The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     | VISIT JEWISH JOY CON     🕮      Jean Meltzer, the Queen of Jewish Romance and founder of Jewish Joy LLC, has an announcement. I will be bringing you a full episode with Jean this fall, but I didn't want to wait to let you know about her newest project. Here's 5 minutes with Jean, so we can learn all about Jewish Joy Con! LEARN MORE: Jean Meltzer’s website Jewish Joy LLC (the Jewish Joy Book Club and the Jewish Joy Box) Jewish Joy Con , March 13-15, 2026 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL  CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support th...

4th National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color St. Pete Beach, Florida February 8-12, 2023 On February 9, 2023 I presented "A Place at the Table: The Jewish Community Within the Library Diversity World" at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, an event sponsored by JCLC, the Joint Council of Librarians of Color . This umbrella organization addresses the common needs of ALA affiliates for BIPOC librarians:  the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking. The main thrust of my presentation was a crash course in the marginalization of Jews and the interconnection between antisemitism and racism, with the goal of demonstrating why Jews should be included in equity, diversity, an...

In 2020, I received the Groner-Wikler Award , sponsored by Kar-Ben Publishing and conferred by the Association of Jewish Libraries , for my advocacy for Jewish children's literature. The award includes a scholarship for conference attendance, and because of the pandemic, I was unable to use it until 2022. At #AJLcon22 , I gave a brief speech during the membership meeting, the text of which can be seen below, and will eventually appear in the AJL Conference Proceedings . I hope my speech and the accompanying handout above will inspire you to help me take action to change the world. Heidi Rabinowitz & Sean Boyle Acceptance Speech, Kar-Ben Publishing Groner-Wikler Scholarship Association of Jewish Libraries Conference, Philadelphia, PA June 28, 2022 When I got the email from Emily Bergman telling me I’d been awarded the Kar-Ben Publishing Groner-Wikler Scholarship, she explained that the committee was pleased to see all my work “not only on behalf of children's literature in ...

On April 7, 2018, I attended PodCamp Western Mass , an unconference about social media and online marketing held at Holyoke Community College. You can see me right there in the front center (behind the reclining gals). As an unconference, it was really a series of intense conversations rather than presentations. Sometimes it was even like therapy. There was a session about personal branding, where I decided that my own tagline might be "proudly geeking out." Honestly, there was very little that was directly related to podcasting, but I did get some good technical tips about audio equipment from a guy who happened to be sitting at my lunch table. And I met a lot of nice people. I am pleased to announce that The Book of Life's hiatus will soon be over! I expect to revive The Book of Life by fall 2018.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY NOAH'S WIFE / ANGELS AT THE GATE     🕮    I met TK Thorne at the 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Charleston, South Carolina. She is the author of Noah's Wife: 5500 BCE and Angels at the Gate , two award-winning novels about the wives of Biblical figures Noah and Lot. She also writes historical nonfiction about civil rights. 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! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    On May 18, 2014, The Seminar on Jewish Story will take place at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, New York. This day-long event will be a celebration of Jewish literature in its many forms, from fiction to memoir, poetry to children's books. I spoke to organizer Barbara Krasner, who told me some of the exciting highlights of the Seminar, which is a co-production of the Whole Megillah and the Association of Jewish Libraries. Click here to learn more about the Seminar on Jewish Story , or email Barbara directly at barbarakrasner [at] att [dot] net. Act soon, because she's running a $99 special on registration! I'll be at the event, and I hope to see you there.... 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  Twit...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Dr. Reuven Firestone was the opening plenary speaker at the June, 2012 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Pasadena, CA. He gave a fascinating talk called "Jews in the Koran, Jews on the Koran" to a packed house. In this brief interview, Dr. Firestone describes the theme of his talk, and also mentions his new book, Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea . 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: Left to right: David Hirsch, Reuven Firestone at 2012 AJL Conference Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473 .

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2010 Convention in Seattle, WA, I organized a panel presentation on book reviewing with Ellen Cole, Kathe Pinchuck, Lisa Silverman, and Rita Soltan. This post is our online handout, and a record of our presentation. AJL Reviewing Panel FOR FUN The Top 20 Most Annoying Book Reviewer Phrases and How to Use Them All in One Meaningless Review Book Review BINGO MORE SERIOUS RESOURCES Suggested Resources for Jewish Children's Book Reviewers , a bibliography/webliography by Kathe Pinchuck Excellence in Jewish Children's Literature : A Guide for Book Selectors, Reviewers, and Award Judges (AJL Publication) From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books by K.T. Horning (HarperCollins, 2010 revised edition) Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America by Gail Pool (University of Missouri Press, 2007) Critical Mass, the blog of the National...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    I'm just back from the 2010 Book Expo America trade show in NYC, where I recorded lots of interesting interviews. It will take me a while to edit them, but lucky for you guys I still have several recordings from last summer to post in the meantime. This interview turns out to be unfortunately timely, with Louisiana so much in the spotlight right now due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Last summer, when we all thought Hurricane Katrina was the worst thing that could happen to New Orleans, I interviewed Nachama Liss-Levinson, author of the 2009 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award winning title When the Hurricane Came to New Orlean s. Being unpublished (thus a "Manuscript Award" winner), you can't read it yet. But I'm sure after hearing from awards chair Aileen Grossberg and from Nechama herself, you will want to! (Sorry for any angst caused by this situation!) [NOTE: The book has subseq...

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!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      🕮    This is your chance to virtually attend the Jewish Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference at the 92nd St Y in NYC! Hear from organize r Barbara Krasner , Scholastic editor Dianne Hess, and attending authors Bryna Fireside, Sandy Wasserman, and Eve Tal! 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 Photo credit: By Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA - 92Y, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79681131   Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

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...

During the Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Chicago, IL, I had the chance to visit the Planet Esme Bookroom , otherwise known as "the Gingerbread Apartment" because of its whimsical architecture. The Bookroom is a real treat for kidlit fans, stuffed to the gills with books, toys, and reading-related decorations. Every detail has been lovingly thought out to make visitors smile, from the wolf and sheep puppets lying peacefully together atop the photocopier, to the cuckoo clock that sings out the time. The Bookroom is the brainchild of Esme Raji Codell , author of Sydney Taylor Honor Book Vive la Paris , AJL Notable Book Hanukkah Shmanukkah , and the inspiring book for teachers, Educating Esme , among many others. It functions as a private salon where she hosts events that celebrate literature, like the wonderful pizza party she threw for lovers of Judaica during the AJL Convention. To see an album of photos from the Planet Esme Pizza Party, visit The Book of...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    In this picture we see Mark Blevis & Andrea Ross, the husband-and-wife team behind the kidlit podcast Just One More Book . They're holding the Six String Nation guitar, and they're at the Podcasters Across Borders conference, of which Mark is one of the founders and organizers. Mark also co-hosts, with Bob Goyetche, an excellent show by and for podcasters called The Canadian Podcast Buffet . While I was at Podcasters Across Borders, I grabbed Mark for an interview about his upcoming gig at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention , which takes place in July in Chicago, IL. Mark's talk is entitled "How I Learned About Amazing Jewish Books Through Social Media." As we chatted, he posed a question for listeners: what are your concerns about the visibility of Jewish books, especially books for children? Please share your thoughts with Mark at markblevis@gmail.com or post a comment here at The Book of Life. CREDITS:...

I will be attending the Podcasters Across Borders conference for the first time this year, in June in Kingston, Ontario, and I am so excited! I've listened to recordings of past years' conferences and I've always wanted to go. This short audio clip is the "teaser" that I've created about The Book of Life, to give other conference attendees (who are podcasters too) an idea of what my show is like. It's an outtake from my December 2007 interview with author/illustrator Ann Koffsky . I hope it makes sense - please let me know if you think it works as a promo for The Book of Life. I get a big kick out of the bit at the end where we start playing "Jewish geography."

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    I will be attending Book Expo America 2008 in Los Angeles, CA to record material for The Book of Life podcast and to promote the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children's literature. If YOU will be at Book Expo too, drop me a line at bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com ! (If we meet up, I'll even give you a shiny gold Sydney Taylor Book Award lapel pin! As always, background music is provided by The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band. And also as always, The Book of Life is a production of the Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel , with additional support from the Association of Jewish Libraries .