Hanukkah Gift Guide 2025

We love to open with the books that have gotten our page and social accounts the most hits this year. Most page views goes to The Baker of Lost Memories by Shirley Russak Wachtel, while the most commented upon post was The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. The post with the most shares was Ariel Kaplan’s fantasy The Pomegranate Gate, and most Instagram likes went to one of our most anticipated books this year – As A Jew by Sarah Hurwitz.

We’re going for a double dose of fantasy for our middle graders, to pull in even the most reluctant readers. Golem Crafters by Emi Watanabe Cohen with a brother sister duo that have some unusual powers and Beinoni by Mari Lowe where the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of one bar mitzvah boy. For our more realistic fiction fans we’ve got Honey and Me by Meira Drazin giving a deep and nuanced picture of true friendship. Rounding it all out is Dara Horn and Theo Elssworth’s graphic novel One Little Goat that takes us through centuries of Passover seders.

The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden is like four books in one, and I could not stop thinking about it for days. To regroup, I suggest Match Me If You Can where Heidi Shertok gives us another hilarious modern orthodox romance. Those of who grew up reading Maggie Anton were delighted that she turned to biblical fiction in her new book The Midwives Escape and The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso presents a fresh fantastical take on magical libraries.

We LOVE Cookbooks, and they make the best gifts. For a sense of gracious hospitality check out Eat Small Plates by Ben Siman-Tov and Ziki SIman-Tov. TO connect traditional food with modernity, we have Eat Jewish by Melinda Strauss. Travel the Jewish culinary World with Joan Nathan’s King Solomon’s Table and expand your kitchen borders with Beejhy Barhany and Elisa Ung’s Gursha.

We are so proud and overwhelmed by the wave of Queer Jewish literature available. Again, there are queer stories sprinkled throughout, but we wanted to highlight some specially. JoyFul Song by Lesléa Newman and Susan Gal shows two moms naming their new baby, A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff has a trans middle grader saving the world, while YA D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O. A.T. by Abby White has a more personal take on grief and loss (and also features queer parents). For our adults we are going high heat with M.A. Wardell’s Husband of the Year.

We are also checking our mailboxes in the hopes that we get copies of Judaism Unbound edited by by Dan Libenson, and Lex Rofeberg. Russ & Daughters by Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper would be a wonderful addition to our kitchen shelves. And our dreams came true when we found The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah by Jean Meltzer did indeed arrive.