Contact our librarian Julie Moss at (216) 371-2244, ext. 233. | Email

Visit the Leonard Senkfor Library for a multitude of books, magazines, newspapers, and Park treasures. We carry an extensive collection for children and adults at all degrees of reading comprehension. You can read about star-crossed lovers during World War II to Sammy the Spider's first Chanukah. 

Our young members (and their parents and teachers) are encouraged to visit the Children’s Room to borrow books to take home and enjoy. We have a great selection of books for kids of all ages about the Jewish holidays, mitzvot, Israel, Yiddish tales and many others!

Not sure where to start? Our Librarian Julie is ready to help find the right book for you! 

2024 Sydney Taylor Book Awards

The winners of the 2024 Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced on January 22, 2024.  Selected by a committee of professional librarians, these annual awards recognize outstanding books that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. Many of these wonderful selections can be found in our Senkfor Library.

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Two New Years by Richard Ho; illustrated by Lynn Scurfield. (PICTURE BOOK)
A Chinese Jewish family honors their mixed heritage as they celebrate two special new years - Rosh Hashanah in the fall and Lunar New Year in the spring.  Luminous illustrations in vibrant colors and a detailed, visual glossary make this an exceptional experience of joy and traditions, old and new. 

The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe. (MIDDLE GRADE FICTION)
Shaindy, a twelve-year-old Orthodox girl, struggles to fit in at school until her very popular neighbor, Gayil, challenges her to help carry out meaningless pranks against their classmates.  As Yom Kippur is approaching, Shaindy finds herself questioning and re-evaluating her motives as mischief turns into malice.  Taut prose and well drawn characters thoughtfully explore the complexities of friendship.

The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold. (YOUNG ADULT FICTION)
Growing up in Czernowitz with a protective grandfather and an unstable mother, thirteen-year-old Fredericke (“Rieke”) Teitler and her older sister Astra struggle to survive when war breaks out and their beloved community is invaded by Russian and German armies. Faced with myriad challenges, the sisters refuse to give up hope as they dream of peace.  Haunting and heart-wrenching, this riveting story is inspired by the author’s grandmother’s childhood in Holocaust-era Romania.

SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer; illustrated by Amy June Bates. (PICTURE BOOK)
Based on a harrowing true story, heroic Judith Geller, a Jewish teen in Nazi-occupied France, puts her life on the line posing as a Christian social worker to deliver false identity papers hidden in an unassuming yellow toy duck, ultimately saving over two hundred Jews.  Oversized, double spread watercolor illustrations in muted earth tones and detailed back material seamlessly bring this courageous woman to life.

 A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer. (MIDDLE GRADE FICTION)
In 1905, eleven-year-old Shoshana and her family flee anti-Semitism in the Russian empire and find a new home in the wild yet beautiful plains of South Dakota.  Shoshana struggles with feeling comfortable in her new community and finds joy in playing the fiddle, whose melodic sound evokes her own sound, a blend of past and present. This lyrical coming of age story is a testimony to the power of love.

 Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros. (YOUNG ADULT FICTION)
When Ezra’s daughter Chaya is killed by the Nazis in Lithuania in 1943, he deals with his overwhelming grief by creating a golem named Vera with kishuf, a forbidden magic, whose sole purpose is to avenge her death by hunting down the murderer. As Vera comes to life, she feels the wrath within her, yet recognizes there is more than living for revenge.  Powerful and fast paced, this master storyteller weaves a mystical, mesmerizing tale.

Annotations by Park Synagogue member Debra S. Gold, committee member of Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee 2024.