The Book of Life

This year, two picture books have been published with a delicious babka-related theme: The Babka Sisters by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Tika and Tata Bobokhidze (Kar-Ben Publishing, May 2, 2023) and Bring Back the Babka by Marilyn Wolpin, illustrated by Madison Safer (Barefoot Books, October 3, 2023), both aimed at readers ages 3-8. In honor of the "sweet new year" that's just begun, I'm glad to bring you this mouth-watering joint interview. Marilyn and Lesléa, coincidentally you've both written books about babka. What drew each of you to babka as a subject for a picture book? LESLÉA : I love the word, “babka.” It’s so much fun to say. I have even used it as an endearment for a beloved baby or pet: “Ooh, hello you adorable little babkaleh!” And it’s a very interesting food. Is it bread? Sort of but not really. Is it cake? Not really but sort of. Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure—it’s absolutely delicious!  MARILYN : Babka is one of my favorite foods ...

The American Library Association's Banned Book Week is taking place October 1-7, 2023, and it's more important than ever that we resist censorship. In 2003, ALA tracked 305 titles challenged. In 2022, the number of challenged titles was 2,571! This increase in censorship is unparalleled. The majority of challenged titles are about Black and LGBT+ lives, but Jewish books have been challenged too. A discussion within the Facebook group Jewish Kidlit Mavens produced a list of Jewish books for young people that have faced challenges [see below], whether for queer content, supposed sexual content (often a specious argument), the presence of immigrant characters, or the inclusion of Muslim characters. Some of the challenged titles have appeared on The Book of Life, including Never Say a Mean Word Again , I Dissent , A Place at the Table , Ana on the Edge and Ellen Outside the Lines , The City Beautiful , and When the Angels Left the Old Country . At this point, we haven't seen a...

  Shana tova! The Book of Life has so much to celebrate as the Jewish New Year begins! I've got lots of lovely news to share with you: We've got an amazing Rosh Hashanah episode for you about TWO NEW YEARS by Richard Ho and Lynn Scurfield! (They also share some love for THE JAKE SHOW , which we covered in August's episode.) Our July episode about the diverse indie publisher LEVINE QUERIDO inspired an auction that raised over $100k! Even though the auction is over, you can actually still donate and of course you can always buy LQ books . The website Storytime Solidarity continues to support Jewish voices. This month they invited me to guest post about AJL's Holiday Highlights , covered on the podcast in April 2022 . Upcoming at the end of this month, a delicious blog interview with two authors who've written picture books about BABKA. Watch this space! Wishing you all a very happy and meaningful new year!  Heidi

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Happy New Year! Rosh Hashanah (which begins this year on September 15, 2023), is celebrated by Jewish folks each fall. The Lunar New Year (which will be celebrated next on February 10, 2024) is celebrated by Asian folks each spring. In the picture book Two New Years , Richard Ho explains and Lynn Scurfield beautifully illustrates the parallels between these two celebrations. The book is about a Chinese Jewish family and is a wonderful example of the increasingly diverse Jewish representation being published today.  LEARN MORE: Buy Two New Years Richard Ho's website Lynn Scurfield's website Jewish/Asian intersectional kidlit list  Other books mentioned: Friends Are Friends Forever by Dane Liu and illustrated by Lynn Scurfield, The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Alina Chau, Spork by Kyo ...