The Los Angeles County Board of Education recognizes May as Jewish American Heritage Month and encourages all schools and community members to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans to our nation’s history and culture with appropriate programs and activities.
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
The White House Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month 2024
Governor Newsom Proclaims Jewish American Heritage Month 2024
Library of Congress Jewish American Heritage Month: A Commemorative Observances Legal Research Guide
The Trevor Project Exploring Identity for Jewish American Heritage Month
San Diego County Office of Education Guide to Observing Jewish American Heritage Month
New York City Public Schools Jewish American Heritage Month Resource Guide
Anti-Defamation League 9 Ideas for Teaching Jewish American Heritage Month
READING LIST
One of our favorite ways to celebrate is with a good book! The suggestions below are just a few of our favorite titles, with works of fiction and non-fiction for every grade level that feature characters and perspectives that are often not reflected in other popular works.
- Bubbe and Bart’s Matzoh Ball Mayhem, by Bonnie Grubman; illustrated by Deborah Melmon
- Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty, by Linda Glaser
- Emmy Noether: The most Important Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of, by Helaine Becker; illustrated by Kari Rust
- Feivel’s Flying Horses, by Heidi Smith Hyde; illustrated by Joana van de Sterre
- Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story, by Lesléa Newman; illustrated by Amy June Bates
- Hannah’s Way, by Linda Glaser; illustrated by Adam Gustavson
- Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me, by Simms Taback
- Mitzvah Pizza, by Sarah Lynn Sheerger; illustrated by Deborah Melmon
- The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art, by Cynthia Levinson; illustrated by Evan Turk
- The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs, by Chana Stiefel; illustrated by Susan Gal
- All Three Stooges, by Erica S. Perl
- The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come, by Sue Macy; illustrated by Stacy Innerst
- Going Rogue (At Hebrew School), by Casey Breton
- Hammerin’ Hank: The Life of Hank Greenberg, by Yona Zeldis McDonough; illustrated by Malcah Zeldis
- Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust, by Loïc Dauvillier; illustrated by Marc Lizano
- Honey and Me, by Meira Drazin
- How To Find What You’re Not Looking For, by Veera Hiranandani
- I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark, by Debbie Levy; illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley
- The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel, based on the novel by Antonio Iturbe; adapted by Salva Rubio; illustrated by Loreto Aroca
- Osnat and Her Dove: The True Story of the World’s First Female Rabbi, by Sigal Samuel; illustrated by Vali Mintzi
- Black Bird, Blue Road, by Sofiya Pasternack
- Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch
- The Length of a String, by Elissa Brent Weissman
- Linked, by Gordon Korman
- Lucky Broken Girl, by Ruth Behar
- Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein, by Susan Goldman Rubin
- This Is Just a Test, by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
- The Trouble with Good Ideas, by Amanda Panitch
- Turtle Boy, by M. Evan Wolkenstein
- The Unfinished Corner, by Dani Colman, Rachel Petrovicz, Whitney Cogar, and Jim Campbell
- Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
- Bernice Sandler and the Fight for Title IX, by Jen Barton; illustrated by Sarah Green
- Color Me In, by Natasha Díaz
- Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life and Work, by Victoria Ortiz
- It’s A Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories, edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman
- Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize, by Margo Rabb
- Recommended for You, by Laura Silverman
- Someday We Will Fly, by Rachel DeWoskin
- They Went Left, by Monica Hesse
- The Way Back, by Gavriel Savit
