The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Anne Dublin is a Toronto-based author and retired synagogue librarian. She is the Canadian Correspondent for The Book of Life Podcast, performing many of our interviews with Canadian creatives. She's also the author of A Cage Without Bars , a historical middle grade novel that tells the little-known tale of Jewish children kidnapped after the expulsion from Spain and enslaved on the island of São Tomé, off the coast of West Africa. 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 Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Pod...

The Jewish Book Carnival is a monthly roundup of Jewish literary links from across the blogosphere. It's hosted by a different blogger each month on or near the 15th. The purposes of the Jewish Book Carnival are to build community among bloggers and to promote Jewish reading. This month, we have some very special links for you! On Barbara Bietz's "Jewish Books for Children" blog we've got an interview with Israeli illustrator Omer Hoffman about The Sages of Chelm and the Moon . On gilagreenwrites, Gila interviews author of eleven cookbooks (including Gila's favorite Second Helpings, Please! ), Norene Gilletz. On her blog, Book Q+As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Julie Zuckerman about her new novel in stories, The Book of Jeremiah . Castle of Concrete by Katia Raina is reviewed by Batya Medad on her blog Shiloh Musings. It's a coming of age story that takes place in Moscow as the USSR crumbles. It can be enjoyed by readers of all age...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Natalie Silverstein is the New York volunteer coordinator of Doing Good Together , an organization that empowers families to raise caring, engaged children. She wrote Simple Acts: The Busy Family's Guide to Giving Back to give parents practical ideas for incorporating service and the spirit of giving into family life.  IN OTHER NEWS: The podcast Kidlit These Days honors Jewish American Heritage Month in June 2019. They interviewed friend-of-The-Book-of-Life Lesléa Newman , and they included      Jewish kidlit reading recommendations from yours truly, Heidi Rabinowitz.  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!       CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    VISIT CRAIG'S WEBSITE       🕮    Craig Taubman is a long-time star in the world of American Jewish rock and roll, and the founder of the Pico Union Project .  Mostly Kosher is an up and coming Gypsy Rock Klezmer band whose tagline is “word to your bubbe.”  In spring 2019, Craig Taubman brought along Mostly Kosher and together they put on a foot-stomping concert at Congregation B’nai Israel , the home of The Book of Life podcast. That gave me the chance to grab this interview, and even to include the voice of our cantor ’s daughter Aria. Here’s your chance to be a fly on the wall in the green room before the show. 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 ...

Hello everyone! My name is Anna Caplan. I’m a Jewish educator, a mom, and the creator of Honeycake magazine, a new Jewish literary magazine for two- to six-year-olds. I’m excited to tell you a bit about our history and what we’re working on now! To learn more, visit our website . Our History The idea for Honeycake came from my four-year-old daughter’s love of children’s magazines. One day as I was renewing her subscription to Ladybug magazine, it occurred to me that I had never seen a similar type of publication for Jewish kids. I started to think about the gaps I saw in contemporary American Jewish children's literature, and how a magazine could fill some of those gaps for our family. I was curious about what other people thought of the idea of a Jewish children’s magazine, so I started reaching out to parents, grandparents, writers, artists, educators, and librarians. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. I began putting together a team , including an advisory ...

Jewish kidlit can save the world. That's why The Book of Life has a new Facebook group, "Jewish Kidlit Mavens," where we can save the world together. This is a space for Jewish kidlit professionals (the kidlit is Jewish; the professionals may or may not be) to discuss books from early childhood through middle grade and young adult. Members may include librarians, teachers, publishers, authors, illustrators, agents, booksellers, book bloggers, reviewers, etc. Join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/JewishKidlitMavens/ . Let's schmooze!

Children’s Book Week runs from April 29-May 5, 2019. This year is the 100th anniversary of Children’s Book Week, an annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. The 2019 theme is “Read Now. Read Forever.” Children’s Book Week is the perfect time to announce The Book of Life’s new focus on Jewish children’s literature . We’ve always had a strong emphasis on books for youth, but now we are making a conscious choice to prioritize coverage of kidlit, with occasional forays into other topics. Instead of defining ourselves as “a show about Jewish books, music, film and web,” The Book of Life is now officially “a show about Jewish kidlit, mostly.” Why this change?  Because kidlit will save the world. Books read in youth are formative, making an especially strong impact. Jewish books help Jewish kids create their religious and cultural identities, and help other kids understand and empathize with Jews. Through mirrors and windows polished brig...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    May 1 is May Day , the chimney sweeps’ holiday. It’s the perfect day to bring you a podcast about Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier . The book introduces us to Nan, a chimney climber, and her golem friend Charlie, a creature made of soot. This middle grade novel won the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children’s books, along with numerous other literary awards. In this lush, dense interview, Jonathan gives us much to think about! Here are links to some of the resources mentioned during our conversation: The Last of the Climbing Boys by George Elson Story Guild writing workshops Flash Point Fire Rescue game Rise Up : The Game of People & Power Spell Smashers loot collecting word game Superfight : A Game of Absurd Arguments CREDITS: Produced by: F...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮   The Length of a String won a 2019 Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category. It's a middle grade novel about Imani, an adopted black Jewish girl who wants to learn about her birth parents. When she inherits a Holocaust-era diary from her Jewish great-grandmother, she begins to see family in a whole new way. I spoke to author Elissa Brent Weissman by Skype. Elissa Brent Weissman 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    Patreon: patreon.com/bookoflife Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473. 

The Book of Life Podcast will host a Live Show in Woodland Hills, California near Los Angeles on June 17, 2019 at 5:30PM as part of the Association of Jewish Libraries 54th Annual Conference. Guests include Joni Sussman of Kar-Ben Publishing and author / illustrator / musician Barney Saltzberg, famous for his book Beautiful Oops. The live show is free! Conference-goers get in automatically. All others must RSVP by June 10th to be admitted. Email bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com for details.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Paula Shoyer is known as The Kosher Baker . I met her at Limmud , a one day conference of Jewish learning on a wide variety of topics, held in December 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida. Paula was there to present two sessions: " Are Your Jewish Holiday Meals Dangerous? " and " Jewish Cookbooks Tell Our Stories ." We sat down between sessions in the breezy courtyard for this interview. 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    Patreon: patreon.com/bookoflife Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473. 

The Highlights Foundation symposium " Beyond the Holocaust and Holidays: Who Are We and What Are We Writing? " asked these questions: What stories do today’s children need from Jewish book creators and about Jewish people? What stories speak to our varied experiences? And how can we diversify the existing body of Jewish children’s literature? Participants gathered to explore where Jewish novelists fit in the business of writing for children and teens. "Beyond the Holocaust" was featured on The Book of Life in January 2019 when we recorded a panel discussion among several of the presenters. The workshop was held in March 2019, and I invited organizer Linda Epstein to reflect on how it went. LINDA EPSTEIN   "We can literally make the world a better place one book at a time." Rather than being structured as a weekend where the faculty were teaching the students principles or concepts relative to writing Jewish children’s literature, the weeke...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    VISIT CRAIG TAUBMAN'S WEBSITE      🕮    Craig Taubman is coming to Congregation B'nai Israel in Boca Raton! If you will be in South Florida, don't miss this show! Call 561-241-8118 for tickets or BUY TICKETS HERE . Listen to a special message from Craig now, and keep an eye on The Book of Life for an upcoming full-length interview! 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    Patreon: 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      |    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     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Before I moved from Massachusetts back to Florida, I visited with Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin to talk about their joint book of original feminist midrash, Meet Me at the Well: The Girls and Women of the Bible . We sat down in Jane’s sunny kitchen and they just let it all pour out; I hardly needed to ask any questions! I’d love to hear about YOUR favorite Biblical women, so please do call our voicemail at 561-206-2473 or leave a comment at bookoflifepodcast.com . 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     Patreon: patreon.com/bookoflife Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookof...

Ten years ago in 2009, the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee dreamed up the brilliant idea of celebrating each year's gold and silver medalists with a blog tour: a virtual book tour in which authors and illustrators appear on a variety of Jewish and literary blogs during a celebratory week soon after the annual winner reveal. Because the Internet is forever (mostly), you can still read interviews from ten years' worth of winners! 2009 COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS, HONORS AND NOTABLES SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2009 Karen Hesse , author of Brooklyn Bridge Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category at Jewish Books for Children Aranka Siegal , author of Memories of Babi Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category at The Book of Life MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2009 Richard Michelson , author of As Good As Anybody Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category and A is for Abraham Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the You...