The Book of Life

    LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    LISTEN TO FUSE 8 N' KATE     🕮    Fuse 8 n’ Kate is a weekly podcast hosted by School Library Journal, in which super-librarian Betsy Bird and her sister Kate evaluate 20+ year old picture books to decide whether they should be considered classics. Since The Book of Life is 20 years old (and hopefully a classic), I asked Betsy and Kate to collaborate on a Hanukkah episode! We did a joint episode that will appear on both our feeds, interviewed each other, and talked about The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Nancy Cote, published in 1997. Did we decide it was a classic? Listen and find out!  LEARN MORE: Fuse 8 n’ Kate Podcast Buy or Borrow The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes Linda Glaser’s website Nancy Cote’s website Linda Glaser on The Book of Life in 2006 ( Bridge to America ) and 2014 ( Hannah’s Way ) Betsy’s 2025 recomm...

Jewish Children's Literature Podcast "THE BOOK OF LIFE" Celebrates 20th Anniversary Special Retrospective Episode Launches on Hanukkah CONTACT:  The Book of Life Podcast  Heidi Rabinowitz  (561) 206-2473  bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com RELEASE DATE:  November 18, 2025 Boca Raton, FL — “The Book of Life: A Podcast About Jewish Kidlit (Mostly)” will post a special retrospective episode on the first night of Hanukkah, December 14, 2025, featuring voices from every year of the show’s run, 2005 to 2025. Creator and host Heidi Rabinowitz, a synagogue librarian, has been interviewing authors of Jewish children’s books and other creatives for twenty years. The word “podcast” was coined in 2004, and The Book of Life was created just one year later. The first episode aired on December 21, 2005. The mission of “The Book of Life” is to promote Jewish children’s literature to readers of all backgrounds, to serve as a validating mirror for Jewish listeners and an illuminating...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Continuing the celebration of my 20th year of podcasting, I've got another archival episode for you from 2006, about Jewish Book Month. In the early days of The Book of Life I usually had multiple guests in each episode, and this one includes 4: Folklorist Howard Schwartz, talking about his picture book Before You Were Born, which had just won the Koret Award Carolyn Starman Hessel, longtime director of the Jewish Book Council, whose nickname was "the Jewish Oprah" Esme Raji Codell, author of one of my favorites middle-grade novels Vive La Paris and David Levithan, author of the 2004 young adult novel Wide Awake, which was reissued as Wide Awake Now in 2024 because its message about politics and protest is more relevant than ever. I’m celebrating Jewish Book Month by participating in the Jewish Book Council’s “ Share Your Shelf, Share Your Story ” project. I will post a photo on so...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮      Back in July 2025 I did a brief interview with Jean Meltzer, so she could tell you about Jewish Joy Con, an exciting event coming to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in March 2026. But I promised you a longer interview later - and here it is! Jean talks about her writing, her Jewish Joy Book Club and subscription box, more about the con, and about her newest book, The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah .  LEARN MORE: Jean Meltzer’s website , Instagram , and Facebook Jewish Women Talk About Romance Books group on Facebook The Jewish Joy Box Jewish Joy Con (March 13-15, 2026 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Jean’s own books: o The Matzah Ball o Mr. Perfect on Paper o Kissing Kosher o Magical Meet Cute o The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah Jean’s recommended reading suggestions: o Blood Bond by Helen Hardt o Never Planned on You by Lindsey Hammerhof o Bat...

Multicultural Kid Blogs is a website with a mission to inspire and support families, caregivers, educators, and community members raising the next generation of global citizens. On occasion, I write posts for them, including my Jewish Joy series of interviews with diverse Jewish authors.  I was very pleased that Multicultural Kid Blogs interviewed me about The Book of Life and its 20 year anniversary! Please read the interview here , and leave a comment to show them that you appreciate their inclusion of Jewish content! 

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Continuing the celebration of my 20th year of podcasting, I've got a 2013 archival episode for you with author Laurel Snyder, who at that time was best known for her iconoclastic picture book, Baxter The Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. Amazingly, Laurel says that The Book of Life podcast actually impacted her writing! In a 2017 blog article she credited our first podcast conversation as a turning point in her career. She said “Heidi asked me, reasonably, what made my book Jewish, and I found I didn’t have an answer for her…. She could not possibly have known, when she asked me that question a decade ago, what journey she was sending me on. The power of the right question is a mighty thing.” Laurel has gone on to win the 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medal for her Exodus picture book The Longest Night , and a 2024 bronze for a middle grade fantasy, The Witch of Woodland. This...