Educators/Parents

Looking for books, teacher guides, and activities to enhance your religious school programs? The Book Meshuggenahs can help! Check out this page for our award-winning, traditionally-published books for kids with Jewish-themes and Jewish-characters organized by holidays throughout the school year, along with free corresponding teacher guides, and activities, for all ages — preschool through high school, teaching everything from Jewish values to holidays, music, arts, and STEM. Click on the appropriate link below.

Looking for something you don’t see yet or have questions about? Reach out to the Book Meshuggenahs directly. We look forward to hearing from you!

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg (Creston Books)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find Kindred Spirits project page here.

The Brave Cyclist: The True Story of a Holocaust Hero by Amalia Hoffman, illustrated by Chiara Fedele (Capstone Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Tu-B’shvat

Find a tree activity here.
Find a coloring page here.

Happy Birthday, Trees by Karen Rostoker-Gruber, illustrated by Holly Sterling (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom by Melissa Stoller, Callie Metler, and Shirin Rahman, illustrated by Kate Talbot (Clear Fork)

Buy the book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Purim

Find a Purim puppet activity and coloring page here.
Find a hamantaschen recipe here.

Maddie the Mitzvah Clown by Karen Rostoker-Gruber, illustrated by Christine Grove (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find a coloring page here.

Purim Goodies by Amalia Hoffman (Gefen)

Buy this book here.

Find a hamantaschen recipe here.

Find a coloring page here.

Esther Didn’t Dream of Being Queen by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Valentina Belloni (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy the book here.

Find the reading guide here.

Women’s History Month (March)

The Queen of Chess: How Judit Polgar Changed the Game by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Stevie Lewis (Little Bee)

Buy the book here.

She’s a Mensch!: Jewish Women Who Rocked the World by Rachelle Burn and Alana Barouch, illustrated by Arielle Trenk (Intergalactic Afikoman)

Buy the book here.

Debbie’s Song by Ellen Leventhal, illustrated by Natalia Grebtsova (Kar-Ben Publishers)

Buy the book here.

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Katy Wu (Sterling Children’s Books)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe (Albert Whitman & Co)

Buy the book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Martin and Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank by Nancy Churnin, illustratedd by Yevgenia Nayberg

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find Kindred Spirits project page here.

Esther Didn’t Dream of Being Queen by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Valentina Belloni (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy the book here.

Find the reading guide here.

A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg

Buy the book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

National Poetry Month (April)

H is for Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z by Sydell Rosenberg, illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi (Penny Candy Books)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Poised Across the Sky (for adults) by Sydell Rosenberg (Kattywumpus Press)

Buy the book here.

Passover

Under-the-Sea Seder by Ann D. Koffksy (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy the book here.


Big Dreams, Small Fish by Paula Cohen (Levine Querido)

Buy the book here.

The Family and Frog Haggadah by Karen Rostoker-Gruber and Rabbi Ron Isaacs, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic (Behrman House)

Buy this book here.

Find coloring pages here.

Find instructions to make your own Frog puppet for your seder here.

The Best Four Questions by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Mélanie Florian (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find activities here.

Passover Scavenger Hunt by Shanna Silva, illustrated by Miki Sakamoto, (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the curriculum guide here.

Kayla and Kugel’s Almost-Perfect Passover by Ann Koffsky (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find a coloring page here.

Frogs in the Bed: My Passover Seder Activity Book by Ann Koffsky (Behrman House)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

How It’s Made: Matzah by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Mimouna

A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Rotem Teplow (Groundwood Books)

Buy this book here.

Israeli Independence Day/Yom Ha’atzmaut

Find a coloring page here.

Fast Asleep in a Little Village in Israel by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Shavuot

Find a coloring page here.

Yossi and the Monkeys by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod, illustrated by Shirley Waisman (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Cheesecake for Shavuot by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

The Fourth of July

Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by James Rey Sanchez (Creston Books)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find the Make America Sing project here.

Tisha B’Av

Find a coloring page here.

Tisha B’Av: A Jerusalem Journey by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Rosh Chodesh-the first day of every month

New Month, New Moon by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Rosh Hashanah

Find a coloring page here.

Animal Tashlich by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod (Safer editions)

Buy this book here.

Penguin Rosh Hashanah by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod

Buy the book here.

What’s the Buzz?: Honey for a Sweet New Year by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Yom Kippur

Find coloring pages here.

What’s in Tuli’s Box by Ann Koffsky (Apples and Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the coloring page here.

Make your own Tuli Tzedakah Box here.

Caterpillar Yom Kippur by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod (Safer Editions)

Buy this book here.

Sukkot

Find a coloring page here.

Sukkot Treasure Hunt by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Simchat Torah

Creation Colors by Ann Koffsky (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

How It’s Made: Torah Scroll by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

The Patchwork Torah by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Elsa Oriol (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Sigd

Pumpkin Pie for Sigd by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod, illustrated by Denise Damanti (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy the book here.

Hanukkah

Find a shamash holder activity here.
Find a coloring page here.

Hanukkah Nights by Amalia Hoffman (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

Find a storytelling page here.

Kayla and Kugel’s Happy Hanukkah by Ann Koffsky (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

Farmer Kobi’s Hanukkah Match by Karen Rostoker-Gruber, illustrated by CB Decker (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find a coloring page here.

Dreidel Day by Amalia Hoffman (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

Hannah’s Hanukkah Hiccups by Shanna Silva, illustrated by Bob McMahon (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Harvest of Light by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

How It’s Made: Hanukkah Menorah by Allison Ofanansky, photography by Eliyahu Alpern (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Judah Maccabee Goes to the Doctor by Ann Koffsky, illustrated by Talitha Shipman (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Computer Science Education Week (around 12/9)

Find a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) activity book here.

Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Katy Wu (Union Square Kids)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find other STEM resources here.

Jewish Life

Guarding your health: A Jewish value
Find a coloring page here.

Rivka’s Presents by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Adelina Lirius 

Buy the book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

A Flood of Kindness by Ellen Leventhal, illustrated by Blythe Russo (WorthyKids)

Buy the book here.

Find an activity pack here.

My Hands Make the World by Amalia Hoffman (Harold Grinspoon Foundation)

Buy the book here.

Avi the Ambulance and the Snowy Day by Claudia Carlson and Ann Koffsky, illustrated by CB Decker (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy the book here.

A Crowded Farmhouse Folktale (Yiddish Folktale) by Karen Rostoker-Gruber, illustrated by Kristina Swarner (Albert Whitman)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find a coloring page here.

Find a gratitude journal here.

The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom by Michal Babay, illustrated by Paula Cohen (Charlesbridge)

Buy the book here.

Noah’s Swim-a-Thon by Ann Koffsky (Apples & Honey Press)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

Avi for President by Ann Koffsky (Menucha Publishers)

Buy this book here.

Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children’s Literature by Miriam Udel, illustrated by Paula Cohen (NYU Press)

Buy the book here.

Sarah Builds a School by Ann Koffsky, illustrated by Leslie Ginsparg Klein (Menucha Publishers)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

The Klezmer Bunch by Amalia Hoffman (Gefen Publishing House)

Buy this book here.

Find a coloring page here.

Shabbat

Counting on Shabbat by Nancy Churning;, illustrated by Petronela Dostalova (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Clarence’s Topsy-Turvy Shabbat by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod, illustrated by Jennie Poh (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Sadie’s Shabbat Stories by Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Lisa Goldberg (Clear Fork)

Buy this book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Find the trailer and coloring pages here.

Shabbat Shalom, Hey! by Ann Koffsky (Kar-Ben Publishing)

Buy this book here.

Interfaith

Building Bridges: Peace, Salaam, Shalom by Callie Lovvorn, Shirin Rahman, and Melissa Stoler, illustrated by Kate Talbot (Clear Fork)

Buy the book here.

Find the teacher guide here.

Buy

Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom by Melissa Stoller, Callie Metler, and Shirin Rahman, illustrated by Kate Talbot (Clear Fork)

Buy the book here.