When I sent out an email to AJL members asking for Tu B'Shevat resources for a blog post, I was overwhelmed by the responses.
AJL's
Bibliography Bank has lots of resources, including two dedicated bibliographies just on Tu B'Shevat and lots of other suggestions mixed in with bibliographies on holidays and children's literature.
You can also search in AJL's fabulous
Jewish ValuesFinder resource.
AJL Librarian Melinda Herman of the Beth-El Synagogue Center recommends
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry and Marc Simont, Zolkower's
It's Tu B'Shevat, Gold-Vukson's
Grandpa and Me on Tu B'Shevat,
The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco,
Behold the Trees by Sue Alexander and Leonid Gore, and
Pearl Moscowitz's Last Stand by Arthur A. Levine and Robert Roth.
The Jewish Community Library of Greater New Haven responded with
a link to their catalog, where you can find lots of great Tu B'Shevat materials. Click on "holidays" under EXPLORE. Then click on Tu B'Shevat.
Publisher Kar-Ben sent me
a link to their selection of Tu B'Shevat books.
AJL Librarian Basya Karp of the Shulamith High School and the Shulamith School for Girls says "
Dear Tree by Doba Rivka Weber (Hachai Publishing) is a gem of a book in which a young boy expresses his wish that his favorite tree should always have what it needs to flourish."
AJL Librarian Natasha Krause of the Vancouver Talmud Torah School likes
The Giving Tree,
Sammy Spider’s Tu B’Shevat and
Grandpa and me on Tu B’Shevat by Marji Gold-Vukson.
AJL librarian Barbara Mende suggested Shel Silverstein's
The Giving Tree and Sylvia Rouss's
Sammy Spider's Tu B'Shevat and
It's Tu B'Shevat by Edie Stoltz Zolkower.
Jennifer Russell, an MLIS student in Ohio, says "I really enjoyed
Behold the Trees by Sue Alexander (a history of the land of Israel focusing on the fate of the trees) for upper elementary readers (although it's in picture book format, it's a sophisticated narrative). The illustrations, by Leonid Gore, are excellent. And there's always the picture book
Solomon and the Trees, by Matt Biers-Ariel."
AJL librarian and kidlit guru Linda Silver created a bibliography,
For the Trees, for the Greater Cleveland AJL's blog.
AJL Librarian Ellen Tilman of Meyers Library, Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, says "We define Tu B'Shevat very broadly and include books about trees and the environment. I am particularly fond of the two books about Wangari and her planting trees in Kenya. (
Planting the Trees of Kenya and Wangari's
Trees of Peace.)"
I also received a number of full-length bibliographies and shelflists that I wasn't able to include on a brief blog post but I encourage you all to visit your local synagogue or community-center library to check out their holdings- there's a lot of great stuff out there!
Feel free to leave a comment on this post with your favorite Tu B'Shevat books for children- or adults!
Posted by Marie.