Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf

The new picture book Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf by Greg Wolfe was brought to my attention by Rachel Kamin and Kathy Bloomfield during the 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Charleston, SC. They had some major concerns about the message it conveys to young readers, and they were so impassioned about it that I sat down with them to record their conversation. I later contacted author Greg Wolfe to invite his feedback, but to date have received no response.

Rachel Kamin is the Director of the Gray Cultural & Learning Center at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, IL. She is the Children's and Teens' Book Review Co-Editor for AJL Reviews, and a past Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee.

Rachel has left a review of Shmelf on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads. Please read her review and add your own comments at those locations and/or here at The Book of Life.

Rachel reached out to Bloomsbury with her concerns about this book but the only response she received was that they “stand by the book as a celebration of Hanukkah and Jewish culture.”

Kathy Bloomfield is the Executive Assistant to the Clergy and Communications Manager at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, Bethesda, MD. She is the President of AJL's Schools, Synagogues, and Centers Division, and a twice-past member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. She is a book reviewer for AJL Reviews, and she blogs at ForWordsBooks.com.

Kathy's and Rachel's comments are based upon the advance reader's copy received by Rachel in her capacity as AJL Reviews Co-Editor.



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Top Ten(ish) Jewish Podcasts

Moment Magazine's July/August 2016 issue included a rundown of their Top Ten Jewish Podcasts. While they did not mention The Book of Life, I was happy that listener Erika D. mentioned it in the comments. I was also pleased to see several of my own favorite Jewish podcasts on the list: Can We Talk? from the Jewish Women's Archive and The Kibitz from Reboot. Many commenters mentioned another one of my favorites, Unorthodox from Tablet Magazine, and I took it upon myself to add a comment about the sadly now-defunct Vox Tablet (hear my interview with host Sara Ivry here).

It's exciting that there are so many Jewish podcasts that a top ten list can be made, with more podcasts to spare! What are your own favorite Jewish podcasts? Go to http://www.momentmag.com/top-ten-jewish-podcasts/ and leave your own comments!

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