EPL.ca: Jewish Life: Books for Teens

Birdland - Tracy Mack
Thirteen-year-old, tongue-tied Jed spends Christmas break working on a school project filming a documentary about his New York City neighbourhood, where he is continually reminded of his older brother, Zeke, a promising poet who died the year before.

Blood Secret - Kathryn Lasky
Fourteen-year-old Jerry Luna, mute since her mother's disappearance, is sent to her great-great aunt Constanza's house, where she discovers a trunk that draws her into the world of her ancestors during the Spanish Inquisition.

Esther - Sharon McKay*
A fictionalized account of the remarkable life and times of Esther Brandeau, a young girl who lived in the eighteenth century, and who was the first Jew to set foot in New France.

Greenies - Myra Paperny*
Two teenaged survivors of concentration camps in Nazi Germany hope to immigrate to Canada in 1947.

King of Mulberry Street - Donna Jo Napoli
In 1892, Dom, a nine-year-old stowaway from Italy arrives in New York and must learn to survive the perils of street life in the big city.

One More River - Lynne Reid Banks*
Fourteen-year-old Lesley must leave her comfortable life in Canada when her parents decide to emigrate to a kibbutz in Israel prior to the 1967 war.

Room in the Heart - Sonia Levitin
After German forces occupy Denmark during World War II, two fifteen-year-olds and their friends and families cope with their daily lives, finding ways to resist the Nazis and to survive.

Strange Relations - Sonia Levitin
Fifteen-year-old Marne is excited to be able to spend her summer vacation in Hawaii, not realizing the change in her lifestyle it would bring staying with her aunt, seven cousins, and uncle who is a Chasidic rabbi.

Yellow Star - Jennifer Rozines Roy
From 1939, when Syvia is four years old, to 1945 when she has just turned 10, a Jewish girl and her family struggle to survive in Poland's Lodz ghetto during the Nazi occupation.

Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon
An epic novel about two cousins who find themselves at the epicenter of the golden age of American comic books when they create the prewar superhero, The Escapist.

Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel, a young German girl whose storytelling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding.

Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi - David Chotjewitz
In 1933, the friendship between two boys is threatened when one of them learns that he is half Jewish.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - Mirjam Pressler
After a school trip to Israel, Johanna discovers that her German grandfather stole a clothing store during the Nazi regime rather than starting it himself as her family has always stated. She struggles with whether to keep silent or to question her family's history.

Light Years - Tammar Stein
Maya Laor leaves her home in Israel to study astronomy in the United States after the tragic death of her boyfriend in a suicide bombing.

Never Mind the Goldbergs - Matthue Roth
A seventeen-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl leaves her home in New York for the summer to film a television show in California.

Rabbi's Cat - Joann Sfar
A talking cat, a rabbi and his daughter in Algeria.

Real Time - Pnina Kass
Sixteen-year-old Tomas Wanninger persuades his mother to let him leave Germany to volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, where he experiences a violent political attack and finds answers about his own past.

Tell It to Naomi - Daniel Ehrenhaft
In a crazy scheme to attract the girl of his dreams, fifteen-year-old Dave Rosen pretends to be a female advice columnist for his school newspaper.

Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
Begun at age 13, the diary is a personal account of the years Anne spent with her family in Amsterdam, hiding from the Nazis.

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor - Laura Hillman
Laura recounts her harrowing experiences during World War II, beginning with her time at a boarding school outside Berlin when she received word that her father had been murdered by Nazi soldiers.

Maus... : A Survivor's Tale - Art Spiegelman
In the format of a graphic novel, a son struggles to come to terms with the horrific story of his parents and their experiences during the Holocaust and in postwar America.

No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War - Anita Lobel
The well-known chrildren's book illustrator describes her experiences as a Polish Jew during World War II and for years in Sweden afterwards.

We Are On Our Own: A Memoir - Miriam Katin*
The story of a mother and daughter's survival in WWII and their subsequent lifelong struggle with faith.

When I Was a Soldier: A Memoir - Valerie Zenatti
A glimpse into the life of a typical Israeli teen: Valerie begins her story as she finishes her exams, breaks up with her boyfriend, and leaves for service with the Israeli army.

Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Dov Peretz Elkins
A restorative combination: storytelling is a major component of Jewish tradition and chicken soup has been called "Jewish penicillin."

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow - Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The rise and fall of Hitler and the Nazi Party, and World War II and its aftermath, through the eyes of twelve young people in Germany, including those who participated in the Hitler Youth movement and those who resisted.

Holocaust: The Events and Their Impact on Real People - Angela Wood
Explaining the complex political and social backdrop that allowed the Holocaust to occur, as well as its progression and consequences, this comprehensive volume describes the aftermath of the Holocaust and its continued impact. Includes a 40-minute DVD with video testimony from survivors.

Jewish Holidays All Year Round - Ilene Cooper and Elivia Savadier
A collection of Jewish traditions, crafts and recipes, illustrated with watercolour art and photos of artworks from The Jewish Museum in New York City.

Promise Fulfilled: Theodor Hertzl, Chaim Weitzmann, and David Ben-Gurion, and the Creation of the State of Israel - Howard Greenfeld
An engrossing account of three different men who were central to the founding of modern Israel.

Secret of Priest's Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story - Peter Lane Taylor
38 Ukrainian Jews sought refuge in a local cave to escape the invading Nazis in fall of 1942 and remained there for 344 days, reportedly longer than any other known human has ever lived underground.

Student's Encyclopedia of Judaism - Geoffrey Wigoder, editor
Identifies and defines people, places and terms important to the Jewish faith.

Tough Questions Jews Ask: A Young Adult's Guide to Building a Jewish Life - Edward Feinstein
Answers for some major concerns facing Jewish youth, including explanations about such issues as God, prayer, good and evil, and the afterlife.

Sydney Taylor Book Award

*denotes Canadian author; updated December 2008