The Book of Life

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Reviewing too many Holocaust books has brought on "Holocaust fatigue" for me, so I don't cover them very often on The Book of Life. However, The Safest Lie intrigued me with its back story of author Angela Cerrito 's meeting with Irena Sendler . Angela lives in Germany, but I Skyped with her while she was visiting the United States. The Safest Lie was named a 2016 Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Librar ies' Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. 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!...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Susan Krawitz won the 2015 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award for her story Viva Rose , which will be published by Holiday House in the spring of 2017. The Manuscript Award is presented annually by the Association of Jewish Libraries to an unpublished work for ages 8-13 that has broad appeal to readers and presents Jewish life in a positive light. As the press release explains,  "Set in El Paso, Texas in 1915, Viva, Rose tells the story of Rose Solomon’s older brother Abraham who runs off to join Pancho Villa's revolutionary group. When Rose tries to find Abraham and convince him to come home, she is kidnapped and taken to Villa's hideout. There she meets a cast of characters based on real people who traveled with Villa and the fictional, spoiled Dorotea, Villa's young charge. The feisty Rose learns to ride a horse, to stand up for herself and, along the way, discovers ...

The CYBILS are the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards. Nominations are open to the public and judges are generally members of the kidlit blogging community. They have a friendly and playful mission statement on their website: The Cybils Awards aim to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussels sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious. This spring, I saw an announcement on the Kidlitosphere listserv inviting bloggers to contribute to the "List Fun" series on the Cybils blog, grouping Cybils-recognized titles by theme. I was happy to provide a list of ten Cybils Books of Jewish Interest, and was even happier to find that there were more then ten titles that had a Jewish connection. Here are all the Cybils final...

The Jewish Book Carnival is a monthly roundup of Jewish literary links from across the blogosphere. Each month, a different blog hosts the Carnival, and any blogger is welcome to participate by submitting links from their own blog to that month's host. This month, I am pleased to host the Jewish Book Carnival here at The Book of Life. In May, the Carnival will be hosted by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod on her blog, Adventures in MamaLand. We've got a great line-up of blogs for the upcoming months, but are still seeking hosts for September through November, 2016. See the Jewish Book Carnival HQ to learn how the whole thing works, and let us know if you want to participate! And now, this month's links... Batya Medad at A Jewish Grandmother says "Wonderful book!! Total inspiration!!" about Miriam's Song: The Story of Miriam Peretz by Smadar Shir. In March, Jill at Rhapsody in Books reviewed Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit, which she rated as ...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    April Halprin Wayland's new picture book is More Than Enough: A Passover Story . April won the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award for New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story . Here is my 2009 interview with her about New Year at the Pier. Our wide-ranging conversation touched upon so many interesting resources that I've compiled a list of links for you here. You'll understand after you listen to the podcast! April Halprin Wayland's website More Than Enough : A Passover Story  New Year at the Pier : A Rosh Hashanah Story The Book of Life's 2009 interview with April about New Year at the Pier Wait by Antoinette Portis Teaching Authors National Poetry Month Firefly July : A Year of Very Short Poems by Paul B. Janeczko All the Small Poems by Valerie Worth The Poetry Friday Anthology by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong Poetry for Children - Sylvia Vardell's blog...

READ ARTICLE     🕮    I wrote an article for Multicultural Kid Blogs about Passover books for kids, and you can read it here . I recommended books about different aspects of Passover: the Exodus, the seder, matzah, music, history, and nonfiction. I hope by sharing this info on a multicultural page, it will reach non-Jewish readers as well as those already familiar with the holiday. The post is part of a Passover "Blog Hop" so check out the other participating blogs too.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    The Yiddish Fish is a quirky picture book by author/illustrator Santiago Cohen , based on a true story from the New York Times, " Miracle? Dream? Prank? Fish Talks, Town Buzzes ."   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.

READ THE ARTICLE     🕮    I wrote an article for Multicultural Kid Blogs about Jewish Kidlit Awards, and you can read it here . It gives details about the Sydney Taylor Book and Manuscript Awards, the National Jewish Book Award, and the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards. If I do say so myself, it's a good comprehensive round-up.

VISIT FINAL BLOG TOUR STOP     🕮    The "grand finale" of the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour is a virtual panel discussion amongst the various winning authors and illustrators. As always, this roundup is hosted by Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah. The participants made comments about the experience like "Always inspiring to be included in a group of such accomplished, thoughtful authors and illustrators!" (Leslie Kimmelman), "It's wonderful to read all the blogs!" (Kathy Kacer), and "It has been an honor and a privilege getting to know all of you. See you in Charleston!" (Heidi Smith Hyde). We hope to see you as well, dear reader, in Charleston at the   51st Annual Association of Jewish Libraries conference where the Sydney Taylor winners will receive their awards! The entire 2016 blog tour may be found HERE .  

A little catch-up today with the Shanghai Sukkah interviews, and two new Blog Tour stops:   Everybody Says Shalom   and   Stones on a Grave . Be sure to check out   yesterday's interview  on   The Hired Girl , and get the rest of the   blog tour schedule here . Catching up from  WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016   Shanghai Sukkah  by Heidi Smith Hyde, illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category At Kristi's Book Nook Author & Illustrator Interviews   THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016     Everybody Says Shalom  by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Talitha Shipman Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category At Book Q&A's with Deborah Kalb Author Interview     Stones on a Grave  by Kathy Kacer Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category At Randomly Reading Auth...

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016 The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category At The Prosen People Author interview We're not sure what happened to the the interview on Shanghai Sukkah that was supposed to appear at Kristi's Book Nook today - we hope Kristi is okay and we'll bring you the interview ASAP. In the meantime, here is the Jewish Book Council's interview on The Hired Girl ! Be sure to check out yesterday's interviews on Adam and Thomas and Hereville, and get the rest of the blog tour schedule here .

Two more stops on the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour today, another gold medalist and another silver. Be sure to check out yesterday's interviews  on   Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed   and   Serendipity's Footsteps , and get the rest of the blog tour schedule here .   TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016   Adam & Thomas  by Aharon Appelfeld, translated by Jeffrey M. Green, illustrated by Philippe Dumas Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category At Jewish Books for Kids with Barbara Bietz Translator Interview     Hereville   by Barry Deutsch Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category At Jewish Comics Author-illustrator interview

Today kicks off the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, a virtual book tour for authors and illustrators of this year's gold and silver medalists. Check back each day for new interviews, or wait until the end and read all the interviews at once! Find the entire blog tour schedule here . MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016 Ketzel the Cat Who Composed by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category At Ann Koffsky's Blog Author Interview Illustrator Interview Serendipity's Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category At Bildungsroman Author Interview

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK    |   VISIT MCBD WEBSITE     🕮    Today, January 27, 2016, is Multicultural Children's Book Day, a celebration of diversity in kidlit. Check out multiculturalchildrensbookday.com to find diversity booklists for kids and a Linky where you can suggest resources yourself (perhaps Jewish resources). And be sure to Google #ReadYourWorld to find links to multicultural children's book reviews and reading suggestions. In the spirit of the Day's hashtag, #ReadYourWorld , I'm posting my interview with Laura Gehl about the picture book Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel , a story that showcases the diversity of Israel's geography and people (including anthropomorphic animals among humans), and imagines a world in which friendliness prevails. I met Laura at the 2015 Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Silver Spring, MD.   CREDITS: Produced by: Feldman Childr...

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2016 gold and silver medalists with a  Blog Tour, February 8-12, 2016 ! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. For those of you who have not yet experienced a Blog Tour, it’s basically a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author or illustrator speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author’s or illustrator’s interview. Below is the schedule for the 2016 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! MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016 Ketzel the Cat   by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category At  Ann Koffsky's Blog Serendipity's Footsteps   by Suzanne Nelson Sydney Taylor Honor ...

Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates, author and illustrator of   Ketzel, the Cat who Composed , Aharon Appelfeld, Philippe Dumas and Jeffrey M. Green, author, illustrator and translator of  Adam and Thomas , and Laura Amy Schlitz, author of   The Hired Girl , are the 2016 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award. The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.  The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic   All-of-a-Kind Family series.  The winners will receive their awards at the   Association of Jewish Libraries Conference in Charleston, South Carolina this June. Newman and Bates will receive the 2016 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Reader category for   Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed , published by Candlewick Press.  This delightful picture book tells the true story of musician M...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST    |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮     My Grandfather's Coat won the 2015 Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medal in the Younger Readers' Category, and I was thrilled to meet author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock , along with their editor, my old friend Dianne Hess , at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Silver Spring, MD. The conversation was like a meeting of the Mutual Appreciation Society, because these are three of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. I'm sure you will enjoy hearing their stories on the creation of this book, which is a new version of the folktale represented by Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Sydney Taylor silver medal, 1999) and Something From Nothing (Sydney Taylor gold medal, 1992). Bonus Track: You'll also hear Jim Aylesworth's delightful conference session, in which he "walked the walk" by getting librarians to stand in for students in an inter...

Ten years ago on December 21, 2005, I posted the very first episode of The Book of Life . Fourteen and a quarter minutes long, the episode is a mix of home-grown Hanukkah celebrations at Congregation B'nai Israel , the Boca Raton synagogue where I am librarian, and interviews with authors. I had summoned up the courage to approach Eric Kimmel (aka "Mr. Hanukkah"), who I'd met at the 2005 Association of Jewish Libraries conference when he won the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award, and I interviewed him over the phone (with an in-ear recorder!) about his classic Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins . I also called Rebecca Tova Ben-Zvi , who had been my colleague when I worked for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and had since authored Four Sides, Eight Nights: A New Spin on Hanukkah . Because it's been ten years and the downloads have had so long to accumulate, that episode has been downloaded 11,306 times and counting. You can still hear that very first episod...

This post is a double dip! It’s my contribution to the Multicultural Kid Blogs Hanukkah series ( see the whole series here ) AND it’s my entry in #Readukkah, the 2015 Jewish Reading Challenge , which encourages everyone to spread the word about great Jewish titles in order to increase readership and support Jewish publishing. Last year I wrote a review of The Mitten String for School Library Journal, which you can see below. I continue to adore this book, and when I thought about what I could use for my #Readukkah selection, this title jumped to mind as an ongoing favorite. I love the sense of community that shines forth from the very first line: “It was said that Ruthie Tober’s family warmed the hands of the entire village, because everyone who lived there, big and small, wore mittens knitted from Tober wool.” I love the spare writing that makes relationships clear so simply: the ease between Mother and Ruthie shows in the wink Mother gives when she reminds Ruthie ...

READ THE ARTICLE     🕮    I was very pleased when Multicultural Kid Blogs invited me to write a guest post about Hanukkah. MKB is a collective of blogs from around the world "for families and educators raising world citizens, through arts, activities, crafts, food, language, and love."  Because the post was for a general audience, I started with a roundup of facts about Hanukkah. Because of the diversity emphasis of MKB, I focused my reading list on books that show the diversity of the Jewish experience by posting about Hanukkah books with Sephardic characters, Jews of color, Jews with disabilities, and interfaith families.  You can read Hanukkah Books: A Diverse Dozen here! Enjoy!