Read your way through Jewish American Heritage Month-- or any month!
Revised
April 15, 2026
Whether you're celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month or just looking for a great read, check out these staff-selected titles for little kids, big kids, tweens, teens and adults.
Little kids
Picture books
2024
PICTURE BOOK Ackerman, Sara
A little girl and her grandmother spend Friday afternoon preparing for Shabbat by making challah.
2025
PICTURE BOOK Goldberg, Alison
From one sunset to the next, join a child and his family as they light a yahrzeit candle in remembrance of his grandfather and all the beautiful memories they have with him.
2025
PICTURE BOOK Joseph, Danielle
A young Jewish boy puts on a crown and wings to become the "Mitzvah Fairy," traveling throughout the day with his father and dog to perform various mitzvot (good deeds/commandments) to spread kindness and joy throughout his neighborhood.
2024
PICTURE BOOK Newman, Lesléa
Beyond excited for his baby sister's naming ceremony in the temple, Zachary and his moms invite each neighbor to come along until it's finally time for him to reveal his sister's name-- a truly joyful moment for everyone!
2025
PICTURE BOOK Sass, A.J.
Three different children, who attend the same temple, celebrate Shabbat in many different ways with their families.
2024
PICTURE BOOK Spiro, Ruth
In this exploration of the Jewish philosophy tikkun olam, which means "repair the world," a young girl seeks to solve a problem that connects her to others who are inspired to make a change and help the world become a better place.
Lexile level
500L
Board books
2025
BOARD BOOK Ultman, Suzy
Shabbat is a weekly holiday that invites everyone to stop all the doing, and just be. Introduce the sanctity of rest and relaxation to young readers!
Big kids
Picture books
2026
This collection of poems celebrates Judy Blume's childhood years. Growing up Jewish, during and in the aftermath of WWII, her younger years were full of fear and she processed her conflicted emotions by making up stories where she could control the conflict.
2024
JB Cahan, Abraham
This tribute to the founder and longtime editor of the Yiddish language newspaper the Forverts, Abraham Cahan, shows how he improved the lives of countless newly arrived Jewish immigrants who wanted to feel at home in a strange new land.
2025
J 027.67 PRI
A fire at New York's Jewish Theological Seminary library in 1966 destroyed thousands of books, but a neighborhood came together to save the stories within, in a true story of community and the essential role libraries and books play.
Chapter books
2025
J FICTION Cypess, Leah
Miriam, a young Orthodox Jew, uses her detective skills to investigate and debunk the Tooth Fairy's existence, but her investigation takes an unexpected turn that leads her to question whether the Tooth Fairy might be real after all.
Books
2024
JB Taylor, Sydney
This true story of Sarah Brenner, a poor Jewish girl from New York City's impoverished Lower East Side, shows how she became Sydney Taylor-- an actress, dancer and successful children's book author who never forgot the importance of fighting unfairness.
Lexile level
810L
2024
Shai, a 13-year-old nonbinary homeschooler, attempts to find a "new normal" post-pandemic as they start public school, meet new friends and learn about their Jewish identity.
Tweens
Books
2024
T FICTION Blum, Isaac
After her best friend is cast out of their insular Orthodox Jewish community for a seemingly innocent transgression, Yoyo Gold's eyes are opened to the truth of her neighbors’ hypocrisies for the first time. And what she sees leaves her shocked and unmoored.
2025
J FICTION Mackler, Carolyn
Two 12-year-olds living in different times-- Mason in 2023 and Talia in 1987-- discover they're able to send letters to each other through their closets, and bond over issues like bullying, family problems, antisemitism and more.
Meredith R loved this! Find out why »
2025
J FICTION Milliner, Naomi
A Jewish girl preparing for her upcoming bat mitzvah tries to keep a secret-- along with one of her sister’s.
2024
As Benji Zeb and his family work to hide their true identities as werewolves, Caleb the school bully reveals he's a werewolf, too, and needs Benji's help controlling his shifting, a situation that forces Benji to deal with his growing feelings for Caleb.
Lexile level
740L
2025
J FICTION Pixley, Marcella
Anna, a 12-year-old girl who sees ghosts of her ancestors, is bullied for being different. While staying with Bubbe, her grandmother, Anna finds comfort, but a new ghost reveals painful family secrets, and Anna sees Bubbe's life is in danger.
Chapter books
2024
J FICTION Janowitz, Jessie
When anxious 12-year-old chess prodigy Milo Bloom meets the half-sister he never knew he had and they get to know each other, he learns a new game-- the only thing that makes sense when everything else is falling apart.
Lexile level
690L
2024
J FICTION Romero, R.M.
Following the death of her mother, 11-year-old Anne discovers she has a twin brother, so she journeys to an enchanted world to find him and meets monsters and other villains while learning to lean into magic and her Jewish faith.
Teens
Books
2025
T FICTION Max, Andrea
Ada Castle joins a school her family’s been trying to access for generations to steal their innovations for the rest of the world, but the school nurtures her creativity, and when a friend goes missing, she must decide whom to betray.
2025
T FICTION Taylor, Jordyn
Grieving the loss of her mother, college student Lilah is hoping to reconnect with a grandfather who refuses to talk about his past. Then she receives a mysterious letter from a fellow student, Tommaso, claiming he's found a lost family heirloom, and her world is upended.
2025
T FICTION Vinesse, Cecilia
Two archnemeses-- the valedictorian and the class slacker-- band together for a whirlwind night after discovering they need each other to achieve their very different sunrise goals.
Graphic novels
2025
T GRAPHIC Miller, Sara
Seventeen-year-old Essie Rosen is ready to escape Long Island and join her bff at college, where she's sure she'll get into an acting program, but when she gets dumped and botches her college audition, her trajectory changes.
Adults
Books
2025
FICTION Austen, Alice
In a Brussels apartment building, an architect and his art-student daughter, an art dealer and his 18-year-old son, a seamstress, a maid, a widowed colonel and others must navigate fear, shifting allegiances and daily life just before and during the Nazi occupation.
2025
B Buchdahl, Angela
Born to a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish father, the author shares her remarkable journey from outsider to one of America’s most influential rabbis.
2025
FICTION Coll, Susan
Clemi, a broke 26-year-old booklover, lands her dream job at a literary nonprofit only to face absent leadership, legal scrutiny and a collapsing gala, leading her to question whether the literary life is worth the chaos it brings.
2026
613 EMA
Every day brings a torrent of articles, videos and podcasts about health and longevity. The author, a health expert, offers simple, high-impact, evidence-based guidelines to which lifestyle changes are worth making and how to best implement them.
Thad P loved this! Find out why »
2026
FICTION Goodman, Allegra
Following their sister's death, Sylvia and Helen, in their 80s, fall into a long-term feud, forcing their children and grandchildren to navigate messy relationships, generational trauma and personal upheavals.
2025
305.8924 HUR
An urgent exploration of how antisemitism has shaped Jewish identity and how Jews can reclaim their tradition.
2026
338.7688 KIM
A social history exploring how first-generation Jewish immigrants established the American toy industry, effectively defining 20th-century childhood.
2026
The author traces his family's journey from German Jewish roots to plantation owners in New Orleans, ultimately documenting his own journey from a secular Southern upbringing back to religious observance.
2024
641.5676 SHE
This celebration of all the Jewish holidays offers 130 recipes gathered from 30 influential chefs and food professionals around the globe, whose shared stories illuminate the diversity of the Jewish diaspora and its cuisine.
2025
FICTION Shteyngart, Gary
In a crumbling, authoritarian America, 10-year-old Vera searches for her birth mother while her parents' marriage dissolves.
2025
FICTION Sussman, Sam
When 26-year-old Evan returns home to care for his dying mother, he uncovers secrets about her bohemian past, including an intense, romantic relationship with Bob Dylan, leading him to investigate if the musician is his biological father.