The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY / BORROW THE BOOK     🕮    October 2024 is packed with Jewish holidays, so we've got a 2-part series for you to celebrate: Festive Friends. In each episode, we hear from a pair of friends about their books that will help us celebrate the Jewish holidays. In Festive Friends Part I we heard from Gayle Forman, author of Not Nothing , and Marjorie Ingall, author of Getting to Sorry . Here in Festive Friends Part II, we meet Erica Lyons and Christina Matula. Lately, Kids of mixed heritage have finally been getting their mirror books, and a great example is Erica and Christina's new picture book Mixed-Up Mooncakes , about a Chinese Jewish family celebrating the Mid Autumn Festival and Sukkot. I love the cozy atmosphere of this book, with its double harvest festival fun; and I love the comfortable way in which the Chinese and Jewish...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |    CHECK OUT "NICE JEWISH BOOKS" PODCAST     🕮    At the Association of Jewish Libraries 2024 annual conference in San Diego, CA, I met up with Sheryl Stahl, host of our sister podcast, Nice Jewish Books. Inspired by the cartoon above, Sheryl and I interviewed our friends and colleagues about their Jewish "emotional support books" and the results turned into this podcast episode (cross-posted on Nice Jewish Books). We got a very wide variety responses, listed below in case you'd like to read any of the books that are so meaningful to your fellow Jewish book-lovers. ENTER THE DRAWING Need a tote bag to carry around your emotional support books? Enter our drawing! Post a review of The Book of Life or Nice Jewish Books, or BOTH, on social media or on any podcast player such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcas...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Four years ago in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I ran a 3-part series called The Mitzvah of Voting . Here we are in 2024 in a presidential election year again and defending our democracy is more important than ever! Here's an edited encore presentation of that 2020 podcast, with all three parts combined and streamlined. You'll hear inspiring words and calls to action from some of your favorite authors, recorded in 2020 but as relevant as ever. We cap it off with Sarah Aroeste's Ladino song "Gracia" (English lyrics below), a tribute to the medieval Sephardic heroine, Doña Gracia Nasi who lived in the 1500's and saved hundreds of Jews from the Inquisition. The theme of the song is that activists of the past inspire us to activism in our own time. I hope you will be inspired to VOTE! RESOURCES SUGGESTED BY GUESTS: Hold the Line: A Guide to Defending Democracy T...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    When I read Karen Jensen's "Treatise on the State of Middle Grade and Young Adult Publishing Today" on her Teen Librarian Toolbox blog in School Library Journal, I was super impressed with the level of detail of her research... but also alarmed at the many difficulties she described facing the industry right now. I interview middle grade authors pretty frequently on The Book of Life, but I decided it was time to think about the genre as a whole, and to do what I could to give it my support. So I invited two people who could help answer my questions: W hat defines a middle grade book? What are the challenges to publishing for this age group? What is the state of middle grade literature today? What can we do to help? My guests are: Karen Jense n , librarian, author of "Treatise on the State of Middle Grade and Young Adult Publishing Today" and creator of the Teen Li...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY / BORROW ADAM    |    BUY / BORROW STEVE     🕮    Two incredible authors, Adam Gidwitz and Steve Sheinkin, joined me to talk about their most recent books, Max in the House of Spies and Impossible Escape . As many listeners know, I tend to avoid Holocaust books because I've kind of overdosed on them during a long career of working with Jewish children's literature... but both of these books are SO good that I couldn't ignore them. Max in the House of Spies is middle grade historical fantasy fiction and Impossible Escape is young adult nonfiction. They are very different books, but they also make a great pairing... as do Adam and Steve, who are friends in real life. Impossible Escape was a 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book (young adult category). It remains to be seen whether Max in the House of Spi...

  Happy Pride Month! Despite the ongoing attempts to silence LGBTQ+ voices, children's and young adult publishing has been creating better and better books with joyful representation of queer characters, and Jewish books are no exception. Here are a few of my recent favorites; for more, please see the "Queer Jews" tag in my Diverse Jewish Kidlit catalog on LibraryThing . Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal, Levine Querido, 2024    |    BUY    |    BORROW Zachary and his two multicultural mommies walk their new baby girl to synagogue to reveal her name to the community, picking up diverse friends along the way. Suffused with rainbow light, peopled with kind and supportive neighbors of many backgrounds, and bursting with family love, the lyrical text and stunning illustrations combine to create an instant classic. A breath of fresh air, and a beautiful antidote to antisemitism. Benji Zeb is a Ravenous We...

BUY or BORROW these books Two Sydney Taylor Book Award winners, Veera Hiranandani and Vesper Stamper, have joined forces to create the perfect book for fathers and grandfathers: The Greatest (Random House Studio, 2024), a picture book about how "the power of love makes us all the greatest to somebody."  An old man reflects that although he feels perfectly ordinary, his grandchildren act like he's the greatest grandfather in the world. We see their loving interactions as they play and eat and and build together, against an understated but fully present backdrop of Jewish home life and holidays. We see growth, as the teenage grandson puts aside his phone and starts to participate in the fun along with his younger sisters. In the end, the grandfather realizes that "Maybe love is like a mirror and it's reflected back and forth until it glows so bright, everything is surrounded by that light." A quiet, lovely ode to l'dor vador, the continuity of generatio...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |    BUY OR BORROW THE BOOK     🕮    Joyful Song: A Naming Story is Lesléa Newman's newest picture book, and once again she's paired up with the amazing Susan Gal. This dynamic duo brought us Here Is the World in 2014 and Welcoming Elijah in 2020. Their new 2024 book is about a baby naming at synagogue, and about the diverse and loving community that welcomes the little girl into the world. The two-mom family makes it a great book for Pride Month, too. LEARN MORE: Lesléa Newman's website Susan Gal's website Susan's other Jewish book, The Tower of Life by Chana Stiefel Roller Coaster Rabbit , the Disney film Susan worked on Heidi's Jewish kidlit wish list Lesléa's past appearances on The Book of Life: Welcoming Elijah, 2020 Social Justice and Jewish Children's Books, 2018 Ketzel and Mom, 2016 Here Is the World, 2015 JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, Friends & A...

In a normal year, Jewish American/Canadian Heritage Month in May is about celebrating Jewish life in North America: Jewish history, achievements, and experiences. In 2024, with the precipitous rise in antisemitism, it seemed more appropriate to focus on the relationship between North American Jews and our gentile neighbors. Throughout May 2024, I recommended picture books, middle grade, and young adult books that offer models for allyship between Jews and non-Jews. These are books about beautiful friendships, moving solidarity, and growth in understanding. I hope that these books will inspire readers to make life imitate art. I posted a book each day on social media, and now I am compiling all my reading recommendations here for your convenience. Titles are linked to Bookshop.org or other booksellers, and links are provided to any podcast coverage the books may have received on The Book of Life. PICTURE BOOKS May 1, 2024 JOYFUL SONG: A NAMING STORY by Lesléa Newman, illustrat...

  LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY OR BORROW THE BOOK     🕮     Lucky Broken Girl, Letters from Cuba, Tia Fortuna's New Home , and now, Across So Many Seas . Award winning author Ruth Behar keeps finding new ways to share her Sephardic and Ashkenazi Cuban Jewish heritage with us, and it's fresh and fascinating every time. In her latest sweeping middle grade novel, Across So Many Seas , she introduces us to four generations of a Sephardic family, from the Spanish Inquisition to modern times. Like the Ladino song woven into the story of each of the 12 year old protagonists, this book is a poignant and powerful ode to sorrow and connection and joy.   LEARN MORE: Ruth Behar's website Buy Across So Many Seas Playlist of music from Across So Many Seas Educator's Guide to Across So Many Seas Ruth's tikkun olam suggestion: The American Ladino League Ruth...

In a normal year, Jewish American/Canadian Heritage Month in May is about celebrating Jewish life in North America: Jewish history, achievements, and experiences. In 2024, with the precipitous rise in antisemitism, it seems more appropriate to focus on the relationship between North American Jews and our gentile neighbors. Throughout May 2024, I will be recommending picture books, middle grade, and young adult books that offer models for allyship between Jews and non-Jews. You'll read about beautiful friendships, moving solidarity, and growth in understanding. I hope that these books will inspire readers to make life imitate art. Welcome to a full month of Jewish children's literature celebrating American, Canadian, and worldwide allyship, available in bookstores, libraries, and online. Please share these books with your own network, especially with your friends who are not Jewish. Watch The Book of Life's social media on Facebook or Instagram for daily suggestions. At t...

As Passover begins, I'd like to remind you that the Holiday Highlights lists created by the Association of Jewish Libraries are a terrific resource to help you find the very best Jewish holiday books for children. Since the program began in 2021, there have been thirteen Passover books recognized. These are the Passover books you should be buying, borrowing from the library, and giving as afikomen gifts! Learn more about Holiday Highlights on AJL's website or listen to my 2022 podcast episode about it. ALL HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS BOOKS FOR PASSOVER: The Four Questions by Lynne Sharon Schwartz, illustrated by Ori Sherman, Levine Querido, 2021, All ages – Spring 2021 | buy or borrow Animals celebrate at a seder; elegant. Meet the Matzah written and illustrated by Alan Silberberg, Viking, 2021, Ages 4-10 –  Spring 2021 | buy or borrow Anthropomorphic bread products retell the Exodus story; goofy. The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin, Neal Porter Books a...