The Book of Life

EMIERT Chair's Program 2020 at ALA Virtual Friday June 26, 2020, 10AM Central Time ALA Virtual Event Panelist Heidi Rabinowitz approaches the issue of virtual library services from a Jewish point of view. The panel also includes well-known mover and shaker, school librarian K.C.Boyd, whose approach is from an African American point of view. Heidi's Remarks: Closures during the Coronavirus pandemic affect all kinds of libraries, including many that may be unfamiliar to the general public, such as specialized Judaica libraries. Libraries in synagogues, Jewish day schools, museums, universities, archives, Jewish community centers, and research organizations have been shuttered during quarantine. These specialty collections serve Jewish patrons as well as others with an interest in Judaica, who now suffer from lack of access to Jewish books, programs, and services. Many Judaic libraries are small, without the budget to purchase e-books, and many Jewish books (espe...

Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd, on the shoulders of friend Stephen Jackson   On the one hand, I want to speak up about systemic racism and to express my support for the Black community. On the other hand, as a White person I don't want to make this about me. So I'm going to take the advice of my friend and fellow podcaster Jaime Legagneur and boost Black voices. And I'm going to start with hers. Jaime recorded this heartbreakingly honest podcast about her experience as a Black woman in America. Please listen, and follow the links to the many, many resources she has kindly provided. LISTEN HERE Above you can see Gianna Floyd, the 6 year old daughter of murder victim George Floyd, whose death sparked the long-overdue demands for racial justice now sweeping the globe. A video clip of Gianna saying "Daddy changed the world!" has gone viral. Let's help make sure she's right.

The Association of Jewish Libraries has invited diversity book bloggers, websites, and podcasts to participate in Through the Window: A Diversity Exchange. This initiative is designed to fight antisemitism and other forms of bias through education and allyship. Participating Jewish and non-Jewish websites are paired to swap guest posts. Text, audio, and video content providers are all welcome to participate. The Book of Life, representing the Association of Jewish Libraries, has partnered with I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read?, the blog of author LGBT activist Lee Wind.  The episode drops on June 14, 2020. In the meantime, learn more about Through the Window at Jewishlibraries.org/throughthewindow .

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Gail Carson Levine is the author of more than 20 book for young readers and adult writers, including the Newbery Honor book Ella Enchanted , which was made into a major motion picture. Her new middle grade book A Ceiling Made of Eggshells is a historical novel about a Jewish family during the Spanish Inquisition, based on Gail's own family history. During our interview, I asked Gail about her house, which she describes on her website. You can learn more about her lovely home here .   CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band     Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support t...

The Book of Life will return to our regular in-depth interviews with our next episode, which drops on Sunday May 17, 2020. You'll hear an interview with author Gail Carson Levine about her middle grade novel, A Ceiling Made of Eggshells. To celebrate, I made this trailer on Headliner. Enjoy, and feel free to share the video!

"Books in the Time of Coronavirus" Series The Book of Life (TBOL): Sharon, please introduce yourself. Hello, I’m Sharon Kirsch from Toronto, author of The Smallest Objective. My publisher is New Star Books in Vancouver, Canada, but the story itself takes place mostly in Montreal, home to one of Canada’s largest Jewish communities, and where I was born and raised. After delays linked to the pandemic, the e-book of The Smallest Objective has just been made available, and the print edition has been confirmed for a May 28th release. The Toronto and Montreal launches, both originally planned for May, have had to be postponed indefinitely.  TBOL: What is The Smallest Objective about? The Smallest Objective is a book of narrative non-fiction for adults—a hybrid of memoir and biography. At the heart of the story is my mother’s loss of memory and inevitable departure from the family home, leading me, her only child, to recover and discover objects and people little or neve...

Our special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus, has proven to be quite popular. Between March 26-April 29, 2020 we posted ten episodes in the series. Authors whose spring promotional events were cancelled shared their books, their inspiration, and their tikkun olam suggestions with us. We heard from authors of books for children and adults, fiction and nonfiction, poetry, short story, and memoir.  As of May 2020, we are returning to our regularly scheduled programming of in-depth audio interviews with creators of Jewish kidlit. Any subsequent entries in the series will be published in written format on The Book of Life blog at www.bookoflifepodcast.com . If you are an author of a spring 2020 Jewish book and you would like to participate, please fill out this interview form . You can listen to the 10 audio episodes in the Coronavirus series here: 1. No Entry by Gila Green (YA fiction) 2. Worse and Worse on Noah's Ark by Leslie Kimmelman (picture book) 3. Welcomi...

I am so pleased that my August 2019 interview with Sadaf Siddique, Sister Religion/Sister Kidlit has grown up to be an article in March/April issue of The Horn Book Magazine! It's called We Need Diverse Jewish and Muslim Books: A Conversation because Sadaf and I interviewed each other, continuing the discussion we began on the podcast and recommending Jewish and Muslim titles for all readers. The Horn Book is a distinguished children's literature review journal established in 1924, so I am more than honored to have my name within its pages. READ THE ARTICLE HERE Our conversation was followed by a recommended reading list of Jewish/Muslim interfaith kidlit. I've included that list below, with Book of Life affiliate links to Indiebound or Bookshop.org if available. Any purchases you make will benefit the podcast. Recommended Interfaith Books    The following titles present interfaith Muslim-Jewish friendships. For the additional booklists discussed in thi...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |     READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Author Amy Grossblatt Pessah discusses her guide Parenting on a Prayer : Ancient Jewish Secrets for Raising Modern Children.   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 Podcast: Ways to Donate    ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |     BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. David B. Levy shares his family genealogical work Gluskin Family History , published through Lulu. This is volume 7 in his series of ten books on librarianship and Jewish topics. CREDITS : Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band     Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is appreciat...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |     BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Michelle Cameron shares her adult historical novel, Beyond the Ghetto Gates , published by She Writes Press. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Bernice Lerner shares her family history, All the Horrors of War: A Jewish Girl, A British Doctor, and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen , published by Johns Hopkins University Press.  And a big shout-out to Dianne Siekmann for becoming a monthly Book of Life supporter on Patreon.com/BookofLife .Thanks, Dianne! CREDITS:   Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel    Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens   Facebook Page: fac...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Erika Dreifus shares her poetry collection Birthright , published by Kelsay Books. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Birthright is being donated to Sefaria to support its “free, ever-growing library of Jewish texts.” CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: W...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Jeremy Benstein shares his nonfiction adult book Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World , published by Behrman House. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to booko...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Sidura Ludwig shares her adult short story collection, You Are Not What We Expected , from House of Anansi Press. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or ca...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Lesléa Newman shares her picture book Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail from Charlesbridge.  And a big shout-out to Tziporah Cohen for becoming a monthly Book of Life supporter on Patreon.com/BookofLife . Thanks, Tzippy!   CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |   READ THE TRANSCRIPT      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. Leslie Kimmelman shares her picture book Worse and Worse on Noah's Ark from Apples & Honey Press. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voi...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In response to the pandemic, The Book of Life is hosting a special series, Books in the Time of Coronavirus . Authors or illustrators of new Jewish books, whose promotional events have been cancelled due to quarantine, are invited to promote their books on the podcast. The first episode in this special series features Gila Green , author of No Entry , a novel for youth about elephant poaching in South Africa, starring a Jewish eco-heroine. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast      Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support the Podcast: Ways to Donate    Your feedback is apprecia...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |     READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Today my husband Matthew joins me to help me run a Book of Life "Family Meeting." We've got a lot on the agenda. Listen for all the details and click the links here to get more information. Books in the Time of Coronavirus Love Your Neighbor List #6: Passover Stand Up Transcripts - click on the transcript link for each episode Support Feedback Jewish Kidlit Mavens The Sydney Taylor Shmooze The Book of Life Trailer We will soon be bringing you recordings from authors whose spring book tours have been cancelled, as part of the Books in the Time of Coronavirus series, but we'll also be publishing some of our regular in-depth interviews, recorded before the virus crisis. Watch for episodes about A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi & Laura Shovan, and A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library ...

Mia Wenjen is the co-founder of Multicultural Children's Book Day , the blogger at Pragmatic Mom , and the author of the picture book Sumo Joe and the resource guide Best #OwnVoices Children's Books . When I learned about her #OwnVoices guide, I was excited to see whether Jewish books were included. I was glad to find that there were Jewish titles among her recommendations, but disappointed that they represented only the Holocaust experience. Luckily, Mia was open to further recommendations. She expressed some frustration in identifying the Jewish background of authors to determine whether their books qualified as #OwnVoices, and was glad of assistance. I sent Mia a list of Jewish #OwnVoices titles that I thought she might like, and the result is this lovely post in which she reviews the books in her own voice! I'm so pleased that I was able to help Mia bring some worthy Jewish titles to a wider audience. CLICK HERE TO READ MIA'S POST!