The past year has seen a bumper crop of new Jewish children’s books, with the tapestry of titles celebrating a wide array of peoples, places and Jewish traditions. Perhaps the abundance of titles expresses a communal need for more Jewish stories or a desire to delight in the cozy joy of reading a picture book with family when the outside world seems uncertain.

Whatever the reason, several themes stand out, from books on Shabbat to ones that, with the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, reflect on Jewish contributions to the nation’s history. Inspiring illustrated biographies introduce figures such as pioneering librarian Fanny Goldstein—who created Jewish Book Week, the precursor to Jewish Book Month—and Eddie Jacobson, President Harry S. Truman’s old friend and confidant, who had a significant impact on the leader’s support for the nascent State of Israel.

And for holiday gift-giving, books about Hanukkah light up children’s imaginations in whimsical and creative ways, from stories of an imaginary dragon and festive felines to tales about carrying on old traditions while finding belonging in a new neighborhood.

The Peddler and the President
By Ann Diamant Koffsky. Illustrated by Pedro Rodríguez (Apples & Honey Press)

Harry (the future President Truman) and Eddie (Eddie Jacobson, child of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania) were lifelong friends from Kansas City, Mo. They served together in the army during World War I and became business partners in a haberdashery shop after the war. When the shop fell on hard times during the Great Depression, however, they went their separate ways. Eddie became a traveling salesman who eventually opened his own clothing store, while Harry pursued politics.

With crisp linework and watercolor illustrations that evoke an earlier era, The Peddler and the President charmingly depicts their deep friendship, despite the antisemitism in Harry’s family and even when work and family life kept them busy. “Sometimes they would meet at Eddie’s house to play cards or music, go fishing on the Missouri River, or meet up at Dixon’s Chili Parlor for ribs.”

Then, in 1948, their friendship made history when Eddie convinced his old friend—now president of the United States—to back the creation of a modern Jewish state. Based on the true story of Truman and Jacobson’s friendship, this book illuminates an important moment in American Jewish history.

 

Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born
By Richard Michelson. Illustrated by Alyssa Russell (Rocky Pond Books)

The first Jewish librarian to direct a branch of the Boston Public Library, Fanny Goldstein believed libraries should act as gateways to other cultures and ideas. At her West End branch, where she worked from 1919 to 1957, she stocked shelves with books in many languages and organized book clubs, turning the library into a gathering place for the neighborhood’s Jewish, Italian and Irish immigrants. Indeed, as her grandmother told her back in Russia, before the family’s move to America, “The more you know about someone’s life, the harder it is not to like them.”

Engaging and informative, Fanny’s Big Idea, a standout even among this year’s impressive class of new picture books, describes how the librarian came to realize that many of her American-born Jewish patrons did not read about their own heritage. So she came up with something new: Jewish Book Week.

First held during Hanukkah 1925, the celebration featured books, food and community. Goldstein fried latkes, braised brisket and welcomed both Jewish and non-Jewish young readers from across Boston to join in a weeklong festival that mixed tradition with discovery. The event eventually turned into National Jewish Book Week and led to the creation of the Jewish Book Council of America. (Today, the annual observance has expanded beyond a week, falling the month before Hanukkah.)

 

A Dragon Called Spark: A Hanukkah Story
By Lily Murray. Illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman (Kalaniot Books)

When Eva moves into a new home with her mom and sister, a small imaginary dragon named Spark helps her find the courage to talk to the other children in her neighborhood. It is Hanukkah, however, that works its greatest magic. Each night, as candles shine and her family welcomes new neighbors to share in the holiday, Eva’s world grows brighter. With each passing night of Hanukkah, Eva takes more steps to build friendships, until the last night, when eight imaginary dragons, one for each new friend, soar through her living room. “My most magical Hanukkah ever,” Eva thinks to herself.

 

Lost and Found Hanukkah
By Joy Preble. Illustrated by Lisa Anchin (Chronicle Books)

Nate loves Hanukkah, especially “how it is always the same,” but in Joy Preble’s sweet story, he must learn to accept change. When his family moves to a new apartment, the movers lose a box containing his beloved menorah. When his two dads—Daddy and Abba—take him to a neighborhood shop to buy a new one, Nate ends up helping someone else find something that was lost and, in the process, makes a new friend.

“Hanukkah means rededication, which is beginning something again,” Nate realizes. “You miss what you had before, but you celebrate what you got back.”

 

Slow Down, Shoshi! It’s Shabbat in Uganda
By Shoshana Nambi. Illustrated by Moran Yogev (Kalaniot Books)

Shoshi is a little girl growing up in a rural Ugandan Jewish community, where she lives on her grandparents’ coffee farm. She cannot wait for the coffee trees to bloom so her grandfather can sell the beans to a cooperative. When the coffee is finally harvested, Shoshi, who is always in a rush, hurries to the market to shop for everything her family will need for Shabbat. “Slow down, Shoshi,” her grandmother reminds her. “No matter how fast you go, Shabbat will come at sunset.”

In time, Shoshi learns to pause and savor the day alongside her family and neighbors. Depicted through richly detailed drawings by Israeli illustrator Moran Yogev, Shoshi’s story is endearing and no doubt relatable to the many children who struggle to sit still or wait for special celebrations like Shabbat.

Inspired by Nambi’s own childhood in the Abayudaya Jewish community in the hilly Mbale District in Eastern Uganda, where her family cultivated arabica coffee beans, this vivid picture book captures the rhythms of farm life and tradition as well as the joys of slowing down.

 

Fairy GodBubbie’s Shabbat
Written and illustrated by Ann Diament Koffsky (Intergalactic Afikoman)

Sara Mazel and her parents are always glued to their phones, laptops and tablets. One day, the blue-haired, jewelry-bedecked Fairy GodBubbie, worried that no one in the family is “schmoozing, noshing and kibbitzing,” shows up uninvited and, with a flick of her wand, gifts Sara a pair of magical Shabbat candles that, when lit, freeze everyone’s devices. With no screens to stare at, the Mazels have no choice but to celebrate Shabbat together. To their surprise, the three enjoy a nice meal, and the next day, they play board games and go for a stroll.

This humorous, whimsical picture book with its timely message about the importance of reducing screen time will delight children and their grownups with its playful focus on connecting face-to-face.

 

Jason Belongs: The Story of Jason Schachter McKinney
By Audrey Ades and Jason Schachter McKinney. Illustrated by Isabel Munoz (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Jason is the son of a Jewish mother and an African American father who grows up attending a Jewish day school, where he sings in the choir. But as a teenager, whispers from classmates questioning whether he is really Jewish leave him feeling like an outsider.

Jason’s story, as recounted in this new title, follows him as he leaves the Jewish community, enrolls in public school and stops going to synagogue. Meanwhile, his voice matures, “sinking down, down, down into a beautiful baritone, deep and sweet as a river of honey.”

Years later, after traveling the world as a performer and exploring his spirituality, Jason finds his way back to Judaism—drawn one Friday evening by the sound of prayers at an old synagogue in Antwerp, Belgium.

Based on the true story of singer, actor and composer Jason Schachter McKinney, currently the musical director at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, N.C., this poignant recounting combines lyrical storytelling with vibrant, striking illustrations to share a journey of identity, resilience and return.

 

With a Needle and Thread: A Jewish Folktale from Cuba
By Jennifer Stempel. Illustrated by Libi Axelrod (Kalaniot Books)

Romi and her grandmother, who is a seamstress, live together in a Jewish community in Cuba. When Romi grows out of her dress, her grandmother saves the fabric and stitches it into a blanket for a new baby in their town. “ ‘In Cuba, nothing goes to waste,’ Abuelita says. Romi knows her abuelita can make magic from anything.” Indeed, as the years pass, the fabric takes on new life as it is remade into a tallit for Romi’s friend Manuel’s bar mitzvah; a chuppah when Romi and Manuel marry; and finally, a tablecloth for neighborhood simchas.

Set against evocative watercolorstyle illustrations, author Libi Axelrod plumbs her own rich Cuban Jewish heritage to explore the traditions and social fabric that weaves a community together through every season of life.

 

Twinkle, Twinkle, Hanukkah
By Talia Benamy. Illustrated by Aura Lewis (Workman Kids)

Set to the familiar rhythm of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” this delightful board book reveals the joys of Hanukkah to the littlest members of our families. Lewis’s vibrant illustrations capture children lighting the menorah, spinning dreidels, savoring latkes and sufganiyot and celebrating with song and dance. Benamy’s playful rhymes—“Brightly, brightly candles shine. The shamash lights them in line”—turn the story into a cheerful, singalong read.

 

Happy HanukKAT
By Jessica Hickman. Illustrated by Elissambura (Kar-Ben Publishing)

A family of cats celebrates the Festival of Lights in this silly, pun-filled rhyming board book. When hearing about the history of the holiday, the cats learn about the Maccabees’ “courage and the customs that they saved. The cats agree the Maccabees were pawsitively brave.” Wearing Hanukkah sweaters and dreidel hats, the felines engage in holiday rituals, games and foods. A great way to introduce Hanukkah to young children, Jessica Hickman’s rhymes and Elissambura’s whimsical illustrations will be sure to amuse toddlers and preschoolers.

 

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Alexandra Lapkin Schwank is a freelance writer who lives in the Boston area with her family.