Models of Responsibility in Children's Books

Literature is one of the best ways to present children with models of responsible behavior that they themselves will admire and emulate. Children's response to creative literature is often richer and more empathetic than it is to the bare facts of textbooks, because they respond to it through their feelings and imaginations as well as through their intellects.

By listening to or reading stories, children meet characters with whom they can identify, characters who make choices that have consequences for themselves and others. They meet characters whose fictional experiences mirror real life--or what children can imagine real life to be--in ways that transcend the time and place-bound experiences of any real child. They encounter situations embodying moral dilemmas and opportunities for responsible actions.

Vicarious experiences gained through reading often inspire children to reach beyond what they thought they were capable of doing, including taking responsibility for their own actions and acting on behalf of the welfare of others.

Jewish themes, subjects, values, characters, and settings are all accessible in children's books. Indeed, the Association of Jewish Libraries gives annual recognition to outstanding books of Jewish content through its Sydney Taylor Book Award and its published lists of notable children's books. Judaic school libraries and media centers are the best place to assemble collections of these books (as well as audio-visual materials and computer software on Jewish subjects), and should be the primary sources for teachers, parents, and children to turn to whenever materials for pedagogic or recreational purposes are wanted.

Most of the books discussed in this article were taken from a bibliography compiled by the staff of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland for a Jewish day school educators' conference on the subject of responsibility that was held in Cleveland, Ohio on November 13, 2000. They represent just a small selection of literature that models responsibility in ways both meaningful and inspiring to Jewish children.

Deedy, Carmen Agra. The Yellow Star. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree, 2000. Winner of a Christopher Award. A beautifully illustrated story of the legend of Denmark's beloved King Christian X. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark, legend has it that the king wore a yellow star to show solidarity with his Jewish subjects and, more importantly, to inspire all Danes to do likewise, thus concealing from the Germans just who was Jewish and who was not. Although there is no documentation to prove this happened, it gives children an inspiring example of taking responsibility for the welfare of others. For grades 3-5.

Johnson, Sheila Golburgh. After I Said No. Santa Barbara, CA: Fithian Press, 2000. A historical novel for middle school students, this is about a girl named Perele who is sent from Russia to live with a wealthy aunt and her family in New York at the turn of the twentieth century. The plan is for Perele to marry her cousin but, instead, she says "No." This bold decision launches her into a world of wage labor, sweat shops, union organizing, poverty, and independence. Now called Pearl, the feisty heroine learns to take risks, look out for her fellow workers as well as herself, and to assume responsibility for her own future. For grades 7-10.

Krantz, Hazel. Look to the Hills. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1995. Jewish pioneers in Colorado in the late 1800's are the focal point of this coming-of-age novel. The heroine is an independent-minded girl who takes inspiration from her suffragette mother and becomes a community activist, working on behalf of impoverished immigrants. A major part of the plot concerns the cultural and social history of Denver's Jewish community, whose establishment of the National Jewish Hospital is a shining example of tzedakah, tikkun olam, and communal responsibility. For grades 7-9.

Meyer, Carolyn. Drummers of Jericho. San Diego: Harcourt/Gulliver, 1995. A Jewish high school student confronts prejudice head-on in a predominantly Christian fundamentalist town that does not welcome dissent. When she is ostracized for refusing to march in the school band's cross formation, only one fellow student becomes her ally in a hostile environment. Issues of civil liberties, freedom of speech, separation of church and state, and religious bigotry are interwoven with a readable, realistic plot and a main character whose Jewish belief and identity motivates her actions. For grades 7-9.

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