The Book of Life

To celebrate Pride Month this June, I posted a Jewish LGBTQ+ kidlit recommendation each day on Facebook . Here are all of the recommendations with links to podcasts or reviews, for your #PrideMonth reading pleasure. #JewishBooksAreDiverseBooks June 1, 2023 Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass, a 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Middle Grade category, and a heartfelt novel about a Jewish neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons. A nonbinary friend and Ellen's questioning of her own gender and sexual identity are positive features of the story. June 2, 2023 Lion's Legacy by L.C. Rosen, book #1 in the Tennessee Russo YA series of Indiana Jones-inspired adventures. Gay Tennessee is on a quest to find the rings of the sacred band of Thebes, an army of gay couples in ancient Greece.  June 3, 2023 When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, YA winner of the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award, the Stonewall Awa...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY ANA / ELLEN / CAMP     🕮    It's June and that means LGBTQ+ Pride Month , the perfect time to talk to author A.J. Sass. Andrew Sass is known for writing middle grade books featuring respectful portrayals of trans and nonbinary characters, with neurodivergent and casual Jewish representation included as well. I was excited to talk with them about a few books: debut novel Ana on the Edge from 2020, Ellen Outside the Lines , which was a 2023 Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and the new Camp QUILTBAG , co-written with Nicole Melleby . I thoroughly enjoyed all of these thoughtful, funny, and heartfelt books. Over half of the books currently being challenged by bigoted extremists are targeted for their LGBTQ+ content . In support of the queer Jewish community, for Pride Month I will post an LGBTQ+ Jewish kidlit title each day in June on The ...

By a surprising coincidence, two separate collective biographies of Jewish women are being published this year, both entitled She's A Mensch . Coming out on May 15 is She's a Mensch: 10 Amazing Jewish Women by Anne Dublin (Second Story Press) for ages 9-12, and coming out on September 1 is She's a Mensch: Jewish Women Who Rocked the World (Intergalactic Afikomen) by mother-daughter duo Rachelle Burk and Alana Barouch, for ages 5-10. In honor of Mother's Day, I bring you a joint interview with Anne, Rachelle, and Alana about their menschy books! Anne, Rachelle, and Alana, coincidentally your books are both called She's A Mensch . How did you choose that title? ANNE: My publisher (Second Story Press) and I tried several titles out, but She’s a Mensch! resonated with all of us. My late father used to say (in Yiddish) about a person he admired: “He’s a mensch” or “She’s a mensch.” That compliment is one of the highest one can bestow upon a person and therefore has a...

I was so pleased to be interviewed for this article in the May 2023 issue of School Library Journal! Thank you to Marlaina Cockcroft for including me and for tackling this subject. You can read the article below or on the SLJ website here .  

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    When I read Susan Lynn Meyer's middle grade novel, A Sky Full of Song , I was swept away by her descriptions of the North Dakota prairie and really touched by the characters' struggles with prejudice, assimilation, and identity. This story is one of those in which the specific is also the universal. It showcases a quintessential American experience and at he same time, a very Jewish experience. I thought it would be a perfect interview to bring to you this May for Jewish American Heritage Month.  LEARN MORE: Visit Susan Lynn Meyer's website Buy A Sky Full of Song Tikkun Olam suggestion: support American Prairie Visit Heidi's Jewish American Heritage Month resource Keep an eye out for a Mother's Day interview on May 15 about She's a Mensch at BookOfLifePodcast.com   CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's ...

Children's Books for Jewish American Heritage Month by bookoflifepodcast BRAND NEW! Don't miss the new "Celebrate Jewish American Heritage" poster from ALA Graphics! It's got original art from Sean C. Rubin, illustrator of the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award winning picture book The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel.  Order the Poster, 18x24", $18 Order the Set of 100 matching bookmarks, $9  

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY KNAZAN / LUCIDO / PANITCH BOOKS     🕮    Jewish identity can be complicated, especially for people who come from a mixed background. We are starting to see this reality acknowledged in middle grade and young adult fiction, with characters who are working to figure out what being Jewish means to them, or who are trying to better integrate the different parts of their heritage; characters who don't feel like they are enough. For this episode, I've called together three authors whose novels explore this topic: Primrose Madayag Knazan, author of the YA novel Lesson in Fusion , and middle grade authors Aimee Lucido, who wrote Recipe for Disaster , and Amanda Panitch, who wrote The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor . Join us for a virtual panel discussion about identity, a walk on the Jewish side.  LEARN MORE: Visit Primose Madayag...

  LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    Sarah Sassoon's debut picture book Shoham's Bangle (Kar-Ben) was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Based on Sarah's family history, it's the story of a Jewish family's escape from Iraq to Israel, and a rare example of Mizrahi representation in kidlit. From Kar-Ben's description: Shoham wears a golden bangle on her wrist, just like her Nana Aziza. Their bangles jingle when they cook, and glitter in the sun. When Shoham and her family must leave Iraq, they are allowed to take only one suitcase each. They may take no jewelry. Shoham has the important job of carrying Nana's homemade pita bread, which Nana says they will eat when they get to Israel. But when they finally arrive and it is time to eat, Shoham bites into something hard inside the pita bread. LEARN MORE: Visit...

White supremacists are targeting the Jewish community with a "National Day of Hate” on February 25, 2023. Publicly, they are planning for vandalism and intimidation, but it will be unsurprising if violence occurs as well.  At this time, I call upon all Book of Life listeners, and everyone who cares about peace and justice, to let the world know that you stand with the Jews. Whether you are Jewish or Gentile, please join the Anti-Defamation League in taking action. This horrific day of hate is taking place two days after my birthday. I would consider it a great gift  if you were to join me in doing any of the simple advocacy actions below: Let your elected representatives know that hate is not OK, at  https://www.adl.org/take-action/advocate-with-adl .  Choose any action on The Book of Life's "Justice" page, and do it today. See  https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/p/stand-up.html Use and share the Association of Jewish Libraries' "Love Your Neighbor" book...

The Jewish Book Carnival is a monthly roundup of Jewish literary links from across the blogosphere. Sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries, it is hosted by a different blog each month and shares book reviews, author interviews, essays, and other blog posts about Jewish books. Visit the Jewish Book Carnival HQ for the upcoming schedule, past Carnivals, and to learn how to participate! On STORYSTORM, Tara Lazar's month-long idea project at the blog Writing For Kids (While Raising Them), forthcoming Jewish board books were featured on Day 12.   Illustrator Ann D. Koffsky offers a new Tu Bishevat coloring page , with a picture of a reader relaxing under a tree. On her blog Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah  interviewed Omer Bartov  about his new novel, The Butterfly and the Axe . Gila Green interviewed author Stephen J. Gordon about his new thriller The Student and the  challenges of writing Israel-based books. Batya at the blog A Jewish Grandmot...

4th National Joint Conference of Librarians of Color St. Pete Beach, Florida February 8-12, 2023 On February 9, 2023 I presented "A Place at the Table: The Jewish Community Within the Library Diversity World" at the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color, an event sponsored by JCLC, the Joint Council of Librarians of Color . This umbrella organization addresses the common needs of ALA affiliates for BIPOC librarians:  the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking. The main thrust of my presentation was a crash course in the marginalization of Jews and the interconnection between antisemitism and racism, with the goal of demonstrating why Jews should be included in equity, diversity, an...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     🕮    The winners of the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children's and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 30, 2023 at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards event. Martha Seif Simpson is the current chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, and she joined us to discuss the 2023 winners of the award. In these troubled times, when book banners are attacking America's school and public libraries to try to preserve white, straight, Christian dominance by suppressing diverse books, it is all the more important that we celebrate Jewish literature. The Jewish children's and young adult titles recognized by the Sydney Taylor Book Awards celebrate the beautiful diversity of our community and offer a wonderful bridge building tool. Support Jewish books! Read them, request them from your library, buy them...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST     |    READ THE TRANSCRIPT     |    BUY THE BOOK     🕮    When the Angels Left the Old Country is Sacha Lamb's debut novel. It's a young adult historical queer fairy tale about an angel and a demon who immigrate together through Ellis Island to the Lower East Side of New York. From labor unions to dybbuks to a heist, this extremely Jewish tale has everything you need for a thoroughly satisfying adventure. Sacha is a 2018 Lambda Literary Fellow in YA fiction, a graduate in Library and Information Science and History from Simmons, and a reviewer for the Jewish Book Council . They are also a part-time stepparent to a small flock of miniature goats. LEARN MORE: Visit Sacha Lamb's website Buy When the Angels Left the Old Country Read Sacha's short stories Epistolary and Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live Tikkun Olam suggestion: Sundown Towns Database    Other boo...

Last year I did an unofficial shortlist and it seemed like people found it helpful, so I thought I'd do 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 the 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 2022, 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. We'll find out whether the Real Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee agrees with me when the winners are announ...