The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    June is Pride Month, so I'm pleased to bring you The New Queer Conscience , a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book in the Young Adult category. It's a manifesto by young activist Adam Eli, that holds up k'lal yisrael , or Jewish solidarity, as a model for the queer community to emulate. For queer kidlit with identifiably Jewish characters, see the Diverse Jewish Kidlit page within the READ section of The Book of Life. Look for the tag LGBT. You'll find about 30 titles. If you know of any books I've missed, please drop me a line at bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com .  Speaking of solidarity, it's always a good time to push back against ongoing antisemitism. Please click on the tab labelled JUSTICE at The Book of Life to find resources that will help you do just that. LEARN MORE: The New Queer Conscience Adam Eli on Instagram Adam on I Weigh ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    At the 2012 Association of Jewish Libraries conference, I sat with author Eugene Yelchin during lunch and snuck in a quick interview. He's the author of the 2012 Newbery Honor book Breaking Stalin's Nose , based on his own youth in Stalinist Moscow. He gave a very moving talk about freedom of information earlier during the conference. Yelchin is also the illustrator of Ann Stampler's picture book, The Rooster Prince of Breslov , named a 2011 Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries and winner of the Jewish Book Council's National Jewish Book 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 apprec...

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 FREEFALL / JODIE'S HANUKKAH DIG      🕮    I met up with author Anna Levine last year at the 2009 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Chicago, IL, where she was a guest presenter and an award-winner! During a late night gathering of book lovers, I pulled her aside to discuss her YA novel Freefall and her picture book Jodie's Hanukkah Dig , both set in Israel. Both books received recognition from the Association of Jewish Libraries in 2009, Freefall as a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Jodie's Hanukkah Dig as a Notable Book. 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...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    An interview with Micol Ostow , author of So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) , a 2010 Sydney Taylor Notable Book in the Teen Readers category. This very cool novel with graphic elements was illustrated by Micol's brother David Ostow . The interview was recorded in a busy Manhattan bar, so please consider the loud background noise to be atmosphere for this story of a teen garage band! 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      > Author Amy Meltzer discusses her picture book A Mezuzah on the Door , an Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book and PJ Library selection > Author Eric Kimmel shares mezuzah memories > Author Sarah Gershman and illustrator Kristina Swarner talk about their Sydney Taylor Book Award winning picture book, The Bedtime Sh'ma: A Good Night Book . This book was also a National Jewish Book Award Finalist , and is a PJ Library selection. > Author Maggie Anton shares mezuzah memories Special background music for this episode is provided by The Bedtime Sh'ma Companion CD and by Cantor Jeff Klepper's "Mezuzah" song on the CD Shiron L'Yeladim . Our regular background music is provided by The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band. Books and CD's mentioned on the show may be borrowed from the Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel .