The works listed will allow your students to further explore the theme of Religious Conflict: Finding Your Own Way and other themes related to The Chosen:


Fiction
Aleichem, Sholom. A Treasury of Sholom Aleichem Children's Stories. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1997. These 25 stories by Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem, selected and translated by Aliza Shevrin, capture the lives of Jewish children living in the shtetls of Eastern Europe. (average)

Malamud, Bernard. "Armistice" in The People and Uncollected Stories. New York: Farrar, 1989. Set in New York City during World War II, this short story deals with anti-Semitism. (average)

Rabinowicz, Tzvi. The Prince Who Turned Into a Rooster: One Hundred Tales from Hasidic Tradition. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1994. This is a collection of traditional Hasidic tales. (average)

Singer, Isaac Bashevis. The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer. New York: Farrar, 1981. This collection of stories by one of the world's foremost Yiddish-language writers was translated into English by American author Saul Bellow and others. (average)

Smith, Betty. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. A popular best seller, this book tells the story of a young girl, Francie Nolan, who grows up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 1900s. (average)

Rothenberg, Jerome and Harris Lenowitz, eds. Exiled in the Word: Poems and Other Visions of the Jews from Tribal Times to Present. Port Townsend: Copper Canyon, 1989. A collection of poems that span a broad spectrum of the Jewish experience. (average)


Nonfiction
Eisenberg, Robert. Boychiks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic Underground. San Francisco: Harper, 1995. For two years the author traveled among Hasidim around the world. This book not only outlines the history of Hasidic Jews but captures the spirit of Hasidic communities today. (challenge)

Harris, Lis. Holy Days: The World of a Hasidic Family. New York: Macmillan, 1985. The author examines daily life among members of the Lubavitcher Hasidim. (challenge)

Kranzler, George. Hasidic Williamsburg: A Contemporary American Hasidic Community. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1995. A portrait of the Satmar sect in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this book gives teachers an inside look at Hasidic life today. (challenge)

Malin, Irving, ed. Contemporary Jewish-American Literature: Critical Essays. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1973. This collection of essays gives teachers insight into Jewish-American literature. (challenge)

Poll, Solomon. The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg. New York: Schocken, 1969. Providing an informative look at Hasidim in Williamsburg, this book will help teachers better understand the world in which characters in The Chosen live. (challenge)

Schlossberg, Eli W. The World of Orthodox Judaism. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1997. This reference work provides information about the beliefs, customs, and practices of Orthodox Judaism. (average)

Walden, Daniel, ed. Studies in American Jewish Literature 4: The World of Chaim Potok. Albany: State U of New York P, 1985. This work contains provocative essays about Potok's books, including The Chosen, as well as an interview. (challenge)

Wiesel, Elie. Night. New York: Farrar, 1960. During World War II, the Nazis sent 15-year-old Elie Wiesel to Buchenwald concentration camp. This is Wiesel's haunting memoir about his experiences. (average)