Jewish American Heritage - Tweens

Created on May 19, 2021, 3:28 pm

Last Updated April 18, 2025, 10:28 am

May is Jewish American Heritage Month. For more information, see https://jewishamericanheritage.org/. For winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and lists of current and past winners, see https://jewishlibraries.org/sydney_taylor_book_award/. The Sydney Taylor Book Award, administered by the Association of Jewish Libraries, an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), is named in memory of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series author Sydney Taylor. The award recognizes titles for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

Author

Description

"Israel is an importance place for people of three major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. This has given it a rich history, but it has also led to conflict. Readers take an informative look at what life is like in Israel for people of different groups as they explore meticulously researched text, which has been updated to discuss current events. Vivid, full-color photographs are found throughout chapters that focus on topics such as government,...

2) What Jewish Looks Like

Author

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

"Too many Jews have been told: 'You don't look Jewish!' It begs the question, 'What does Jewish look like?' Well, there are over fifteen million Jews in the world, which means there are more than fifteen million ways to look and be Jewish. It can look like setting out menorahs on tribal land, adding kimchi to the seder plate, organizing for change, and living out loud. Shining a light on Paralympians and chefs, anthropologists and activists, dancers...

3) Max in the land of lies: a tale of World War II

Author

Series

Operation Kinderspion

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

"Training complete and forged papers in hand, the radio wunderkind's missions have begun. But nothing is as he expected. His parents are missing. Nazi intelligence is watching him. And the lines between lies and truth are becoming more blurred every day. Max will need every tool at his disposal, from his radio expertise and spy training to the help of Berg and Stein, the immortal creatures living on his shoulders. Even so, there's no guarantee he'll...

4) Right back at you

Author

Mackler, Carolyn

Description

"Mason lives in 2023. His parents have just split up, and there's a guy at school who won't get off his case. As part of an assignment, he writes a letter to Albert Einstein and it ends up getting a little too personal. He throws the letter into his closet... ...and the next day he gets a letter back from a girl named Talia, who lives in 1987. She has problems of her own, including classmates who make jokes because she's Jewish. She thought her friends...

5) Fighter in the woods: the true story of a Jewish girl who joined the partisans in World War II

Author

Description

"From award-winning author Joshua M. Greene (The Girl Who Fought Back; Signs of Survival) comes this remarkable true story of a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Poland who escaped near death to join -- and fight -- with the Soviet partisans in the woods. The year was 1941, and Nazi Germany was bombing Poland. Celia Kassow, a young Jewish girl, knew she was in danger of being seized by the Nazis, so she ran to seek shelter at a Polish classmate's house....

6) speechless

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

7) Jella Lepman and her library of dreams

Author

Paterson, Katherine

Description

This is the story of Jella Lepman, who escaped the Nazi regime in Germany and returned after the war to build a traveling library of books for children that evolved into the International Youth Library in Munich.

Author

Description

"In 1941 rural Iowa, thirteen-year-old Peggy's quiet life is turned upside down by refugee arrivals, first love, and a heartbreaking diagnosis"-- Provided by publisher.

Author

Description

When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior's center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author...

10) A spy in the field: Moe Berg's story

Author

Leaf, Christina

Series

Black Sheep Top secret spy stories

Description

"Exciting illustrations follow the events of Moe Berg's spying career. The combination of brightly colored panels and leveled text is intended for students in grades 3 through 8"-- Provided by publisher.

11) mendel the mess up

This entry no longer exists in the catalog

12) The house on the canal

Author

Harding, Thomas

Description

"In the middle of Amsterdam, next to a canal, stands a tall, narrow house. It was built almost four hundred years ago and has served as a home, a warehouse, a stable, and most notably, a hiding place. Sometimes it was splendidly decorated, humming with life and love; other times, the narrow house stood empty, in near ruins. Sometimes its green door was open and inviting; other times, it was closed against cold and plague or to conceal the victims...

13) One day: a true story of survival in the Holocaust

Author

Description

"One day, a Hungarian-French Jew and his father were rounded up by Nazis and brought to a prison camp. One day, they tried to escape, and failed. One day, they tried to escape, and succeeded. In a true story that resonates with his own family legacy, Michael Rosen ... draws on the real-life account of Eugène Handschuh, who escaped with his father from a convoy headed from Nazi-occupied Paris to Auschwitz"--Provided by publisher.

14) Ain't it funny

Author

Gurevich, Margaret

Description

Eleven-year-old Maya refuses to let her growing anxiety and OCD hold her back from using stand-up comedy to bring her parents back together.

15) On the block: stories of home

Description

A collection of twelve stories about the residents of the Entrada apartment building and how their lives are linked as multigenerational immigrant families.

16) Tale of the flying forest

Author

Description

"A Jewish girl journeys to the enchanted flying forest of Bei Ilai to find and rescue her long-lost twin brother, recovering pieces of his broken heart along the way"-- Provided by publisher.

17) Abzuglutely!: battling, bellowing Bella Abzug

Author

Description

"Battling Bella Abzug was born bellowing! From her childhood in the Bronx to her years as a lawyer, activist, wife, mother, and congresswoman, Bella battled for justice and fairness for everyone. Inspired by her Jewish upbringing and wholehearted belief in tikkun olam--repairing the world--she spoke her truth everywhere she went. Even when it wasn't appreciated. Bella just kept on battling! Sarah Aronson and Andrea D'Aquino spotlight this trailblazer...

18) Perfect match: the story of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton

Author

Formats:

Book, eBook, eAudiobook

Description

"Two women, one in the U.S and one in the UK, face discrimination in the tennis world. Friends and teammates, they knew that in order to win, they would have to draw on their strengths together. And they did"-- Provided by publisher.

19) Rachel Friedman breaks the rules

Author

Series

Rachel Friedman volume 1

Description

"Rachel is not one for rules, but when a meet-and-greet with her favorite gymnast is at risk, she must be on her best behavior, espeecially at synagogue"-- Provided by publisher.

20) Rachel Friedman and eight not-perfect nights of Hanukkah

Author

Series

Rachel Friedman volume 2

Description

Determined to make this the happiest Hanukkah, Rachel must figure out how to save the holiday when her brother Aaron's grumpiness threatens to ruin it.