What began as an AJL print publication known as JUVENILE JUDAICA by Marcia W. Posner, evolved into an AJL-sponsored Internet guide to values found at www.ajljewishvalues.org, and is now being published as a book? It’s THE JEWISH VALUES FINDER: A GUIDE TO VALUES IN JEWISH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, written by the online guide’s editor, Linda Silver, dedicated to Marcia Posner, and published by Neal-Schuman, a leading publisher of professional books for librarians and teachers, with AJL as the copyright holder.

Neal-Schuman calls it “a landmark reference book” because it is the first of its kind to evaluate and analyze about 1,000 books of Jewish content written for children and teens in terms of the values the books express. Beginning with a chapter that discusses the development of Jewish children’s literature in America, there are 18 more chapters categorized by values such as Awe and Reverence, Contentment, Justice and Righteousness, Mitzvot, and Remembrance. Books discussed within each chapter are organized by grade level. Each book entry includes bibliographic information and an annotation giving critical and descriptive information, comparisons with other books, and suggestions for its use with children. Following the last chapter, called “Many Stories, Many Values,” there is a glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish words, lists of Jewish holidays, Sydney Taylor Book Award winning titles, and Jewish publishers plus several indexes.

“This is one of those rare books that has multiple uses and offers a variety of ways to find information you need,” says Susan Roman, the Dean of the Library School at Dominican University and the former Executive Director of the Association of Library Service to Children. It is available directly through the publisher, on Amazon, and at a discount to AJL members through a link on the AJL website.

The Jewish Values Finder: A Guide to Values in Jewish Children’s Literature by Linda R. Silver.

ISBN 13: 978-1-55570-624-1 Pbk. 2008. 6 x 9, 290pp. $55.00.