Modern Jewish history — 19th century – present

Holocaust

Western Europe:

Starlight by Henye Meyer. Beautifully written novel, of greater interest to girls, set in Regency England. Ages 10 and up.

Out of the Depths by Rabbi Marcus Lehmann. Ages 14 and up.

Little Sister by Ruti Tanenwald. Beginning of 20th century. Ages 12 and up.

The Story of the Chasam Sofer by Rebbetzin Sarah Feldbrand.

The Chasam Sofer by Yaacov Dovid Shulman. Ages 10 and up.

Light from the West: The Life and Times of the Chasam Sofer by Zelig Shachnowitz. Ages 12 and up.

Eastern Europe:

Operation Elul by Meir Baram. Ages 10 and up.

The Youngest Bride by Menucha Chana Levin. Sweet story about a girl growing up in Lithuania. Ages 10 and up.

Greater than Gold and Silver by Naftali Ehrman. Picture book.

The Great Potato Plan by Joy Nelkin Wieder. Europe during World War I. Ages 6 and up.

One Day and Forever by Sarah Birnhack. The conflict between chassidim and their opponents. Ages 14 and up.

Promise Me Tomorrow by Sarah Birnhack. Story of the emerging Bais Yaakov schools. Age 12 and up.

The General by Yehoshua Danziger. Hungary in the 19th century. Ages 14 and up.

Once Upon a Shtetl by Chaim Shapiro.

Former Soviet Union

Voices in the Silence by Shlomo Sonnenfeld. Non-fiction, true story of a family remaining steadfast in their Judaism in Kiev under the Soviet government. Ages 14 and up.

North America

Gifts to Treasure by Tehilla Greenberger. Ages 6 and up.

This is America! by Henye Meyer. Meticulously researched and well-written novel about Jewish life in America at the turn of the 20th century. Ages 14 and up.

Shortchanged by Etka Gitel Schwartz. Jewish life in New York before World War II. Ages 14 and up.

Full Harvest by Etka Gitel Schwartz. Jewish homesteading in America in the 19th century. Ages 14 and up.

Once Upon America by Blima Deutsch Silverman. Story collection.

Toba’s Passage by Libby Herz. Coming from Poland to America. Chapter book for early readers. Ages 7 and up.

Trailblazer by Sukey Gross. A Jewish pioneer story. Ages 12 and up.

South Africa

South African Journeys by Gita Gordon. Europeans Jews move to South Africa in the 19th century. Ages 12 and up.

Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria

Escape to Freedom by Chaya Sarah Ben Shachar. Ages 10 and up.

Escape from Iran by Rabbi Avraham Ochayon.

Through the Flames of Aleppo by A. Shalom. Jewish life in Syria. Ages 10 and up.

Eretz Yisrael, and the journey there

Pomegranate Pendant by Dvora Waysman. Beautifully written novel about a young Yemenite couple journeying to and settling in Jerusalem in the 19th century. Ages 12 and up.

The Jewel and the Journey by Miriam Walfish. Journey from Eastern Europe to Eretz Yisrael in the 19th century. Ages 8 and up.

Forever My Jerusalem by Puah Shteiner. Jerusalem during War of Independence in 1948. Ages 12 and up.

Promise Me Jerusalem by Chany Rosengarten. Yerushalmi Jews in 1970s and 1980s. Ages 12 and up.

Home on a Hill by Nathan Sternberg. Eretz Yisrael under British Mandate following the Holocaust. Ages 10 and up.