Modern

1800 CE – present (years 5,560 – present on the Jewish calendar)

This page provides an overview of book options for History and Literature for both Jewish and Secular studies. The Jewish studies on this page provide only an overview of Jewish history and Jewish texts written during this time. For a more in depth study of Jewish texts please see our separate page for textual study.

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History

Jewish History

Secular History

Elementary: Sand and Stars, Volume 2 by Yaffa Ganz and Rabbi Berel Wein Understanding Jewish History, Volume 2, by Sol Scharfstein Middle grades: The later Achronim: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/116731/jewish/Later-Achronim.htm Contemporary Heroes: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/116733/jewish/Contemporary-Heroes.htm High school:

Note: It was imperative to choose history selections that represented both the West and the East as Jewish history is very much tied to both. Susan Wise Bauer was the only narrative author of history that we felt met this criteria and also represented a secular view of history. Some families may wish to skip certain sections depending on the ages and needs of their families. Elementary/Middle Grades Story of the World, Vol. 3: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer Story of the World, Vol. 3 Activity Book: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer High School/College

Literature

Jewish Literature

Secular Literature

Elementary: Original Modern Period Texts Interpretations of Original Texts The Lost Princess from A Children’s Treasury of Rebbe Nachman’s Tales A Children’s Treasury of Rebbe Nachman’s Tales Books about the Modern Period The Jewel and the Journey by Miriam Walfish The Story of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter by Rabbi Dr. Zalman F. Ury In Search of Lost Treasure by Nathan Sternfeld A Home on the Hill by Nathan Sternfeld How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz The Never-Ending Greenness by Neil Waldman Gittel’s Journey by Leslea Newman Yuvi’s Candy Tree by Lesley Simpson A Picture for Marc by by Eric A. Kimmel The Mountain Jews and the Mirror by Ruchama King Feuerman The Doll Shop Downstairs by Yona Zeldis McDonough The Cats in the Doll Shop by Yona Zeldis McDonough The Tower of Life by Chana Steifel Good As Gold by M.C. Millman Irving Berlin – The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin Goldie Takes a Stand by Barbara Krasner The Last Pair of Shoes by Sashi Fridman The Doll Maker’s Gift by Sashi Fridman Beneath the Stars by Rivkah Yudasin Hidden by Rivkah Yudasin The Great Potato Plan by Joy Nelkin Wieder Faiga Finds the Way by Batsheva Brandeis Gifts to Treasure by Tehilla Greenberger The Marvelous Mixup and Other Tales of Reb Shalom by Ruchama King Feuerman Toba’s Passage by Libby Herz Tuky: The Story of a Hidden Child by Shterni Rosenfeld Shloimie’s Letter by Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili Nine Spoons – A Chanukah Story by Marci Stillerman Perfect Porridge by Rochel Sandman As Big As an Egg by Rochel Sandman Greater than Gold and Silver by Rabbi Naftali Ehrmann All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor With Great Power: The Marvelous Stan Lee by Annie Hunter Eriksen Middle grades: Original Modern Period Texts Interpretations of Original Texts Amazing Stories of Ancient Times: Rebbe Nachman’s Stories for Young Adults Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks  Books about the Modern Period The Youngest Bride by Menucha Chana Levin Forever My Jerusalem by Puah Shteiner The Runaway by Yehuda Cahn Destination Unknown by Zev Spektor The Churva Plot by Zev Spektor Strangers in Yerushalayim by Zev Spektor Promise Me Tomorrow by Sarah Birnhack Wildlands by M Kenan All for the Boss by Ruchoma Shain Through the Flames of Aleppo by A. Shalom Escape to Freedom by Chaya Sarah Ben Shachar Starlight by Henye Meyer Hanna’s Harvest by Henye Meyer Light for Greytowers by Eva Vogiel The Four Seasons of Golda Mirel by Eva Vogiel Courtyard of Dreams by Sarah Feldbrand The Chasam Sofer: The story of Rabbi Moshe Sofer by Yaacov Dovid Shulman* Reb Yisrael Salanter: The Story of Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin by Yaacov Dovid Shulman* The Captives by Rochel Istrin Return From Captivity by Rochel Istrin Captives Reunited by Rochel Istrin Light From The West by Zelig Schachnowitz A Tzaddik in Our Time: The Life of Rabbi Aryeh Levin by Simcha Raz The Last Wagon Out by Zev Spektor Shadows in the Night by Zev Spektor The Plan by Zev Spektor The Story of Rebbetzin Henny Machlis by Miriam Zakon and Rabbi Nachman Zakon A Sister in White by Miriam Zakon The Queen of Bais Yaakov by Miriam Zakon Defiance by Rochel Yaffe Escape from Iran: Two Jewish Girls’ Story of Survival by Shira Yehudit Djalilman Escape from the USSR: A Russian Refusenik’s Story of Survival by Nesanel Yoel Safran Escape to Shanghai by Nachman Seltzer Home Sweet Home by Chani Altein A Boy Named 68818 by Israel Starck and Miriam Starck Miller Stories from the life of Rav Kook by Masha Fridman Great Tzaddikim of Yesteryear by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman The Story of Reb Moshe by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman The Story of the Steipler Gaon: The Life and Times of Rabbi Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky by Hanoch Teller Faithful Soldiers by R L Leader Escape! by R L Leader A Daughter of Two Mothers by Miriam Cohen Behind the Walls by Miriam Cohen High School: Original Modern Period Texts Kitzur Shulchan Aruch Mishna Berura Chofetz Chaim Tanya by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi Chovas Hatalmidim by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira Emunah U’Bitachon (Faith & Trust) by Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz, the Chazon Ish Halakhic Man by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik The Lonely Man of Faith by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Interpretations of Original Texts Tales of Rabbi Nachman The Gentle Weapon: Prayers for Everyday and Not-so-Everyday Moments: Timeless Wisdom from Rebbe Nachman of Breslov Shir Na’im – Song of Delight by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, translated by David Sears Ohr Yisrael: The Classic Writings of Rav Yisrael Salanter and His Disciple Rav Yitzchak Blazer The Nineteen Letters: The World of Rabbi S. R. Hirsch by Joseph Elias The Hirsch Pirkei Avos by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems  To Heal the Soul: The Spiritual Journal of a Chasidic Rebbe by Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, translated by  Yehoshua Starret The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto by Nehemia Polen Memoirs of My People by Leo W. Schwartz Eyewitness to Jewish History by Rabbi Benjamin Blech A Book That Was Lost and Other Stories by Shmuel Yosef Agnon The Spectacular Difference: Selected Poems of Zelda by Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky The Rebbe’s Daughter: Memoir of a Hasidic Childhood by Malka Shapiro Scapegoat on Trial by Mendel Beilis Pressburg Under Siege by Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chasam Sofer)* Books about the Modern Period Rocking Horse by Leah Gebber Every Man a Slave by Sender Zeyv Gone West by Sender Zeyv This is America! by Henye Meyer Full Harvest by Etka Gitel Schwartz Shortchanged by Etka Gitel Schwartz* Pomegranate Pendant by Dvora Waysman South African Journeys by Gita Gordon Voices in the Silence by Shlomo Sonnenfeld Go, My Son by Chaim Shapiro Once Upon a Shtetl by Chaim Shapiro Culture Shock by C. Rosenberg Sun Inside Rain by M. Bassara Out of the Depths by Rabbi Marcus Lehmann Portrait Of Two Families by Rabbi Marcus Lehmann* Sisters Under Siege by Leah Gebber Freefall by Miriam Zakon Lidingo by Chana Mantel Out of the Depths by Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau Saadiah Weissman by Benzion Firer Aleppo Tales by Haim Sabato From the Four Winds by Haim Sabato Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato World in Lockdown by Chaya Sarah Ben Shachar Hidden by Rochel Istrin The Scent of Snowflowers by R. L. Klein And Morning Has Come by R. L. Klein The Way It Was by Hindy Krohn Itzik, Be Strong by Yitzchok Pomerantz Holy Woman: The Road to Greatness of Rebbetzin Chaya Sara Kramer by Sara Yoheved Rigler Emunah With Love and Chicken Soup by Sara Yoheved Rigler Lieutenant Birnbaum by Meyer Birnbaum with Yonason Rosenblum The Youngest Partisan by A. Romi Cohen The Jewish Underground of Samarkand: How Faith Defied Soviet Rule by Rabbi Hillel Zaltzman The Insider by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer Once Upon America: Jewish Stories of Here and Now by B. D. Silverman Escape From Iran: The Exodus of Persian Jewry During the Islamic Revolution of 1979 by Sholem Ber Hecht Silent Revolution: A Torah Network in the Soviet Union by Miriam Stark Zakon Miracle at El Alamein by by Rabbi Zev T. Paretzky 28th of Iyar: The Dramatic, Day-by-Day Journal of an American Family in Israel during the Six Day War by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman Tales Out of Shul: The Unorthodox Journal of an Orthodox Rabbi by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman Rebels in the Holy Land: Mazkeret Batya, an Early Battleground for the Soul of Israel by Sam Finkel The Yom Kippur That Never Ended by Shalom Wasserteil Shefford by Dr Judith Grunfeld To Remain a Jew: The Life of Rav Yitzchak Zilber All the Hidden Children by Ruth Benjamin From Kletzk to Siberia: A yeshivah bachur’s wanderings during the Holocaust by Alter Pekier Deep In The Russian Night by Aharon Chazan Behind the Ice Curtain by Dina Gablel Guardian of Jerusalem: The Life and Times of Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld by Rabbi Hillel Danziger and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Sonnenfeld In the Shadow of the Kremlin: Personal Sagas of Jews Who Risked Their Lives and Suffered Imprisonment in Stalin’s Russia by N. Z Gotlib Portrait Of Two Families by Marcus Lehmann Heroine of Rescue: The Incredible Story of Recha Sternbuch Who Saved Thousands from the Holocaust by J. Friedenson Tomorrow May Be Too Late by Chana Stavsky Rubin Subbota – My Twenty Years in Soviet Prison by Avraham Netzach Grains Of Sand: The Fall of Neve Dekalim by Shifra Shomron

Elementary: Original Modern Period Texts Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne Interpretations of Original Texts Books about the Modern Period Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park Coolies by Yin Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey by Margriet Ruurs Lentil by Robert McCloskey Ox-cart Man by Donald Hall Island Boy by Barbara Cooney Momma, Where Are You From? By Marie Bradby What You Know First by Patricia McLachlan River Friendly River Wild by Jane Kurtz The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman Hubba Hubba: A Tale of the Sahara by Ruth P. Collins Our America… The Pioneer Adventure by Susan Kilbride Our America… The Civil War Adventure by Susan Kilbride What Was the Underground Railroad? by Yona Zeldis McDonough What Was the Gold Rush? by Joan Holub What Was the Great Depression? by Janet B. Pascal Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Sky High: George Ferris’s Big Wheel by Monica Kulling Washington Is Burning by Marty Rhodes Figley Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog by Eva Moore The Flight of the Union by Tekla White The Lucky Wheel by Grace Gilmore Rescue on the Outer Banks by Candice Ransom Will and Orv by Walter A. Schulz Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind by Margaret Davidson What Is NASA? by Sarah Fabiny What Is LEGO? by Jim O’Connor Clouds of Terror by Catherine A. Welch Allen Jay and the Underground Railroad by Marlene Targ Brill What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? by Jim O’Connor Pioneer Cat by William H. Hooks The Bite of the Gold Bug by Barthe DeClements Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln: The Story of the Gettysburg Address by Jean Fritz White Bird by Clyde Robert Bulla Cottage at Bantry Bay by Hilda Van Stockum Middle grades: Original Modern Period Texts The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Peter Pan by Sir James Matthew Barrie Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Interpretations of Original Texts The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Heidi by  Johanna Spyri Books about the Modern Period Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor The Story of Thomas Alva Edison by Margaret Cousins The Wright Brothers: Pioneers of American Aviation by Quentin Reynolds Endurance, Young Readers Edition: My Year in Space and How I Got There by Scott Kelly Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship by Russell Freedman The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman Abraham Lincoln’s World by Genevieve Foster The Story of Scotland Yard by Laurence Victor Thompson The Erie Canal by Samuel Hopkins Adams Robert Fulton and the Steamboat by Ralph Nading Hill The First Overland Mail by Robert E. Pinkerton The First Transatlantic Cable by Adele Gutman Nathan The Story of Submarines by George Weller Napoleon Bonaparte and Imperial France by Miriam Greenblatt Year of the Horseless Carriage: 1801 by Genevieve Foster A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park Camel Caravan by Arthur Catherall Prisoners in the Snow by Arthur Catherall The Clay Marble by Minfong Ho High School: Original Modern Period Texts The Mark Twain Collection Walden by Henry David Thoreau Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass Why We Can’t Wait by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 1984 by George Orwell Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Interpretations of Original Texts Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Jules Verne Collection, 33 Works The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Books about the Modern Period The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Abraham Lincoln: Friend of the People by Clara Ingram Judson Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin

While this list represents the best stories from this specific time period, you will likely need to add more literature selections from our Jewish Reading List and our Secular Reading List as your children/family have time.

Additional Resources

Jewish Resources

Secular Resources

Audiovisual The Dawn of the Century: 1900 – 1910 by Rabbi Berel Wein The Implosion of the Old Order: 1911 – 1920 by Rabbi Berel Wein Ominous Skies: 1930 – 1939 by Rabbi Berel Wein The Miracle of Israel: 1945 – 1948 by Rabbi Berel Wein A New Beginning: 1948 – 1957 by Rabbi Berel Wein Books Jewish Regency Mystery Series by Libi Astaire Breakfast with Rav Zusha and Other Stories To Wake Up Your Soul by Libi Astaire The British Escape by Leah Sokol A Bridge in Time by Susie Garber The Will by Chaim Greenbaum The Mexico File by Chaim Greenbaum Fingerprint by Chaim Greenbaum

Audiovisual Books The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Titanic by David Stewart You Wouldn’t Want to Work in a Victorian Mill! by John Malam You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Victorian Miner! by John Malam You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Victorian Servant! by Fiona Macdonald You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on a 19th Century Whaling Ship! by Peter Cook You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Victorian Schoolchild! by John Malam You Wouldn’t Want to Be on Shackleton’s Polar Expedition! by Jen Green

*Also available as an audiobook from A Maggid’s Market