alice, in which he relays his observations and emerging understanding of Beit Rabban.

Post Bar/Bat Mitzvah/Pre-Confirmation: The Three Things. The Colton Group, 2006.
Part of the "Growing Up Jewishly: A Parent and Child Learning Together Series." A discussion guide for parents and post Bar and Bat Mitzvah students to provide limits, guidelines and certainties in understanding Judaism.

Sarna, Jonathan D. The History of the Jewish People, A Story of Tradition and Change Vol. l, Ancient Israel to 1880's America. Behrman House, 2006.

A history textbook for fifth through seventh grade students. Co-written by Jonathan B. Krasner. A teacher's guide goes along with the text.

Smith, Miriam W. Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Toolkit. Research edition. Education Development Center, 2002.

(ELLCO) is for Pre-K to third grade teachers. The toolkit includes the following forms: literacy environment checklist, classroom observation, teacher interview and literacy activities rating scale.

Stix, Andi. Teachers as Classroom Coaches: How to Motivate Students across the Content Areas. ASCD, 2006.
Teachers learn to apply the same methods as professional coaches to help students achieve more in all subjects and grade levels. There are two sections. Section 1 examines coaching techniques in the classroom. Section 2 offers detailed explanations of strategies to help students read, write, talk and listen to meaningful content.

Talan, Teri N. and Bloom, Paula Jorde. Program Administration Scale: Measuring Early Childhood Leadership and Management. Teachers College Press, 2004.

PAS was designed to reliably measure the leadership and management practices of center-based early childhood organizations. The instrument looks at 25 items grouped in 10 categories that include: human resources development, personnel cost and allocation, center operations, child assessment, fiscal management, program planning and evaluation, family partnerships, marketing and public relations, technology, and staff qualifications.

Zmuda, Allison, et al. Transforming Schools: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement. ASCD, 2004.
A manual for transforming staff development into a process that leads to continuous school improvement.