The Book of Life

Memories of Babi has been recognized by the Association of Jewish Libraries as a 2009 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category. As part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour , The Book of Life is proud to introduce you to author Aranka Siegal and to share a little of her "backstory." Learn more about Aranka at ArankaSiegal.com . Aranka, all of your books are autobiographical. What motivates you to share your life story with readers? The reason for my writing autobiographically is because I attribute a great deal of my survival to my early years. I want to share lessons instilled in me by my resourceful mother, Rise. She had managed to put food on the table for her many children against all odds. She made it her mission to keep her family alive and together, sometimes risking her life to accomplish this. She used the black market to bring home a sack of flour to bake bread, potatoes, a basket of vegetables and some bones to make the daily pot of soup...

I am scheduled to post an interview with Aranka Siegal ( Memories of Babi ) today as part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour - but I haven't heard back from her yet! She joined the tour at the last minute and warned me that she had a busy weekend, so I've just got to be patient. As soon as I hear from her, the interview will be posted here. Thanks for your patience! In the meantime, here's the book's description from the publisher, FSG: Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the...

I am pleased to announce that The Book of Life has joined the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! On Sunday, January 18, 2009, I will be posting an interview with Aranka Siegal , author of Memories of Babi , a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category. I really enjoyed this book, which has an old-fashioned flavor but remains accessible to modern children. Here's the publisher's description:  Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the importance of honest hard work, of carin...

Two additional stops have been added to the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Valerie Zenatti , author of A Bottle in the Gaza Sea , will appear at Lori Calabrese Writes on Tuesday, January 20, and Natascia Ugliano , illustrator of Sarah Laughs , will appear on Write for a Reader on Thursday, January 22. Here is a full, updated schedule, with links to more info on each book: 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 Monday, January 19, 2009 Richard Michelson Author of As Good As Anybody , Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category and Author of A is for Abraham , Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category at The Well-Read Child Monday, January 19, 2009 Ron Mazellan , illustrator of A is for Abraham Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category at Tales from the Rushmore Kid Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Va...

The Sydney Taylor Book Award, the annual prize for Jewish children's and teen literature, will be celebrating and showcasing its 2009 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour! Here is the preliminary schedule: 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 Monday, January 19, 2009 Richard Michelson Author of As Good As Anybody , Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category and Author of A is for Abraham , Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category at The Well-Read Child Monday, January 19, 2009 Ron Mazellan , illustrator of A is for Abraham Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category at Tales from the Rushmore Kid Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Jane Yolen , author of Naming Liberty Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category at The Boston Bibliophile Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Anna Levine Au...

The winners of the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children's and teen literature have just been announced! The full press release and list of winners is posted below. I'll be interviewing Kathe Pinchuck , chair of the awards committee, so I'll soon have a podcast for you with her insights into the process of choosing winners. Also, I've already recorded an interview with Rich Michelson , gold medalist in the Younger Readers Category for As Good As Anybody , and that will appear in February's podcast episode. Many of the winning authors will appear in a Blog Tour beginning on Sunday, January 18, 2009 at Barbara Bietz's Jewish Books for Children Blog . Be sure to check that out, and to watch the awards blog at sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com for the blog tour schedule. PRESS RELEASE: 2009 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES Richard Michelson and Raul Colon , author and illustrator of As Good As Anybody: M...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Marc Aronson is an editor, a publisher, and an author of historical nonfiction for young people. He writes the "Nonfiction Matters" column in School Library Journal , and also hosts the Nonfiction Matters blog on the SLJ website. I met up with Marc at the 2008 School Library Journal Leadership Summit in Hollywood, Florida to talk about his latest and perhaps most controversial book, Unsettled: The Problem of Loving Israel . We had such an interesting conversation that I hardly edited the recording at all. I hope you'll find meeting Marc as fascinating as I did. Please feel free to join our conversation by posting comments here on The Book of Life website. CREDITS: Our 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 . Your feedback is appr...

The Book of Life's first-ever episode was posted in December, 2005, which means that we've been podcasting for three whole years! Here are the Chanukah episodes for 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005, so you can enjoy them all at once. Makes great background listening while you are wrapping presents or frying latkes!  

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    The Book of Life celebrates Chanukah! > Sylvia Rouss tells us about her Sammy Spider series of picture books, which began with Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah . We also hear about the upcoming Sammy Spider's First Simchat Torah, Sammy Spider's First Day at School , and an entry in Sylvia's "Littlest" series, The Littlest Maccabee . > FYI: You can now download mp3 audiobooks of The Chanukah Guest, Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins , and The Magic Dreidels , read by author Eric Kimmel himself. Find them at Anansi's Store at www.ericakimmel.com . > Musician Josh Nelson (of The Josh Nelson Project ) tells us about the part he played in Craig Taubman's Lights Hanukkah concert, and about his own debut CD, Lift . Scroll down to watch a YouTube video of Josh performing L'Dor Vador during the Lights concert. And click to learn how you can get the CD of Lights , and find listings for the TV special . Note t...

Way back in October 2006, The Book of Life featured an interview with Leah Larson , the teenage founder of the magazine Yaldah , which is written, edited, and published by and for Jewish girls. On September 24, 2008 , I blogged about how Leah's mother Evelyn had entered the Wells Fargo Someday Stories Contest, in hopes of winning money to support expansion of Yaldah . I encouraged you to vote for Evelyn, and it looks like many of you heeded that call. Evelyn has won the grand prize of $100,000! Mazel tov of Evelyn, Leah, and all the girls who contribute to Yaldah !

Along with hosting The Book of Life, I am now assisting the Association of Jewish Libraries with getting its own podcast up and running. Here's the press release we sent out to announce the launch of the podcast. Be sure to check out the book give-away promotion in the last paragraph! New Podcast Author talks, lectures on Jewish literature, panel discussions, and workshops are among the offerings of the newly launched Association of Jewish Libraries Podcast . Available at www.jewishlibraries.org/podcast , the program provides audio that enhances and enriches the listener's appreciation of Jewish book culture. The podcast will include material recorded at the Association of Jewish Libraries annual convention, as well as recordings of Jewish literary events across North America. A wide range of topics will be covered, from the academic to the hands-on, from children's literature to technology. "Jews are book lovers, and Jewish librarians even more so,"...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    Are you a member of the tribe? Which tribe? What is a tribe, anyway? We explore the notion of "tribe" with several guests: > Aaron Kula is director of the Klezmer Company Orchestra , the ensemble-in-residence of the library at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. We spoke to him about the KCO's CD Beyond the Tribes . Scroll down for a video that includes music from the CD and commentary from the orchestra. > Tiffany Shlain is a documentary filmmaker , director of the Moxie Institute , and founder of the Webby Awards . We spoke to her about her short film The Tribe , which " enlists pop icon Barbie to tackle the challenging issue of Jewish identity." Scroll down to watch a trailer for The Tribe, the entire 18-minute film, or a promotional video for Tiffany's next film Connected : A Declaration of Interdependence.   > Rafael Goldchain is a professional photographer. His installation Familial Groun...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    Blog Action Day aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. The aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. On October 15, 2008, thousands of people are posting on the topic of POVERTY. The Book of Life is participating with this podcast episode, in which authors Davis and Kimmel explore themes of generosity and the tradition of tzedakah (charity). We also get an overview about Blog Action Day itself. The line-up includes: > Cyan Ta'eed, cofounder (with husband Collis) of Blog Action Day , FreelanceSwitch blogger and director of Envato > Aubrey Davis , author of Bagels from Benny (interviewed by our Canadian Correspondent Anne Dublin !) > Eric Kimmel , author of The Mysterious Guests: A Sukkot Story CREDITS: Our background music is provided by The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band. Additional background music in this episo...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    Meet The Book of Life's new Canadian Correspondent, author and librarian Anne Dublin ! Anne will be recording material for us in the enviably literary city of Toronto. She is the former librarian of Holy Blossom Temple, and the author of a number of children's books, including the Sydney Taylor Honor Book Bobbie Rosenfeld, the Olympian Who Could Do Everything (Second Story Press, 2004). She was interviewed about this title for The Book of Life's third-ever episode back in February of 2006. Check out Anne's website at annedublin.ca . In this episode, Anne introduces us to her Toronto writers' group as they discuss the Jewish elements of their work. The group includes: Anne Dublin Rona Arato Frieda Wishinsky Lynn Westerhout Sydell Waxman UPCOMING: Don't miss The Book of Life's Blog Action Day episode! It will be posted on October 15, 2008. CREDITS: Our background music is provided by The Freilachmakers Klezm...

Way back in October 2006, The Book of Life featured an interview with Leah Larson , the teenage founder of the magazine Yaldah , which is written, edited, and published by and for Jewish girls. I just got an email from Leah, and this is what she said:   I wanted to share some exciting news with you. YALDAH has been chosen as one of five finalists in Wells Fargo Bank's "Someday Stories" contest. The general public is voting on their favorite story on www.wellsfargo.com/somedaystories, and on November 10th the story with the most votes will be awarded $100,000!! I'm sure you can imagine how far $100,000 will get YALDAH! We've been in first place since the contest opened, but others are catching up fast. If you could please let all your friends/family/contacts know how they can vote, that would be a huge help. Please consider supporting Leah's publishing efforts! Visit Someday Stories and vote for "Evelyn from MA" - that's Leah's...

Once again this year, The Book of Life will participate in Blog Action Day. On October 15, 2008, we'll join the worldwide discussion on the topic of poverty . We'll interview the creators of Blog Action Day, as well as some Jewish authors whose books deal with themes of poverty and tzedakah (charity). If you have a blog, you can participate in Blog Action Day too! Sign up at blogactionday.org .

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    This is the Book of Life's 2008 High Holidays Special! A Yiddish proverb says "What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." In this episode, we lather up with books that show us how we can laugh with God! Then we get a little more serious as we have our handwriting analyzed to see what we can learn about ourselves. We meet: > Jacqueline Jules , author of the picture book Sarah Laughs , as well as other great books like Abraham's Search for God, Once Upon a Shabbos, The Hardest Word and more > Rabbi Sherre Hirsch , author of the self-help book We Plan, God Laughs: 10 Steps to Finding Your Divine Path When Life Is Not Turning Out Like You Wanted > Arlyn Imberman , graphologist and executive coach, analyzes the handwriting of these two authors as well as Book of Life Host, Heidi Estrin, to help us get into a self-reflective mode for the Jewish New Year   SURVEY: Do you prefer the regular half-hour shows...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    In this episode of The Book of Life, we talk to 2 Jews and get way more than 3 opinions! These two conversations are the last of the material recorded at Book Expo 2008 . > Kathy Bloomfield , owner of the former Jewish book fair company For Words, member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee , and Outreach Program Ambassador for the Union for Reform Judaism's Northeast Council talks about her life as a Jew by choice, and how it affects her reading. > Laurel Snyder , author of secular books for kids and adults and editor of Half / Life: Jewish Tales from Interfaith Homes , talks about growing up interfaith, raising Jewish children in an interfaith home, and about how questions of Jewish identity affect her writing. SURVEY:   Do you prefer the regular half-hour shows that includes multiple interviews? Or would you rather have shorter, single-interview episodes? Post a comment, e-mail bookoflifepodcast@g...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    What's new in Jewish books for adults? Follow me around the 2008 Book Expo America conference to listen in on publishers and authors talking about their new and forthcoming titles! This series includes four episodes: In Part 1 we heard about Jewish pictures books. Part 2 was about Jewish books for older kids and teens. Part 3 featured Jewish literature for adults. This final episode in the series, Part 4, is about books (for all ages) relating to the Holocaust. Part 4 also includes a non-Holocaust-related palate cleanser: an interview with the Jewish Publication Society that was accidentally left out of Part 3 (sorry, JPS!). SURVEY: Next time we'll return to our regular format of more in-depth interviews, but I do want to know YOUR preferences. Do you prefer the regular half-hour shows that includes multiple interviews? Or would you rather have shorter, single-interview episodes? Post a comment, e-mail bookoflifepodcast@gmai...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    What's new in Jewish books for adults? Follow me around the 2008 Book Expo America conference to listen in on publishers and authors talking about their new and forthcoming titles! This series includes four episodes: In Part 1 we heard about Jewish pictures books. Part 2 was about Jewish books for older kids and teens. This is Part 3, and Part 4 will be about books (for all ages) relating to the Holocaust. Part 3, Jewish Books for Adults Coffee House Press Jealous Witness, Poems by Andrei Codrescu, with CD Maelstrom: Songs of Storm & Exile by the New Orleans Klezmer AllStars Harper Perennial Just Say Nu by Michael Wex Who by Fire by Diana Spechler Princeton Architectural Press I Am My Family: Photographic Memories and Fictions by Rafael Goldchain URJ Press (Union for Reform Judaism) The Torah: A Women's Commentary edited by Tamara Cohn Eskanazi and Andrea Weiss Gayla Gabriel, author Leaving with Love: Eternal Mess...