The Book of Life

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour is taking place February 4-8, 2018. Today, one of the blog tour stops is here at The Book of Life! We are interviewing Antonio Iturbe, author of Teen Readers Category winner, The Librarian of Auschwitz . English is not Antonio's first language, so it was very kind of him to tackle these questions for me! How did you learn about the library in Auschwitz and why did you choose to write about it? The way I found this story was by following threads in books. Reading expert Alberto Manguel wrote a book called The Library at Night , in which he talked about the most famous libraries in history: Alexandria, the Library of Congress… and in one chapter, in just a few lines, he mentioned that in the Children’s Block in the Auschwitz Camp there was a small, clandestine library of just eight books. Then I found more information in the book of the American Holocaust expert Nili Keren: Anatomy of the Auschwitz Death Camp . It was the beginning...

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be showcasing its 2018 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 4-8, 2018! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. Interviews will appear on the dates below, and will remain available to read at your own convenience. Below is the schedule for the 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour dates, and be sure to leave them plenty of comments! 2018 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018 Tammar Stein , author of The Six-Day Hero Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category At Walk the Ridgepole Kathy Kacer , author of To Look a Nazi in the Eye Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category At Bildungsroman MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2018 Richard Michelson and Karla Gudeon , author and illustrator of The Language of Angels Sydney Taylor Book Awar...

For More Information Contact: Susan Kusel, Chair Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Association of Jewish Libraries sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org January 10, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.  2018 is the 50th Anniversary of the Sydney Taylor Awards. The first winner was The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig in 1968, published by the Thomas Y. Crowell Company. GOLD MEDALISTS The Language of Angels: A Story About the Reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Karla Gudeon, published by Charlesbridge, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers category. This beautiful picture boo...

For More Information Contact: Aileen Grossberg, Coordinator Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Committee Association of Jewish Libraries STMACAJL@AOL.com tinyurl.com/stma18 January 10, 2018 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Competition committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2018 award. Judith Pransky, author of The Seventh Handmaiden , will receive the award at the annual conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries to be held in Boston, MA, from June 18-20, 2018. The Award is offered annually to an unpublished manuscript that has broad appeal to readers aged 8-13 and presents Jewish life in a positive light. Set in the time of King Xerxes of Persia, the novel begins with the kidnapping of a young girl and then flashes forward several years to focus on Darya, a young slave who is uncertain of her origins. The story follows Darya and her free friend Parvaneh from service in the household of a Persian army captain to positions in Xer...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    Susan Kusel is the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries. She joined us by Skype from her home in Falls Church, VA. to talk about the 2018 winners of the award.  Here's the official Sydney Taylor Book Award announcement: click here .  The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour will take place February 4-8, 2018. For details, click here . The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award was mentioned in the interview: click here .   The National Jewish Book Award winners from the Jewish Book Council have also been announced! To see their winners, click here . CREDITS: Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast    Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Patreon: patreon.com/bookoflife Photo: Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Chair Susan Kusel with 2018 gold medalist titles Your feedback is ap...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    The winners of the 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Awards for the best in Jewish children's and teen literature will be announced on January 10, 2018 . Chair Susan Kusel gave The Book of Life an exclusive interview that will be posted on that date. In the meantime, here is her dedication to the hardworking awards committee.   Photo: STBA Committee: Left to right Front row: Ellen Tilman, Diane Rauchwerger, Kathy Bloomfield, Back row: Rivka Yerushalmi, Rebecca Levitan, Susan Kusel, Elissa Gershowitz, Heather Lenson Not pictured: Marjorie Shuster, Rena Citrin  

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    In this twelfth anniversary episode of The Book of Life, we hear from listeners and past guests about some of their favorite interviews. If we missed YOUR favorite, check out the right-hand sidebar at bookoflifepodcast.com for past episodes or go to the Internet Archive at archive.org/details/@TBOL . During The Book of Life's coming hiatus, I may post occasional interviews if I come across something just too interesting to resist podcasting about, and I'll also post about any future podcasting plans, so watch this space! My new job at PJ Library includes overseeing the Author Newsletter, so if you're a creator of Jewish kidlit, be sure to subscribe to that newsletter here . Today's show includes clips from these shows; click on any title to listen to the full episode. March 2007 Why Is This Podcast Different From All Other Podcasts? Guests: dave horowitz (Five Little Gefiltes), Tami Lehman-Wilzig (Passover Aroun...

The Association of Jewish Libraries and the Jewish Book Council present the third annual reading challenge for readers of all ages, Readukkah! To participate, all you have to do is post about any #JewLit book (any book of Jewish interest) on the Facebook event discussion board—or share a link to your review anywhere online—and use the hashtag #Readukkah to connect with other readers! By sharing your Readukkah posts, your participation in this reading challenge helps spread the word about worthwhile titles, bringing them to the attention of more readers and supporting the publication of Jewish books!   JOIN THE EVENT HERE

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOKS: ILLUSTRATED / PIRKEI IMAHOT     🕮    I convened a virtual roundtable among the creators of two books related to The Ethics of the Fathers, aka the Pirkei Avot. Goodness knows, this is a time when the world needs moral guidance! Why not turn to ancient and modern teachings of Judaism for help? I spoke with Jessica Deutsch, creator of The Illustrated Pirkei Avot: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Ethics , and with Lois Shenker and Rabbi Eve Posen, co-authors of Pirkei Imahot: The Wisom of Mothers, The Voices of Women . GRAND FINALE: In other news, I want to thank you all for the voicemails you've left me saying nice things about The Book of Life. You'll hear those messages, mixed with clips from the episodes they refer to, in our grande finale episode later in December 2017. I also want to let you know that I may post random episodes of The Book of Life now and then in the coming year,...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Tasa's Song by Linda Kass is a story of a young musician in WWII Poland. I met the author at "A Book in Concert" where she read excerpts interspersed with musical performances by the Carpe Diem String Quartet . They played classical music that Tasa would have played herself, and they played the original piece "Tasa's Song," written by Charles Weatherbee as a tribute to the book. Linda is not only an author, she's also a bookseller! If you're ever in Bexley, Ohio, visit her bookstore, Gramercy Books ! GRAND FINALE: The Book of Life will go on hiatus after the December 2017 episode. YOU can be a part of my grand finale! Leave me a voicemail or send me an audio recording with your comment about what The Book of Life has meant to you, about a favorite interview, about new podcasting ideas for me, or any other thoughts you want to share. Your voice may end up on th...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    VISIT THE YIDDISH BOOK CENTER       🕮    The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA rescues Yiddish books and puts them in context to broaden our understanding of modern Jewish identity. This June I visited the Yiddish Book Center, where I spoke to Communications Director Lisa Newman, and to Christa Whitney, director of the center's Wexler Oral History Project . They both offered exciting backstage views of the Yiddish Book Center, and they even helped me clear up an old family linguistic mystery! By the way, here's a link to Lisa's podcast, The Shmooze ; and the address Christa mentions for requesting oral history interviews is yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story.   "VACATION PHOTOS"   NEWS!  NEWS!  NEWS! After 18 amazing years as Judaica librarian at Congregation B'nai Israel of Boca Raton, I've taken a new job at PJ Library in Agawam, Massachusetts. I ne...

As many of you have heard, I now work for PJ Library and PJ Our Way! I am very pleased to announce their new initiative, a FREE trip to Israel to inspire authors to write for children about Judaism in general and Israel in particular. If you are an author who writes Jewish kidlit, or if you are a published author who has ever thought about writing Jewish kidlit, check this out. And if you have friends who are authors, please let them know about this opportunity! CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE TRIP!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew , Abigail Pogrebin takes readers on a journey through every single Jewish holiday ever. As a non-Orthodox Jew, many of these holidays were unfamiliar to her before this; she explains these holidays and finds meaning in them at the same time. Abigail last appeared on The Book of Life in October 2006 , talking about her book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish . I spoke to Abigail by Skype at her home in New York. CREDITS: Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries   Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band   Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast  Twitter: @bookoflifepod   Support The Book of Life by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/bookoflife Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 56...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    WATCH THE VIDEO      🕮    The Last Shepherd by Evil Sun Productions is a Hebrew-language indie comedy adventure scifi fantasy film with elements of Jewish mysticism and kabbalah, made in Israel. To summarize, "A geeky programmer and his rebellious co-worker are taken by a mysterious biblical figure on a cross country adventure, trying to stop an ancient evil force, while being chased by government agents."  Back in January 2016, I Skyped with actors Uri Lifshitz and Roni Weissman, writer Gai Bosco, and post production manager Dovi Shraga. Then I sat on the interview, waiting for the film to become available in North America. It hasn't happened yet, but I got tired of waiting. Instead, I'm hoping listeners will be proactive in helping to get the film more widely distributed. If this interview piques your interest, please request that your local Jewish film festival or your...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    In the picture book The Language of Angels: A Story about the Reinvention of Hebrew , author Rich Michelson tells the true story of how an ancient tongue became a modern one.  I met with Rich at R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he displays the art of many illustrators including Karla Gudeon, his partner on Language of Angels .   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   support The Book of Life by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/bookoflife    Photo: Rich Michelson displays Karla Gudeon's art in his gallery Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gm...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    VISIT BEHRMAN HOUSE     🕮    Behrman House has been supporting Jewish education as a bookseller and publisher for almost a century. At the 2017 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in New York City, I met with Vicki Weber to hear all about the history of Behrman House and the many projects in which they are engaged. 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   Support The Book of Life by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/bookoflife Photo: Vicki Weber Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.