COMING OF AGE: 13 B’NAI MITZVAH STORIES (Albert Whitman & Company, 2022) is a wonderful anthology celebrating the important rite of passage in the Jewish community. Edited by Henry Herz and Jonathan Rosen, the range of stories will engage readers…
Coming Soon! The 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour
I am delighted to announce that my interview with Eugene Yelchin about his Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Middle Grade Category, THE GENIUS UNDER THE TABLE, will be published here on February 9th. The full schedule of interviews for…
Interview with Maya Shleifer, illustrator of LIGHTS IN THE NIGHT
I’d like to welcome Maya Shleifer to chat about her illustrations for the board book LIGHTS IN THE NIGHT (Green Bean Books, 2021) written by Chris Barash. This charming book portrays a family celebrating a quiet, yet beautiful seaside Shabbat.…
The Sydney Taylor Book Awards 2022!
2022 Sydney Taylor Book, Manuscript, and Body-of-Work Award Winners Announced! Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of JewishLibraries. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award…
Interview with Freda Lewkowicz, author of I AM HAVA: A Song’s Story of Love, Hope and Joy
I’m so thrilled to welcome Freda Lewkowicz, author of I AM HAVA: A Song’s Story of Love, Hope and Joy (Intergalactic Afikoman, 2021) illustrated by Siona Benjamin. The story is a beautiful, heart-filled tribute to the song we all know and love,…
Interview with Shirley Reva Vernick, author of RIPPED AWAY
Shirley Reva Vernick is an author who explores difficult topics and makes them relevant for young readers. Her newest book, RIPPED AWAY (Fitzroy Books, 2022), is a time-travel story that takes readers back to the days of Jack the Ripper. She explores…
Jewish Book Carnival – January 2022
Happy New Year! The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly roundup of Jewish literary links from across the blogosphere, has been posted for January. Our host this month is Heidi Rabinowitz at The Book of Life Podcast blog. You can see the Carnival at https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2022/01/jewish-book-carnival.html,…
Interview with Emily Barth Isler, author of AFTERMATH
Emily Barth Isler is the author of AFTERMATH (Carolrhoda Books, 2021), a beautiful, honest novel about empathy, compassion, and the deepest kind of loss. In the story, Lucy grapples with her grief over her little brother’s death. But when her…
Interview with David Forman, author of THE CLEVER LITTLE TAILOR
I’m so excited to share THE CLEVER LITTLE TAILOR (Kinder-Loshn Publications, 2021) by Solomon Simon, translated by David Forman with illustrations by Yehuda Blum. This unique translation of a Yiddish tale is about a poor tailor who cleverly solves mysteries in…
Interview with Jeff Gottesfeld, author of THE CHRISTMAS MITZVAH
It’s the season for holiday books and I’m so delighted to share a truly special picture book – THE CHRISTMAS MITZVAH (Creston Books, 2021) by Jeff Gottesfeld. Young readers will be inspired by the story of Al Rosen, who helped others in his…