Achronim/Renaissance

1492 CE – 1800 CE (years 5,252 – 5,560 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 1 by Yaffa Ganz and Rabbi Berel Wein Sand and Stars, Volume 2 by Yaffa Ganz and Rabbi Berel Wein Understanding Jewish History, Volume 1 by Sol Scharfstein Understanding Jewish History, Volume 2, by Sol Scharfstein Middle grades: The early Achronim: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/115606/jewish/Early-Achronim.htm The later Achronim: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/116731/jewish/Later-Achronim.htm High school: The early Achronim: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2435039/jewish/The-Early-Acharonim-1500s.htm

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 The Story of the World, Volume 2: The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer The Story of the World, Activity Book 2: The Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer 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 The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer Study and Teaching Guide: The History of the Medieval World The History of the Renaissance World by Susan Wise Bauer Study and Teaching Guide: The History of the Renaissance World

Literature

Jewish Literature

Secular Literature

Elementary: Original Achronim Period Texts Lecha Dodi by Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz Yom Zeh L’Yisrael by the Arizal Yedid Nefesh by Rabbi Elazar Azriki Interpretations of Original Texts Books about the Achronim Period The Secret Shofar of Barcelona by Jacqueline Dembar Greene Doña Gracia Saved Worlds by Bonni Goldberg The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz The Golem of Prague by T. Kuperman More Precious than Gold by Evelyn Mizrahi Blatt with Eve Lyn Gardner The Secret of Carlos Romanus by Esther Kosofsky Maharal to the Rescue by Nissan Mindel The Maharal of Prague: The story of Rabbi Yehudah Loew by Yaacov Dovid Shulman* The Rema: The story of Rabbi Moshe Isserles by Yaacov Dovid Shulman The Vilna Gaon: The Story of Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer by Yaacov Dovid Shulman* The Story of The Baal Shem Tov by Sarah Feldbrand The Story of The Vilna Gaon by Sarah Feldbrand The Story of The Chida by Sarah Feldbrand Ibrahim the Magician by S. J. Revich Ezra the Physician by S. J. Revich Stories of the Baal Shem Tov by Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Klapholtz Hanukkah at Valley Forge by Stephen Krensky Middle grades: Original Achronim Period Texts Moses Seixas’ Letter to President George Washington Interpretations of Original Texts Books about the Achronim Period The Exiles of Crocodile Island by Henye Meyer The Broken Bracelet by Gershon Kranzler Strasbourg Saga (12 volumes) by Avner Gold* Out of Many Waters by Jacqueline Greene One Foot Ashore by Jacqueline Dembar Greene Esperanza by Sarah Feldbrand Royal Resident by Marcus Lehmann Rabbi Yoselman of Rosheim by Meir (Marcus) Lehmann The Adopted Princess by Marcus Lehman The Family Aguilar by Marcus Lehmann The Clockmaker’s Apprentice by Eva Vogiel and Ruth Steinberg Journey to the End of the Earth by Devorah Rand The Spanish Treasure by Meir Baram The Story of Pnei Yehoshua by Shimon Finkelman Lubavitcher Rabbi’s Memoirs, Volume I by Yosef Y. Schneersohn Lubavitcher Rabbi’s Memoirs, Volume II by Yosef Y. Schneersohn High School: Original Achronim Period Texts The Shulchan Aruch The Way of God: Derech Hashem by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal) Knowing G-d’s Plan (Daas Tevunos) – The Precise System Through Which G-d Directs Every Aspect of Existence by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal) Shulchan Aruch Harav Tanya – Likutei Amarim Interpretations of Original Texts Be’er Hagolah of the Maharal: the classic defense of rabbinic Judaism through the profundity of the Aggadah by Yitzchok Adlerstein Maharal: Emerging Patterns by Yaakov Rosenblatt Nesivos Olam, Nesiv HaAvodah (Maharal of Prague): The philosophy and practice of prayer (Chapter 18) by Eliakim Willner Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages by Elkan Nathan Adler Memoirs of My People by Leo W. Schwartz Eyewitness to Jewish History by Rabbi Benjamin Blech The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln The Weekly Midrash / Tzenah Urenah Pearls of Wisdom from Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeshitz: Torah Giant, Preacher & Kabbalist Seyder Tkhines: The Forgotten Book of Common Prayer for Jewish Women by Devra Kay Books about the Achronim Period The Life of the Arizal by Boruch Twersky The Early Acharonim by Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm Lights of the Exile: Early Acharonim by Rabbi Zechariah Fendel A Legend of Greatness; The Life & Times of Hacham Haim Yosef David Azoulay by Yehuda Azoulay Why the Baal Shem Tov Laughed: Fifty-two Stories about Our Great Chasidic Rabbis by Sterna Citron Avrohom Ben Avrohom by Selig Schachnowitz Fire in the Sky by Selig Schachnowitz Don Yosef Nasi: A Marrano’s Rise to Power by Avishai Stockhammer One Day and Forever by Sarah Birnhack Prince of Akko by Raphael Sackville My Name is Isaiah by Debbie Strom

Elementary: Original Renaissance Period Texts Interpretations of Original Texts Books about the Renaissance Period The Boy Who Held Back the Sea by Thomas Locker Thérèse Makes a Tapestry by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs Leonardo’s Horse by Jean Fritz Leonardo and the Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England by Diane Stanley Peter the Great by Diane Stanley Lost Treasure of the Inca by Peter Lourie The Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss by Sally Schofer Mathews Luis de Torres Sails to Freedom by Tami Lehman-Wilzig The Pilgrims at Plymouth by Lucille Recht Penner The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh Our America….The Pilgrim Adventure by Susan Kilbride Our America….The King Philip’s War Adventure by Susan Kilbride Our America… The Salem Adventure by Susan Kilbride Our America… The Revolutionary War Adventure by Susan Kilbride A LIttle Maid series by Alice Turner Curtis Liberty!: How the Revolutionary War Began by Lucille Recht Penner Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys by Patricia Lee Gauch Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park What Was the Age of Exploration? by Catherine Daly What Were the Salem Witch Trials? by Joan Holub What Was the Boston Tea Party? by Kathleen Krull Who Was Henry VIII? by Ellen Labrecque Who Was William Shakespeare? by Celeste Mannis Who Was Ferdinand Magellan? by S. A. Kramer Who Was Isaac Newton? by Janet B. Pascal Who Was Galileo? by Patricia Brennan Demuth Who Was Michelangelo? by Kirsten Anderson Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? by Yona Zeldis McDonough Who Was Blackbeard? by James Buckley Who Was Catherine the Great? by Pam Pollack Who Was Ben Franklin? by Dennis Brindell Fradin Who Was George Washington? by Roberta Edwards Who Was Thomas Jefferson? by Dennis Brindell Fradin Middle grades: Original Renaissance Period Texts Powhatan People and the English at Jamestown The Declaration of Independence The U.S. Constitution and related materials Interpretations of Original Texts Books about the Renaissance Period Doctor Paracelsus by Sidney Rosen Walk the World’s Rim by Betty Baker Blood on the River: James Town, 1607 by Elisa Carbone Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski Early Thunder by Jean Fritz The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare The American Revolution by Bruce Bliven Jr. Paul Revere and the Minute Men by Dorothy Canfield Fisher The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin Answering the Cry for Freedom: Stories of African Americans and the American Revolution by Gretchen Woelfle (Note: Christianity plays an important role in some of the stories in this book – you may want to discuss this with your children.) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham Suleyman the Magnificent and the Ottoman Empire by Miriam Greenblatt Peter the Great and Tsarist Russia by Miriam Greenblatt Lorenzo De Medici and Renaissance Italy by Miriam Greenblatt High School: Original Renaissance Period Texts The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Delphi Complete Works of Daniel Defoe Utopia by Sir Thomas More Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin The Complete Works of Benjamin Franklin: Letters and Papers on Electricity, Philosophical Subjects, General Politics, Moral Subjects & the Economy, American Subjects Before & During the Revolution Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin Common Sense by Thomas Paine Interpretations of Original Texts Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra Books about the Renaissance Period The Other 1492: Jewish Settlement in the New World by Norman Finkelstein Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare The Iron Peacock by Mary Stetson Clarke Piper to the Clan by Mary Stetson Clarke A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

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 Talking Coins by Shmuel Kunda Abarbanel – A Man of Many Worlds by Rabbi Berel Wein Heaven and Earth: Stories of the Chassidic Masters by Rabbi Berel Wein Jewish Ideas and the American Founders by Rabbi Dr. Meir Y. Soloveichik Books Mystery in Spain by Devorah Rosen The Spanish Plot by Leah Sokol Terra Incognita by Libi Astaire The Banished Heart by Libi Astaire

Audiovisual Liberty’s Kids Books Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz Roanoke: The Lost Colony–An Unsolved Mystery from History by Heidi E. Y. Stemple and Jane Yolen Life in Colonial America Coloring Book You Wouldn’t Want to Be Sick in the 16th Century! by Kathryn Senior You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Mayflower!: A Trip That Took Entirely Too Long by Peter Cook and David Salariya You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Samurai! by Fiona Macdonald You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Convict sent to Australia! by Meredith Costain Pirates Past Noon by Mary Pope Osborne Stage Fright on a Summer Night by Mary Pope Osborne Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne To the Future, Ben Franklin! by Mary Pope Osborne

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