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Washington Hebrew Congregation
The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman (Selinger and Tauber Libraries F Fle). This is a holocaust story that has a different twist than a regular holocaust story. While he is performing in Europe, Great Freddie, an entertainer from Nebraska, has a dummy which becomes possessed (would you believe) by a dybbuk. The dybbuk, who is a twelve year old, Avrom Amos, comes out with all kinds of comments about his terrible experiences and death during the holocaust, and Great Freddie can’t control what he says. The book is both horrifying and amusing at the same time, but I guarantee it will hold your attention. (6th grade –12th grade).
Strange Relations by Sonia Levitin. (Selinger and Tauber Libraries F Lev) The book will be a winner for any young adult girl who reads it. Marne is headed to spend the summer in Hawaii and looks forward to days on the beach. She finds visiting her Chabad aunt, her rabbi husband, and five children to be a very different experience than she expected with the summer turning out to be full of surprises. She rescues her aunt when injured, meets a boy named Jeff, changes the way she feels about her best friend, and has new insight into accepting the tragedy of a missing sister. It is truly a page turner and worthy of an award. The book is exactly what good juvenile fiction for Jewish children should be all about- a good story which also conveys Jewish beliefs and values. I even recommend this book to adults (many prefer young adult literature). (6th grade-adult)
The Bedtime Sh’ma by Sarah Gershman and Kristina Swarner, illustrator. (Selinger and Tauber Libraries E Prayer Ger)
These beautiful pastel illustrations will enchant your young child before he drifts off to sleep. It is a perfect book to read before bedtime because it will encourage your child to say prayers which will add peace and comfort at bedtime. The author writes, “I rest myself in God’s hand.” At the back of the book, there is information for parents which includes copies of prayers in Hebrew and English. The prayers are appropriate for adults to recite. Hopefully, the children and the adults in the house will be inspired to say prayers before retiring. (Ages 2-3rd grade)
The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story by Peter Lane Taylor and Christos Nicola (Selinger and Tauber Libraries 940.431 Tay) A true story of a group of Jews who survived in a series of caves in the Ukranine during the holocaust. Their survival depended upon the spirit of team work and innovation. The authors write, “A 6-inch railroad spike was the survivors’ most important tool, allowing them to shape shoes and other utensils from wood collected from the forest nearby.” Current efforts are being made to preserve the cave and artifacts, and a movie of the experience is being made. (4th grade-adult)
The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman (Selinger and Tauber Libraries F Fle). This is a holocaust story that has a different twist than a regular holocaust story. While he is performing in Europe, Great Freddie, an entertainer from Nebraska, has a dummy which becomes possessed (would you believe) by a dybbuk. The dybbuk, who is a twelve year old, Avrom Amos, comes out with all kinds of comments about his terrible experiences and death during the holocaust, and Great Freddie can’t control what he says. The book is both horrifying and amusing at the same time, but I guarantee it will hold your attention. (6th grade –12th grade).
Strange Relations by Sonia Levitin. (Selinger and Tauber Libraries F Lev) The book will be a winner for any young adult girl who reads it. Marne is headed to spend the summer in Hawaii and looks forward to days on the beach. She finds visiting her Chabad aunt, her rabbi husband, and five children to be a very different experience than she expected with the summer turning out to be full of surprises. She rescues her aunt when injured, meets a boy named Jeff, changes the way she feels about her best friend, and has new insight into accepting the tragedy of a missing sister. It is truly a page turner and worthy of an award. The book is exactly what good juvenile fiction for Jewish children should be all about- a good story which also conveys Jewish beliefs and values. I even recommend this book to adults (many prefer young adult literature). (6th grade-adult)
The Bedtime Sh’ma by Sarah Gershman and Kristina Swarner, illustrator. (Selinger and Tauber Libraries E Prayer Ger)
The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story by Peter Lane Taylor and Christos Nicola (Selinger and Tauber Libraries 940.431 Tay) A true story of a group of Jews who survived in a series of caves in the Ukranine during the holocaust. Their survival depended upon the spirit of team work and innovation. The authors write, “A 6-inch railroad spike was the survivors’ most important tool, allowing them to shape shoes and other utensils from wood collected from the forest nearby.” Current efforts are being made to preserve the cave and artifacts, and a movie of the experience is being made. (4th grade-adult)