The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Even readers without kids will enjoy Marjorie Ingall 's parenting guide, Mamaleh Knows Best : What Jewish Mothers Do to Raise Successful, Creative, Empathetic, Independent Children . It's wise, funny, and universal. It's also the Book of the Month for May 2017 at the Jewish Women's Archive virtual book club . You can find the  discussion questions here  and join the conversation! Marjorie is a columnist at Tablet , an online magazine of Jewish culture and ideas, where I'm especially grateful for her excellent coverage of Jewish kidlit. I also want to draw your attention to Marjorie's blog SorryWatch , where she parses excellent and abysmal (mostly abysmal) apologies. FYI, autographed copies of Serendipity's Footsteps are still available to folks who become patrons of The Book of Life at Patreon . You can pledge as little as $1/month to qualify. ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Kasper Mützenmacher's Cursed Hat by Keith Fentonmiller is a weird and wonderful novel that starts during WWII and takes many a strange detour from there. It's kind of hard to explain, but just trust me and read it, and hold on for a wild ride. The character of Kasper was inspired by Keith's grandfather Dr. Meryl Fenton, whom he called Papa. Here's a picture of Papa, with Keith's father as a little boy on the left, and on the right we see Keith Fentonmiller himself. 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...

From April 17-23, 2017, browse and read free excerpts from great books on the Penguin Random House website to trigger book donations to Save the Children . It costs you nothing but a few minutes of your time, which will be spent enjoying kids' and adult titles from a variety of genres. There are a few recognizably Jewish books in the mix: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, Delicious by Ruth Reichl, Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar, Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit, and the classic Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. And of course, there are plenty of excellent non-Jewish titles to choose from too. No matter what you read, you will be doing a mitzvah by participating! Click here to learn more about the project OR Click here to start reading!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Serendipity's Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson tells the interwoven stories of three girls across time and geography, and how they are connected serendipitously by a special pair of shoes. Suzanne Nelson won a Sydney Taylor Honor Award for the teen novel, and I interviewed her live at the 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Charleston, SC. SPECIAL OFFER : Become a patron of The Book of Life on Patreon.com for as little as $1/month and receive a free autographed copy of Serendipity's Footsteps , while supplies last! Click here to take advantage of this offer! For more fun, check out Suzanne's Pinterest boards for the characters Dalya, Pinny and Ray here !   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 ...

TAKE THE CHALLENGE      🕮    Writer , National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature , and MacArthur Genius Gene Luen Yang has thrown down an exciting challenge for April: diversify your reading list. As part of the national, month-long program  Reading Without Walls , Yang has called upon readers of all ages to expand the kinds of literature they read. The rules are as follows: If you're a regular at The Book of Life, you probably already read plenty of Jewish books, but even within that genre you can branch out. Read about Jews from another land or in another time, if you're a novel-lover try nonfiction, if you're a grownup read a children's book. If you take up the challenge, please share the news on social media using the hashtag #ReadingWithoutWalls. I'd love to have you comment here at The Book of Life about your reading choices!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST      |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    The (Unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah is this year's #1 best-selling haggadah on Amazon. It was created with true fandom and great Jewish knowledge by Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, who also authored Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter (as well as a number of Star Trek related articles at Tablet Magazine). I spoke to Rabbi Rosenberg by Skype, which seemed to have a basilisk in its walls - please consider the creepy hiss behind his voice to be part of the mystery and magic. During the interview, we talked about #Trypod, the campaign to get more people to try more podcasts. Rabbi Rosenber's #Trypod recommendation was Nice Jewish Fangirls , a podcast by his own daughter!  And check out my #Trypod recommendations here .  CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel   Supported in part by:...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    At the 2016 American Library Association convention, I met Steph Kent, co-founder of CallMeIshmael.com - a website where book lovers leave voicemails telling personal stories about their favorite books. I  recorded an interview with Steph on the show floor, and then later got back in touch to create " How Is This Book Different? ," a project sponsored jointly by Call Me Ishmael , the Association of Jewish Libraries , and the Jewish Book Council . YOU are invited to join in! Here's how: Call 774-325-0503 to leave a short voicemail Between March 27-April 4, 2017 With a personal story about any Jewish book that matters in your life Then go to CallMeIshmael.com to hear everyone's stories! HINT: Click here for tips on making your voicemail awesome. UPDATE: In 2020 Steph Kent and Logan Smalley published The Call Me Ishmael Phone Book: An Interactive Guide to Life-Ch...

March 2017 is #trypod month - a time to TRY a new POD cast, and to show your friends how to listen to podcasts if they don't yet know. The campaign was organized by NPR to encourage the one in five Americans who listen to podcasts to help their friends start a listening habit too. Use the hashtag #trypod as you share your story about why you listen and your suggestions of favorite shows. I listen to podcasts to be informed, to get a mood boost, and for professional development. But the big reason I listen to podcasts is to feel connected. When I have someone's voice in my ear, it's an intimate feeling, like they are speaking directly to me. These podcasters share my interests and concerns, and they make me feel connected to them as individuals, and to the issues being discussed. #trypod Here are a few of my favorites: To be informed, I listen to CodeSwitch , a podcast about race, A Way With Words , a show about language and how we use it, and the TED Radio Hour ,...