Reflection on Text Set for Jewish American Literature

As a Jewish American I have always kept on eye out for text in which I could relate too. Many of the books that I have dealt with and have a Jewish association were of two kinds. They were either about the holocaust or about holidays primarily focusing on Hanukkah. These books did not give me a sense of something I could relate too other than what everyone refers to when they think of being “Jewish”. I enjoyed these books because they taught many of my peers who were unfamiliar about my religion but they didn’t provide me with anything special. So as I set out to find books to include in my collection I wanted to look for more books like Confessions of a Closet Catholic instead of the usual written to teach books.

As a whole my set includes a small variety of what is out there. I found several books to include although I did not review them all on this my blog. The four books I did decide to use spoke to me in a different way. The first one was always a favorite as a child and although it was about Hanukkah, it didn’t teach about Hanukkah in any way. ­Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel is an excellent book that is interesting and exciting for all its readers and stands out amongst the literature about Hanukkah. The second book that I chose was Papa’s Latkes by Michelle Edwards which, is also a story that takes place at Hanukkah but does not teach about the holiday. It provides the story of a family coping with loss at a special time which many readers can relate too. Even though these two books are Hanukkah based, they are the exception to the wide variety of texts that are available to teach about the holiday.

The third book in my set is The Keeping Quilt­ by Patricia Polacco, an author who we have recognized for being from Lansing, Michigan but never for her Jewish heritage. It wasn’t until I came across this book on a website with an extensive list of Jewish literature that I was able to think about her as an author who is of many different identities and writes about them. This was the first book that I have read of hers that shares a family’s history based off own life. The story of immigration and tradition is one that is not recognized often in Jewish Literature and I thought this was a great picture book for children to see how love, faith and tradition in a family are carried down. I was amazed at how much the pictures tell the story and exhibits their religious affiliation and cultural assimilation.

The last book in my set was one that opened the doors to much of the Jewish Literature that is out there today for children. The award that honors Jewish American literature couldn’t be named after a more appropriate author, Sydney Taylor. ­After reading All-of-a-Kind Family I was able to see why this prestigious award was named after her. This book opened the doors over 50 years ago for Jewish Children to relate too and for Jewish writers to share their stories. It was not based on one Holiday or one event but the life of a Jewish Family in America. It covers many of the Jewish holidays that are not brought up in literature and shares the meaning behind each and every one of them. This book is more than just an explanation of a Jewish family but a loving, close knit family growing over the course of a year together. I think it is very obvious that this is one of the first books about Jewish Americans because of the amount of events that Taylor chooses to address and cover. I believe many authors as a whole have learned from this book and its series how to go about different ways of writing Jewish American literature for everyone to read, learn and enjoy.

As a whole these text represent a variety of differences but many similarities. Each of these authors has written from experience and often based their book on their own lives in some way or another. They represent books that are overlooked by children and adults and could be included in a collection to brighten and open the minds of its readers for more reasons than just being Jewish literature. Other books that I would have loved to include are Night by Elie Wiesel and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry but chose not to because these are two of the very familiar Jewish texts that are used to represent this group of people in many libraries. Both of these are written about the holocaust which is the first popular theme in Jewish Literature that I mentioned which is very important but should not be the only way Jews are portrayed in books. I hope that my set speaks to people looking for literature that may be different than the Jewish Literature they have been exposed to because each of these books has a new story that children can relate to and learn from.