Picture books occupy a special place in literature, transporting little readers to times and places both real and imagined. In this selection of new and forthcoming Jewish picture books, preschoolers, young readers and their grownups journey to Tel Aviv, New Orleans and the fabled village of Chelm, among other places, exploring themes of resilience, change and community.

Two new biographies stand out. One chronicles the life of the celebrated mime Marcel Marceau, whose artistry drew from his work with the French Resistance. The other follows a young man as he forms a bond with the remaining members of a once-vibrant synagogue.

Other picture books pair sayings from Jewish texts with lessons in courage, kindness and joy, or teach a bisel Yiddish. Finally, the Festival of Lights is observed in humorous and sweet Hanukkah stories.

Hamantaschen for Hanukkah?!
By Maurice J. Elias. Illustrated by Hector Borlasca (Tiny Torch Books)

The fabled town of Chelm from Yiddish folktales is revived in this story of a holiday mix-up. When, on the day before Hanukkah, the townsfolk receive a much-delayed letter from the chief rabbi telling them that he is coming tomorrow to celebrate Purim, they bring out their groggers and bake hamantaschen. “‘If the Chief Rabbi says tomorrow is Purim, then tomorrow is Purim,’ declared Chelm’s rabbi, Rav Velvel.” The people of Chelm embark on a spirited debate about which holiday to celebrate, leading to a delicious resolution.

Hector Borlasca’s highly animated, funny portrayals of Chelm villagers highlight the town’s silly spirit.

Pippa’s Hanukkah Hunt
By Vivian Kirkfield. Illustrated by Jill Weber (Holiday House)

Pippa, a little mouse, scours the forest for potatoes just before Hanukkah in this heartwarming rhyming tale for very young readers. With the help of woodland friends, she gathers enough food, including beets, leeks and carrots, for a holiday feast and cooks up plenty of latkes to share: “The latkes’ rainbow colors shine and soon it’s time to sit and dine.”

Jill Weber’s vibrant winter scenes bring life to Vivian Kirkfield’s story about making space for everyone.

Golem, Golem, Golem (Or How Hanukkah Was Saved)
By Richard Ho. Illustrated by Carmel Ben Ami (Roaring Brook Press)

In Richard Ho’s quirky, fun take on the lyric “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay,” a young boy receives a lump of clay at school to make a dreidel, just like every year at Hanukkah. Tired of making the same holiday craft, instead “he studies legends, searches his imagination and turns his lump of clay…into a golem.” The little creature springs to life and wreaks havoc on everything in sight, only to set things right through a Hanukkah miracle.

Carmel Ben Ami’s playful illustrations depict the diversity of the Jewish community as children of different appearances come together to participate in chaotic holiday moments as well as warm family scenes.

Toby’s a Mensch: Learn Yiddish from a Very Good Dog
Written and illustrated by Jonathan Sandmel (Neal Porter Books)

A sister and brother spend the day taking care of their three-legged dog, Toby, while teaching readers Yiddish words along the way, like “schlep,” “nosh” and “chutzpah.” Playful, minimalist illustrations accompany Jonathan Sandmel’s text. His definition of “Oy vey!” as “Can you believe it? And are you kidding me? It’s a really great thing to say all the time” is especially clever.

In the afterword, the author, who describes the book as a love letter to the words he heard growing up, provides a brief history of Yiddish, tracing its roots from Germany and Eastern Europe to North America. 

The Tenth Man: A Miracle of Jewish Faith and Friendship in New Orleans
By Artie Bennett. Illustrated by Shira Neiss(Holiday House)

When Alex Brown, a young man living in New Orleans, walks by a ramshackle synagogue on a sweltering August day in 1988, he hears Shabbat prayers emanating from the open windows. Seeking solace after his grandfather’s recent death, Alex knocks on the doors of Anshe Sfard and is welcomed with open arms; the nine men praying within need a 10th for their minyan.

Based on a true story, the book chronicles Alex’s relationship with the congregation, made up of Holocaust survivors from Poland who had lost their entire families and immigrated to the United States after the war. “They were tailors, shoemakers, grocers, schmatte sellers, deli owners and iron workers…. And they were unlike anybody Alex had ever known.”

Shira Neiss’s evocative illustrations capture the distinct personalities of each synagogue member. As Alex returns week after week, taking on duties like lifting the Torah and maintaining the yahrzeit calendar he reconnects with his Jewish faith.

I Paint My World
By Esther Novak. Illustrated by Susan Gal (Apples & Honey Press)

“For everything there is a season,” the classic line from Ecclesiastes, opens this vibrant book about a year in a young boy’s life. In her picture book debut, Esther Novak pairs simple rhyming text with Susan Gal’s vivid mixed-media illustrations to take readers through each season and show how imagination can reframe even the dreariest day.

In an afterword, Novak invites readers to consider the title phrase. She acknowledges the dark, sad times but also times full of fun and happiness. “We can paint the world the way we choose to see it,” she writes. “We can look for joy in a drippy, gray day and notice a shimmery puddle or the rain’s tinkling music.”

In Daniel’s Shoes
By Leslie Kimmelman. Illustrated by Ekata Mandal (Apples & Honey Press)

Daniel was almost 5 when he first began to talk; once he started, the words poured out of him. “Before, the words had been stuck in his head. It felt so good to have them unstuck. It felt so good to say exactly what he was thinking,” writes Leslie Kimmelman, veteran children’s book author.

Sometimes, however, Daniel’s unfiltered honesty hurts the feelings of those around him. When he doesn’t understand the harm in telling the truth, his mom, a rabbi, talks to Daniel about putting himself in someone else’s shoes and treating others with kindness. Ekata Mandal’s expressive art features soft colors and lots of different shoes—and pairs well with Rabbi Hillel’s maxim, as explained by Daniel’s mom: “Treat other people the way you’d want them to treat you.”

The Not So Quiet Life of Marcel Marceau
By Jenn Bailey and Sherry Bushue. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Levine Querido)

Clad in a striped shirt, a top hat with a red flower and white face paint, Marcel Marceau’s alter ego Bip the Clown is recognized worldwide. Jenn Bailey and Sherry Bushue’s picture book explores a more personal side of the Jewish mime’s life, his artistic development and his work with the French Resistance.

Born into a Jewish immigrant family in Strasbourg, France, in 1923, his art education was interrupted when the Nazis invaded his hometown. During the war, Marceau helped save hundreds of Jewish lives. “Marcel’s artistic talents find their outlet in forgery. Identity cards and papers,” the authors write, help families escape the Nazis. He also accompanies groups of orphaned children across the Swiss border to safety, keeping them “entertained with songs, riddles and stories told in mime.”

Caldecott Medal honoree Pamela Zagarenski’s imaginative illustrations evoke the dreamlike whimsy of Marc Chagall, with some added Cubist touches.

The Tightrope Wanderer
By Federica Ortolan. Illustrated by Marco Leoni (Apples & Honey Press)

Venetian author Federica Ortolan tells the story of a street performer who wanders from town to town, thrilling crowds with his tightrope walking, traversing tall buildings on a single strand of his impossibly long hair. While not explicitly Jewish, the story weaves in Jewish themes. The tightrope wanderer seeks courage before each performance by reciting Jewish phrases, among them, “The whole entire world is a very narrow bridge. The main thing is not to be afraid,” a sentiment attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.

When time takes its toll and his hair grows sparse, the tightrope wanderer must learn to embrace change.

Featuring whimsical pencil illustrations by Marco Leoni, this lyrical text, originally published in Italian as Il Filiambulante, shares timeless Jewish wisdom about accepting life’s transitions with grace.

The Hula Painted Frog
By Amber A. Novak. Illustrated by Maya Gonen (Green Bean Books)

During the 1950s, the marshes of northern Israel’s Lake Hula were drained to ward off malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Deprived of their wetland habitat, local amphibians disappeared along with the water and insects, including the Hula painted frog. Believing the rare frog, found only in that region, was gone forever, scientists declared the species extinct. Yet a small population was secretly thriving in a tiny pond that locals were fighting to keep wild.

Nearly 60 years after the last reported sighting of the frog, a park ranger spotted an unusual black frog with a “mottled bumpy back” and a “black belly and white spots” in the Hula Nature Preserve. The Hula painted frog was back.

Told from the frogs’ perspective, this piece of Israel’s conservation history comes to life through Amber A. Novak’s clear prose and Maya Gonen’s illustrations in shades of green, blue and brown that capture the nature preserve.

A Cat in Tel Aviv
By Tammar Stein. Illustrated by Sabina Hahn (PJ Library)

Cat lovers will delight in this charming story that follows a day in the life of a typical Tel Aviv cat. She wakes at dawn, does yoga on the beach, stops by local cafes and strolls through the park. She ends her night at a party, since a “cat in Tel Aviv knows the best place for a party.”

Sabina Hahn’s illustrations capture the city’s ordinary yet magical moments, from golden morning light and windswept beaches to leafy parks and cozy cafes.

The book’s inside flap offers a fascinating backstory: During the British Mandate, cats were brought to Tel Aviv to solve a rat infestation, only to create a new overpopulation, this time of cats.

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