Hilltown Families 
Jewish Book Week
It’s Jewish Book Week, and in London a literary festival is held to promote Jewish books and writing. The festival might be in the UK, but we here in Western Mass can enjoy them on-line.
Jewish Book Week
Website for this UK literary festival (late February/early March) promoting Jewish books and writing. In addition to details about current and past events, the site contains reviews of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books with Jewish themes. From the Jewish Book Council, a group “promot[ing] the reading of books on all aspects of Jewish thought and culture.” [(c) 2007 LII]
On their website they will be including lesson plans for different age groups which will be available for parents/teachers to download and use with their children/classes. Also on their site they have a section of new children’s books they frequently update.
Included below is a list of their suggested Jewish folklore books, available for lending through our MA library system.
Just Stay Put: A Chelm Story
By Gary Clement
Disinclined to work and perpetually daydreaming, Mendel leaves his family behind to journey to exciting Warsaw, an adventure that is cut short when a shepherd rearranges the napping Mendel’s boots. [Groundwood Books, 1996] (Ages 4-8)A Big Quiet House: A Yiddish Folktale from Eastern Europe
By Heather Forest, Illustrated by Susan Greenstein
Version of the Yiddish folktale, It Could Always Be Worse. Unable to stand his overcrowded and noisy home any longer, a man goes to the wise old woman who lives nearby for advice. [August House, 1996] (Ages 4-8)The Adventures of Hershel of Ostropol
By Eric Kimmel
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Ten Yiddish folktales about the trickster Hershel, a clever man who lived by his wits as his pockets were always empty. [Holiday House, 1995] (Ages 4-8)- Golem: A Giant Made of Mud
By Mark Podwal
In Prague a long time ago, there lived an emperor who believed in magic, and a rabbi who, it is said, could perform miracles. The emperor presented the rabbi with an antique spoon, but neither of them could foretell how the rabbi would one day use it to create the giant golem from the mud of the river to protect the Jews. [Greenwillow, 1995] (Ages 4-8)The Angel’s Mistake: Stories of Chelm
By Francine Prose
Illustrated by Mark Podwal
How Chelm, full of its earnest, endearing fools, came to be (two angels messed up). [Greenwillow, 1997] (Ages 4-8)- Dybbuk: A Story Made in Heaven
By Francine Prose
Illustrated by Mark Podwal
Retelling of a traditional folktale. Before Leah and Chonon were born, heavenly angels decided the two would marry each other, but Leah’s parents have differed plans. Leah’s marriage to Old Benya comes to a halt when Leah is possessed by a dybbuk, or spirit. [Greenwillow, 1996] (Ages 4-8)You Never Know: A Legend of the Lamed-Vavniks
By Francine Prose
Illustrated by Mark Podwall
Though mocked by the rest of the villagers, poor Schmuel the shoemaker turns out to be a very special person. [Greenwillow, 1998]- The Golem II
By Isaac Bashevis Singer, Uri Shulevitz
Tells the legend of the golem, a clay giant created by the Jews of Prague. NY Times Notable Children’s Book. [Farrar, 1982] (Ages 8-10)Onions and Garlic: An Old Tale
By Eric Kimmel
Illustrated by Katya Arnold
The youngest of a merchant’s three songs proves tht he is not as foolish as he was thought to be when he trades a sackful of onions for a fortune in diamonds. [Holiday House, 1996] (Ages 4-8)- The Cow in the House
By Harriet Ziefert
Illustrated by Emily Bolam
Variant on the traditional Jewish folktale, It Could Always Be Worse. Bothered by his noisy house, a man goes to a wise man for advice. Easy reader. [Viking Childrens Books, 1997] (Ages 4-8)
Local Resources:
Thank you for this! I’m always looking for fun and interesting ways to connect to world culture, especially through children’s books with Jewish themes.