Books for Children Beyond Age 8

HERE ARE SOME GREAT KIDS' BOOKS for children who have graduated from The PJ Library. The books below are appropriate for children of varying ages. Only you, however, will know whether they are appropriate for your child(ren). 

The books included below are recommended books pertaining to the following areas
(click the links to skip down to specific areas of interest):

Non-Fiction

Contemporary Families

Stories of Jewish Life in America (Not Contemporary)

Jewish Life Outside America

PLEASE NOTE: The books listed below include descriptions created by their publishers; they are not meant to be seen as reviews. Moreover, this list is not exhaustive. The PJ Library does not claim to be an authority on Jewish children's books for children older than age 8; these books are merely some of the wonderful books we have considered and ultimately found not to be age-appropriate for The PJ Library.

Non-Fiction

Portraits of Jewish American Heroes
By Malka Drucker & Elizabeth Rosen

"FROM ITS BEGINNINGS, America, founded on religious freedom, has been a land of opportunity for Jews, socially, economically, and spiritually," writes Rabbi Malka Drucker, introducing 20 compelling individuals who have enriched our country by their achievements. In areas including science, sports, filmmaking, and civil rights, we meet male and female heroes who set an example, made a positive difference, and took a risk to do it. This beautifully produced volume spans three centuries of history, beginning with Haym Solomon and ending with Daniel Pearl. Each individual's likeness, spirit, and contribution are captured in a distinctive and striking color portrait created with a variety of different media.

…………

In the Promised Land: Lives of Jewish Americans
By Doreen Rappaport

A MAGICIAN PLUNGES into the Mississippi River with wrists manacled together. A doctor comforts children before injecting them with an experimental vaccine he hopes will save the lives of millions. A law student, turned away from the Harvard library where women are not allowed, begins a career fighting for equal rights that leads to her appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

These defining moments, described in vivid detail, introduce young readers to Harry Houdini, Dr. Jonas Salk, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as ten other distinguished Jewish Americans. By focusing on one key scene from each of 13 people's lives, ac-claimed author Doreen Rappaport and noted artists Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu give young readers an exciting introduction to the great history of Jewish Americans.

…………

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom
By Richard Michelson

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. and Abraham Joshua Heschel---their names stand for the quest for justice and equality. Here is the story of two icons for social justice, how they formed a remarkable friendship, and how they turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a message of love and equality for all.

…………

L'Chaim! To Jewish Life in America: Celebrating from 1654 Until Today
By Susan Goldman Rubin

COINCIDING WITH THE 350th ANNIVERSARY of the first recorded Jewish settlement in North America, this lavishly illustrated introduction to Jewish life is a compilation of compelling first-person reports and well-documented facts. Brimming with photographs, paintings, memorabilia, and other artifacts from the renowned Jewish Museum and other sources, and with text by award-winning author Susan Rubin, this book provides readers with a wide range of examples of North American Jewish life all across the U.S. and Canada. This book continues the growing library of Abrams' high-quality, award-winning, and accessible Judaic-content books.

Back to Top

Chapter Books (Ages 8-14):
Contemporary Families

Penina Levine Is a Hard-boiled Egg
By Rebecca O'Connell

PENINA LEVINE HAS A BOSSY FRIEND, a tattletale sister, crazy parents, and a big, fat zero on her school assignment to write a letter as the Easter Bunny. It was a stupid assignment, completely impossible, totally unfair. Penina's never going to do it-not ever-and it's no use telling her parents about it. They never listen to her anyway. But Penina's grandmother does. Grandma doesn't think Penina should do the assignment. It's a matter of principle. It's a matter of strength. It's a matter of five thousand years of history and a couple dozen hard-boiled eggs.
Also in the series: Penina Levine Is a Potato Pancake

…………

Confessions of a Closet Catholic
By Sarah Darer Littman

JUSTINE SILVERS'S BEST FRIEND, Mary Catherine McAllister, has given up chocolate for Lent, but Jussy doesn't think God wants her to make that kind of sacrifice. So, she's decided to give up being Jewish instead. Jussy's bedroom closet has become her confessional, where she pours out her sins to her teddy bear and takes Communion using grape juice and matzo. But when her beloved grandmother, Bubbe, suffers a stroke, Jussy worries that her religious exploration is responsible. Worse, Jussy must suddenly contemplate life without Bubbe, the one person who seemed to understand her. Now Jussy feels she must decide once and for all who she is, and where she fits in.

…………

Julia's Kitchen
By Brenda A. Ferber

CARA SEGAL IS A BORN WORRIER. She figures her worrying works like a whisper in God's ear - if Cara's concerned about car crashes, kidnappings, or murders, she lets God know, and he always spares her. But Cara never thought to worry about a fire. And one night while she's sleeping at a friend's house, her house catches fire, and her mother and younger sister are both killed. Throughout shiva, the initial Jewish mourning period, Cara can't help wondering about God's role in the tragedy. And what is her father's role in her life now? He walks around like a ghost and refuses to talk about the fire. Cara longs for her family and her home, where sweet smells filled the house as Cara's mom filled orders for her catering business, Julia's Kitchen. Then one day a call comes in for a cookie order, and Cara gets a wild idea. Maybe by bringing back Julia's Kitchen, she can find a way to reconnect with everything she's lost.

…………

Sam I Am
By Ilene Cooper

TWELVE-YEAR-OLD SAM GOODMAN knows the holidays are going to be difficult when his dog knocks over the Hanukkah bush/Christmas tree. His Jewish father and Christian mother have never quite figured out how to celebrate both holidays, and when the tree goes down, their resentments, simmering for so long, boil over. His older sister and younger brother don't seem to have any solutions for the family's predicament; his best friend Avi seems to know who he is as he prepares for his Bar Mitzvah; his secret crush, Heather, knows who she is and with whom she wants to associate.

Back to Top

Chapter Books (Ages 8-14):
Stories of Jewish Life in America (Not Contemporary)

Private Joel and the Sewell Mountain Seder
By Bryna J. Fireside

WITH PERMISSION FROM THEIR COMMANDER and matzah brought in on a train from Cincinnati, Jewish members of a Civil War regiment improvise a seder to remember. The participation of three former slaves, now members of their company, lends a special meaning to this celebration of freedom.

…………

Zayda Was A Cowboy
By June Levitt Nislick

"THE YEAR WAS 1980. Fifty-two Americans were being held hostage in Iran, and President Carter's efforts to rescue them were not successful ... Ronald Reagan got elected president, John Lennon of the Beatles was shot dead, I drove everyone nuts singing the Doobie Brothers hit 'What a Fool Believes' night and day, and Zayda came to live with us."
And so begins the extraordinary story of how one family, and one young boy in particular, are changed forever when Zayda (Yiddish for "grandfather") comes to live with them. At first the young narrator, Bill, is resistant to all the changes in the house: Zayda spooks his friends, tries to get Bill to speak Yiddish, and demands strange foods like herring.

But as Zayda starts telling Bill and his brother Danny the fascinating story of his life, a story filled with many extraordinary dangers and adventures, the boys begin to see their grandfather in a whole new light. From why, as a young boy, he was forced to flee his Russian village for America to how he eventually became a cowboy, Zayda holds the boys captive with his amazing tale.

…………

A Time of Angels
By Karen Hesse

SICK WITH INFLUENZA during the 1918 epidemic and separated from her two sisters, a young Jewish girl living in Boston relies on the help of an old German man, and her visions of angels, to get better and to reunite herself with her family.

…………

All-of-a-Kind Family
By Sydney Taylor

MEET THE ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY---Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie---who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century. Together they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa's shop on rainy days. The girls enjoy doing everything together, especially when it involves holidays and surprises. But no one could have prepared them for the biggest surprise of all!
Also in the series: More All-of-a-Kind Family; All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown; All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown; Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family

…………

Nothing Here But Stones: A Jewish Pioneer Story
By Nancy Oswald

TO EMMA, COLORADO SEEMS AS BARREN as an unfinished house. The land is too poor to farm, so Papa must work long hours in the mines. The trials of frontier life are especially hard for these Russian Jewish immigrants, who speak no English and practice a different religion from the others in the area. With a harsh, hungry winter coming, the settlement needs some good luck. Can Emma make it happen?
Based on the real struggles of an exceptional group of pioneers who came west in 1882, this is a finely crafted portrait of a family striving to make a home out of nothing.

Back to Top

Chapter Books (Ages 8-14):
Jewish Life Outside America

My Guardian Angel
By Sylvie Weil

FEISTY AND SMART, Elvina is not your average twelve-year-old. She adores reading, writing, and studying, like the boys. And she detests silly girls' chores, like keeping chicken eggs warm until they hatch. But she is also skilled in the art of healing, a skill that ultimately gets her into trouble. It's the 11th Century in France, and the Crusaders are on a campaign to rid France of Jews. The Jews live in terror and are on high alert that danger is drawing near to their town. One night, while Elvina is alone in her house, she hears a rap on the door. Can her guardian angel keep her safe?
Also in the series: Elvina's Mirror

…………

A Shout in the Sunshine
By Mara W. Cohen Ioannides

SET IN 15th-CENTURY GREECE, this young adult novel tells the story of an extraordinary friendship between two boys from different cultural backgrounds. On the surface, Miguel, a refugee from post-Inquisition Spain, and David, the son of a wealthy Greek Jewish fabric merchant, have little in common. As they work together in David's family shop, they find they share a special connection that goes beyond the divide of rich and poor, Spanish and Greek. Will an argument over David's sister be more than their friendship can bear?

A Shout in the Sunshine sheds light on an often forgotten part of Jewish history - the Greek Jewish experience. Set in tumultuous times for the Greek Jewish community, the book explores what happens when two distinct Jewish communities must learn to live together. In 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled the Jewish community of Spain. Sultan Beyazit II invited these refugees to Thessalonika, a community already home to a diverse Jewish population with deep roots in Greece. The melding of these different Jewish groups created a vibrant Jewish community that was, tragically, almost entirely destroyed during World War II.

Back to Top