It is halfway through May. I am posting a follow-up to my recent comments on Jewish American Heritage Month, and Asian American Heritage Month, at School Library Journal. Please find that post here, which includes links to previous attempts to understand that publication’s policy about celebrating both communities in May. After my recent post, I … Continue reading Jewish American Readers Are Still Here
Tag: history
Jewish American and Asian American Heritage Month
Once again, it’s May, and School Library Journal appears to be facing their annual conflict about Heritage Months. In May, Jewish and Asian Americans share the month. That is absolutely appropriate. Both groups are featured, as only one prominent example, on the New York Public Library’s website. April was both Poetry Month and Arab American … Continue reading Jewish American and Asian American Heritage Month
Not Out of Left Field
Baseball’s Shining Season: America’s Pastime on the Brink of War – Martin W. Sandler and Craig SandlerBloomsbury Children’s Books, 2026 Given that baseball is America’s pastime, it is not surprising that the sport played at outsized role during World War II. Actually, one of the many facts I learned from this terrific book is that … Continue reading Not Out of Left Field
Up to the Highest Heights
A Year of Kites: Traditions Around the World – written by Monisha Bajaj, illustrated by Amber RenBloomsbury Children’s Books, 2026 A Year of Kites is a wonderful picture book whose unusual subject matter is matched by its quality. Children, and adults, find the ideas of kites appealing. They start as paper, string, and other materials. … Continue reading Up to the Highest Heights
One Person, One Character, One Goal
Little Monk Writes Rain – written and illustrated by Hsu-Kung Liu, translated by Rachel Wāng Yῠng-HsínEerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2026 This exceptionally beautiful and gently philosophical picture book is about a Buddhist monk who has difficulty learning written language, with the exception of one Chinese character. He is singularly focused on writing the character … Continue reading One Person, One Character, One Goal
Anne Frank and Authenticity
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary – by Alice HoffmanScholastic Press, 2024 When I first learned about When We Flew Away, I was slightly skeptical, even though Alice Hoffman is a very fine author. There are so many attempts to simplify or universalize the experience of Anne Frank, as … Continue reading Anne Frank and Authenticity
Chanukah 2025/5786
Hanukah Money – written by Sholem Aleichem, translated and adapted by Uri Shulevitz and Elizabeth Shub, illustrated by Uri ShulevitzGreenwillow Books, 1978 This year’s celebration of Chanukah has been marked by a horrific tragedy. The slaughter of 15 people, with many more injured, is now inseparable from the religious and cultural festival this year, but … Continue reading Chanukah 2025/5786
Reconciliation without History
Returning the Sword: How a Japanese Sword of War Became a Symbol of Friendship and Peace – written by Caren Stelson, illustrated by Amanda YoshidaCarolrhoda Books, 2025 There is an understandable connection, for many readers, to books that promise a hopeful vision of reconciliation after conflict. I have read and reviewed many books in this … Continue reading Reconciliation without History
Imagining Who Wore Them
Little Shoes – written by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Maya McKibbinTundra Books, 2025 Many Indigenous children, in both Canada and the U.S., suffered the trauma of being removed from their families and placed in residential schools funded by the government and often controlled by different Christian denominations. Deprived of their heritage, and often subject … Continue reading Imagining Who Wore Them
The Olive Tree’s Story
The History of Jerusalem: An Illustrated Story of 4,000 Years - written by Vincent Lemire, illustrated by Christophe Gaultier, coloring by Marie Galopin, translated from the French by Amanda AxsomAbrams ComicArts, 2024 (originally published in French, Les Arènes, 2022) The narrative premise of this graphic history is that a 4,000 year-old olive tree is uniquely … Continue reading The Olive Tree’s Story