Every year in January, the United States celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., the foremost civil rights leader and activist in the 1950s and 1960s. Reverend Dr.
King’s efforts in advancing the civil rights movement and racial equality also reflect the Jewish value
of b’tzelem elohim, the belief that all people are created in God’s image.
To honor the work of Dr. King, this book list, with a mix of PJ Library selections and other titles, features Jewish
children's books about values like b’tzelem elohim and tikkun olam (repairing the world), values that Dr. King taught and held dear.
Ages 4 – 8
Recommended for ages 4 to 8
Suitable for the smallest readers to explain Rosa Parks’s history in a way that is easy to understand,
this book is perfect for adults who want to educate their little ones about the history of civil rights and
the fight for equality.
Recommended for ages 5 to 6
The value of tzedakah is rooted in the pursuit of justice for all. As Dalia explores this concept with
her friends, she creates a tzedakah box where she can keep the money she’s saving to help those in
need. In the process Dalia, her friends and her little brother Yossi learn about the power and joy of giving
to others.
Recommended for ages 5+
A long-lasting friendship develops between Larnel, a young boy, and Mrs. Katz, a lonely Jewish widow, when
Larnel presents Mrs. Katz with a scrawny kitten.
Sit-In by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Recommended for ages 6+
This picture book is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the momentous Woolworth’s
lunch counter sit-in, when four college students staged a peaceful protest that became a defining moment in
the struggle for racial equality and the growing civil rights movement.
Ages 9 – 12
Recommended for ages 12+
Wonderland hasn't been the same since they started bussing in kids from another part of town. And after that Ho-Ho incident, middle school is a complete disaster for Armstrong and Charlie ... until they discover the one thing worth fighting for — a friend.
Recommended for ages 6 to 9
A Baptist preacher from Atlanta. A rabbi born in Poland. Their names came to stand for the struggle for
justice and equality.
Recommended for ages 7 to 10
Based on the true story of the Rosenwald schools built in the rural African-American South in the 1920s,
writer and poet Carol Boston Weatherford tells the lyrical story of third grader Ovella as her family and
community help each other build a new, and much-prayed for, school.
Recommended for ages 8-14
Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. were born the same year a world apart. Both faced ugly prejudices and
violence, which both answered with words of love and faith in humanity. This is the story of their parallel
journeys to find hope in darkness and to follow their dreams.
Recommended for ages 11+
It's 1955, and Melvin Robinson isn't looking forward to starting 9th grade. He's got a stutter, he's one of the few Black kids at his school in Spokane, WA, and he plays the accordion, which definitely isn't cool. But everything changes when Melvin meets Lenny, a fast-talking, saxophone-playing Jewish kid on the first day of school.
Recommended for ages 10+
If Brown v. Board of Education's promise of change was to become reality, people had
to take action. In the small town of Clinton, Tennessee, twelve African American high school students
stepped up. You probably haven’t heard of the Clinton 12, but what they did in 1956 was
front-page news all over the nation.
Recommended for ages 11+
Baseball is a great escape, but can it solve your problems? Nine year-old Joey Sexton has to grow up fast
– his African American dad is gone, his Jewish mother just died, and now he has been sent to live with
his mother’s family in Brooklyn. Joey’s zayde (grandfather) acts as though Joey can’t do
anything right. Sure, Joey can play a mean game of baseball, but is that enough to impress the person whose
affection he wants most?
January 15, 2020