Kaytek, a mischievous schoolboy who wants to become a wizard, is surprised to discover that he is able to perform magic spells and change reality. He begins to lead a double life: a powerful wizard in the dress of an ordinary boy. It’s all great fun using magic to cause strange incidents in his school and neighborhood, but soon Kaytek’s increasing powers cause major chaos around the city of Warsaw. Disillusioned, he leaves the country and wanders the world in search of the meaning of his good intentions, his unique abilities, and their consequences. Revolving around the notion that power is not without responsibility, nor without repercussions, this story speaks to every child's dream of freeing themselves from the endless control of adults, and shaping the world to their own designs.

Kaytek the Wizard

Children's Books

Korczak, Janusz

Literature & Fiction

Penlight Publications

Featuring parables and coaching exercises, this timeless and inspiring story collection encourages people to develop the motivation, positive thinking, and fortitude they need to improve their lives. Jonah the Woodchopper is a man with a troubled past: difficulties with his father, a failed marriage, and a drinking problem that led him to leave society and live in the forest. The book begins with his decision to rejoin society and reveals his stories of encouragement and the wisdom he acquired as he worked through his own challenges. The tale of Jonah’s life unfolds with stories that include “The Test of Broken Promises,” “Becoming Your List,” “Seeing in the Dark,” and “Battling Wolves.” Each story has a moral and is followed by a short exercise to help readers apply it to their own lives. His challenges are universal; readers will find them useful for navigating life’s complexities and complications and overcoming them to live fully and contently.

Jonah the Woodchopper: Encouraging Stories for Finding Your Way Through the Forest of Life

Self-Help

Rubin, Joshua

Motivational

The children of the Israeli town of Keshet are born with the ability to bend nature to their will and 13-year-old Jordan has just discovered his gift of the power to transform into water. All of Jordan’s friends have unique powers: Noam can alter cloud formations, Ellah can spin webs, and little Eden can create the strange animals she sees in her dreams. No one knows the source of these powers except, perhaps, Miss Sara, the mysterious town matriarch who helps the children find and control their talents using Kabbalah and other mystical teachings from Israel’s forgotten past. However, someone has discovered the secret of the children of Keshet, and wants to use their powers for his own sinister purposes. To prevent such a disaster, Jordan and his friends must use their gifts to defeat an enemy who wields the power to erase the line between the living and the dead. Incorporating Jewish mythology and referencing various practices of Judaism, this book is a tale of friendship and the power of teamwork in the face of adversity.

Jordan and the Dreadful Golem

Goldman, Karen

Filtering the darkest, most dramatic period of modern Jewish history through the naive, often sage, perspective of a remarkable dog, The Jewish Dog offers readers a view of the Holocaust as never seen before. 
This bestselling novel in Israel follows the life and thoughts of Caleb, a contemplative dog unusually fascinated with human affairs. Born into a German-Jewish household in the mid-1930s, Caleb witnesses firsthand the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust. When events separate him from his Jewish owners, he is adopted by a Nazi family and employed by the SS as a military dog. 
Deeply ironic and even humorous, The Jewish Dog presents political commentary on humanity and degradation, as Caleb’s philosophical musings explore loyalty, identity, and the fine line that separates humanity from animals.

The Jewish Dog

Kravitz, Asher

Genre Fiction

The Queen &amp; the Spymaster tells the story of the unlikely champions of Ancient Persia and of a thousand-year vendetta that presages modern historical events in Iran and Afghanistan. Readers are transported to the exotic fortress city of Susa, the imperial palace, and the royal harem, where truth wears a mask. Rapoport meticulously describes a royal court populated by an intricate shadow-world of spies and informants—a sinister brotherhood with orders to draw a target on the king's back; rival cabinet ministers who command private armies; an orphaned girl with a gift for languages and an innate political intuition; a queen who, unbeknownst to all, is a secret agent; and the shrewd tactician who controls her.

The Queen & the Spymaster: A Novel Based on the Story of Esther

Rapoport, Sandra E.

United States