The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark is a picture book biography of the first Jewish woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. I spoke to author Debbie Levy about the creation of the book, which has been getting rave reviews . In our interview, Debbie mentions the availability of audio of Ruth Bader Ginsburg arguing before the Supreme Court as an attorney. You can hear an example in the case of Frontiero vs. Richardson . You can also listen to Justice Ginsburg in the Supreme Court's weekly audio , or read transcripts if you prefer. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an unusally hip public figure and has inspired memes and songs within pop culture. Check out this song from Jonathan Mann 's Song-a-Day project, based on Ginsburg's dissent in the Hobby Lobby case. CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by: Association o...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    VIEW THE FILM     🕮    Once in a Lifetime (in French, Les H éritiers ) is a French docudrama about a dedicated teacher who challenges her class of rowdy multicultural students to compete in a Holocaust remembrance contest, the National Contest of Resistance and Deportation . Meeting a real survivor is the "once in a lifetime" event that impacts the kids and turns their attitudes around. Ahmed Dramé was a student in the real life class that inspired the movie. He was a co-screenwriter of the film, and also had a starring role as the student Malik. I spoke to Ahmed when he came to South Florida for the film's opening. 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  ...

The July/August issue of Moment Magazine featured a roundup of the Top Ten Jewish Podcasts . Although The Book of Life was not included, it was mentioned in the comments. Moment has followed up with Top Ten Jewish Podcasts: Reader Edition , listing ten suggestions for additional podcasts that they received in response to the first article. The Book of Life is on the list as #3! Amusingly, they've given me a credit I don't deserve, describing me as a biblical fiction author. I left a comment directing readers to check out a real biblical fiction author, TK Thorne, who was featured on The Book of Life in July . Got any other favorite Jewish podcasts to share? Go to http://www.momentmag.com/top-ten-jewish-podcasts-reader-edition and leave a comment!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy is a picture book biography of the Jewish actor best known for playing Mr. Spock on Star Trek. Author Rich Michelson was great friends with Nimoy and brings his personal perspective to the project. Click on the title to find many more links at Rich's own website. Rich Michelson is a prolific poet and author, and has been on The Book of Life several times before: Left: Rich Michelson, Right: Leonard Nimoy May 2007 , Rich discusses his baseball themed picture book Across the Alley  February 2009 , Rich speaks on his award winning biography of Abraham Joshua Heshel and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., As Good As Anybody December 2009 , Rich takes part in a kidlit conversation at the Planet Esme Reading Room VIDEO: Thanks to the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project for allowing The Book of Life to sample Nim...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    DOWNLOAD ON ITUNES     🕮    The Golem is a spoken word album that reimagines the legend of a Frankenstein's Monster type figure created to protect the Jews of Prague. I spoke to creator Eddie Estrin to learn about how he put this fascinating project together. See www.EddieEstrin.com to learn more, and get a copy on iTunes . Eddie Estrin 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 !   Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     🕮    The new picture book Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf by Greg Wolfe was brought to my attention by Rachel Kamin and Kathy Bloomfield during the 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Charleston, SC. They had some major concerns about the message it conveys to young readers, and they were so impassioned about it that I sat down with them to record their conversation. I later contacted author Greg Wolfe to invite his feedback, but to date have received no response. Rachel Kamin is the Director of the Gray Cultural & Learning Center at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, IL. She is the Children's and Teens' Book Review Co-Editor for AJL Reviews , and a past Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. Rachel has left a review of Shmelf on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , and GoodReads . Please read her review and add your own comments at those locations and/or here at The Book of Life . Ra...

Moment Magazine 's July/August 2016 issue included a rundown of their Top Ten Jewish Podcasts. While they did not mention The Book of Life , I was happy that listener Erika D. mentioned it in the comments. I was also pleased to see several of my own favorite Jewish podcasts on the list: Can We Talk? from the Jewish Women's Archive and The Kibitz from Reboot. Many commenters mentioned another one of my favorites, Unorthodox from Tablet Magazine, and I took it upon myself to add a comment about the sadly now-defunct Vox Tablet (hear my interview with host Sara Ivry here ). It's exciting that there are so many Jewish podcasts that a top ten list can be made, with more podcasts to spare! What are your own favorite Jewish podcasts? Go to http://www.momentmag.com/top-ten-jewish-podcasts/ and leave your own comments!

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