Jewish American Heritage Month: A Booklist for PreK-5

When Bimi and his family, who are refugees, immigrate to the U.S. and move into Evie’s neighborhood, not everybody is welcoming. But with the help of Evie’s teddy bear, Bimi’s family becomes part of the neighborhood and Evie makes a new friend.

Katy's favorite holiday is Rosh Hashanah, when she gets to pick apples and make applesauce with her mother. But what happens when the tradition is interrupted by the early arrival of her baby cousin?

Clara Lemlich immigrated to New York to escape danger in Ukraine, where she was born. She started working in clothing factories on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, only to realize that workers were being treated unfairly. So she stood up for the rights of workers, especially girls and women—and she won, changing the way factory workers were treated in America forever!

At the dreidel-making workshop, Jeremy’s friends think he is molding a secret code on his clay dreidel. But he’s really making a special gift for his father, who is blind. How will he get his friends to appreciate his special dreidel? In addition to providing a positive perception of life with a disability, this story also explains the story and concepts behind Hanukkah. A postscript includes several dreidel-making projects, instructions for the game and information about the English Braille alphabet.

Larnel doesn't know his neighbor Mrs. Katz very well, until he asks her to adopt an abandoned kitten. Mrs. Katz agrees on one condition: that Larnel help her take care of the kitten she names Tush. When Larnel starts spending more and more time with Mrs. Katz to help with Tush, she tells him stories about coming to America from Poland and about the good times she spent with her late husband. As Larnel grows to love Mrs. Katz, he also learns about the suffering and triumph Black history shares with the Jewish heritage.

You never know where or how Elijah will appear. He arrives in the cornfields of Argentina, on doorsteps in China and amid ancient Persian ruins. He is a friend, a teacher, an angel. He has touched the lives of people from religious traditions all over the world as a universal symbol of hope and goodness. In this collection of eight tales, travel to the heart of Elijah’s journeys—to a place where goodness and truth prevail.

During the fall leading up to her bat mitzvah, Tara (Hindi for “star”) Feinstein has a lot more than her Torah portion on her mind. Tara considers how to balance her Indian and Jewish identities and what it means to have a bat mitzvah while questioning her faith.

An inspiring children's book that tells the parallel stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel, illustrating how they overcame discrimination and fought for equality, ultimately joining forces in the historic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

Meet the All-of-a-Kind Family—Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie—who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century. Together, they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa's shop on rainy days. The family's Jewish faith strengthens their ties to each other, while providing still more excitement and opportunity for mischief.

This book presents brief portraits of more than 80 Jewish women and introduces the historical, social and cultural backgrounds of the periods in which they lived.

In 1940, Hans and Margret Rey fled their Paris home as the German army advanced. They began their harrowing journey on bicycles, pedaling to Southern France with children’s book manuscripts among their few possessions. Follow the Reys’ amazing story in this unique large-format book that resembles a travel journal and includes full-color illustrations, original photos, actual ticket stubs and more.