The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    I was pleased to be a guest on the podcast Everyone Loved It But Me , hosted by Lisa Hedger. I spoke about the many issues I have with the middle grade Holocaust novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. This fall, a sequel will be released, entitled All the Broken Places . I urge you to approach this sequel with great caution. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is rife with historical inaccuracies, impossible scenarios, emotional manipulation, and tone-deaf messaging, and the author has shown only defensiveness in the face of the many criticisms he has received. I don't hold high hopes for the sequel to be any better, and I don't want this author to continue to profit from literary exploitation of the tragedy that was the Holocaust. In my personal opinion, Boyne's books should be put aside and attention should instead be paid to more authentic works of fiction and nonfiction ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Esther Safran Foer and Sadie Foer joined me in May 2021 for a podcast Live Show sponsored by The Jewish Grandparents Network in celebration of the opening of their Family Room. Esther Safran Foer is a past CEO of Sixth & I and the author of I Want You To Know We’re Still Here, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. She is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, the wife of Bert Foer (an attorney and public interest advocate), the mother of three sons (bestselling authors Frank, Jonathan, and Joshua Foer), and the grandmother of six. Sadie Jean Foer is one of Esther's six grandchildren. She's a high school student and self described family historian, and the host of the podcast Rooted History. Jacqueline Jules is an author and poet who enjoys The Book of Life from Arlington, Virginia, and who is our ...

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 do...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    The Book of Life’s Canadian Correspondent Anne Dublin spoke to author Anne Renaud after she won the 2018 Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Fania’s Heart , a Holocaust picture book for older readers. It’s the true story of a heart-shaped birthday card created in Auschwitz at great personal risk by women prisoners, from scraps of fabric, stolen materials, and glue made out of bread and water, for the 20 th birthday of fellow prisoner Fania Landau Fainer. The real heart is now in the Montreal Holocaust Museum , and it’s one of the few surviving objects created by prisoners of Auschwitz. Be sure to check out this documentary , which was the inspiration for Renaud to write this book. For a book about Fania, aimed at teen readers, see Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    VIEW THE FILM     🕮    Once in a Lifetime (in French, Les H éritiers ) is a French docudrama about a dedicated teacher who challenges her class of rowdy multicultural students to compete in a Holocaust remembrance contest, the National Contest of Resistance and Deportation . Meeting a real survivor is the "once in a lifetime" event that impacts the kids and turns their attitudes around. Ahmed Dramé was a student in the real life class that inspired the movie. He was a co-screenwriter of the film, and also had a starring role as the student Malik. I spoke to Ahmed when he came to South Florida for the film's opening. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries     Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band     Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast  ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Reviewing too many Holocaust books has brought on "Holocaust fatigue" for me, so I don't cover them very often on The Book of Life. However, The Safest Lie intrigued me with its back story of author Angela Cerrito 's meeting with Irena Sendler . Angela lives in Germany, but I Skyped with her while she was visiting the United States. The Safest Lie was named a 2016 Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Librar ies' Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries     Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band     Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast    Twitter: @bookoflifepod     Support The Book of Life by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/bookoflife ! Your feedback is appreciated!...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    It all started with Marjorie Ingall ’s Tablet article, Enough with the Holocaust Books for Children . As she says in the article, "if you dropped an alien into the children’s section of a library, it would think Jews disappeared after World War II.” Then Arthur A. Levine shared Marjorie’s article on Facebook , commenting that “this smart article says many things that I’ve been saying for a while.” Twenty comments later, Elissa Gershowitz and Yael Levy had thoroughly discussed the difficulties and triumphs of getting NON-Holocaust books for kids published, and Barbara Bietz and I (blogger and podcaster, respectively) had started wondering aloud how we could bring more attention to these issues. Thus, this podcast episode was born. BOOK LIST of mostly non-Holocaust great Jewish kidlit (titles mentioned during the podcast or s ubmitted later by panelists ) I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin An Unsp...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In honor of Veteran's Day and to show our appreciation for those who strive to keep us safe, let's hear this interview with author Neal Bascomb about The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi . The young adult book, which was based on Bascomb's adult title Hunting Eichman , won the 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast  Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Photo: Neal Bascomb at the 2014 Association of Jewish Libraries Conference Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Wallenberg was a Swedish humanitarian who worked in Budapest during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. Author Louise Borden , inspired by Raoul as a person and as a historical figure, created a stunning biography, His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg , which won the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers Category. This interview with Louise took place at the 2013 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Houston, Texas, where she received her award. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast  Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    The Book of Life's Canadian correspondent, Anne Dublin , interviews author Kathy Kacer about the compilation of children's responses to the Holocaust entitled We Are Their Voice . CREDITS:  Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band  Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Twitter: @bookoflifepod Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.  

A tribute by the Sydney Taylor Book Award-winning author of Tropical Secrets, Margarita Engle Freedom of expression is a right so precious that we must constantly work to protect it. In 1939, when he was only fourteen, my father made a courageous effort to speak out against the atrocities of the Holocaust. Instead of being praised, he was punished. Recently, after receiving an invitation to a junior high school reunion, he sat down and wrote a letter to the school, revealing a secret he had kept for 73 years.  -- Margarita Engle Dear Mr. Jordan and the Mount Vernon Reunion Committee, Thank you for inviting me to the coming Luncheon for past Mount Vernon students. I remember many positive things about my three years at Mount Vernon Junior High, especially the many fine teachers with whom I was fortunate to study. In particular, members of the art faculty whose encouragement, I believe, helped me to prepare for my future career as an artist and art teacher. There is one dar...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Cuban-American, half-Jewish author Margarita Engle won the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Reader category for Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba . It's a free verse novel in several voices, about a Jewish teen who escapes Europe during World War II and flees to Cuba - but will Cuba take him in? I had the honor of interviewing Margarita at the 2010 Association of Jewish Libraries convention, where she received her award. She is no stranger to awards, having won the Pura Belpre Medal several times for her depiction of Latino culture, among other prizes. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Your feedb...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    I still have a number of interviews from Book Expo America 2010 in the queue, but I decided to post the interview with Debbie Levy today because it is her birthday! Thanks to Facebook for letting me know. Happy Birthday, Debbie! I met Debbie Levy and her mother Jutta at Book Expo America 2010, where we sat down in the cafe for an interview. Debbie is the author and Jutta is the subject of The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family and Farewells , based on Jutta's poesiealbum from the 1940's. A poesiealbum is a poetry album or autograph album, in which friends write each other little notes and poems. Debbie was touched by the writings of her mother as a young girl, and her mother's friends. To encourage readers to experience the poesiealbum tradition, she has created a participatory blog where people can submit their own entries to an online poesiealbum at ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY KATHY KACER'S BOOKS     🕮    The Book of Life's Canadian Correspondant, Anne Dublin , interviews author Kathy Kacer . Kathy has written many, many Holocaust novels for young people, including The Diary of Laura's Twin , which won a National Jewish Book Award and a Canadian Jewish Book Award. For the impressive list of Kathy's works, click here . CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook fan page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    The final installment of interviews with publishers and authors from the show floor at Book Expo America 2009 . This episode highlights Jewish books for kids and teens. Guardian Angel House by Kathy Clark from Second Story Press The White Space Between by Ami Sands Brodoff from Second Story Press Tell Me a Story, Tell Me the Truth by Gina Roitman from Second Story Press Shavua Tov by Michelle Abraham, illustrated by Ann Koffsky from URJ Press Baxter the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher by Laurel Snyder from Tricycle Press Hanukkah Lights by David Martin from Candlewick The House on the Roof by David Adler (being reprinted!) from Holiday House The Importance of Wings by Robin Friedman from Charlesbridge The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair by Russell Martin from Charlesbridge How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Repution by Simone Elkeles from Flux The Tushy Book by Fran Manushkin from Feiwel and Friends The Rabbi and...