The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Ambika Sambasivan is the co-founder and publisher at Yali Books, which opens a window to South Asia –India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives —and invites the rest of the world to learn more about the incredible diversity of this region. Maxine Rose Schur is the author of Brave with Beauty , a picture book biography of the the 15th century Queen Goharshad of Afghanistan, published by Yali Books. She's also the author of several Jewish books for children, including the 1999 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner, The Peddler's Gift . This interview with Ambika and Maxine is part of the Through the Window Diversity Exchange sponsored by The Book of Life and the Association of Jewish Libraries, in which Jewish and  non-Jewish partners meet and converse to look through the window at each other's culture. LEARN MORE: Through the Window: A Diver

  If you are a long-time reader of The Book of Life's blog, you may have signed up years ago to receive posts by email. If you signed up in the era of Feedburner, I am sorry to announce that your subscription won't be supported after June, 2021. However, there's an easy solution! Sign up to receive Book of Life blog posts in your inbox via Mailchimp! And if you don't remember which service you signed up with, just go ahead and re-subscribe to be on the safe side. Type your email address in this box and hit Subscribe!

BUY LETTERS FROM CUBA    |    BUY 37 DAYS AT SEA     🕮    As we approach Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we hear from two authors who have written about the welcome or lack thereof that Jews received in Cuba in the years around World War II. Ruth Behar's Letters from Cuba , based on her family history, was a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book (Middle Grade category). Barbara Krasner's forthcoming 37 Days at Sea: Aboard the MS St. Louis, 1939 , is a poetic take on a historical tragedy, available May 1, 2021.  Let's start with a description of each book, and then we'll dive into questions. Ruth Behar's Letters from Cuba   The situation is getting dire for Jews in Poland on the eve of World War II. Esther’s father has fled to Cuba, and she is the first one to join him. It’s heartbreaking to be separated from her beloved sister, so Esther promises to write down everything that happens until they’re reunited. And she does, recording both the good–the kindne

It's National Library Week (with lovely Jewish Honorary Chair, Natalie Portman)! As a librarian, I am always happy to celebrate libraries. Let's take a look back at past podcast episodes and blog posts that focus on libraries, storytimes, or Jewish collections. MONDAY 🕮 Promoting Multicultural Library Services in Virtual Space, 2020, my presentation for ALA  TUESDAY 🕮 Notes from a Young Reader, an interview with 7 3/4-year-old library patron Aria Freudenberger, 2019 WEDNESDAY 🕮 Stand Up! Storytime for Social Justice with Hillary Saxton, 2018 THURSDAY 🕮 Author Antonio Iturbe talks about The Librarian of Auschwitz on the 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour   FRIDAY 🕮 The Yiddish Book Center with Lisa Newman, 2017