The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    If you've ever read books to a baby or toddler, you're familiar with board books, those small sturdy books with stiff cardboard pages that can withstand drool and rough handling. But just because these books are designed for babies doesn't mean they are baby-ish. Suzy Ultman's deceptively simple storytelling in board book format has brought about a historic moment. For the first time ever, a board book has won a Sydney Taylor Book Award. Among the four Jewish board books Suzy has created so far, the one that got her the gold was Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset. Her signature bright, quirky, cheerful art, paired with reassuring, calming text, invites us to stop all the doing and just be. If you need to give a baby gift, I highly recommend one or all of Suzy's Jewish board books... but you might actually want to get copies for yourself...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Welcome to the 17th annual Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, taking place February 9-12, 2026! When AJL started this project in 2009, blog tours were all the rage. Today, the concept of a virtual book tour still holds up, bringing awareness of the Sydney Taylor winners to audiences far and wide. I am participating in the Blog Tour by interviewing Caroline Kusin Pritchard and Selina Alko, author and illustrator of The Keeper of Stories , which was a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Picture Book category. As a librarian, I love the idea of a library as a keeper of stories, a place where stories and history are kept safe for generations to come. LEARN MORE:  Here’s the schedule for the 2026 Blog Tour Here’s the archive of all past blog tours, beginning in 2009 Caroline Kusin Prichard’s website and Instagram Selina Alko’s website and ...