SB 1828 calls for age-appropriate instruction, as determined by each school district.
For elementary-age students, educators may satisfy Holocaust Remembrance Week instruction requirements by using any of the readings found on this page. In other words, educators should not feel obligated to teach young learners about the atrocities of the Holocaust and can instead feel encouraged to highlight the broader themes found below.
Approved Literature Introducing Jewish Identity/Judaism
It is essential that elementary education introduces the theme of Who the Jews are. This way, when Holocaust instruction occurs in the upper grades, it is not the students' first introduction to Jews or Judaism. This is key to making sure that students do not perceive Jewish identity solely through the lens of victimization.
The following titles are arranged alphabetically by author. Please click on each image to find a brief description and age recommendation.
Ades, Audrey and Vivien Mildenberger. Judah Touro Didn’t Want to Be Famous. Picture book that profiles a real-life 19th-Century Sephardic philanthropist who made his home in New Orleans and gave away more money than any other American of his time.
Age recommendation: K through 3rd
grade
Adler, David A. and Marilyn Hirsh. The House on the Roof: A Sukkot Story. Picture book that depicts a true story about an elderly man who is taken to court by his grumpy landlord for observing the Sukkot holiday on the roof of the apartment building.
Age recommendation: K through 3rd grade
Konigsburg, E.L. About the B'nai Bagels. Novel about an American Jewish boy who struggles to improve his baseball skills while his mother manages his Little League team in the year of his bar mitzvah.
Age recommendation: 5th through 7th grades, educators should note that there are references to Playboy magazine.
Krensky, Stephen and Greg Harlin. Hanukkah at Valley Forge. Picture book portraying a Jewish soldier’s conversation with General Washington about the holiday during the Revolutionary War.
Age recommendation: K through 3rd
grade
Lehman-Wilzig, Tami, and Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz. The Boston Chocolate Party. Picture book describing how a Sephardic family brings Chanukah hot chocolate to people who are protesting oppressive taxes on tea.
Age recommendation: K through 3rd
grade
Nambi, Soshana and Moran Yogev. The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from Uganda. Picture book describing how Uganda's Abayudaya Jewish community comes together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, from a young girl's perspective.
Age recommendation: K through 5th grade
Advisory note: The book features the traditional song "Hinei Ma Tov"; to hear it in the original Hebrew, and African translations, click here.
Taylor, Sidney. All-of-a-Kind Family. Book 1 of the classic autobiographical novel series set in NYC just before WWI depicts children of immigrants; highlights Jewish traditions and holidays and the family’s interactions with non-Jewish neighbors; author has been called “the Jewish Louisa May Alcott”
Age recommendation: 2nd though 5th grades
Taylor, Sidney. All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown. Book 3 of the classic autobiographical novel series set in NYC during WWI depicts children of immigrants; highlights Jewish traditions and holidays and the family’s interactions with non-Jewish neighbors; author has been called “the Jewish Louisa May Alcott”
Age recommendation: 2nd though 5th grades
Taylor, Sidney. All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown. Book 4 of the classic autobiographical novel series set in NYC during WWI depicts children of immigrants; highlights Jewish traditions and holidays and the family’s interactions with non-Jewish neighbors; author has been called “the Jewish Louisa May Alcott”
Age recommendation: 2nd though 5th grades
Taylor, Sidney. More All-of-a-Kind Family. Book 2 of the classic autobiographical novel series set in NYC just before WWI depicts children of immigrants; highlights Jewish traditions and holidays and the family’s interactions with non-Jewish neighbors; author has been called “the Jewish Louisa May Alcott”
Age recommendation: 2nd though 5th grades
Yolen, Jane and Laura Barella. Rebecca’s Prayer for President Lincoln. Picture book depicting how the Jewish community in New York City reacts to the sudden announcement of the president’s death.
Age recommendation: 1st through 2nd
grades
Approved Literature on Recognizing and Fighting Antisemitism
The following titles are arranged alphabetically by author. Please click on each image to find a brief description and age recommendation.
Cohn D.S.W, Janice and Bill Farnsworth. The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate. Picture book telling true story of how an American city supported its Jewish community when a family came under attack.
Age recommendation: 3rd through 5th
grades
Advisory note: The THGAAC recommends introducing students to Jews and Judaism before they read this book that portrays antisemitism.
Lehman-Wilzig, Tami, and Alisha Monnin. On the Wings of Eagles. Picture book describing how a young Mizrahi girl and her family in Yemen flee as refugees to safety in Israel in 1949.
Age recommendation: K through 3rd
grade
Sharkan, Danielle and Selina Alko. Sharing Shalom. Picture book depicting how a young girl learns to take pride in her Jewish identity when the wider community comes together after an attack on her synagogue.
Age recommendation: K through 4th grades
Advisory note: The THGAAC recommends introducing students to Jews and Judaism before they read this book that portrays antisemitism.
Approved Literature Introducing the Holocaust
Please note that the THGAAC does not recommend explicit Holocaust instruction before 6th grade, but some titles can approach the subject with sensitivity for young readers.
The following titles are arranged alphabetically by author. Please click on each image to find a brief description and age recommendation.
Bunting, Eve and Stephen Gammell. Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust. This picture book's unique introduction to the Holocaust encourages young children to stand up for what they think is right, without waiting for others to join them.
Age recommendation: 1st through 4th grades
Gleitzman, Morris. Then. Novel narrated from the perspective of a young Jewish boy hiding in the Polish countryside.
Age recommendation: 5th through 8th grades; educators should note that there are references to circumcision
Golabek, Mona and Lee Cohen. Lisa of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Music and Survival During World War II. Memoir about the Kindertransport to the UK
Age recommendation: 4th and 5th grades
Advisory note: This is a more basic edition of the Willesden Lane story.
Golabek, Mona and Lee Cohen. The Children of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Hope and Survival During World War II; Young Readers Edition. Memoir about the Kindertransport to the UK.
Age recommendation: 4th through 8th grades
Greene, Joshua M. Fighter in the Woods: The True Story of a Jewish Girl Who Joined the Partisans in World War II. Young adult novel based on the true story of a young girl who witnessed the murder of her parents, hid from the Nazis, and eventually joined the partisans with her brothers and sister.
Age recommendation: 5th through 7th grades
Kerr, Judith. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Autobiographical novel about a girl and her family who flee the Holocaust.
Age recommendation: 3rd through 5th grades
Leyson, Leon with Marilyn J. Harran and Elizabeth B. Leyson. The Boy on the Wooden Box. Survivor memoir; #1 New York Times bestseller and Christopher Award recipient describes how a Jewish boy from Poland and some of his family members were rescued by Oskar Schindler and later moved to the United States
Age recommendation: 5th through 8 grades
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Young adult novel; Describes rescue of Danish Jews from a child's perspective; widely taught, in part due to the focus on rescue and the avoidance of disturbing themes and events of the Holocaust; Newbery Award Book
Age recommendation: 5th through 8th grades
Richter, Hans Peter. Friedrich. Autobiographical novel by member of the Hitler Youth; describes from a non-Jewish child’s point of view the systematic, gradual persecution and murder of one Jewish family that author knew; many teachers are impressed by the author’s ability to convey so many details about the Holocaust timeline despite the book’s short overall length and comparatively simple language; the book is also emotionally powerful, while avoiding any depiction of the camps for young readers
Age recommendation: 5th through 8th grades
Stiefel, Chana and Susan Gal. The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs. Picture book depicting how a young girl whose family and birthplace is destroyed by the Nazis grows up to become a Holocaust scholar and gathers photographs of her lost hometown community for a permanent exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Age recommendation: 2nd through 3rd grades
Taylor, Peter Lane with Christos Nicola. The Secret of Priest’s Grotto: A Holocaust Survival Story. Picture book profile of a Jewish family that hid in a cavern in Ukraine, and how their story is later uncovered; Sydney Taylor Honor book.
Age recommendation: 5th through 8th grades, due to reading level and generally uplifting theme of survival
Weinstein, Jacob Sager and Eliza Wheeler. What Rosa Brought. Picture book depicting a young girl and her family who must decide what to bring when they flee the Holocaust.
Age recommendation: 1st through 3rd grades
