Along with everything else, May is Jewish Heritage Month, and so we thought we’d highlight some of the many books by and about Jewish people that we’ve had nominated over the past few years. (I’m using the Sidney Taylor Award as a guide, in case you’d like a longer list of excellent Jewish books).
Irena’s Children: Young Readers Edition; A True Story of Courage
by Mary Cronk Farrell (Adapter), Tilar J. Mazzeo (Author)
Margaret K. McElderry
2016 nominee, Junior High Nonfiction
Anna and the Swallow Man
by Gavriel Savit
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
2016 nominee, Young Adult Fiction
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog
by Adam Gidwitz
Dutton Juvenile
2016 nominee, Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction; 2016 winner, Audiobooks
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
Simon & Schuster
2016 Nominee, Middle Grade Nonfiction
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality
by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Harry N Abrams
2017 Nominee, Elementary Nonfiction
The Librarian of Auschwitz
by Antonio Iturbe
Henry Holt & Co.
2017 Nominee, Young Adult Fiction
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Scholastic
2017 finalist, Middle Grade Fiction
Anne Frank’s Diary
by Anne Frank, adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky
Pantheon
2018 Finalist, Young Adult Graphic Novels
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
by Jonathan Auxier
Harry N Abrams
2018 Finalist, Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction
A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust
by Albert Marrinr
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
2019 Nominee, Senior High Nonfiction
The New Queer Conscience
by Adam Eli, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
Penguin Workshop
2020 nominee, High School Nonfiction
Dancing at the Pity Party
by Tyler Feder
Dial Books
2020 Nominee, Young Adult Graphic Novels
Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail
by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal
Charlesbridge
2020 Nominee, Fiction Picture Books
The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
by Eugene Yelchin
Candlewick Press
2021 Finalist, Middle Grade Nonfiction
The City Beautiful
by Aden Polydoros
Inkyard Press
2021 finalist, Young Adult Speculative Fiction
The Passover Guest
by Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin
Neal Porter Books
2021 Nominee, Fiction Picture Books