May is Jewish American Heritage Month

This Jewish American Heritage Month—and throughout the year—discover the culture, history, and contributions of Jewish Americans by exploring their voices and stories in our collection. Read on for a selection of titles for children, teens, and adults.

You can learn more about Heritage and Identity Months through Henrico County’s Outreach and Engagement Department.

PICTURE BOOKS

Deli Days by Jenna Rothberg – In this picture book full of bold colors, a grandson learns about community, family traditions, making memories, and growing up while working in his grandpa’s neighborhood deli.

Something Sweet: A Sitting Shiva Story by Lesléa Newman – After her friend, Joshua, loses his grandfather, Lizzie learns about mourning and the meaning of friendship while sitting shiva for the first time.

You might also enjoy:

• 1, 2, 3, Nosh with Me by Micah Silva
• It’s a Mitzvah! Small Deeds with Big Heart by Suzy Ultman
• P is for Pastrami: The ABCs of Jewish Food by Alan Silberberg
• Sammy Spider’s Big Book of Jewish Holidays by Sylvia A. Rouss (also available on Hoopla)
• Shabbat Shalom: Let’s Rest and Reset by Suzy Ultman
• Sweet Babe! A Jewish Grandmother Kvells by Robin Rosenthal
• Talia and the Passover Hug-gadah by Linda Elovitz Marshall (also available on Hoopla)
• Too Many Golems by Jane Yolen (also available on Hoopla)

KIDS

Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson – The true story of Fanny Goldstein who, after immigrating from Russia to America as a child, became deeply fascinated by her public library. She later became the first Jewish director of a Boston public library branch and established the now 100-year-old tradition of Jewish Book Week, which encourages Jewish families to learn more about their history. 

Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World by Samara Shanker – When Naomi receives a tiny clay golem as a Bat Mitzvah gift, she doesn’t expect for it to come to life, obey and grow with every command she gives, or summon other supernatural creatures. But it does. Now she and her friends must stop the golem before it misinterprets her latest command and destroys Los Angeles.   

Plus, check out:

• Catherine’s War by Julia Billet
• Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros (also available on Hoopla)
• She’s a Mensch! Jewish Women Who Rocked the World by Rachelle Burk
• Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust by Renée G. Hartman
• The Tenth Man: A Miracle of Jewish Faith and Friendship by Artie Bennett
• The Tree of Life: How A Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer
• The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor by Amanda Panitch
• What Jewish Looks Like by Liz Kleinrock (also available on Hoopla)

TEENS

The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb (also available on Hoopla) – Seventeen-year-old Sorel ditches her life and goes into hiding, taking on the identity of a man who she discovers is still very much alive, and still very much wanted dead. Now trapped in an underworld of dark forces, Sorel will have to solve the mystery behind the man to escape and carve her own path.

Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust by Hédi Fried – After surviving a concentration camp at Auschwitz, author Hédi Fried dedicated her life to educating others about the Holocaust. In this title, she answers some of the most common questions she received in her decades of speaking out.

Additional titles to add to your TBR (to-be-read) list:

• Ballad and Dagger by Daniel José Older (also available on Hoopla)
• Can Posters Kill? Antisemitic Propaganda and World War II by Jerry Faivish (also available on Hoopla)
• From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos (also available on Hoopla)
• Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler (also available on Hoopla)
• The Librarian of Auschwitz by Salva Rubio
• The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
• This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke
• Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield

ADULTS

The Last Woman of Warsaw: A Novel by Judith Batalion – Two very different Jewish women become unlikely allies in a dangerous search for their missing friend—a comrade to one, a professor to the other—in 1938 Warsaw, Poland.

Odessa by Gabrielle Sher – Set during the height of the pogroms in Russia, Odessa tells the fictional tale of a teenage girl who is killed in her small Jewish village and later brought back to life by her father’s use of magic. Though she looks the same, Yetta is changed and determined to uncover a family secret—and creature—lurking within their midst.  

• Crash of the Heavens: The Remarkable Story of Hannah Senesh and the Only Military Mission to Rescue Europe’s Jews During World War II by Douglas Century
• Dirtbag Queen: A Memoir of My Mother by Andy Corren
• Fear No Pharoah: American Jews, the Civil War, and the Fight to End Slavery by Richard Kreitner
• The Future Was Color: A Novel by Patrick Nathan (also available on Hoopla)
• Girls Girls Girls: A Novel by Shoshana von Blanckensee
• The Hitch: A Novel by Sara Levine (also available on Hoopla)
• Honey Cake and Latkes: Recipes From the Old World by the Aushwitz-Birkenau Survivors by Maria Zalewska
• I Could Nosh: Classic Jew-ish Recipes Revamped for Every Day by Jake Cohen
• The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan (also available on Hoopla)
• The Red Balcony: A Novel by Jonathan Wilson
• The Silent Hen by Helen Montague Foster (also available on Hoopla)
• Thank You for Sharing: A Novel by Rachel Runya Katz