Jewish American Heritage Month
Book and Author Recommendations
May is Jewish American Heritage Month, and we are proud to celebrate the many contributions American Jews have made in our country. Below is a suggested reading list that highlights aspects of Jewish identity and Jewish historical figures, divided by reading levels, as well as a list of distinguished Jewish authors.
Please share this list with your school librarian to create a display of books that celebrates Jewish American Heritage Month!
*Indicates Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Jewish author or story.
Jewish American Heritage Month
Book and Author Recommendations
This is a non-exhaustive list of books that celebrate aspects of Jewish identity or Jewish historical figures, divided by the suggested reading age group. There is also a list of Jewish authors who write about both Jewish identity and other subject areas.
Please share this list with your school librarian to create a display of books that center Jewish American identities and peoplehood and a display of famous Jewish authors!
A Perfect Fit: How Lena “Lane” Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion by Mara Rockliff
Abuelita’s Secret Matzahs by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
Always an Olivia: A Remarkable Family History by Carolivia Herron
As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson and Raul Colon
Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin
Elan, Son of Two Peoples by Heidi Smith Hyde and Mikela Prevost
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy, Elizabeth Baddeley
Jalapeño Bagels by Natasha Wing
Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco
Tía Fortuna’s New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey by Ruth Behar
Two New Years by Richard Ho*
What Jewish Looks Like by Liz Kleinrock and Caroline Kusin Pritchard*
What Makes Someone A Jew? By Lauren Seidman*
Aviva vs. the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe
Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner’s Call to Science by Jeannine Atkins
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Freedman*
Saint Ivy: Kind at All Costs by Laurie Morrison
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani*
The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman
This Is Just a Test by Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg*
Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen
What Jewish Looks Like by Liz Kleinrock and Caroline Kusin Pritchard*
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Judy Blume
Charlie Chaplin
Bob Dylan
Albert Einstein
Anne Frank
Harry Houdini
Ralph Lauren
Stan Lee
Harvey Milk
Maurice Sendak
Dr. Seuss
Stephen Spielberg
Gloria Steinem
R.L. Stine
Levi Strauss
The Three Stooges
A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow
Alma Presses Play by Tina Cane*
As if on Cue by Marisa Kanter
Chloe Leiberman (Sometimes Wong) by Carrie Rosten*
Color Me In by Natasha Diaz
From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos
Lessons in Fusion by Primrose Madayag Knazan*
Strange Creatures by Phoebe North
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman
We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman
We Are Not Strangers: A Graphic Novel by Josh Tuininga* (Local author!)
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by E. Lockhart
Sholem Aleichem
Hannah Arendt
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Judy Blume
Mel Brooks
Michael Chabon
Anita Diamant
Nora Ephron
Anne Frank
Neil Gaiman
Daniel Handler
Joseph Heller
Alice Hoffman
Franz Kafka
Ezra Jack Keats
Eric Kimmel
Liz Kleinrock*
Nicole Krauss
Primo Levi
James McBride
Arthur Miller
Lesléa Newman
Boris Pasternak
Patricia Polacco
Chaim Potok
Ayn Rand
Michael Rosen
Philip Roth
Jonathan Safran Foer
J.D. Salinger
Maurice Sendak
Dr. Seuss
Ari Shapiro
Shel Silverstein
Art Spiegelman
Gertrude Stein
David Ezra Stein
Gloria Steinem
R.L. Stine
Sydney Taylor
Michael Twitty
Leon Uris
Judith Viorst
Elie Wiesel
Jane Yolen
*Indicates AANHPI Jewish author or story.
Join the Federation and the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History for a presentation about their new curriculum, Stories That Shaped a Nation: Jewish Lives in America.
Last month, the Federation launched Shared Table, a pilot program bringing together dozens of Jews from across Greater Seattle with diverse religious and political perspectives.
A four-part webinar series designed to help Jewish communal leaders, professionals, and community members better understand the complex and evolving landscape of immigration policy and enforcement.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month, making it a particularly meaningful opportunity to educate our elected officials about our Jewish community and talk about the issues that matter to us. The Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council will be doing an advocacy fly-in to Washington, D.C., in May, and we hope you can join us!
