Book picks similar to
The World Needs Beautiful Things by Leah Rachel Berkowitz
picture-books
jewish
boys
picture-book
Brothers
Yin - 2006
Illustrated in Chris Soentpiet's richly detailed watercolor paintings, this long-awaited follow-up to the award-winning Coolies helps to tell the precious, rare story of the first Chinese immigrants and their pursuit of the American Dream.
Hair Twins
Raakhee Mirchandani - 2021
Other days he weaves it into one long braid hanging down her back, just like a unicorn tail. But her favorite style is when he combs her hair in a tight bun on the top of her head, just like the joora he wears every day under his turban. They call this their hair twin look!
Almost to Freedom
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson - 2003
They eat together, sleep together, and even pick cotton together. So, on the night Lindy and her mama run away in search of freedom, Sally goes too. This young girl's rag doll vividly narrates her enslaved family's courageous escape through the Underground Railroad. At once heart-wrenching and uplifting, this story about friendship and the strength of the human spirit will touch the lives of all readers long after the journey has ended.
Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
Loïc Dauvillier - 2012
. . and a young girl in present-day France becoming closer to her grandmother, who can finally, after all those years, tell her story. With words by Loïc Dauvillier and art by Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo, this picture book-style comic for young readers is a touching read."Originally published in 2012 by Le Lombard under the title L'Enfant Cache"--Copyright page.
A Guide for the Perplexed
Dara Horn - 2013
When an Egyptian library invites her to visit as a consultant, her jealous sister Judith persuades her to go. But in Egypt’s postrevolutionary chaos, Josie is abducted—leaving Judith free to take over Josie’s life at home, including her husband and daughter, while Josie’s talent for preserving memories becomes a surprising test of her empathy and her only means of escape.A century earlier, another traveler arrives in Egypt: Solomon Schechter, a Cambridge professor hunting for a medieval archive hidden in a Cairo synagogue. Both he and Josie are haunted by the work of the medieval philosopher Moses Maimonides, a doctor and rationalist who sought to reconcile faith and science, destiny and free will. But what Schechter finds, as he tracks down the remnants of a thousand-year-old community’s once-vibrant life, will reveal the power and perils of what Josie’s ingenious work brings into being: a world where nothing is ever forgotten.An engrossing adventure that intertwines stories from Genesis, medieval philosophy, and the digital frontier, A Guide for the Perplexed is a novel of profound inner meaning and astonishing imagination.See also:
String Theory: The Parents Askenazi
, the digital only prequel to A Guide for the Perplexed.
Steamboat School
Deborah Hopkinson - 2016
The classroom was dark and dreary, and James knew everything outside was more exciting than anything he'd find inside.But his teacher taught him otherwise. "We make our own light here," Reverend Meachum told James. And through hard work and learning, they did, until their school was shut down by a new law forbidding African American education in Missouri. Determined to continue teaching his students, Reverend John Berry Meachum decided to build a new school-a floating school in the Mississippi River, just outside the boundary of the unjust law.Based on true events, Ron Husband's uplifting illustrations bring to life Deborah Hopkinson's tale of a resourceful, determined teacher; his bright, inquisitive students; and their refusal to accept discrimination based on the color of their skin.
Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom
Shane W. Evans - 2011
They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad."A stellar introduction to the Underground Railroad, narrated by a group of slaves. Readers experience the fugitives' escape, their long nighttime journey punctuated by meetings with friends and enemies, and their final glorious arrival in a place of freedom....Though subdued in palette until the eruption of color as the figures reach the threshold of freedom, the author's collaged nocturnal paintings shimmer with an arresting luminescence." For preschool to grade 3 readers. --Jayne Damron, School Library Journal (starred review)
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman
Alan Schroeder - 1996
But she was just a little girl for a while--and this is her story. Minty, short for Araminta, was a feisty and headstrong young slave, whose rebellious spirit often got her into trouble. She told stories to her doll, released animals from traps, and, above all, dreamed of running away. And when her father began to teach her the skills necessary for escape, she listened carefully, and learned. . . .*Rich with melodrama, suspense, pathos, and, of course, a powerful vision of freedom. This exquisitely crafted book resonates well beyond its few pages.--Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewWinner of the Coretta Scott King AwardAn ALA Notable Book
The Whispering Town
Jennifer Riesmeyer Elvgren - 2014
It is 1943 in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Anett and her parents are hiding a Jewish woman and her son, Carl, in their cellar until a fishing boat can take them across the sound to neutral Sweden. The soldiers patrolling their street are growing suspicious, so Carl and his mama must make their way to the harbor despite a cloudy sky with no moon to guide them. Worried about their safety, Anett devises a clever and unusual plan for their safe passage to the harbor. Based on a true story.
The Key from Spain
Debbie Levy - 2019
When Flory flees Europe during World War II to begin a new life in the United States, she carries Ladino with her, along with her other precious possessions--her harmoniku and her music. But what of the key? The story of Ladino singer, Flory Jagoda.
Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America
Susan Goldman Rubin - 2012
Since he was a young boy, Jean longed to be a pirate, and with the help of his brothers and uncle, he became one when he was just a teenager. Soon the only life he knew was on the high seas—a life full of glory, riches, disaster, and revenge. When he finally settled down in New Orleans, he managed to become a successful businessman and respected citizen, while still pirating. He even helped the United States win the War of 1812 when he alerted the U.S. government to a British plot to invade via New Orleans. With the help of Laffite and his pirates, General Andrew Jackson was able to beat back the British.
Praise for Jean Laffite:
"Move over, Jack Sparrow, and make way for Jean Laffite. This well-informed narrative gives readers a sense of what was happening in the world at the time as well as what it was like to be a real pirate."--School Library Journal"Cinematic illustrations by Jeff Himmelman add to the excitement. Filled with fascinating facts and dynamic pictures, Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America is sure to captivate both pirate-loving children and their parents, as well."--Jewish Book Council
When I Was Eight
Christy Jordan-Fenton - 2013
Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father’s warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders’ school to learn. The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do menial chores, but she remains undaunted. Her tenacity draws the attention of a black-cloaked nun who tries to break her spirit at every turn. But the young girl is more determined than ever to learn how to read. Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, and complemented by stunning illustrations, When I Was Eight makes the bestselling Fatty Legs accessible to younger readers. Now they, too, can meet this remarkable girl who reminds us what power we hold when we can read.
The Girl of the Wish Garden
Uma Krishnaswami - 2013
Because she is so tiny, adventure and mishap easily befall her — a giant frog leaves her stranded on a lily pad, she is freed by curious fish, then pestered by crazy bugs. Lina lives by herself in the depths of a forest until the cold of winter approaches and she begins to feel lonely. She encounters a mouse, who is happy to have someone to dust and sweep for him, but one day in the back room of his house Lina comes across the body of a swallow. The mouse is convinced the bird is dead but Lina, thinking she sees a wing tremble, brings it food and water. Amazingly, the swallow revives and the two of them fly together to the garden of wishes…Iranian-born illustrator Nasrin Khosravi won the Grand Prize at the Noma Concours in Japan (2000) and was selected as best illustrator at the Tehran International Biennial of Illustration (1999) when these paintings were first published in a Farsi version of Andersen’s tale. They now grace this new Thumbelina story, giving young readers in North America an opportunity to delight in her work. Uma Krishnaswami’s text perfectly captures the spirit of the luminous illustrations, creating a book that is beautiful, magical and mysterious.
The Hope
Herman Wouk - 1993
In The Hope, his long-awaited return to historical fiction, he turns to one of the most thrilling stories of our time - the saga of Israel. In the grand, epic style of The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, The Hope plunges the reader into the major battles, the disasters and victories, and the fragile periods of peace from the 1948 War of Independence to the astounding triumph of the Six-Day War in 1967. And since Israelis have seen their share of comic mishaps as well as heroism, this novel offers some of Herman Wouk's most amusing scenes since the famed "strawberry business" in The Caine Mutiny. First to last The Hope is a tale of four Israeli army officers and the women they love: Zev Barak, Viennese-born cultured military man; Benny Luria, ace fighter pilot with religious stirrings; Sam Pasternak, sardonic and mysterious Mossad man; and an antic dashing warrior they call Kishote, Hebrew for Quixote, who arrives at Israel's first pitched battle a refugee boy on a mule and over the years rises to high rank. In the love stories of these four men, the author of Marjorie Morningstar has created a gallery of three memorable Israeli women and one quirky fascinating American, daughter of a high CIA official and headmistress of a Washington girls school. With the authenticity, authority, and narrative force of Wouk's finest fiction, The Hope portrays not so much the victory of one people over another, as the gallantry of the human spirit, surviving and triumphing against crushing odds. In that sense it can be called a tale of hope for all mankind; a note that Herman Wouk has struck in all his writings, against the prevailing pessimism of our turbulent century.
The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems
Paul B. Janeczko - 2019
Janeczko and Richard Jones invite you to enjoy an assortment of poems that inform and inspire.Today I walked outside and spied a hedgehog on the hill. When she and I met eye to eye, she raised up straight and still. Be they practical (how to mix a pancake or how to bird-watch) or fanciful (how to scare monsters or how to be a snowflake), the poems in this book boast a flair and joy that you won't find in any instruction manual. Poets from Kwame Alexander to Pat Mora to Allan Wolf share the way to play hard, to love nature, and to be grateful. Soft, evocative illustrations will encourage readers to look at the world with an eye to its countless possibilities.