The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST   |  READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Welcome to the third and final entry in our series, The Mitzvah of Voting. It's October 2020 your favorite Jewish kidlit authors want all eligible US citizens to vote in the upcoming Presidential election, and listeners around the world to vote in their own local elections. My author guests will be sharing why they vote and they'll give you some recommendations for ways to keep democracy healthy. This time, we will leave you with some musical inspiration to carry you through Election Day. Listen to PART 1 | PART 2 One of today's guests, Sarah Aroeste, is not only an author, she's also a singer songwriter who performs in Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish dialect that became the tongue of Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. We'll hear Gracia , a tribute to the medieval Sephardic heroine, Doña Gracia Nasi who lived in the 1500s and saved hundreds of Jews from the Inquisition. The ma...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY FISH    |    BUY TURTLE     🕮    For this "Pond Life" episode, I paired the books Turtle Boy with Fish Out of Water , to highlight the similar themes I saw in both middle grade bar mitzvah novels. Wonderfully, authors Joanne Levy and Evan Wolkenstein really hit it off and they actually helped to interview each other! In fact, Joanne said she felt like their two books were holding hands and she created this adorable image: And one more thing, I just want to give a shout-out to Sidura Ludwig for becoming a Book of Life supporter at Patreon.com !      Learn More: Buy at Fish Out of Water Buy Turtle Boy   Joanne Levy's website Evan Wolkenstein's website Pardes Center for Jewish Educators curriculum for Turtle Boy Discussion guide for Fish Out of Water BimBam Jewish videos Woolgathering Jo (Joanne's Etsy shop fo...

BUY THE BOOK     🕮    October 6, 2020 is the book birthday for Miriam Udel 's Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children's Literature ! I was not able to fit an audio interview into The Book of Life's schedule, but to bring your attention to this worthy book I offer you this conversation-in-print with Miriam. Enjoy! THE BOOK OF LIFE: What inspired you to create Honey on the Page ? MIRIAM UDEL : Honey on the Page represents the convergence between my vocation as a language instructor and my avocation as a mother. I sought authentic materials that my second-semester Yiddish students would be able to read profitably and without frustration. At the same time, I was searching for representations of Yiddish-speaking life and childhood that I could share with my own children. When I discovered the large, mostly untranslated and forgotten corpus of Yiddish children’s literature, I knew that I had to create at least one anthology that would help to retrieve...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Muslim author Saadia Faruqui and Jewish author Laura Shovan joined me to talk about their jointly written middle grade contemporary novel, A Place at the Table. This is a book about immigration, about friendship, and it will make you hungry. From the official description: "A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara's mom." LEARN MORE: Buy A Place at the Table Saadia Faruqi's website Laura Shovan's website   Bonus recipes Blue Minaret Poem "My Best Friend is Jewish"  Poetry Friday   GUEST RECOMMENDATIONS - BOOSTING BLACK VOICES: Saadia suggests Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin, Yo...

WATCH THE VIDEO     |    LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT    |    BUY ART     🕮    Back in August 2006, author/illustrator Simms Taback was a guest on The Book of Life. He spoke about his classic picture book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and his newer picture book Kibitzers and Fools . After the interview, he painted me the picture you see here of a dancing man with an iPod. In 2020, the dancing man returned to me in a new form as a crocheted doll! I was so impressed that I invited Patti, the artist, to be a guest on the podcast. Multi-talented mensch Patricia Portillo is an artist who works with fiber, clay, and other materials. She is also a voice artist and professional opera singer, and she dabbles in the culinary arts. Listen to the audio or watch the video below to learn more about her work and how you can commission her to make something for you too! Le...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    No Vacancy is Tziporah Cohen 's debut middle grade novel. It's a story of friendship across boundaries, the importance of community as a bulwark against prejudice... and a Virgin Mary sighting.     Groundwood Books' official description says "Buying and moving into the run-down Jewel Motor Inn in upstate New York wasn’t eleven-year-old Miriam Brockman’s dream, but at least it’s an adventure. Miriam befriends Kate, whose grandmother owns the diner next door, and finds comfort in the company of Maria, the motel’s housekeeper, and her Uncle Mordy, who comes to help out for the summer. She spends her free time helping Kate’s grandmother make her famous grape pies and begins to face her fears by taking swimming lessons in the motel’s pool. But when it becomes clear that only a miracle is going to save the...

I am pleased to announce that I have written an article for The Forward , the famous Jewish newspaper founded in 1897 and originally published in Yiddish. It is entitled "Finally, Jewish kids' books are starting to reflect the diversity of Judaism." I referenced Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's well-known metaphor about "mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors" to explain that all children need to read Jewish books that reflect the diversity of the Jewish community, and I shared a few personal favorite titles. Read THE FORWARD Article For those of you who would like to learn about additional titles, please take a look at my growing Diverse Jewish Kidlit bibliography. See DIVERSE JEWISH KIDLIT Bibliography

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    This episode is all about grandparents. We hear from David Raphael, co-founder of the Jewish Grandparents Network, and we enjoy the audiobook Bubbe & Zaide , written and voiced by Anne-Marie Asner along with the famous actor Ed Asner as Zaide. You may remember Anne-Marie from our December 2019 episode, when she told us about her Yiddish-inspired picture book series, Matzah Ball Books.  Learn more:   Jewish Grandparents Network Pop Up Stories Bubbe & Zaide by Anne-Marie Asner Matzah Ball Books December 2019 podcast with Anne-Marie Asner   Guest recommendations: Boosting Black Voices David suggests the New York Times columns of Charles M. Blow and Roxane Gay Anne-Marie suggests Beloved by Toni Morrison CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Theme ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    TRANSCRIPT:    PART1    PART2      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In celebration of Pride Month and as part of the Through the Window diversity exchange, our guest today is Lee Wind, author of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill . Lee blogs at I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? He is also the official blogger for SCBWI. We opened the window wide to interview each other about Jewish kidlit and LGBTQIA2+ kidlit. Through the Window is a diversity exchange created by the Association of Jewish Libraries to fight antisemitism and other forms of bias through education and allyship. Jewish organizations swap content with other marginalized communities to give both groups a look through the window at our common humanity. Another Through the Window partnership recently celebrated Pride Month with posts swapped by the Jewish Women's Archive...

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...