JECC.Ratner Media Center.Monthly Highlights.htm

Please note this is a suggested reading list, just as contemporary, secular literature for teenagers today uses mature language, some Jewish juvenile literature does as well. Parents and teachers are encouraged to use their discretion in choosing age and grade appropriate resources

Abraham, Michelle Shapiro. My Cousin Tamar Lives in Israel. URJ Press, 2007.
A young boy compares and contrasts how he celebrates the Jewish holidays in America with how his cousin Tamar celebrates them in Israel.

Benenfeld, Rikki. I Go Visiting. Hachai Publishing, 2007.
In parallel narratives, an Orthodox boy and girl tell of their sleepover at a friend's house. They explain how they observe religious customs while visiting, in order to be polite guests.

Horowitz, David. Five Little Gefiltes. G.P. Putname's Sons, 2007.
A parody of "Five Little Ducklings." Five little gefilte fish sneak out of their jar and wander around New York City.

Schon, Ruchy. Who am I! Feldheim Publishers, 2006.
A board book with pictures describing different occupations with Jewish content.

Seidman, Lauren. What Makes Someone a Jew? Jewish Lights Publishing, 2007.
Lively photographs show the different ethnicities of Jewish children in America and the world. The simple rhymes describe what it means to be a Jew.

Stampler, Ann Redisch. Shlemazel and the Remarkable Spoon of Pohost. Clarion Books, 2006. Unlucky Shlemazel, lived in the village of Pohost, where everyone thought he was lazy. He refused to work until a man named Moshke gave him a spoon that changed his luck.

Waldman, Debby. A Sack Full of Feathers. Orca Book Publishers, 2006.
Yenkel gossips to his friends about the stories he overhears in his father's village store. The rabbi had Yenkel spread out a sack of feathers and then try to retrieve them. He soon learns that gossip like feathers, once spread out is not easy to retrieve.

Baker, Sharon Reiss. A Nickel, a Trolley, a Treasure House. Viking, 2007.
Growing up on the Lower East Side, Lionel knows only a tiny tenement apartment and a few crowded streets. He scribbles drawings on every available scrap of paper but does not think much of them until he takes a momentous street car journey to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Codell, Esme Raji. Vive la Paris. Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.
Fifth-grader, Paris McCray, lives with her four older brothers and parents in a small apartment in the inner city of Chicago. She learns a lot about life from her wise, elderly piano teacher, Mrs. Rosen, a Holocaust survivor.

Freedman, Zelda. Rosie's Dream Cape. Ronsdale Press, 2005.
Eleven-year old Rosie and her grandmother, Bubba Sarah, immigrated to Toronto from Russia after the death of her mother, a former ballerina. To help make ends meet, Rosie works in Yitzy's factory sewing velvet capes, and dreaming of wearing one to the Royal Alexandra Theatre. The story provides wonderful insight into how an immigrant child survives with her dreams intact despite the harsh working conditions of a 1921 garment factory. Based on a true story.

Hyde, Heidi Smith. Mendel's Accordion: The Story of Klezmorim. Kar-Ben Publishing,
2007. When Mendel left the old country for America, he took his accordion. He met fellow Klezmorim on the boat and played his accordion with them. He continued to play for his family and friends. Years later, his great-grandson continued the tradition and started a Klezmorim band.

Michelson, Richard. Across the Alley. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2006.
Abe, a Jewish boy and Willie, an African American boy, were neighbors across the alleyway. During the day, their ethnic and racial backgrounds keep the boys apart. However, at night, they shared their dreams. Willie showed Abe how to pitch a slider, and Abe gave Willie his violin to play. Each was able to fulfill their dreams one summer day.

O'Connell, Rebecca. Penina Levine is a Hard-boiled Egg. Roaring Book Press, 2007.
Sixth-grader, Penina Levine, is annoyed when her teacher asks her to write a letter from the Easter bunny to a kindergartner. When she tries to fulfill the spirit of the task without compromising her beliefs, her teachers shows a remarkable lack of sensitivity and gives her a zero. Penina’s grandmother helps her to retain her self-esteem and a class on religious diversity is implemented in her school.

Yavin, T.S. All Star Season. Kar-Ben, 2007.
Brothers, Reuven and Avi, have opposite personalities. Reuven is serious and quiet, while Avi is happy-go-lucky and outgoing. It is on the baseball field where their differences become an issue for the brothers.

Baraitser, Marion. Home Number One. Loki Books, 2006.
A graphic novel with a strong fantasy element, it takes place in a futuristic America. A young girl's computer transports her from the year 2020 to 1946 to meet her Jewish teenage cousin, Gonda, in Home Number One, a refuge for young people in Theresienstadt. Based on actual accounts and photographs from the transition camp.

Brown, Don. The Notorious Izzy Fink. Roaring Book Press, 2006.
In the 1890's, thirteen year-old Sam Glosky, a European immigrant, lives among the rough and tumble gangs on the streets of New York's Lower East Side. He gets involved with the Chief Inspector of the Health Department and a rival gang. Note: Expletives and coarse language are part of the characters' street vernacular.

Fleischman, Sid. The Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini. Greenwillow Books, 2006.
A biography of the magician Harry Houdini. Includes information on his childhood and his rise to fame. It also includes many photographs of Houdini and his wife, Bess, along with memorabilia.

Greif, Jean-Jacques. The Fighter. Bloomsbury, 2006.
Moshe Wisniak was born into an impoverished Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland. On the streets, he learns to fight as self-defense against his anti-Semitic neighbors. When his family moves to Paris in 1929, everyone finds work and life improves slowly. Moshe, now Maurice, takes up boxing at a Jewish sports club, and becomes an amateur flyweight. In 1942 he was sent to Auschwitz, where he was encouraged to fight weaker prisoners by the Nazi officers. Based on the life of Moshe Garbarz. Translated from French. Note: Graphic concentration camp scenes.

Rabb, Margo. Cures for Heartbreak. Delacorte Press, 2007.
Ninth-grader, Mia, has just lost her mother to cancer, and now her father is hospitalized with heart trouble. As she struggles to make sense of her mother's death and her father's illness, she is somehow able to find humor in everyday situations. Note: Contains sexual references and mature language.

Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. Wendy Lamb Books, 2006.
Simone, sixteen, has always known she was adopted but has never had any real desire to meet her birth mother despite the fact that she knows her parents keep in touch. That all changes when her birth mother, Rivka, a 33-year old self-exiled Hasidic Jew, calls and wants to meet her. What began as a normal school year changes, as Simone must come to terms with who she is and how she fits into both families. Note: Some sexual content and mature language.

Shapiro, David L. Sara's Journey. JPS, 2005. Twelve year-old Sara, orphaned by the pogroms in Russia, is forced to flee on a daring journey towards Budapest and her eventual destination, Palestine. Set against a backdrop of stormy historical events, including the struggle to create the State of Israel, Sara grows into a true follower of her late father's advice, "Be bold and brave but not foolhardy."

Sonnenblick, Jordan. Notes from the Midnight Driver. Scholastic Press, 2006.
Angry about his parent's separation, Alex, an awkward sixteen year old, decides to get drunk, steal his mom's car, and drive to his father's house. For drinking and driving, Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service at a nursing home. It is here he meets Solomon Lewis, a cantankerous, infirmed patient. Eventually, Solomon and Alex learn to deal with their past and each other in ways that are humorous, entertaining, and life changing.

Wulf, Linda Press. The Night of The Burning: Devorah's Story. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2006.
Devorah, 12, is haunted by the death of her parents to a pogrom and typhus. She and her younger sister, Nechama, are chosen to leave Europe with two hundred other Jewish orphans to go to a safe and welcoming Jewish community in South Africa. Based on a true story.

Zusak, Marcus. The Book Thief. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
Narrated by Death, this novel chronicles the life of Liesel Meminger, orphaned at age nine and taken to live in Molching, Germany with a foster family. Having stolen her first book before she could read, Liesel goes on to collect stolen books and an unusual set of friends. With the strength and love she receives from her foster parents, especially her father, she is able to o survive the evils of war and destruction. An extraordinary narrative.