children’s books

children's books

Beate Sirota Gordon at American Japanese Festival in 1938. (Beate Sirota Photo Gallery/ via JTA)

January 6, 2021, 4:07 am

Jewish feminist Beate Sirota Gordon changed women’s rights in Japan forever

A new children’s book shows how her upbringing and bit of good, old-fashioned chutzpah helped a 22-year-old woman change a country’s destiny, and then keep mum about it for decades

By Maddy Albert

Hanukkah Goblins is based on Eric Kimmel’s classic children’s book 'Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.' (Art/Kali Hayes, KH Illustration/ via JTA)

December 11, 2020, 2:15 am

New game lets you play Hanukkah goblins and shoot jelly doughnuts

Out December 10, Max Fefer’s tabletop role-playing version of classic children’s book ‘Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins’ lets players choose their own destiny

By Maya Mirsky

'I am Anne Frank' illustration by Christopher Eliopoulos

December 6, 2020, 11:59 pm

‘I am Anne Frank’ demystifies hero to make Holocaust accessible to young readers

Author Brad Meltzer says he wrote the delicate, hope-filled intro to genocide’s horrors with his own children in mind, as part of the ‘Ordinary People Change the World’ book series

By Matt Lebovic

Some of the books written about the Ethiopian Israeli experience by Naomi Shmuel, who will speak at the Beit Avi Chai digital Sigd celebration on November 16, 2020. (courtesy, Naomi Shmuel)

November 15, 2020, 10:27 pm

Ethiopian Sigd holiday marked with online events at Beit Avi Chai

Children’s book author Naomi Shmuel to speak about diversity and difference in Ethiopian community for digital celebration

By Jessica Steinberg

Clockwise, from right: 'Honey on the Page' by Miriam Udel (courtesy); 'Labzik: Stories of a Clever Pup,' by Khaver Paver (NYU Press/ via New York Jewish Week); author Miriam Udel (Shulamit Seidler-Feller/via New York Jewish Week); background: Yiddish 'King Lear' poster (flickr/CC-SA-2.0/ Rachel-Esther)

November 2, 2020, 4:23 am

New collection of Yiddish kids’ stories comes out from under shadow of Holocaust

In ‘Honey on the Page,’ Atlanta scholar Miriam Udel uncovers in the YIVO archives 50 stories and poems for a young audience that had largely disappeared by the end of World War II

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

'The War With Grandpa' executive producer Tre Peart next to his chair. (Courtesy 101 Studios)

October 20, 2020, 3:08 am

15-year-old producer is behind the box office victor ‘The War With Grandpa’

Conquering other pandemic-era releases in ticket sales since its Oct. 9 open, the film starring Robert De Niro is based on the very Jewish children’s book by Robert Kimmel Smith

By Rich Tenorio

When he's not working from home, Simmy Cohen keeps himself busy chanting classic children's books to Torah trope. (Screenshot from Twitter/Courtesy of Cohen/ via JTA)

April 22, 2020, 1:28 pm

Dad’s Torah reading of ‘Goodnight Moon’ goes viral

Cooped up at home, New York dad Simmy Cohen does some creative parenting — and racks up 40,000 Twitter views with his Jewish spin on a children’s classic

By Shira Hanau

These are some of the new children's books for Passover this year. (Photos courtesy of their publishers/ via JTA)

April 9, 2020, 4:25 am

Meet a googly eyed gator and have a seder in space in new Passover books

Award-winning authors and illustrators transport the whole family through place and time, teaching about the beauty of the holiday — along with a few other lessons, too

By Penny Schwartz

Novelist David Grossman rushed to finish his latest children's book in order to read it to kids during the coronavirus (Courtesy PJ Library)

April 6, 2020, 11:32 am

David Grossman to read new kids’ book aloud on Tuesday

The novelist rushed to complete the book, which is dedicated to Sifriyat Pijama, the Israeli branch of PJ Library

By Jessica Steinberg

March 20, 2020, 11:43 am

Miryam Howard-Meier

Ms. Spaghetti Head

The town is full of coughs and sniffles, with moms and dads and city officials warning all to wash their hands! — A read-out-loud poem for these times

Illustrator Tzila Binder's 'Cheerful Eyes' illustration, used in an exhibit of the same name in Tel Aviv, February 2020 (Courtesy Moran Shoub)

February 24, 2020, 2:01 pm

A peek at an illustrator’s life through flyleafs and double-page spreads

Exhibition about children’s book illustrator Tzila Binder hints at her relationship with lover Natan Alterman, the poet currently commemorated in a year-long Tel Aviv celebration

By Jessica Steinberg

Author Michael Rosen holds his new book, 'The Missing,' in a video explaining its premise to children. (YouTube screenshot)

February 16, 2020, 6:50 am

Kids learn Holocaust from author’s real-life quest for missing relatives

Memoir by former UK Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen shows young readers effects of the Shoah in a way that relates to current plight of refugees

By Robert Philpot

'Goodnight Bubbala' puts a Yiddish spin on 'Goodnight Moon,' the beloved bedtime classic. (Penguin Random House/via JTA)

December 20, 2019, 11:28 pm

Ready to cuddle? ‘Goodnight Bubbala’ and other Hanukkah-themed kids’ books are

As gifts or just an excuse to smell your kids’ heads and share a story, these children’s titles are sure to please young and old for all eight nights

By Penny Schwartz

In her graphic novel 'White Bird,' R.J. Palacio tells a story of how a young Jewish girl survived World War II in France. (Heike Bogenberger)

October 17, 2019, 4:04 am

‘Wonder’ author explains why today’s news made her write a Holocaust story

When a girl who doesn’t stand up for her classmate ends up getting rescued by him, she, along with readers young and old, learns an important lesson about kindness and empathy

By Emily Burack

'Goodnight Bubbala,' by Sheryl Haft. (Courtesy)

October 15, 2019, 9:14 pm

Kids won’t want to snooze after hearing new Yiddish parody of ‘Goodnight Moon’

Released October 15, ‘Goodnight Bubbala’ is an energetic homage to the kids’ classic that mixes culture, family, positive values, and the mamaloshen in true Jewish style

By Mary Grossman