The Book of Life

  For the last two years I've done an unofficial shortlist of potential Sydney Taylor Book Award winners. These seem to be particularly popular posts, so I'm doing it again! As y'all know, I'm a former member and chair of the Association of Jewish Libraries' Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, and a cofounder of The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog, so I have a deep and abiding interest in seeking out the best Jewish kidlit of the year. I'm not actually making predictions about what will win; rather, I'm telling you that these are books that I think deserve your attention (with the caveat that while I probably read the majority of Jewish children's or YA books published in 2023, I did not read ALL of them, so there may be other titles I'd consider worthy if I'd had the chance to read them). I've listed the titles within their age categories alphabetically by author's last name. Note that some of the books were published in...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    SUPPORT ARTISTS AGAINST ANTISEMITISM     🕮    Artists Against Antisemitism is a new organization formed to give creatives of all kinds a way to fight hate. Their very first action is to hold an auction, happening December 15-22, 2023. The auction will benefit Project Shema, which trains and supports the Jewish community and allies to understand and address contemporary antisemitism, especially on college campuses. Debbie Reed Fischer, one of the founding members of Artists Against Antisemitism, joined me to talk about the organization and the auction. LEARN MORE: Bid in the auction: bit.ly/KeepTheLightGoing23 TheArtistsAgainstAntisemitism.com ProjectShema.org Debbie Reed Fischer's website CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: ...

Jewish Book Month takes place during the 30 days leading up to Hanukkah, which this year began on December 7, 2023. Because we are all in dire need of some Jewish joy right now, I posted on social media about  books that brings me #JewishJoy each day from November 7 all the way to the end of Hanukkah on December 15. Here are all the titles I included. Each title is linked to a past interview, book review, or other information about the book. November 7, 2023 A HAT FOR MRS GOLDMAN by Michelle Edwards, a literally warm and fuzzy picture book about little Sophia who learns to knit from her beloved Jewish neighbor.    November 8, 2023 THE JAKE SHOW by Joshua S. Levy, a hilarious middle grade novel about a boy with a duel Jewish identity and his determination to attend summer camp in secret.  November 9, 2023 WHEN THE ANGELS LEFT THE OLD COUNTRY by Sacha Lamb, a delightful Jewish YA twist on Good Omens.    November 10, 2023 THIS IS MY SHABBAT by Chris ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    PURCHASE OR BORROW THE BOOK     🕮    In September 2023, I zoomed with Elissa Brent Weissman from across the world, to record an interview about her new picture book, Hanukkah Upside Down . It's the story of a cousin in New York and a cousin in New Zealand, and how they connect during this wintertime AND summertime holiday.  LEARN MORE: Elissa Brent Weissman's website Illustrator Omer Hoffman's website BONUS HANUKKAH FUN: #JewishJoy posts Interview: The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming  Hanukkah Book Bingo Love Your Neighbor series Hanukkah booklist CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook P...

BUY THE BOOK AND/OR THE MUG   The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Lisa Brown, was published by McSweeney's in 2007, and is being reissued this year along with a latke-embellished color-changing mug. This sardonic story tickles my funny bone every time, so I am celebrating its return by interviewing illustrator Lisa Brown and author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket). Enjoy, and Happy Hanukkah! LISA BROWN'S WEBSITE    |    LEMONY SNICKET'S WEBSITE    |    DANIEL HANDLER'S WEBSITE   Heidi: I'm so excited about the re-release of The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming! How did this come about? Why now, 16 years later? Lisa: Even though we have been getting regular requests for the book over the years, we thought that our Latke’s time had come and gone. But then a group of benefactors, including the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, who clearly couldn't live without it, approached McSw...

Play along with Hanukkah Book Bingo to celebrate the holiday! Print the image, read books from these categories to mark your Bingo card, and try to get 3 in a row. Suggested titles are below to make it easy for you. Happy Hanukkah! MOVABLE BOOKS Pop-up books, lift-the-flap books, and other books with movable parts or special features. Chanukah Bugs by David A. Carter Spin the Dreidel by Alexandra Cooper I Love You a Latke: A Touch-and-Feel Book by Joan Holub Where Is Baby's Dreidel? by Karen Katz Eight Nights of Lights by Leslie Kimmelman Flip Flop Hanukkah by Danny Paller Chanukah Lights by Michael J. Rosen My First Menorah by Selina Yoon JEWS OF COLOR Books with protagonists or side characters who are Jews of Color. Antlers with Candles by Chris Barash Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas by Pamela Ehrenberg Celebrate Hanukkah: With Light, Latkes, and Dreidels by Deborah Heiligman The Eight Knights of Hanukkah by Leslie Kimmelman Hanukkah at Monica's by Varda Livney The Extraordinar...

Jewish Book Month takes place during the 30 days leading up to Hanukkah, which this year begins on December 7, 2023. Because we are all in dire need of some Jewish joy right now, I will be posting about  books that brings me #JewishJoy each day from November 7 all the way to the end of Hanukkah on December 15. Each recommendation will include a link to further information about the book, whether a book review, an author website, or a past episode of The Book of Life podcast. To see my #JewishJoy recommendations as they come out, please follow The Book of Life on Facebook , on Instagram , or on Twitter .  I will compile all titles and links here on the blog after Hanukkah is over.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    PURCHASE OR BORROW THE BOOK     🕮    Emily Bowen Cohen is a Jewish member of the Muscogee Nation. Her debut graphic novel, Two Tribes, explores the complexities that come with having a dual identity. I can't think of a better book to read in November, which is both Jewish Book Month and Native American Heritage Month.  LEARN MORE: Emily Bowen Cohen's website and Instagram Emily's Tikkun Olam suggestion: Be'chol Lashon Emily's Israel book suggestion: Lon-Lon's Big Night by Miri Leshem-Pelly Heartdrum imprint at HarperCollins Jewish Book Month Native American Heritage Month CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidl...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    Like so many of you, I am devastated by the suffering and loss of life in Israel and in Gaza, inflicted by the terrorism of Hamas, so I'm interrupting our regular schedule to bring you additional content related to the war in Israel and Gaza. This conversation with Yael Levy , Chava Pinchuck , and Marjorie Gann is about the need for children's literature related to Israel and the challenges that make it hard to get that literature published.  LEARN MORE ABOUT PUBLISHING AND ISRAEL: "Publishers Against the People of the Book" in The Washington Examiner Backstory of Once More With Chutzpah , "This moving tale about an Israel youth trip sparked outrage before it even came out" in Kveller Lists of biased books and recommended books from CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis Annotated Bibliography of Children's and YA Books o...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    DONATE TO MAGEN DAVID ADOM     🕮    On October 7, 2023, the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, the terrorist group Hamas launched a brutal attack against Israel, murdering and kidnapping civilians young and old as well as striking military targets on multiple fronts. At the time of writing, Israel is at war. With Israel on my mind and in my heart, I went back and listened to Tammar Stein's 2017 interview on The Book of Life about her middle grade novel, The Six-Day Hero , which is about the 1967 Six-Day War. I thought you might like to hear it too. FYI, in 2020 Tammar published a companion book, Beni's War , about the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Both books are excellent.  I left the original "tune in next time" teaser on the end of the recording because I found it moving. It was Fawzia Gilani-Williams, author of Yaffa and Fatima,...

AB Kids Handout by bookoflifepodcast

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT        🕮    E Train is the powerhouse 12-year-old behind the podcast, YouTube channel, and website E Train Talks, and he's recently formed his own nonprofit. This Jewish tween is a remarkable literacy advocate who's doing so much good in the world. LEARN MORE: E Train Talks: Website , YouTube channel , Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Podcast E Train's GoFundMe Book Fairies E Train's Tikkun Olam suggestion: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong podcast from American Public Media  A Double Helping of Babka interview about two babka-related picture books It's Banned Books Week (October 1-7, 2023) BOOKS MENTIONED: Daniel's Story by Carol Matas The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow The Assignment by Liza Wiemer The True Adventures of Gidon Lev: Rascal, Holocaust Survivor, Optimist by Julie ...

This year, two picture books have been published with a delicious babka-related theme: The Babka Sisters by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Tika and Tata Bobokhidze (Kar-Ben Publishing, May 2, 2023) and Bring Back the Babka by Marilyn Wolpin, illustrated by Madison Safer (Barefoot Books, October 3, 2023), both aimed at readers ages 3-8. In honor of the "sweet new year" that's just begun, I'm glad to bring you this mouth-watering joint interview. Marilyn and Lesléa, coincidentally you've both written books about babka. What drew each of you to babka as a subject for a picture book? LESLÉA : I love the word, “babka.” It’s so much fun to say. I have even used it as an endearment for a beloved baby or pet: “Ooh, hello you adorable little babkaleh!” And it’s a very interesting food. Is it bread? Sort of but not really. Is it cake? Not really but sort of. Whatever it is, one thing’s for sure—it’s absolutely delicious!  MARILYN : Babka is one of my favorite foods ...

The American Library Association's Banned Book Week is taking place October 1-7, 2023, and it's more important than ever that we resist censorship. In 2003, ALA tracked 305 titles challenged. In 2022, the number of challenged titles was 2,571! This increase in censorship is unparalleled. The majority of challenged titles are about Black and LGBT+ lives, but Jewish books have been challenged too. A discussion within the Facebook group Jewish Kidlit Mavens produced a list of Jewish books for young people that have faced challenges [see below], whether for queer content, supposed sexual content (often a specious argument), the presence of immigrant characters, or the inclusion of Muslim characters. Some of the challenged titles have appeared on The Book of Life, including Never Say a Mean Word Again , I Dissent , A Place at the Table , Ana on the Edge and Ellen Outside the Lines , The City Beautiful , and When the Angels Left the Old Country . At this point, we haven't seen a...

  Shana tova! The Book of Life has so much to celebrate as the Jewish New Year begins! I've got lots of lovely news to share with you: We've got an amazing Rosh Hashanah episode for you about TWO NEW YEARS by Richard Ho and Lynn Scurfield! (They also share some love for THE JAKE SHOW , which we covered in August's episode.) Our July episode about the diverse indie publisher LEVINE QUERIDO inspired an auction that raised over $100k! Even though the auction is over, you can actually still donate and of course you can always buy LQ books . The website Storytime Solidarity continues to support Jewish voices. This month they invited me to guest post about AJL's Holiday Highlights , covered on the podcast in April 2022 . Upcoming at the end of this month, a delicious blog interview with two authors who've written picture books about BABKA. Watch this space! Wishing you all a very happy and meaningful new year!  Heidi

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Happy New Year! Rosh Hashanah (which begins this year on September 15, 2023), is celebrated by Jewish folks each fall. The Lunar New Year (which will be celebrated next on February 10, 2024) is celebrated by Asian folks each spring. In the picture book Two New Years , Richard Ho explains and Lynn Scurfield beautifully illustrates the parallels between these two celebrations. The book is about a Chinese Jewish family and is a wonderful example of the increasingly diverse Jewish representation being published today.  LEARN MORE: Buy Two New Years Richard Ho's website Lynn Scurfield's website Jewish/Asian intersectional kidlit list  Other books mentioned: Friends Are Friends Forever by Dane Liu and illustrated by Lynn Scurfield, The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Alina Chau, Spork by Kyo ...