Summer Reading for Kids
2004
Some great choices from the Association of Jewish
Libraries list of award winners and notable books for this year. The CAJE
Library has all of these books as well as many other new books and videos
for all age levels. Do come and check them out.
2003 SYDNEY TAYLOR AWARD
WINNER FOR YOUNGER READERS
Davis,
Aubrey. BAGELS FROM BENNY. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 2003. Picture
book for Kdg. – Gr.3.
How do we thank G-d? Benny puts some of the delicious bagels his grandpa
bakes in the Holy Ark of the synagogue every week. When the bagels
disappear, he is sure that G-d has accepted his gift until he discovers
that a hungry jobless person has been eating them. Delight turns to
disappointment but then to understanding, as grandpa explains that by
feeding someone hungry, Benny has truly thanked G-d by his acts of
tzedakah (righteous acts,charity) and tikkun olam (making the
world a better place). Fittingly, Benny’s mitzvah prompts the
now-employed bagel beneficiary to resolve to help others. The quirky
illustrations, colored mainly in shades of warmly baked brown, are perfect
companions to a story that freshly expresses some of the most profound of
Jewish values.
2003 SYDNEY TAYLOR AWARD WINNER FOR OLDER
READERS
Patz,
Nancy. WHO WAS THE WOMAN WHO WORE THE HAT? NY: Dutton, 2003.
Holocaust meditation for grade 4 through adults.
On a visit to Amsterdam’s Jewish Historical Museum, author-illustrator
Nancy Patz was struck by an exhibit of an unknown woman’s hat and inspired
to create this small book - a meditation on the Holocaust, on life and
death, and on memory. The spare text ponders the whys and the hows of the
Holocaust. Patz finds the events which overtook the woman in the hat a
challenge to human understanding and she struggles with the awareness that
but for the vagaries of time and place, she or her loved ones might have
been among the victims. The simple yet powerful prose poem is accompanied
by a collage-like arrangement of somber-toned watercolors, pencil
drawings, and old photographs. Together, they create a deeply moving book
that adults as well as children will find unforgettable.
HONOR BOOKS FOR YOUNGER
READERS
Koralek, Jenny. THE MOSES BASKET.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003. Bible
story for Preschool – Grade 2.
Moses’ sister, Miriam, and their mother are heroes in this
handsomely illustrated version of the biblical account of his birth and
rescue from the Nile by Pharaoh’s
daughter.
Schuman, Burt E. CHANUKAH ON THE PRAIRIE. NY: UAHC Press,
2002. Immigration story for Grades 2-4.
An immigrant family leaves
Poland and settles in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where a thriving
Jewish community welcomes them. Based on real events.
Silverman, Erica. WHEN THE CHICKENS WENT ON STRIKE: A ROSH HASHANAH
TALE. NY: Dutton, 2003. Rosh Hashanah story for Grades 2 – 4.
Exhilarating illustrations capture the essence of this
delightfully written tale about repentance and its meaning, adapted from a
short story by Sholom Aleichem and perfect for reading aloud.
NOTABLE BOOKS FOR YOUNGER
READERS
Baer, Julie. I ONLY
LIKE WHAT I LIKE. Peoria, IL: Bollix Books, 2003. Picture book for
Preschool.
Vignettes about childhood likes and dislikes are strikingly
illustrated with quilt-like designs whose images, lines, and colors evoke a
small child’s imaginative perception of his world.
Blanc, Esther
Silverstein and Godeane Eagle. LONG JOHNS FOR A SMALL CHICKEN.
Volcano, CA: Volcano Press, 2003. Picture book for Kdg.-Gr.3.
When a fierce Nebraska hailstorm batters a little chick, Mama
makes him his own pair of long johns to keep him warm. The vintage setting,
kindness, and humor of the story are captured in its illustrations.
Blumberg, Margie.
AVRAM’S GIFT. Bethesda, MD: MB Publishing, 2003.
Holiday story for Grades 2-4.
A well-illustrated chapter book that affirms the values of
family, tradition, and continuity. The sounding of the shofar during the
High Holidays is an important part of the plot.
Podwal, Mark. A SWEET
YEAR: A TASTE OF THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS. NY: Doubleday, 2003. Holidays for
Grade 2 and up.
A lyrically written and rather sophisticated look at the Jewish holidays
through the food traditionally associated with each of them. Podwal's
gouache and acrylic paintings are inspired.
Rosenfeld, Dina. FIVE ALIVE! MY YOM TOV FIVE SENSES. NY: Hachai,
2003. Holidays for Preschool.
Through a simple rhyming story and cheerful illustrations, young children
are encouraged to see, hear, smell, taste and touch some of the major Jewish
holidays.
Rouss, Sylvia.
TALI’S JERUSALEM SCRAPBOOK.
NY: Pitspopany Press, 2003.
Fiction for Grades 2 – 4.
An Israeli child’s feelings about the conflict in her beloved city
are explored in this illustrated story.
Seeger, Pete. TURN,
TURN, TURN. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Bible story for grades 2 – 4.
Readers will turn, turn, turn their heads to appreciate all of
the details in the circular illustrations that complement passages from
Ecclesiastes made into a song by Pete Seeger. An audio CD is included.
Sper, Emily. THE
PASSOVER SEDER. NY: Scholastic/Cartwheel, 2003. Passover
novelty book for Preschool – Grade 3.
Lift the flaps, rub the textures, turn the wheels, and pull the
tabs to learn about the Seder and a few Hebrew words.
Spinner, Stephanie.
ITS’ A MIRACLE! A HANUKKAH STORYBOOK. NY: Atheneum, 2003. Hanukkah
story for Grades 1 – 3.
Those bedtime stories that Grandma Karen tells Owen during
Hanukkah remind him of people he knows. At a family celebration on the
eighth night, he finds out for sure that the story characters are his very
own relatives!
Stampler, Ann Redisch.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. NY: Clarion, 2003. Folktale for Grades 2 – 4.
In a captivating trickster tale, a peace-loving dog foils three
rowdy cats who terrorize the neighborhood by playing upon their greed. This
wry look at the oft- disturbed peace of the Eastern European shtetl is
beautifully illustrated.
Ungar, Richard.
RACHEL’S GIFT. Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra Books, 2003.
Passover story for grades 1 – 3.
The prophet Elijah appears in many guises and only young Rachel
realizes that he has visited her house and left a very precious gift.
HONOR BOOKS FOR OLDER
READERS
Broida, Marian. ANCIENT ISRAELITES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: AN ACTIVITY
GUIDE. Chicago, IL: Chicago
Review Press, Inc., 2003. Nonfiction for Grades 4-8.
A lively, hands-on look at the origins, cultures, and every day lives of
the ancient Israelites, Philistines, and Phoenicians, based on
archaeological evidence and biblical scholarship.
Feinstein, Edward. TOUGH QUESTIONS JEWS ASK: A YOUNG ADULT' S GUIDE
TO BUILDING A JEWISH LIFE. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights
Publishing, 2003. Nonfiction for Grades 7 –10.
A Conservative rabbi tackles ultimate issues matter-of-factly, setting
Jewish commitment within a larger frame of spiritual development.
Mack, Tracy. BIRDLAND. NY:
Scholastic Press, 2003. Contemporary fiction for Grades 6 –10.
Jazz, poetry, and film making in
Greenwich Village are vivid counterpoints
to the moving story of thirteen year old Jed, his parents, and their grief
over the death of Jed’s older brother.
NOTABLE BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS
Claybourne, Anna. GOLDA MEIR.
Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2003. Biography for Grades 5-8.
The life of Golda Meir and the history of modern Israel are inseparably
woven into this readable biography.
Geras, Adele. MY
GRANDMOTHER’S STORIES: A COLLECTION OF JEWISH FOLKTALES. NY: Alfred A.
Knopf, 2003. Folklore for Grades 3- 6.
Sparkling new illustrations grace this collection of Jewish
folktales. An earlier edition illustrated by another artist won the Sydney
Taylor Book Award in 1990.
Hesse, Karen. THE STONE LAMP: EIGHT STORIES OF HANUKKAH THROUGH HISTORY
NY: Hyperion Books, 2003. Hanukkah/ History for Grades 4-7.
Narrative poems about times of crisis in Jewish history. Striking
illustrations and very discussable!
Hopkinson, Deborah.
SHUTTING OUT THE SKY: LIFE IN THE TENEMENTS OF
NEW YORK, 1880-1924.
Orchard Books/ Scholastic Press, 2003. Jewish
American history for Grades 5-8.
Documentary photographs and the voices of five young immigrants transport
readers into the teeming streets and crowded tenements of New York’s Lower
East Side.
Kushner, Tony.
BRUNDIBAR. Illus. by Maurice Sendak. NY: Michael Di Capua Books/
Hyperion, 2003. Illustrated story for Grades 3 and up, including adults.
A sassy narrative style and splendid, multi-meaningful illustrations capture
both the fairy tale charm and the underlying menace of a children’s opera
that was performed by prisoners in the Terezin concentration camp.
Levitin, Sonia. ROOM
IN THE HEART. NY: Dutton, 2003. Holocaust fiction for Grades 6 –10.
The German occupation of Denmark and its impact on a circle of middle class
families - Jewish and non-Jewish - compel them to act on their beliefs.
Matas, Carol. ROSIE
IN NEW YORK CITY: GOTCHA!
NY: Aladdin/Simon and Schuster, 2003. Historical fiction for Grades 4-7.
It's 1909 and plucky Rosie becomes a labor organizer, participating in the
making of the American Jewish community. The first in a series.
Miklowitz, Gloria.D. THE ENEMY HAS A FACE. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2003. Contemporary fiction for Grades 6-9.
An Israeli teenager’s disappearance propels this suspenseful story that
reveals some of the tensions in Israeli-Palestinian relations. The Los
Angeles setting brings the conflict home to American teens; the ending is
painful.
Rose, Or. ABRAHAM
JOSHUA HESCHEL: MAN OF SPIRIT, MAN OF ACTION. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish
Publication Society, 2003. Biography for Grades 5-8.
The life and work of a one of the twentieth century’s most important Jewish
thinkers are introduced.
Sonneborn, Liz.
MURDER AT THE 1972 OLYMPICS IN
MUNICH. NY: Rosen Publishing,
2003. History for Grades 4-6.
A detailed account of the Palestinian terrorist attack on a group of Israeli
athletes and its aftermath.
Spinelli, Jerry.
MILKWEED. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. Holocaust fiction for Grades 8 –
12.
The horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto are plumbed in this powerful
story about a homeless, orphan boy who survives by stealing food and whose
first real experience of love is for a doomed Jewish family.
Stone, Tanya. ILAN
RAMON: ISRAEL'S FIRST
ASTRONAUT. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press,
2003. Biography for Grades 4-7.
Israeli hero, role model and mensch – Ilan Ramon fits all
descriptions, as this poignant biography makes clear.
Tryszynska-Frederick,
Luba. LUBA: THE ANGEL OF
BERGEN-BELSEN. As told to
Michelle McCannBerkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2003. Illustrated Holocaust
biography for Grades 4 – 7.
Deeply colored, dramatic illustrations enhance this true story
of a woman who rescued and risked her life to save a group of abandoned
Jewish children in a Nazi concentration camp.
Welton, Jude. MARC
CHAGALL. Danbury, CT: Franklin Watts, 2003.
Biography for Grades 4 – 7.
The artist’s long, productive and exciting life is documented
with family photographs and handsome illustrations.
