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7 Jewish American Heritage Month Books for the Classroom
Christy Walters
April 2, 2025
On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush named May as Jewish American Heritage Month. This heritage month recognizes Jewish Americans' contributions to our shared culture. You can help students explore the Jewish and Jewish American experience through the eyes of real and fictional characters and the stories’ authors with these Jewish American Heritage Month books:
Add diverse perspectives to your ELA lessons by incorporating texts that focus on the lives of real and fictional Jewish characters with books like:
[1. “I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov](id-asimov)
Asimov, a Jewish-American author, tells a series of interconnected short tales about the ethical and practical implications of AI. Students can dive deeper into the science fiction genre and world of AI ethics with resources like:
An overview video that explains the details of the science fiction genre.
An opinion article about the ethics of robotics and artificial intelligence.
An opinion article about why it may be dangerous to introduce young people to sociable robots.
[2. “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” by Judy Blume](id-blume)
Blume’s popular novel follows nine-year-old Peter as he balanced growing up with being an older brother to Fudge, who’s in the middle of his terrible-twos stage. Students can learn more about the themes in the novel with articles on topics like:
How a 17-year-old high schooler dressed up in silly costumes to greet his 12-year-old brother at the bus stop at the end of every school day.
The candle-making business three brothers started in Washington D.C. to give back to their community.
The importance of apologizing and how to do it the right way.
[3. “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank](id-frank)
Anne Frank’s autobiographical diary helps shed light on what life was like for Jewish people living in Europe during the Nazi rule, some of whom later became Jewish Americans themselves. Help students build background knowledge on topics and themes discussed in the book like:
Who Anne Frank was and why her diary is a significant artifact when understanding and remembering the World War II era.
Why immigration resistance caused some European Jews to stay in their Nazi-occupied countries rather than try to escape and look for refuge in other countries.
What effects reading and writing have on people in stressful or traumatic situations.
[4. “Prisoner B-3807” by Alan Gratz](id-gratz)
This middle-grade novel tells the story of Yanek, a Jewish boy in Poland who is taken prisoner during the Holocaust and tattooed with the marking B-3087. Gratz based Yanek’s character on Jack Gruener, a real-life Holocaust survivor and Jewish American. Help students better understand the setting and themes of the story with resources like:
An interactive video where 97-year-old Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert talks about her experiences surviving another crisis: the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the two experiences shaped her during different stages of her life.
An article about how Ebert also created a TikTok channel with her great-grandson to educate people on the platform who don’t believe the Holocaust happened.
An article about how the American government and military responded to the Holocaust and why the response is still a topic of great debate to this day.
[5. “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale” by Art Spiegelman](id-spiegelman)
“Maus: A Survivor’s Tale” tells the true story of Art Spiegelman’s father, Vladek, and how he survived the Holocaust and made it to America. Expand on the content in the graphic novel with your students with the following resources and activities:
Debate how graphic novels like “Maus” can help teens learn about social justice in a more engaging format than a traditional textbook.
Explore other mediums that Holocaust survivors have used to share their stories in the modern age, such as on Instagram.
Learn about a 2018 Polish law that made it a crime to falsely blame the nation for the horrific acts committed by Nazi Germany, and the controversy surrounding the law.
[6. “Night” by Elie Wiesel](id-wiesel)
This memoir gives a voice to the experiences of Holocaust survivors in their own words. Author Elie Wiesel became a Jewish American professor and author after his liberation from the concentration camps. Help students learn more about memoirs, Wiesel, and the Holocaust with resources like:
An video on the autobiography and memoir genres and how they’re different from fiction and other types of nonfiction works.
The full text of Wiesel’s 1999 speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” which reflected on the tragedies of the 20th century and warned people about being indifferent to potentially world-altering events.
Wiesel’s 2016 obituary, which shared more about his life following the Holocaust, his eventual immigration to the United States, and the legacy he left behind.
[7. “The Devil’s Arithmetic” by Jane Yolen](id-yolen)
This novel by Jane Yolen shows that sometimes the family rituals and traditions young people find “boring” have greater significance than they realize. Help students explore the sci-fi, historical, and religious themes of the novel with articles on topics like:
A history of the Jewish holiday of Passover, including its rituals and traditions that Jewish Americans incorporate into their celebrations each year.
Why genocide happens in the world and why it continues to happen in modern times despite our knowledge about events like the Holocaust.
The possibility of time travel, and what that could mean for events in the real world and not just science fiction.
What will your students read next?
Novel and book studies are the perfect companions to books your students read during Jewish American Heritage Month—and at any other time throughout the school year. With Newsela ELA, you can help students build background knowledge on any topic to better understand the stories they read and how they relate to the real world.
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