Children

In this section we keep you up to date with news of books you might be interested in. The information comes from the publishers' website and we add our reviews as often as we can.

Do also look out for events information and keep us posted if you are an organiser.

And remember, feedback is always welcome.

One More River

Lynne Reid Banks

Barn Owl Books ISBN 9781903015636
Recommended age: 10 to 13

Lesley lives in Canada and thinks life is just great, she has got friends, she likes school and they are very comfortably off. But then her father makes a fateful decision, the whole family is going to emigrate to Israel and lead a more fully Jewish life. Lesley is horrified and very resistant. However, once she gets to her new country and a very different life, she begins to find it stimulating and enjoyable. A strange relationship with Palestinian boy Mustafa, who lives on the other side of the Jordan river, is a big part of the new Lesley. A very exciting book, set in the 1960s about life in a pioneering new country.

Broken Bridge

Barn Owl Books ISBN 9781903015681

This is the sequel to One More River. Time has moved on, it is the 1990s and this is the story of Lesley's Israeli daughter Nilli. The First Intifada is underway and people are being murdered in the streets of Israeli cities. Palestinian anger has overflowed and Mustafa has become a killer, he can see no other way to free his people from Occupation. When Mustafa fails to kill Nilli he becomes a hunted man. This book brilliantly captures the tragedy and hopelessness that has gripped the region and presents both sides with sympathy and balance. There are so few fictional accounts of the Arab/Israeli conflict that Lynne Reid-Banks splendidly readable and well-researched account fills a gap. Short-listed for both the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal when first published in 1994.

Harry the Poisonous Centipede's Big Adventure

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007213092

August 2000

A deliciously squirmy story about Harry the Poisonous Centipede, told with all Lynne Reid Banks’ usual charm and humour. Tony Ross’s wonderful illustrations perfectly capture the small world of Harry and his friend George, as they get taken prisoner by the Hoo-Mins…

Angela and Diabola

HarperCollins ISBN9780007171736 

September 2004

Angela and Diabola are twins, but from the moment they enter the world -- one with a smile and the other with a vengeance -- they have nothing in common. "Don't you call me nice names! You make me sick, you icky sticky creepie crawlie little goody-goody." Twins are meant to be alike, but Angela and Diabola are opposites in every way. Angela is completely good: Diabola is pure evil. Everyone loves Angela: Even the vicar is terrified of Diabola! As Diabola's powers grow, it seems that no one can stop her. Only Angela seems to know what goes on in her twin's mind. A wickedly black comedy from a master storyteller.

Tiger, Tiger

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007190423 

November 2005

Tiger, Tiger is a hugely powerful and epic novel set against the dazzling backdrop of ancient Rome. This compelling and uplifting story about friendship, brotherhood and battling against the odds will grip all who read it. Her heart was throbbing behind her ribs. A real, live tiger? But that was impossible! Of all the beasts brought from far-off countries the tiger was the most formidable. There could be no one bold enough to introduce one into Caesar's palace! Two tiger cubs are snatched from their native jungle and shipped to Rome. On arrival at this strange land crowded with noisy "two-legs" they are cruelly separated. One cub becomes the princess's pampered and adored house pet. The other, fiercer, cub is trained to become the star performer in Caesar's bloodthirsty circus. Princess Aurelia detests her father's brutal "sport", but must keep her feelings secret - no one dares criticise the almighty Caesar! The only person she can confide in is the slave Julius, her tiger's keeper. But such a friendship is equally forbidden: should the Emperor find out, his anger would be terrible and the punishment severe. But friendship and love cannot be dictated, and neither tiger nor man is destined for a life in chains. In a world dominated by Caesar's will, all must fight for freedom...

Jerry and the Jannans

Ellie Brewer

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747582137

Recommended age: 8+

When Jerry falls asleep on the bus to school, he’s incredibly hacked off to wake up and discover he’s on another planet. The realisation that he’s just been sold to a family of aliens by an exotic pet shop, does nothing to improve Jerry’s mood.

Harchi Jannan and his son, Chad, are thrilled with their unique new pet, but Rashila Jannan is so furious with her husband for buying it, she’s ready to shed her tail tip. A situation made worse when her boss decides Jerry is the perfect subject for a high-stakes, top-secret, research programme.

This brilliantly funny story follows Jerry’s bizarre experiences as a pet, tangling with the family — and his surroundings - as he desperately tries to get home again.

Back to the top

Eight Wild Nights

Brian P Cleary, illustrated by David Udovic

Kar-Ben Copies Ltd ,U.S. ISBN 9781580132299  

Recommended age: under 5

With humor and rhyme, a Jewish family celebrates and survives the eight days of Hanukkah.

Every family will relate to this roller coaster of joys and adventures as an assortment of relatives and friends descend on the household.

Jimmy Coates: Killer
Joe Craig

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007196852  

Recommended age: 9+

Jimmy Coates comes across as a familiar 11 year old boy, living in a north London suburb where he barely knows his neighbours, argues with his older sister and has parents who bicker over the evening news. But this world is overturned by an unexpected visit one evening. Three figures dressed in black have come for Jimmy. Whilst his father attempts to negotiate a deal his mother tells him to run. And so he does and discovers some alarming things about himself and the world. He can out-run anyone, exhibit amazing strength, leap out of a first floor window remaining unscathed and much more. Asking for help through the normal channels won’t help         

Jimmy now, as it isn’t clear who he can trust any more. It all links back to a faint memory of a dream, but doesn’t reflect anything that exists in reality...or does it?

Jimmy’s increasingly dystopic world confirms certain things that every 11 years old suspects; your parents, neighbours and even your teacher are all withholding a very significant secret from you; there’s a northern line station platform where pressing the right combination of buttons on the chocolate machine opens up a complex maze of underground tunnels across the city. And the most pertinent truth revealed is that only an 11 year old boy can save the day.

This is an incredibly energetic and compulsive read for readers of any age and raises some important questions about the nature of democracy and the role of the state in each our lives.

Jimmy Coates: Target

Joe Craig

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007196865

Recommended age: 9+

“Jimmy's fingers were slipping. Smeared with blood, he had hardly any grip. He had to hold on. Mitchell chopped his hand down hard into Jimmy's shoulder, cutting off the nerves to his fingers. Staring up into Mitchell's ice-cold eyes, Jimmy fell into the shredder.”

Jimmy Coates is still on the run – and this time NJ7 are pulling no punches. They’re out for blood, and even though Jimmy has gone into hiding in France, they still track him down.

Jimmy might think that life could hold no further surprises for him – but he’s very, very wrong.

Jimmy Coates: Sabotage

Joe Craig

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007232864

Recommended age: 9+

October 2007

"Jimmy closed his eyes, searching for that power inside him. He had to forget that he was terrified – that was only the human part of him, the 38 per cent that was a normal, frightened boy. He willed the assassin to take him over. He knew that somewhere within him was enough strength, resilience and expert knowledge to survive this crisis.”

The cold and calculating Miss Bennett has had enough of Jimmy Coates. NJ7’s greatest invention has turned into it’s greatest enemy, and it’s time someone put an end to him.

But Jimmy’s next mission is to foil a secret plan – and who could be better at this than someone who officially doesn’t exist!

Check out the series' amazing website for a taster. http://www.jimmycoates.co.uk/

Back to the top

David's Story: A Tale of Survival in the Warsaw Ghetto

Stig Dalager

Translated from the Danish by Frances Osterfelt

Aurora Metro ISBN 9781906582043

Recommended age: 12 +

Separated from his parents who are deported by the Nazis, David struggles to survive, alone, hungry and scared, until he eventually finds his way to the city of Warsaw. There he learns from other Jewish boys how to work in the black market, dodging the police and the Gestapo until the eventual day comes when the ghetto is cleared and everyone is herded into trains for the long trip to the camps. Will David survive? Can he outwit them one more time?

Stig Dalager is one of Denmark's most distinguished authors whose novels and plays have been translated and staged internationally. His works include I count the hours, (staged in 12 countries), The Dream, (premiered in New York's La Mama Theatre starring Ingmar Bergman and Bibi Andersson ); Two Days in July (a novel about the plot to kill Hitler), Journey in Blue, about Hans Christian Andersen (published in 15 countries and nominated for The Impac Prize 2008), The Labyrinth and Falling Shadows (about 9/11).

The translator Frances Osterfelt is as an artist and scriptwriter, notably, (Fantastic Flower Shop, 2001) shown at over 20 festivals throughout the world winning a prize for Children's Film in 2001. Her work may be seen at exhibitions in several European countries, the USA and Australia as well as in Danish parks and public buildings.

Auslander

Paul Dowswell

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747589099 

Recommended age: 12 +

March 2009

When Peter's parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw. Then German soldiers take him away to be measured and assessed. They decide that Peter is racially valuable. He is Volksdeutscher: of German blood. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and acceptably proportioned head, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler-Jugend poster. Someone important will want to adopt Peter. They do. Professor Kaltenbach is very pleased to welcome such a fine Aryan specimen to his household. People will be envious. But Peter is not quite the specimen they think. He is forming his own ideas about what he is seeing, what he is told. Peter doesn't want to be a Nazi, and so he is going to take a very dangerous risk. The most dangerous risk he could possibly choose to take in Berlin in 1942.

A former senior editor with Usborne Publishing, Paul Dowswell is now a full-time author. He has written many non-fiction titles, two of which were shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award. Powder Monkey, his first novel, was published to huge critical acclaim and was the first book in his wonderful Sam Witchall trilogy. Paul lives in Wolverhampton with his family.

The Bachelor and the Bean

Shelley Fowles

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9781845070205

When a grumpy old bachelor loses his last lunchtime bean down a well, he starts to yell. To stop the noise, the Imp down the well gives him a pot which conjures up delicious food. But when a jealous old lady steals the pot, even stranger things happen - and the bachelor's life will never be the same again! A genie, magic and pots and pots of food are just some of the ingredients in Shelley Fowles' lively retelling of a traditional Jewish Moroccan tale.

Dinosaurs Love Underpants

Claire Freedman and Ben Corts

Simon & Schuster ISBN 9781847382108
Recommended age: Under 5

June 2008

Dinosaurs were all wiped out,

A long way back in history,

No one knows quite how or why,

This book solves the mystery.

You may wonder why dinosaurs became extinct, well here is the answer...

They were all wiped out in a mighty Pants War! Join T-Rex and the rest of the gang as they slog it out to gain prehistoric pants supremacy.

Aliens Love Underpants

Claire Freedman and Ben Corts

Simon & Schuster ISBN 9781416917052

May 2007

"Aliens love underpants, in every shape and size, But there are no underpants in space, so here's a big surprise..." You probably thought aliens came down to Earth with a view to taking over the planet - but, no, they simply want to steal your pants! This zany, hilarious tale, delightfully brought to life by Ben Cort's vibrant illustrations, is sure to enchant and amuse the whole family. With a madcap, rhyming text, perfect for joining in, this story is fantastically fresh and funny - you'll laugh your pants off!

Back to the top

Boobela and Worm

Joe Friedman and Sam Childs

Orion ISBN 9781842555392

March 2007

Boobela is a giant - a young, shy and rather lonely giant. Worm is a worm - wise and opinonated, but above all, he's a clever and loyal friend. They live in a world that's a lot like ours, but not quite.

When Boobela meets Worm, she has the chance to overcome her fears, pursue her strange and magical powers ... and have lots of funny, exciting and heart-stopping adventures with the kids at the balloon club, on her gran's magic island and at the beach.

Boobela and the Belching Giant

Orion ISBN 9781842555408

Recommended age: under 5

October 2007

In their second book of adventures, Boobela discovers all about Worm's family after a busy day at the beach; Worm invents a clever bet to get Boobela to eat proper food (instead of crisps and pizza); Boobela tries to prove how brave she is by camping out in the Haunted Wood; and the friends encounter the belching giant - a volcano which holds a precious secret deep within. Along the way, we hear more from Boobela's mum and dad, learn how to make a compost heap (Worm-style), find out what sports worms like to play ...and learn a little more about the best kind of magic there is: the magic that's inside the heart and mind.

M is for Magic

Neil Gaiman

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747595687
March 2008

Recommended age 12 +

In this collection of wonderful stories, which range between fantasy, humour, science fiction and a sprinkling of horror, the reader will relish the range and skill of Neil Gaiman's writing.

Be prepared to laugh at the detective story about Humpty Dumpty's demise, spooked by the sinister jack-in -the-box who haunts the lives of the children who own it, and intrigued by the boy who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard in this collection of bite-sized narrative pleasures.

Neil Gaiman is British and lives in the USA. He is the author of many highly acclaimed novels for adults and children and he has a cult following for his work in the graphic novel arena. Neil also writes screenplays and two of his own works are now films, Stardust and Coraline.

The Gingerbread House
Adèle Geras

Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781842990797 

Recommended age: 8-10

Mike and his friends watch their neighbours carefully and come to some dark conclusions.

First page: “My name is Mike. I want to tell someone about Fairytale Drive, and what happened last year. If I don't, it will all be forgotten, like the hot weather we had - remember that? Fairytale Drive wasn't really called that, of course. It's proper name was Farradale Drive. Here is a map of it. I love stories that have maps to go with them. I've put in all the houses so that you know where everything is. I live just through a little passageway we call The Alley in North Road ...”

Rebecca’s Passover

Adèle Geras

Illustrated by Sheila Moxley

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9780711221093  

Rebecca is getting ready to celebrate Passover and she is helping Granny Sarah make the special food needed for the Seder. As Rebecca and her brother work, Granny Sarah tells them the story of Passover: how God sent the ten plagues to the Egyptians and how Moses led the freed Israelite slaves through the Red Sea and across the desert. This is the delightful and informative story of modern day celebration, told from the perspective of a child living through the festival.

Voyage

Adele Geras

Barn Owl Books ISBN 9781903015001

Mina stood on the deck of the ship and looked wistfully back at the land where she had spent her young life. Was she doing the right thing in going to the unknown land called America? Would the streets be paved with gold?

A group of young Russian Jews emigrate to America in 1904.

A Candle in the Dark

A & C Black Publishers Ltd  ISBN 9780713650761 

First published in hardback in 1995, a story about a Jewish brother and sister who flee from Nazi Germany and embark on a new life in England. With 25 black and white drawings by Elsie Lennox. In the FLASHBACKS series. Suitable for National Curriculum Key Stage 2

Other Echoes

David Fickling Books  ISBN 9780385606882 

Flora is 18 and recovering from an illness in the sanatorium at her boarding school. To while away the time, she starts to write down the story of her childhood. In making sense of her own memories, Flora uncovers the ideas and emotions that make her the person she is today.

Apricots at Midnight

Barn Owl Books ISBN 9781903015292
Recommended age 10 - 13

Aunt Pinny tells the story behind each of the squares that make up her wonderful Edwardian quilt. The red velvet patch recalls a fancy dress ball and a midnight feast with a highwayman. The green brocade segment carries memories of Captain Tramlemousse, the pirate. Gradually a whole picture of the magical lost world of the past is built up, full of fantastical characters and a rich humour.

The Year the Gypsies Came

Linzi Glass

Puffin ISBN 9780141320922

Recommended age: 12 +

12-year-old Emily Iris looks forward to the house guests that her family take in from time to time to diffuse the tension in their unhappy home. One summer a family of wanderers – an Australian couple and their two boys – comes to stay, and Emily and her beloved sister Sarah form warm but delicate friendships with the boys. But then tragedy strikes and their lives are changed forever.

Set in late-1960s South Africa, this exquisite, beautifully written novel will enthral teenagers and adults alike.

Linzi Glass was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to the United States as a young adult where she now lives with her teenage daughter. She studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute before joining the UCLA Writer’s Program, and has worked as a freelance reader and as Literary Coordinator at Creative Artists Agency. She is now a full-time writer, and has co-written three adult screenplays, and two plays. The Year the Gypsies Came is her first novel.

Back to the top

Emil and Karl

Yankev Glatshteyn

Scholastic ISBN 9780439943932
January 2007

Recommended age: 9-12

Emil and Karl is a unique work. First published in New York in 1940, it is one of the first books written for young adult readers describing the early days of the events that have come to be known as the Holocaust. Originally written in Yiddish for American Jewish children attending Yiddish afternoon and weekend schools, it is one of the most accomplished works of children's literature in this language. It is also the only book for young readers by Yankev Glatshteyn (1896-1971), a major American Yiddish poet, novelist, and essayist. It is now available in English for the first time. Written in the form of a suspense novel, Emil and Karl draws readers into the dilemmas faced by two boys—one Jewish, the other not—when they suddenly find themselves without families or homes in Vienna on the eve of World War II, when Austria was under the control of Nazi Germany. Because the novel was written before the end of the war and the full revelations of the Third Reich's persecution of Jews and other civilians, it offers readers a more open-ended approach to understanding life during this period than do most later works of Holocaust fiction. Moreover, Emil and Karl demonstrates how, at the very start of the war, Glatshteyn encouraged American Jewish children to try to engage the moral challenges people faced under Nazism.

Yankev Glatshteyn was one of the most accomplished figures in modern Yiddish literature. Born in Poland in 1896, he immigrated to the United States in 1914. Glatshteyn published ten volumes of poetry, two novels for adults, as well as five volumes of essays. He was a columnist for the Tog-Morgn zhurnal, a Yiddish daily newspaper, and also worked for the American Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress. Glatshteyn was at the fore of American literary responses to the Holocaust and served as coeditor of the Anthology of Holocaust Literature . He died in New York in 1971.

The translation includes an introduction and an afterword by Jeffrey Shandler, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University, which situate the novel in its historical context and explain Glatshteyn's distinctive approach to this subject.

Then

Morris Gleitzman

Puffin ISBN 9780141324821 

January 2009

Then, the sequel to Once, follows Felix and Zelda after they have escaped from the Nazis, but how long can they now survive when there are so many people ready to hand them over for a reward? Thanks to the courage of a kind, brave woman they are able to hide for a time in the open, but Felix knows he has a distinguishing feature that identifies him as a Jew and that it is only a matter of time before he is discovered, which will mean death for them all. Even though he promised Zelda he would never leave her, he knows he has to, before it is too late...

Once

Puffin ISBN 9780141320632 

Recommended age: 9+

Once there was a boy called Felix, who had a big imagination and a whole heart full of optimism.
Once, his Polish/Jewish bookseller parents left him in an orphanage before being wrenched away by the Nazis. Once he set out to find them, and, in the process, saved someone’s life.
Once Felix’s whole world changed forever.

Let this deeply moving and engaging new novel, inspired by a true story fill you with hope, compassion and the feeling that, just once, we all have to follow our dreams.

Morris Gleitzman is one of Australia’s most successful writing talents. With UK sales of 260,000 copies, he has penned the critically-acclaimed bestsellers, Two Weeks With the Queen, Bumface, Toad Rage and, in collaboration with other Aussie giant, Paul Jennings, Wicked! and Deadly!

Back to the top

Magda and the Rat Catchers

Netta Murray Goldsmith

Trafford ISBN 9781425158545 

February 2008

Recommended age: 12 +

Magda Senger is eleven on 4 July 1932. It is a glorious summer's day and all her friends come to the best birthday party she has ever had in the big garden of her home in Nuremburg.

By winter Hitler has come to power. Everything changes. Magda and her cousin, the maverick Fritz, think of themselves as German but they are also Jewish. This is the story of what happens to them as they grow up under the Nazis who say Jews are vermin -- rats to be got rid of. Things come to a head one dreadful night in November 1938.

After that we follow Magda and Fritz in their desperate and dangerous journey across Europe, looking for a country that will take them in.

The Ultimate Teen Book Guide: Over 700 Great Books

Daniel Hahn and Leonie Flynn

A & C Black Publishers Ltd  ISBN 9780713673302

6 Feb 2006

Recommended age: 12 +

David Almond, in his introduction, calls The Ultimate Teen Book Guide "a kind of travellers guide" to the many novels for teenage readers as recommended by an impressive array of authors, experts, editors and children. In a better way than any other book guide for teens has so far managed to achieve, it offers up a selection of choices in a more than palatable way for a notoriously difficult readership to please.

This is, therefore, not a book to read from cover to cover--more a volume to be dipped into, read at leisure and in digestible bite-size chunks. The various contributors have often delved into their own experiences to highlight a wide range of possible reads for the discerning older reader, and in doing so have achieved an accessibility, and connection, to its target audience that has perhaps eluded some previous, stuffier tomes.

Apart from the Book Recommendations, there are special features about specific genres and a number of poll results with headings like The Book you Couldn’t Put Down and the Best Book About Relationships.

A hugely impressive endeavour that should make a difference to any teen reader in a quandary about what to read next who picks it up.

Blue Sky Freedom

Gabrielle Halberstam

Pan Macmillan ISBN 9780330450515 
January 2008

Recommended age: 12 +

When Victoria's friend Maswe appears at her door, badly beaten and begging for a place to hide, she agrees to help. Soon the police are searching the house and watching Victoria's family. What has Maswe done?

Victoria would do anything to keep him safe, even undertake a dangerous journey, to carry a vital message to the ruthless resistance leader Godiva. But while Victoria's feelings for Maswe deepen he is impatient to return to his dangerous activist's life and the fight for freedom . . .

Blue Sky Freedom is set in South Africa in the 1970's - it is a story of love, loss and courage set against the backdrop of South Africa in the grip of apartheid.

Incantation

Alice Hoffman

Egmont ISBN 9781405227391

June 2007

Recommended age: 12 - 15

A chilling story of friendship, first love and family secrets.

Estrella lives in Spain, next door to her best friend Catalina. They used to be inseparable, but then Andres, Catalina’s cousin and the boy she’s planning to marry, starts to gaze at Estrella instead. And Catalina starts to plot . . .

Estrella’s family have always done things slightly differently. Lighting candles on a Friday, for example. But these tiny things that Estrella has done all her life suddenly add up to something huge. She discovers that she and her family are Marranos – Spanish Jews living double lives as Catholics.

And soon the outside world starts to intrude on her life – the world of the Spanish Inquisition, of neighbours accusing each other, of looting and riots. A world where new love burns and where friendship ends in flame and ash.

By the award-winning author of Blackbird House and Practical Magic.

The Matzah Man: A Passover Story

Naomi Howland

Clarion Books ISBN 9780618117505

March 2002

Recommended age: Ages 4-7.

Howland (Latkes, Latkes, Good Enough to Eat) makes the story of the Gingerbread Man kosher for Passover in a picture book that improves with repeat readings. Set in an indeterminately old-fashioned community where ladies wear white gloves, hats and fox stoles to go shopping, the story opens as the baker has made a little man out of leftover matzoh dough. Here it is Cousin Tillie, sampling her tender brisket; Auntie Bertha, the shopper; Grandpa Solly, chopping onions for gefilte fish; Miss Axelrod, adding the last matzoh ball to a pot of chicken soup; and a variety of animals who chase after the impish Matzah Man. The storytelling seems attenuated the first time around but all those matzoh-chasers play a role in the satisfying surprise finale. Children will want to return to the beginning to see how neatly Howland sets up her premise. Collage elements (these create the Matzah Man) mingle unobtrusively with almost drab gouaches in the illustrations, which, despite their unprepossessing first impression, are crammed with lively details.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The Tygrine Cat

Inbali Iserles

Walker Books ISBN 9781406304039

Recommended age: 9+
August 2007

Alone and lost, a young cat called Mati struggles to be accepted by the hostile community of street cats at Cressida Lock. Mati is unaware that he is actually no ordinary cat but Mithos, the mysterious assassin on his trail, knows it! To defeat his enemies, Mati must learn to harness an ancient feline power a power so deadly that it threatens to destroy not only his new-found friends, but every cat on earth...

Born in Israel, Inbali Iserles grew up in the UK. She is a lawyer and this is her first book.

The Most Magnificent Mosque

Ann Jungman

Illustrated by Shelley Fowles

Frances Lincoln ISBN: 9781845070854 

Visitors to the mosque at Cordoba are plagued by the tricks of three naughty boys: Rashid, who is Muslim, Samuel who is Jewish and Miguel, a Christian. One day they go a step too far, and as a punishment they are forced to work in the mosque gardens where they learn about the building's beauty.

The Prince Who Thought He Was a Rooster and other Jewish Stories

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9781845077938
Recommended age: 7 to 19

A Golem… a Chilli Champion… a Prince who thinks he's a Rooster? Find them all in this collection of traditional Jewish stories - lovingly treasured, retold and carried through countries as far apart as Poland, Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, Russia and Germany. The tales feature a cast of eccentric princes, sharp-witted scholars, flustered tailors and brave soldiers. Seasoned with wit, humour and magic, Ann Jungman's retellings of stories familiar to Jewish readers are sure to delight a new, wider readership.

Betrayal

Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781842994665 

Recommended age group: 8 +

Hannah and Frieda are best friends. But this is Germany before World War II. You can't trust anyone and no one feels safe. Hannah's family are Jewish. Frieda's family are Nazis. And Nazis hate Jews.

Can Frieda and Hannah really be friends forever? Or will there be a betrayal?

Resistance
Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781842990476  

Recommended age group: 8 +

Do you ever disagree with your parents? Jan is ashamed when his Dutch father sides with the Germans during the Second World War. No-one will talk to him at school. Only Elli is his friend. Can Jan find a way to defy his father and help the Resistance?

Siege
Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781842993354  

Recommended age group: 10 +

What if your whole world was turned upside down in one day? One moment Ivan is daydreaming in class, the next he’s fighting for survival. The German army have surrounded his home city of Leningrad. His father’s gone to fight and his mother is at the hospital looking after the sick. There’s only Ivan to look after his sister and his baby brother. As the Russian winter gets worse and the Nazis get even closer the city is cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no food, no hope? Will Ivan and his family make it to the end of the siege?

Twinkles, Arthur and Puss

Judith Kerr

HarperCollins ISBN 9780007254460

Recommended age: up to 5

October 2007

A furry feline tale from the creator of Mog the Forgetful Cat and The Tiger Who Came to Tea! Grandpa has a black cat called Puss. They like eating chips together. The Jones family also have a black cat. They call him Twinkles. Lady Daisy found a lovely black cat outside her window one day, whom she calls Arthur.

One day Twinkles, Arthur and Puss all disappear! As Grandpa, The Jones' and Lady Daisy search everywhere for their cats, a hilarious plot unfolds.

Whatever have Twinkles, Arthur and Puss been getting up to?

Back to the top

Queen Esther

Jenny Koralek, illustrated by Grizelda Holderness

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9781845071318

Recommended age 3 to 6
February 2009

Here is the Bible story retold especially for very young readers. It tellsof Queen Esther, the Jewish queen in the ancient Persian court, whose wisdom and great personal courage save the lives of her people living in the kingdom of Persia. Her bravery is still commemorated each year in the Jewish festival of Purim.

The Coat of Many Colours

Jenny Koralek, illustrated by Pauline Baynes

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9781845071301
November 2005

In this exciting collaboration between Jenny Koralek and one of the

20th century's most distinguished illustrators, this picture-book story tells how, a long, long time ago in Israel, a family of brothers grow jealous of their father's favourite son, Joseph, and set out to teach him a lesson he would not forget.

The Moses Basket

Jenny Koralek, illustrated by Pauline Baynes

Frances Lincoln ISBN 9781845070304
April 2005

Long, long ago in Egypt, there were so many Hebrew slaves that the Pharaoh feared they might turn against him - and ordered every Hebrew boy-child to be killed. But one mother was determined not to let her son die. The story of how she saved baby Moses is beautifully retold by Jenny Koralek. Pauline Baynes' sumptuous illustrations make this a first Bible picture book to delight very young readers.

The Slave-girl from Jerusalem

Caroline Lawrence

Orion ISBN 9781842555729

Recommended age: 8 to 12

August 2007

In the thirteenth book in the Roman Mysteries series, Caroline Lawrence recreates the siege of Masada, and reveals important developments in Jonathan's struggle with his guilt over past events. Also, there's terrific insight into the workings of the Roman legal system in a page-turning court room drama. As always, Caroline Lawrence spings new surprises for all the characters and provides motives, means and opportunities for one determined felon. And, as ever, it's up to the four young detectives to crack the case. And, for one of the popular characters, a tragic end awaits ...

Caroline Lawrence is American. She won a scholarship to Cambridge to read Classical Archaeology, then did a degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College, London. She lives with her husband, a graphic designer, by the river in London and, in addition to writing her books, is very active as a speaker in schools and at book festivals.

Sobibor
Jean Molla
Aurora Metro Publications ISBN 9780954691240  

Recommended age: 15 +

Emma should be a happy girl: her parents lead a comfortable life in a French provincial town, her father is a renowned doctor, she adores her grandparents and has a lovely boyfriend. Yet Emma is seriously anorexic (a word that comes only quite late in the book but an easily identified condition). To make things worse, her adored grandmother is dying of cancer. As all the family’s attention is focused on the old woman, nobody notices her grandchild fading away. She has understood her parents are afraid of what’s happening to her but don’t know how to address it and avoid discussing it.

At the dark core of the book is the extermination camp in Poland which was totally erased when the Nazi started losing the war. Emma has discovered a secret past in her grand mother’s life, something the old woman refuses to discuss and even seems to lie about, destroying Emma’s trust in her. Emma will have to come to terms with some horrible facts and address issues of justice and memory.

A short book we recommend to all –families and schools- for heated discussions.

Sobibor was shortlisted for the Wingate Prize and here are the judges’ comments:
This book is an unusual page-turner that links modern neurosis to past trauma.  It does so in the most gripping way, using a clever idea to show how the past affects the present.  Molla interweaves the smaller individual trauma of modern-day anorexia, with the broader collective trauma of the Holocaust.  He shows that even if the past is not your own, it can still have a devastating impact on your future.  Mesmerising.

Back to the top

The Mozart Question

Michael Morpurgo

Illustrated by Michael Foreman

Walker Books ISBN 9781406306484

November 2007

Recommended age: 7+

When Lesley is sent to Venice to interview world-renowned violinist Paulo Levi on his fiftieth birthday, she cannot believe her luck. She is told that she can ask him anything at all - except the Mozart question. But it is Paulo himself who decides that it is time for the truth to be told. And so follows the story of his parents as Jewish prisoners of war, forced to play Mozart violin concertos for the enemy; how they watched fellow Jews being led off to their deaths and knew that they were playing for their lives. As the story unfolds, the journalist begins to understand the full horror of war, and how one group of musicians survived using the only weapon they had - music.

Waiting for Anya

Michael Morpurgo

Mammoth ISBN 0749746882

Recommended age: 10+

This novel is set in a village on the French/Spanish border during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. It is the story of how Jo helps Benjamin to smuggle children over the border to safety. When he discovers that German soldiers are on guard at the border he has to work out a way of getting word to his friend to warn him of the dangers. The children are trapped, and a small mistake could cost them their lives. This gripping tale keeps the reader in suspense until the final page!

Back to the top

Animated Menorah : Travels on a Space Dreidel -- Eight Stories for Hannukah

Rony Oren and Ephraim Sidon

Urim Publications ISBN 9657108802
Recommended age: 4-11

Two children travel through time and space on a magic dreidel. Their adventures with Judah the Maccabee, George Washington,

a Russian refusenik and many others, tell the story of Hannukah.

Illustrations created in clay by Rony Oren. From the series The Animated Holydays (claymation).

Wishes For One More Day

Melanie Joy Pastor
illustrated by Jacqui Grantford
Flashlight Press ISBN 9780972922579  
Recommended age: 4 to 8

The smell of pancakes in the morning usually signals a special day. Well, today is special, but not at all happy, because dear Poppy has passed away. When Anna and her little brother hear the sad news, they wonder how Poppy could have died before they had a chance to say goodbye. If they only had one more day...

They begin to think about the joyful, exciting things they would do if they did have one more day together with Poppy. Setting to work on a list, Anna writes and Joey draws the many ways they would spend one more day. They smile thinking about Poppy’s crazy birthday hat, they giggle remembering the silly songs Poppy plunked out on the piano, and they laugh out loud at the chicken soup game they played weekly at the deli.

Anna and Joey’s list grow into a pile, and the pile becomes a book – a book of wishes for one more day with Poppy – or, as their mother explains, a book of memories of the love and fun they shared with him.

Death is never easy for young children to understand or cope with, especially the death of a close, beloved relative. Creating a book of wishes provides Anna and her brother, and any child who has experienced loss, with a comforting outlet for their feelings, helping them understand that their loved one is still with them in their memories and hearts.

Melanie Pastor is a kindergarten teacher and has been teaching elementary school for the past 10 years. She is involved in many children's projects including Kid Alert, a series of booklets dedicated to children's safety, and the Write Start Handwriting Program, a children's video for handwriting.
Melanie is also a lifeguard and swimming instructor and lives in Southern California. This is her first picture book.

In 2005, Jacqui Grantford was crowned “Grand Dragon” at Dromkeen Museum, the home of Australian children's book illustration, and she is the winner of the 2003 Monsalvat Salon des Refuses People’s Choice Award.

Anne Frank

Josephine Poole, illustrated by Angela Barnett

Red Fox ISBN 9780099409762 
June 2007

Recommended age 6 to 8

Anne Frank's diary telling the story of her years in hiding from the Nazis has affected millions of people.

But what was she like as a small girl, at home with her family and friends; at play and at school? And how did an ordinary little girl come to live such an extraordinary and tragically short life?

In the first half of the book we meet Anne as a small child growing up with her family in Germany. Then we follow her flight to Holland to escape the Nazis; the German invasionand the gradual isolation, then outright persecution, of the Jewish population which forces the family into hiding; the years in the Secret Annex; and her last heart-breaking journey.

Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy

Michael Rosen

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747587392

Age range 5-7

A celebratory reissue of two best-selling poetry collaborations by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake, first published 25 years ago

'You Can't Catch Me' and 'You Can't Put Mustard in the Custard' were first published 25 years ago and were ground-breaking in that they were full colour illustrated new poems for children. 'You Can't Catch Me' won the Signal Poetry Award in 1982. Both books went on to be best-sellers and both poet and artist are the stellar names in the world of children's books. The book includes an introduction by Michael Rosen and an audio CD of the book, with all the poems also read by Michael.

Michael's brilliantly conversational poetry is fantastically matched by Quentin Blake's loopy yet perfectly detailed art.

The Bear in the Cave

illustrated by Adrian Reynolds

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747577652

Recommended age: up to 5

October 2007

A very happy bear hears the sounds of the city from his quiet home by the sea and decides to find out what city life is like. Buying the ticket and travelling on the train is all very exciting. And so is the city! But after a while the bear finds the city a little too noisy and a little too busy — and people are beginning to laugh at him. He feels very sad and alone. Until four children find him and show him the way home, with much fun along the way.

Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry

Michael Rosen

Walker Books ISBN 9781406305500

Recommended age: 4+

It's a totally wonderful day and Molly is taking her grandma's crystal into school to share. Everyone wants to see it ... until Russell gets out his pink and green water-spurting dinosaur. But wonderful Miss Plumberry knows just what to do to make everything wonderful again!

Back to the top

How I Live Now

Meg Rosoff

Puffin ISBN 9780141318011  

Recommended age: 12+

Winner of The Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year, Meg Rosoff’s breathtaking debut novel of love, war and a summer blown into a million bewildering pieces will leave you breathless.

‘[It] will, I hope, be read by many adults. It’s the first book I have read in a long time that transported me so completely I forgot I was reading a book’ – Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Meg Rosoff was born in Boston, USA. She has worked in publishing, public relations and most recently, advertising. She moved from New York to London in 1989, where she currently lives with her husband and daughter.

Just In Case

Meg Rosoff

Puffin ISBN 9780141318066  

Recommended age: 12 +

Every minute of every day, a million things could happen.

A butterfly flaps its wing in Tokyo and – what? Will you step out in front of that bus? Win the lottery?  Stand just where a plane is crashing?

Who controls it all?

Fate? And what if Fate doesn’t like you . . .?

An unforgettable voice. A daring, powerful and utterly compelling novel.

Back to the top

Before You Were Born

Howard Schwartz, Kristina Swarner

Roaring Brook Press ISBN 9781596430280

Age 4 to 8

April 2005

A tale from Jewish legend, based on stories of Lailah, the guardian of the human soul. It is this angel, readers learn, who watches over the Treasury of Souls in heaven. Once a soul is chosen, she brings it down to earth and plants it as a seed in the mother's womb. There she proceeds to tell the soul the secrets of the world: the languages of the animals and of the wind plus the history of that soul, it's past and future. When the time comes to lead the child into the world, she touches the baby's upper lip, creating an indention, as a reminder to keep this knowledge a secret. "But don't worry," the father tells his now sleeping child, "you have the rest of your life to learn all those wondrous secrets again."

As a folktale, this story is lovely and provocative. It combines a compelling explanation of a universal physical trait with a religious view of the soul's journey through life. The textured, mixed-media art has a nice mixture of unpolished innocence as seen in the landscapes and calm serenity that exudes from the composed faces.

Jerusalem of Gold: Jewish Stories of the Enchanted City

Howard Schwartz, Neil Waldman

Jewish Lights Publishing ISBN 9781580231497

Recommended age: 7 +

May 2003

Jerusalem is a city that captures the imagination. It is a holy city where the ancient and modern meet side by side, and it is the subject of timeless stories that evoke its unique spirit.

Some of the best of these are gathered together in this beautiful, engaging collection of historical and legendary stories. Each celebrates the magical city that has served as a beacon for the Jewish imagination for three thousand years.

Drawing from the Talmud, midrash, Jewish folklore, and mystical and Hasidic sources, stores include:

The Bird of Happiness
How the Walls of the Temple Were Built
The Story of Serah, Who Lived Longer Than Methuselah
The Miracle of King David's Tomb
Rabbi Nachman's Chair

...and many more

Each story is complemented with factual vignettes that provide historical background to help deepen our understanding of the Jewish tradition and the words that have helped it survive.

A Light in the Attic

Shel Silverstein

Marion Boyars Publishers  ISBN ISBN: 0-7145-3096-4

"By turns sardonic, surreal, and mockmoralistic, his is a spontaneous overflow of playfulness which spreads over page after page of off-the-cuff but neatly versified invention. ..very much in the New Yorker tradition of James Thurber's cartoons and Ogden Nash's verses, and its almost as if the two of them had got together in a Greenwich Village bar and invented him."
Times Educational Supplement

Shel Silverstein is one of America’s best loved poets, whose work is read by every child in the USA but is almost unknown in the UK. Think Spike Milligan meets Edward Lear: it’s nonsense poetry that makes perfect sense. Of course you would sell your sister, who wouldn’t want to get rid of ‘This crying and spying young sister for sale?’ Shel Silverstein’s work is full of children who eat whales, who can kick footballs from here to Afghanistan, who know that thumb sucked thumbs taste the sweetest, and can’t go to school because their brains have shrunk.

Shel Silverstein wrote ‘A Boy Named Sue’ for Johnny Cash and many other lyrics as well as his poetry for children, which has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

Visit the website: http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html

Horrid Henry Robs the Bank

Francesca Simon

Illustrated by Tony Ross

Orion ISBN 9781842551325 

June 2008

Horrid Henry helps himself to all the money he needs to win his favourite board game, comes up with another spectacular money-making scheme for launching a newspaper with all the school gossip, vows vengeance on Perfect Peter when Peter nicks his birthday party theme and has his own Pirate Party - and gets it by taking over as Head Teacher when Peter plays school with his goody-goody friends.

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

Orion ISBN 9781842550700

October 2007

Building a snowman brings out Henry's competitive streak; he sets up his Monstrous Makeovers business to rival Moody Margaret's Miraculous Makeovers; things go badly wrong when a famous author comes to school; and he thinks 'You'll all be sorry when I'm dead' and spends a rainy day writing his will.

Horrid Henry’s Headscratchers

Orion ISBN 9781842555767

Awesomely artful activity and puzzle book for HORRID HENRY fans and new readers everywhere.

Illustrated in full colour with TV stills and Tony Ross's distinctive arteach 24 page book is packed to the brim with brand new HORRID HENRY treats.
There are cunning crosswords, wily word searches, perplexing puzzles, clever codes, ingenious quizzes and skilful spot-the-difference pictures.
Answers at the back of each book!

Horrid Henry’s Evil Enemies

Orion ISBN 1842555383

Ten brilliant stories about Horrid Henry's evil enemies - Moody Margaret, Sour Susan, Stuck-Up Steve, Bossy Bill, Perfect Peter and Rabid Rebecca the Bogey Babysitter, to name just a few - and how he schemes to outwit them, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.
Alongside these much-loved and laughed-over stories there is lots of new material, such as Horrid Henry's Top Secret Plan to Rule the World, Rules for a Secret Club, a Wanted poster, an exchange of rude notes between Henry and Moody Margaret, diagrams, battle-plans and recipes for Glop.
With many pictures in colour, including some new ones, this is a gorgeous treat for all Horrid Henry fans, just as funny and inventive as HORRID HENRY'S BIG BAD BOOK and HORRID HENRY'S WICKED WAYS.

One City, Two Brothers

Chris Smith and Aurelia Fronty

Barefoot Books ISBN 9781846860416

August 2007

Recommended age: under 7

Two arguing brothers stand before the wise King Solomon and he decides to share with them the story of two other brothers who lived long before their time. By retelling the story of how Jerusalem came to be, he offers guidance in hope that they will learn to appreciate one another and the value of sharing. This is the founding story of Jerusalem, told in Mosques, Synagogues and Churches. It is a truly uplifting and hopeful tale of both family and compassion.

This tale serves as a reminder that peace and reconciliation can be brought to any situation. The subject matter appeals to many faiths; nicely articulated with an informative endnote. The bright yet simple illustrations fill the pages, perfectly accompanying this magnificent story.

The Brick Testament: Stories from the Book of Genesis

Brendan Powell Smith

Chronicle Books ISBN 9781931686457

10 stories from the Book of Genesis illustrated using Lego bricks. The text is faithful to the Bible. Favourite childhood Bible stories such as the Creation, Noah's Ark and Joseph are brilliantly illustrated with pictures of Lego characters and landscapes.

The Brick Testament: The Ten Commandments

Quirk Books,US ISBN 9781594740442

March 2005

With verses from the Book of Exodus and a series of elaborate LEGO dioramas, this full-colour volume chronicles the adventures of Moses - from the burning bush and the parting of the Red Sea to Mount Sinai and the Ark of the Covenant.

Back to the top

A Series of Unfortunate Events (The End)

Lemony Snicket

Egmont Books ISBN 1405226730

Recommended age: 8 +

Like an off-key violin concert, the Roman Empire, or food poisoning, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. The final installment in Mr Snicket's baker's dozen of books will answer readers' most burning questions: Will Count Olaf prevail? Will the Baudelaires survive? Will the series end happily? If there's nothing out there, what was that noise? Then again, why trouble yourself with unfortunate resolutions? Avoid the thirteenth and final book of Lemony Snicket's international bestselling series and you'll never have to know what happens.

"A mind-blowing finale" The JC

Vampirates:Tide of Terror

Justin Somper

Simon & Schuster Childrens Books ISBN 1416901418

Recommended age: 10 +

Connor Tempest may only be fourteen, but he's taken to the life of a pirate like a duck to water. But his loyalties are divided between his shipmates and his sister. Grace Tempest isn't finding the pirate life so appealing. She cannot shake the feeling that all is not well on the vampirate ship she left behind. Dare she try to return to it? Sidorio may have been expelled from the vampirate ship but his dark deeds are just beginning. In this sequel to "Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean", the seas are rougher than ever and a new tide of terror sweeps up Connor, Grace, their allies and their foes.

Justin Somper has firmly established himself as one of the leading children's books publicists in the UK. Now living in North London, Justin combines his full-time time PR job with his newly forged career as the author of the Vampirates.

Visit the Vampirates website.

You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum

Andy Stanton

Egmont Books ISBN 1405223103

Recommended age: 6+

Weird, wacky and one in a million! Mr Gum is a truly nasty old man. He’s absolutely grimsters. But this book’s not just about him. There’s also a little girl called Polly, an evil butcher, heroes and sweets and stuff, and Jake the dog WHO MUST BE SAVED FROM TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE EVIL.

This is weird, wacky and one in a million: a cross between Roald Dahl and Monty Python.

Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire

ISBN 1405228152

Mr Gum is back and he’s absolutely grimsters. Read this book and you’ll meet a gingerbread man named Alan Taylor who has electric muscles! Plus, all our favourite characters are back: the little girl called Polly, the evil butcher called Billy William The Third, and the very wise man, Friday O’Leary. And, who could forget loveable Jake the dog, or the angry fairy who lives in Mr Gum’s bathtub and whacks him on the head with a frying-pan?

Mr Gum and the Goblins

ISBN 1405228169

Old roo-de-lally Mr Gum and the hideous Billy William the Third are once more mucking things up for everyone. They’re raising up an army of goblins to stink up the town of Lamonic Bibber once and for all!

Can the brave travellers (the wise old man Friday O’Leary and the small girl Polly) make it past the Three Impossible Challenges of Goblin Mountain and save the town from a fate worse than something very bad indeed?

Andy Stanton lives in North London. He studied English at Oxford but they kicked him out. He has been a stand-up comedian, a film script reader, a cartoonist, an NHS lackey and lots of other things. He has many interests, but best of all he likes cartoons, books and music (even jazz).

Back to the top

Marvin Wanted More

Joseph Theobald

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747588733

Recommended age: up to 5

A modern classic picture book featuring the insatiable Marvin the sheep who never has quite enough ...

Marvin is not a happy sheep. All the other sheep are bigger than him, and can run faster and jump higher than he can. So Marvin decides to do something about it. He EATS. And eats, and eats, until he is so big that there is nothing left for him to eat in the world - at which point Marvin eats the world itself! But that is a step too far, and what went in is going to have to come out ... A rumbustious story that shows how it is possible to take some self-improvement just a little bit too far.

Marvin Gets Mad

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747594864
June 2008

One perfect morning Molly eats the very apple that Marvin had his eye on. Marvin is CROSS and has a terrible tantrum, rampaging through the countryside, causing chaos. Who will be able to calm Marvin down and tease him out of his tantrum? Will he be able to do it by himself or will he need some help?

Hitler's Canary
Sandi Toksvig

Doubleday ISBN 0385608896

Recommended age: 10+

Sandi Toksvig has created a fictional tale that combines stories of the period her Danish father told her. We witness the experience of Bamse and his family. Bamse is ten, the youngest in his family, in 1940, when the Germans arrive and occupy Copenhagen. We feel his half understanding of the situation, but at the same time, sense, through his observations, the foreboding and growing fear in the air. Gradually as Bamse grows older, his older brother, Orlando, gives him and his Jewish friend, Anton, jobs to do to help the resistance. They help distract German soldiers in a bar while Orlando steals one of their guns, they distribute illegally produced underground newspapers, and tape them to the underside of railway carriages bound for Sweden.

We witness the struggle of the individual members of Bamse’s family in deciding whether or not to join the resistance. Orlando, the young hot- head, is angry with his father for not joining up immediately. Parents however will understand the father’s reluctance to see his son put himself in such danger. Anyone who has ever experienced young love will understand the anguish of older sister Masha and her young German soldier. The actress mother, who changes her dress according to what role she is playing, brings some light relief.

There are reports of good deeds done by some Germans and bad deeds done by some Danes, confirming what Ms Toksvig was taught by her journalist father:  not all Germans were bad, and not all Danes were good. We read how finally almost all the Jewish community of Denmark was saved by the rest of the population. What adds to the pleasure of reading this uplifting tale is that the book is beautifully produced, with many fine small drawings by Sandy Nightingale. This is a fascinating story of courage, both gripping and fast-moving, that will captivate readers of ten and over, as well as their parents.

Back to the top

The Glitch in Sleep: Book 1: The Seems Trilogy

Michael Wexler and John Hulme

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747593324
July 2008

Recommended age: 11- 14

Ever wondered if the world around you was not as it appeared? That there was something bigger going on you couldn’t quite put your finger on? Welcome to The Seems, a secret organisation that makes sure our world keeps running. From weather, to sleep, to nightmares, The Seems is behind everything, keeping things ticking over. Unless there’s a Glitch, which is where Becker Drane comes in. Becker has the coolest job of any 7th grader – he works as a Fixer for The Seems.

When a Glitch is reported in the Department of Sleep, Becker is dispatched to fix it, but he’s not so sure this is a routine mission. Could the Bed Bugs, who are behind our Worst Nightmares, be responsible for the problems? Or maybe it’s The Tide, an underground organisation bent on destroying The Seems? No matter what, Becker’s in for an adventure, and it’ll take all his training, a little luck, and the coolest Tools™ known in (or out of) The Seems to Fix the problem

A Mitzva for Zelda

Susan Wigden, illustrated by Iosi Salem

Pitspopany ISBN 9781934440544

Recommended age 3-6

October 2008

Zelda has a knack for creating a perfect kippa for even the hardest-to-fit heads. But when she grows old and loses her ability to knit, Zelda's friends bring her a special gift that's just perfect for her.

The Night of the Burning

Linda Press Wulf

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747587170

June 2007
Recommended age: 12 +

The moving story of two orphaned sisters who escape from Poland to South Africa after a pogrom, the Night of the Burning, in their village.   Based on a true event, and told through the eyes of one of the sisters, it has the timeless feel of a classic, with a riveting personal account, universal themes, and effortless prose. 

The book begins in eastern Europe in a little-known period of history - the chaotic years just after World War I.   It's the story of Devorah and her little sister, who survive the Night of the Burning and are chosen to join a dramatic journey to a safe haven, stopping along the way in a luxurious hotel in London and a crowded orphanage in Cape Town.

The Devil's Arithmetic

Jane Yolen

Barn Owl Books ISBN 9781903015100
Recommended age: 9 to 12

When Hannah finds herself catapulted from modern New York to Poland in 1942, she realises that as a Jew she and her family and friends are in terrible danger. However, no one will believe Hannah when she warns of the horrors to come and history takes its course. A tale of courage, love and friendship that makes for a sobering and heart warming read.

A brilliant Holocaust book that is not too bleak.   It won every prize in the US and was filmed by Dustin Hoffman.   

Message in a Bottle

Valerie Zenatti

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747590446
April 2008

Recommended age: teens

Following a suicide bomb attack on her local Jerusalem café, in which she and her friends could so easily have been its victims, a seventeen-year-old Israeli schoolgirl decides to send a message in a bottle to Gaza. An act of hope and desperation, Tal believes that by making contact with a Palestinian she will be able to begin a dialogue through which experiences can be shared, and, just possibly, some kind of mutual understanding achieved. Her message is found by a young man who calls himself Gazaman, and a remarkable email correspondence begins . . .

A mesmerising account of a turbulent relationship conducted between two people whose dialogue is in itself an act of revolution against the situations in which they both feel themselves to be trapped.

When I Was a Soldier

ISBN 9780747575665

A compelling autobiography about a teenage girl's experiences in Israel's national service This is the story of Valerie as she finishes her exams, breaks up with her boyfriend and then leaves to take up her national service with the Israeli army. Nothing has prepared her for the strict routines, gruelling marches, lack of sleep, poor food, absence of privacy or crushing of initiative.

However, the book also depicts the undeniable excitements of the work, including working in a 'spying centre' near Jerusalem, listening in on the communications of the Jordanian pilots.

This book offers a glimpse inside another world - of a world where a teenager can worry about what she wears, how much she's eating, whether her boyfriend will call, and at the same time living in a country that is effectively at war.

Valérie Zenatti was born in Nice on April Fool’s Day 1970. When she was thirteen she went to live with her parents in Israel, where she did her national service, which inspired her novel, When I was a Soldier . Even now she doesn’t go out without her survival kit — these days of a book, a notepad and a pen. Valérie now lives in Paris, where she works as a translator of Hebrew. She is also writing screenplays based on two of her books, Late for War and Message in a Bottle.

Elsewhere

Gabrielle Zevin

Bloomsbury ISBN 9780747577003

Recommended age: 12+

A novel of hope, love and redemption told in a brilliant and unusual style, so astoundingly original and carefully crafted that its complexities become common place and the common place resounds with poetry.

In this delightful novel death is a beginning, a new start. Liz is killed in a hit-and-run accident and her 'life' takes a very unexpected turn. At nearly sixteen she knows she will never get married, never have children, and perhaps never fall in love. But in Elsewhere all things carry on almost as they did on earth except that the inhabitants get younger, dogs and humans can communicate (at last), new relationships are formed and old ones, sadly interrupted on earth, are renewed.

Full of the most ingenious detail and woven around the most touching and charming relationships this is a novel of hope, of redemption and (literally) of re-birth. It is a novel that tells of sadness with heart-breaking honesty and of love and happiness with uplifting brilliance.

Back to the top