Corner Store
by Bess Kaplan
This book is written in first person narrative (which I love). The narrator is Rebecca Devine. She is a young Jewish girl living with her mother, father and little brother, Simply Simon, around the 1940s. They live underneath her father's non-Kosher butcher shop. Rebecca has to deal with the hatred from her fellow Jews because her father sells unkosher meat and she also must deal with the racist attacks she recieves from some non-Jews. This is a really great novel and I love Rebecca's strong character. I'm not going to say too much about where the story goes because I'll give away the best parts. But definitly read this book.
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The Night Journey
by Kathryn Lasky
This is a great book. It's about ten-year-old Rachel whose grandmother, Nana Sashie, lives with her. Every day Rachel's mother makes her visit with Nana Sashie. Rachel hates these visits until one day Nana Sashie starts to tell the story of her life in old Russia. Immediatly, Rachel finds herself caught up in Sashie's tale of a distant place and time. It was a time when Jews were forced to serve in the armies or were brutally murdered in pogroms. It was a time when nine-year-old Sashie devised a wonderful plan for her family's escape. This book is a really interesting story and very well written. I just re-read it and parts brought tears to my eyes. Highly recommended!
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Angel Square
by Brian Doyle
This book takes place in Ottawa in 1945. Where Tommy lives, there are three groups of people: the French Candians, the Jews, and the Irish Catholics. Tommy's best friend, Sammy, is Jewish. Tommy refers to himself as being "nothing", meaning he does not fit into any of the three categories. As the book begins, someone who hates Jews has beaten up Sammy's father. Tommy and his friends get together to investigate the crime and deal with the racism they encounter. This is a very good book. It really makes you think about the problems with racism and what you can do to stop it.
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Sworn Enemies
by Carol Matas
In 1827, Russian Czar Nicholas I made a decree which ordered a specific number of Jews to be drafted into his army at the age of eighteen. But some boys would also be drafted as young as twelve years old. When the quota could not be filled, Khappers were hired to kidnap boys for the army. This book is about two Jewish boys, Aaron, who is excused from the army because of his Torah study, and Zev, who is excused from the army because he has taken on the job of a khapper. Zev becomes jealous of Aaron for various reasons and turns him over to serve in the army. By a twist of fate, the boys are pitted against each other. They are sworn enemies and must try to join forces in order to survive. Every other chapter of this book is narrated by Aaron and the chapters in between are narrated by Zev. Both the writting style and original story make this book a great read.
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Forever My Jerusalem
by Puah Shteiner
This book begins as Puah returns to Israel ten years after the Six Day War which liberated the Old City of Jerusalem. Through flashbacks, Puah tells of the terror she experienced as a seven year old in Israel's War of Independance. It is a heart-felt story and portrays a part of history we all should be familiar with.
