Meet Yetta, a Yiddish-speaking chicken, who has just been moved to Brooklyn against her will. After being “cooped up” in a butcher shop, she successfully escapes to the wilds of the urban streets, where she is befriended by Spanish-speaking parrots. This delightful book for young readers is a collaboration of the dynamic husband-and-wife team, veteran children’s book author Daniel Pinkwater and illustrator Jill Pinkwater.

Multilingual and multitalented, Haym Salomon was one of the most important figures during this country’s fight for independence. Susan Goldman Rubin’s account of his contributions to the Revolutionary War effort brings alive for young readers the life of a Polish-born Jewish-American patriot.

Roxanne was born in Israel, but as an eighth-grader in New York, she desperately wants to “Americanize” and fit in with her peers. She and her younger sister do everything they can to devour American culture of the 1980s, the period in which this novel takes place. A 2010 Gold Medal winner in the Older Readers Category by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries, “Wings” has received universal praise by critics for its depiction of the immigrant child’s experience. 

Andrew is an aspiring comedian who looks up to his neighbor, Mr. Pearlstein, a former vaudevillian who opened for Henny Youngman. Young Andrew and Mr. Pearlstein strike a deal: He’ll tutor Mr. Pearlstein in Hebrew for the Bar Mitzvah the older man will finally celebrate, and Mr. Pearlstein will teach the growing boy his best jokes. Said the School Library Journal: “Zalben excels at depicting the rich diversity and fast pace of New York City as a backdrop for an affectional portrayal of a closely knit family … and developing the intergenerational relationship between Andrew and his elderly pal.”

Sandy Koufax was one of the greatest pitchers of the 20^th century. The Brooklyn Dodger was also one of the first Jewish Americans to make it big in the major league. “That Koufax was a Jew playing baseball at a time when the game was still deeply segregated is mentioned and honored, particularly with the anecdote of how he gave up his spot in the World Series rotation to observe a Jewish High Holy Day,” notes the School Library Journal.

As we prepare for our own Passover seders at the end of March, here's a tale of one boy's courageous efforts to celebrate the holiday while in hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Booklist said, "... this book doesn't sensationalize the brutality ... Jacques finds community and strength in the history of his people."

Buy The Secret Seder at Amazon.com and benefit Parents Place!

In February, we mark President’s Day, an occasion for paying tribute to our leaders and for learning more about Jewish-American leaders. Malka Drucker’s 21 portraits of Jewish Americans of stature span the spectrum: from United States Supreme Court Justices Louis Brandeis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, United States Representative Bella Abzug, and feminist and writer Gloria Steinem, to civil rights activist Andrew Goodman, civil rights leader Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, journalist Daniel Pearl, and astronaut Judith Resnik. Says Publisher’s Weekly: “The author manages to kvell without lapsing into gooeyness, and she’s always perceptive, honest, and fair.”

The recipient of the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Readers, this inspiring account of two  American civil rights leaders—an African-American minister and a Polish-born rabbi—powerfully brings to life the meaning of justice for all.

Each year, Rachel and her family invite their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Greenberg, to their Hanukkah celebration—and each year, Mrs. Greenberg declines. In this delightful book, recommended for children ages 4 – 8, Rachel cooks up an ingenious scheme to charm a lonely older woman into participating in the holiday’s festivities.

Molly, a young Russian Jewish immigrant, teaches her classmates important lessons about religious tolerance and freedom during the Thanksgiving season. Her fellow students soon come to understand that Molly is as much a pilgrim as the original settlers of the Plymouth Colony. This moving tale, originally published in 1983, inspired an Academy Award-winning short film.