The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    For Hanukkah 2024, I got you a Jewish Book Advocacy Kit! Let me explain. My local public library invited me to give an online talk in honor of Jewish Book Month. As I thought about what to say, I remembered great advice from my friend, author Liza Wiemer , about all the small simple things that anyone can do to support Jewish literature - and bingo, I had my topic. Here's an edited recording of that talk I gave, with practical, actionable tips, and suggestions for Jewish books you'll love. If you'd like to see my slideshow, you can watch the same talk on YouTube . And be sure to check out this very useful presentation handout . For even more books you'll love, check out my annual unofficial Sydney Taylor Book Award shortlist to see what I think is the best Jewish kidlit of 2024, at bookoflifepodcast.com. Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and Happy Reading! LEARN MORE: YouTube video of...

Jewish Book Month takes place during the 30 days leading up to Hanukkah. This year, the celebration was held November 24-December 24, 2024.  Last year I posted daily #JewishJoy reading recommendations. While joy is still extremely important, this year my focus is #ACTIVISM. These books all feature real or fictional people who are great role models for taking action to make the world a better place. Each title is linked to a past interview on The Book of Life or a book review on The Sydney Taylor Shmooze . November 24, 2024 NOT NOTHING by Gayle Forman, a middle grade novel about rising to the occasion of your own life. November 25, 2024 ABZUGLUTELY: BATTLING, BELLOWING BELLA ABZUG , a picture book biography of the Jewish feminist activist and Congresswoman. November 26, 2024 THE DO MORE CLUB by Dana Kramaroff, a middle grade novel about a Jewish kid creating an activist club at school to spread kindness.  November 27, 2024 ONE SMALL SPARK: A TIKKUN OLAM STORY by Ruth Spiro...

The word "podcast" was coined in 2004. Just a year later, The Book of Life dropped its first episode! On December 21, 2005, I posted for the first time: a 14 minute 17 second Hanukkah episode that packed in two author interviews, a CD review, and a reflection by my temple’s rabbi. You can still hear it HERE . The audio is a bit scratchy - I was recording remote interviews with a tiny microphone that went between my ear and the phone! - but the excitement was palpable. I was hooked.  I'll be sharing more podcast history and finding lots of ways to celebrate throughout 2025. First up: Substack!   Substack is a newsletter platform. You can subscribe to my Substack to get show notes, episode transcripts, Jewish kidlit news, and occasional calls to action delivered directly to your inbox! It's interactive too - you can comment and join the conversation.  I hope this will make it even more convenient for you to share my Jewish kidlit journey with me! Please subscribe at boo...

It's time for my annual unofficial shortlist of potential Sydney Taylor Book Award winners! As you may know, in addition to interviewing authors of Jewish kidlit for many years, I'm a former member and chair of the Association of Jewish Libraries' Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, and a cofounder of The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog, so I have a deep and abiding interest in seeking out the best Jewish kidlit of the year.  I'm not actually making predictions about what will win; rather, I'm telling you that these are books that I think deserve your attention (with the caveat that while I probably read the majority of Jewish children's or YA books published in 2024, I did not read ALL of them, so there may be other titles I'd consider worthy if I'd had the chance to read them). I've listed the titles within their age categories alphabetically by author's last name.Titles are linked to Bookshop.org for your purchasing convenienc...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Happy Hanukkah! Christmas and Hanukkah overlap this year, with Hanukkah beginning on December 25, so it's a good time to think about the juxtaposition of these two holidays. Hanukkah is a minor holiday but its proximity to Christmas brings it extra attention. Let's talk about that! GUESTS: Henry Herz, editor of The Festival of Lights: 16 Hanukkah Stories Joanne Levy, Festival contributor and co-author of Let It Glow Erica Perl, Festival contributor and author of The Ninth Night of Hanukkah LEARN MORE: Henry Herz's website | buy or borrow The Festival of Lights Joanne Levy's website | buy or borrow Let It Glow Erica Perl's website , Instagram | buy or borrow The Ninth Night of Hanukkah "Jew Who Has It All" satirical social media account | thread about Jewish Hallmark movies Reading (and gifting) recommendations: Joanne suggests The Latke Who Couldn...