Children's Books for Rosh Hashanah

Tonight marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  I've been trying to incorporate more multi-cultural storytimes into my schedule.  Thankfully, I have a great resource in the Central New York community of The PJ Library.  Miss Alicia was our special guest at storytime today and she read a story about celebrating the world's birthday.  She showed the children three different types of shofars (a horn made from a ram).  The kids also sang a song about the three noises a shofar makes.  Finally, it was craft time!  Children made birthday cards to the world and made their own noisemaker to ring in the New Year (and generally just make lots of noise, because that's what kids do).

The book Alicia shared is The World's Birthday: a Rosh Hashanah Story by Barbara Diamond Goldin.  We don't own a copy of the book at my library, but it is available through our library system.

Summary: Daniel is determined to have a birthday party for the world to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

Here are some other children's books about Rosh Hashanah available at my library:

Sliding Into the New Year

by Dori Weinstein

Yaldah Publishing, 2011

Ages: 8-12

Thrill-loving fifth grade Ellie "YaYa" Silver has been waiting all summer to visit the brand new indoor water park in town.  She is ecstatic when her best friend, Megan, invites her to go - that is until her twin brother Joel "YoYo," points out that Megan is going on Rosh Hashanah.  Sure, Rosh Hashanah is a big deal, but so is Splash World!  What will Ellie do?

Talia and the Rude Vegetables
by Linda Elovitz Marshall
Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011
Ages: 5-9
City-girl Talia misunderstands her grandmother's request that she go to the garden for "root vegetables" but manages to find some she thinks are rude, as well as a good use for the rest she harvests.  Includes a recipe for Rude Vegetable Stew.

New Year at the Pier: a Rosh Hashanah Story
by April Halprin Wayland
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2009
Ages: 5-9
On Rosh Hashanah, Izzy and her family make lists of the wrongs they have committed over the past year, and after they have apologized, they throw pieces of bread into the water to "clean their hearts" in a ceremony called tashlich.

Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
by Deborah Bodin Cohen
Kar-Ben Publishing, 2008
Ages: 5-9
Israel's first train chugs from Jaffa to Jerusalem on Rosh Hashanah.

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur
by Deborah Heiligman
National Geographic, 2007
Ages: 5-9
Explores the meaning of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and how they are celebrated around the world.

When the Chickens Went on Strike: a Rosh Hashanah Tale
by Erica Silverman
Dutton Children's Books, 2003
Ages: 5-9
A Jewish boy living in Russia learns a lesson from the village chickens at the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Sound the Shofar!: a Story for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
by Leslie Kimmelman
HarperCollins Publishers, 1998
Ages: 3-8
Uncle Jake gets to blow the shofar twice within ten days, as the family celebrates first Rosh Hashanah and then Yom Kippur.

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
by Cathy Goldberg Fishman
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1997
Ages: 3-9
As she and her family celebrate these two Jewish holidays, a young girl contemplates their meaning in her life.

Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah
by Sylvia A. Rouss
Kar-Ben Publishing, 1996
Ages: 3-6
A young spider wants to join in as he watches a family prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

Happy New Year, Beni
by Jane Breskin Zalben
Henry Holt, 1993
Ages: 3-9
After constantly fighting with his cousin Max during the celebration for Rosh Hashanah, Beni discovers that the new year is an opportunity to put his mistakes behind him and start over.