The Book of Life

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2016 gold and silver medalists with a  Blog Tour, February 8-12, 2016 ! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. For those of you who have not yet experienced a Blog Tour, it’s basically a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author or illustrator speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author’s or illustrator’s interview. Below is the schedule for the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour dates, and be sure to leave them plenty of comments! MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016 Ketzel the Cat   by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category At  Ann Koffsky's Blog Serendipity's Footsteps   by Suzanne Nelson Sydney Taylor Honor ...

The December Jewish Book Carnival is hosted by Erika Dreifus at her blog, My Machbere t. It's a round-up of links from a wide variety of Jewish book blogs. You'll hear from authors and librarians, find essays and book reviews, and you'll even see a submission from The Book of Life! Please check it out, and don't forget to leave comments at the blogs you visit!

So my friend Laurel Snyder (who was on The Book of Life in August, 2008 , and whose book Baxter, The Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher was mentioned in the BEA09 episode) made the mistake of giving me a soapbox upon which to climb. She's one of the bloggers at From The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors, and she wanted to do a piece on Jewish middle-grade books so she emailed me a bunch of questions. Took me all day, but I wrote up some ideas and suggestions, which you can read here at the interview, (Sometimes-Not-So) All-of-a-Kind Families . There's an interesting discussion going in the comments section, too -- feel welcome to join in!

The Jewish Book Carnival is a monthly blogging event which rounds up links of Jewishlit interest and builds community among Jewishlit bloggers. I came up with the idea along with Marie Cloutier, AJL consultant and host of The Boston Bibliophile , and we started seeking out other bloggers who share our passion for Judaic literature. The sponsoring organization for the Jewish Book Carnival is the Association of Jewish Libraries. If YOU would like to participate in a future carnival, email Marie at mcloutier at jewishlibraries dot org! The September 2010 Jewish Book Carnival is being hosted by the Jewish Publication Society Blog at http://jpsblog.org/blog/2010/09/15/jewish-book-carnival. There are terrific links from seventeen different blogs, offering book reviews, philosophical essays, interviews, and more. This month's carnival includes a link from The Book of Life, to our recent episode on Jewish kidlit at Book Expo America! Upcoming carnivals will be held at: October 15, ...

The Book of Life just received a Beautiful Blogger Award from the lovely folks at the Jewish Publication Society. Thanks, JPS! To claim the award, I have to share seven little-known facts about The Book of Life and pass the award on to seven other blogs. Seven Little-Known Facts. (Actually, if you've been paying dorkily close attention you might already know some of these.) 1. The Book of Life was once used as a vehicle for two 3rd grade girls to get credit for a book report on Marc Chagall! Rather than present to the class, they presented their book report on the podcast . 2. Coolest audio project I've participated in: being one of the five voices in the librarian episode of the QN Podcast . 3. Favorite gig I got as a result of being a podcaster: getting to introduce Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief , when he spoke at our local indie, Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. (You can hear his talk in the episode Meet Markus .) 4. Episode that was the mos...

I've just added a new site to my list of Links (see the right-hand sidebar on The Book of Life blog) and I wanted to make sure you noticed it. The site is The Whole Megillah: The Writer's Resource for Jewish-themed Children's Books at thewholemegillah.wordpress.com . There are few blogs that focus on Jewish kidlit, and as far as I know, this is the first that emphasizes the perspective of authors rather than readers. Blogger Barbara Krasner is well-known in the Jewish kidlit world as the force behind the annual Jewish Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference, held until recently at New York's 92nd Street Y, so she's definitely in the know. I'm excited about The Whole Megillah (and I love the name)! Welcome to the blogosphere, Barbara!

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2010 gold and silver medalists and the special Notable Book for All Ages with a Blog Tour, February 1-5, 2010! Here is a celebratory video for your enjoyment, and the schedule for the Blog Tour is posted below. Note that The Book of Life will participate by interviewing Natascia Ugliano (illustrator, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet ) on Thursday, February 4. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010   Monday, February 1, 2010 April Halprin Wayland , author of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category at Practically Paradise Monday, February 1, 2010 Stephane Jorisch , illustrator of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category at Frume Sarah's World Monday, February 1, 2010 Margarita Engle , author of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    Why be social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape! At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people's curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called "Why Be Social?" Here are the earlier segments: Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 . This is Why Be Social, Part 4. In this episode, blogger and podcaster Mark Blevis, the one who started this entire conversation, joins Heidi to talk about what it means to participate in life online. Scroll down for links to Mark's many online projects and for links to some non -Jewish social media sources I want you to know about (you'll hear why on the show). ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape! At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people's curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called "Why Be Social?" Here's Part 1 and Part 2 . This is Why Be Social, Part 3. I hope the earlier episodes in this series have gotten you interested checking out some real live blogs and podcasts. There are zillions of blog and podcast websites online, so where do you get started? Here with some suggestions of blogs and podcasts relating to Jewish literature is Alx Block , Online Sales and Marketing Manager for the Jewish Publication Soci...

  LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape! At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people's curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called "Why Be Social?" Click here for Part 1 . This is Why Be Social, Part 2. The morning after the social media session at the convention, I conducted some quick "man on the street" interviews, asking people for their own definitions of blogging and podcasting. Every single person had a good answer! VIDEO: Here are two videos from Common Craft that give additional definitions of blogging and podcasting: "Blogs in Plain English" an...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    Why Be Social? To add a Jewish point of view to the social media landscape! At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention in Chicago this summer, podcaster Mark Blevis led a session on Social Media that opened the floodgates of people's curiosity. Convention attendees wanted to learn more about social media: what it is, what it means to participate, and how to get started. As a continuation of that conversation, The Book of Life is offering a series of podcast episodes called "Why Be Social?" Part 1 in the Why Be Social series considers the philosophical aspects of technology in our lives. The wide-ranging conversation was held during breakfast at the Association of Jewish Libraries 2009 convention, the morning after the social media convention session. The very funny video above (in Norwegian! but with English subtitles) reminds us of how difficult an unfamiliar technology can seem at first, and how s...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    More interviews from Book Expo America 2009 , this time with authors who've written Jewish books for adults. Plus, we find the Jewish angle on the National Book Award and the Books on the Nightstand blog and podcast. Yiddish Yoga by Lisa Grunberger Harold Augenbraum of the National Book Foundation What Happened to Anna K? by Irina Reyn Ostrich Feathers by Miriam Romm From Shmear to Eternity by Fred Kogos Michael Kindness of Books on the Nightstand 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 !

Author Pamela Ehrenberg is not afraid to tackle big topics. Her first book, Ethan, Suspended , explored issues of race relations (see our February 2008 podcast for a discussion of Ethan, Suspended ). Her new book, Tillmon County Fire , examines the many forms that prejudice can take, using the voices of teens who are gay, Jewish, adopted, autistic, abused, or marginalized in other ways. Amazingly, Pam's books are far from preachy. They are compellingly readable, and her characters are very real people. They are brave books, and I highly recommend that you read them. To learn more about Tillmon County Fire , check out the stops on Pam's Blog Tour at pamelaehrenberg.com !

The Kidlitosphere (blogs and podcasts about Children's Literature and Literacy) is filled with interviews of children's literature creators and children's literacy promoters. You can find many of these interviews indexed at the Kidlit Interview Wiki , and this list now includes interviews from The Book of Life. The Kidlit Interview Wiki provides links to interviews with children's authors, illustrators, and literacy promoters. A separate but related wiki, Children's Book Reviews , provides links to blogs and podcasts that review literature for kids. For general information about the "kidlitosphere," visit the website Kidlitosphere Central , where you'll find a wealth of resources, including links to many blogs and podcasts.

As if podcasting weren't "Web 2.0" enough already, now I'm getting deeper into social media by offering a Book of Life Facebook fan page and Twitter feed! A shout-out and welcome to those of you who are receiving this post through Facebook right now. Thanks for "fanning" my page! For others who want to know what I'm talking about, click here to see The Book of Life's Facebook fan page, which allows you to receive podcast episodes and news right on your Facebook wall in your feed, and gives you an interactive space to post your comments, or even to post related links, pictures, or videos. You can view the page whether you are a Facebook user or not, but to become a fan and use all the page's features you'll need a Facebook account. I'll be posting Book of Life Twitter updates at twitter.com/bookoflifepod . If you use Twitter, please "Follow" me to stay up to date on Book of Life news. Also, I'm interested in using this T...

If you are on Facebook, you can now receive Book of Life updates through Facebook's Networked Blogs feature! Just go to www.networkedblogs.com/blog/the_book_of_life and click on the big blue "Follow" button. New Book of Life blog posts will be announced on your wall, with links to the full posts at www.bookoflifepodcast.com . Also, I've added a Networked Blogs widget to The Book of Life web page, so you can also sign up from there. When you do, a tiny image of your Facebook profile picture will be added to the widget! My widget's looking half-empty at the moment, so I'd love to have you help me fill it up. If you're a Facebook user, please do sign up to follow The Book of Life through Networked Blogs!

OK, normally I would never blog about a fundraiser, especially one I'm not even involved in, but this is such a creative effort that they deserve kudos and maybe even our money! Jbooks.com is a web magazine for Jewish book reviews, news, excerpts, and they have very kindly featured a link to The Book of Life right on their front page for the last several years. Like everyone these days, they are strapped for cash. But instead of kvetching or shnorring they invited Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (who is Jewish) to literally sing the praises of Jbooks, to inspire would-be donors. Take a look at this very funny video, and if you like what you see, consider making a donation and/or sharing the video by email, blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. And if you enjoy Robert Pinsky's performance, catch him in The Colbert Report - he's hilarious!

Memories of Babi has been recognized by the Association of Jewish Libraries as a 2009 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category. As part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour , The Book of Life is proud to introduce you to author Aranka Siegal and to share a little of her "backstory." Learn more about Aranka at ArankaSiegal.com . Aranka, all of your books are autobiographical. What motivates you to share your life story with readers? The reason for my writing autobiographically is because I attribute a great deal of my survival to my early years. I want to share lessons instilled in me by my resourceful mother, Rise. She had managed to put food on the table for her many children against all odds. She made it her mission to keep her family alive and together, sometimes risking her life to accomplish this. She used the black market to bring home a sack of flour to bake bread, potatoes, a basket of vegetables and some bones to make the daily pot of soup...

I am scheduled to post an interview with Aranka Siegal ( Memories of Babi ) today as part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour - but I haven't heard back from her yet! She joined the tour at the last minute and warned me that she had a busy weekend, so I've just got to be patient. As soon as I hear from her, the interview will be posted here. Thanks for your patience! In the meantime, here's the book's description from the publisher, FSG: Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the...

I am pleased to announce that The Book of Life has joined the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! On Sunday, January 18, 2009, I will be posting an interview with Aranka Siegal , author of Memories of Babi , a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category. I really enjoyed this book, which has an old-fashioned flavor but remains accessible to modern children. Here's the publisher's description:  Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the importance of honest hard work, of carin...