Dear Safranim,
I'm happy to share my Book of Life Podcast interview with Lesléa Newman and
Susan Gal, author and illustrator of the new picture book JOYFUL SONG: A
NAMING STORY. Perfect for Pride Month, it's the story of a 2-mom family
bringing their new daughter to temple for her baby naming,
Ann, thank you for all your years of service, not only to your own library
and community, but to AJL. I hope that in retirement you'll still be a part
of AJL! Enjoy your well deserved retirement!
Kol hakavod!
Heidi Rabinowitz
On Fri, May 31, 2024 at 10:18 AM Ann Abrams via Hasafran <
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for May. Our host this month
is Erika Dreifus at My Machberet, and you can see the Carnival at
I'm happy to share my Book of Life Podcast interview with author Ruth
Behar, author of Lucky Broken Girl, Letters from Cuba, Tia Fortuna's New
Home, and now, Across So Many Seas!
You can hear the podcast at
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for April. Our host this month
is Marie Cloutier at The Boston Bibliophile, and you can see the Carnival
at
Safranim, please see attached job description for a Holocaust center job in
South Florida.
From: Angela
Sent: Monday, April 1, 2024 4:30 PM
To: Heidi Rabinowitz
Cc: Rositta E Kenigsberg
Subject: [EXT]Librarian Job Description - HDEC
Hi Heidi,
Attached is the job description for the
I'm happy to share my Book of Life Podcast interview with April Powers,
Vice President of Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Project Shema, and
former Global Head of DEI at SCBWI. As you may remember, in December I
podcasted about (and participated in) The Artists Against Antisemitism
auction,
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for March. Our host this month
is Gila Green, and you can see the Carnival at
Dear Safranim
The latest guest on The Book of Life Podcast is Martin Lemelman,
author/illustrator of the graphic novel The Miracle Seed. This middle grade
book tells the true story of how the extinct Judean date palm was brought
back to life by two Israeli female scientists, after thousand year
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for February. Our host this
month is Jewish Books for Kids...And More with Barbara Bietz and you can
see the Carnival at
This has been a great week of interviews with the gold and silver
medalists, talking about their Sydney Taylor Book Award winning books on
the Blog Tour! To find links to all the interviews, see The Book of Life's
archive of all blog tours, 2009-2024. Scroll all the way down to see this
year's
Dear Safranim,
Yesterday, the winners of the 2024 Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced
along with all the other major children's book awards at ALA's Youth Media
Awards. Following the announcement, I posted a podcast interview with Aviva
Rosenberg, Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award
The Sydney Taylor Book Award, which recognizes the best Jewish children's
and teen literature each year, will have winners announced next Monday
1/22/24 at ALA's Youth Media Awards press conference. In the meantime, here
are the results of the Mock Sydney Taylor Book Award poll from The Sydney
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for January. Our host this
month is Book Q's with Deborah Kalb and you can see the Carnival at
Dear Safranim,
Please vote for the Mock Sydney Taylor Book Awards at The Sydney Taylor
Shmooze! We are on Round 2 of voting, the final round that will decide the
Mock Winners, Honors, and Notables! Please vote at
Vote now for the Mock Sydney Taylor Book Award! Round 1 is now through Tues
Jan 9, Round 2 is Wed Jan 10 through Fri Jan 12. The Mock Winners will be
announced on Tues Jan 16 (the day after Martin Luther King Jr Day). The
Real Winners will be announced at ALA's Youth Media Awards on Mon Jan 22,
For the third year in a row, I'm offering this rather long shortlist of
potential Sydney Taylor Book Award winners, on The Book of Life blog at
Has anyone seen the book Information Services to Diverse Populations:
Developing Culturally Competent Library Professionals by Nicole A. Cooke,
from ALA publishing
Dear Safranim,
The Artists Against Antisemitism is a new organization working to fight
hatred, and their first initiative is to hold an auction benefiting Project
Shema, which addresses antisemitism on college campuses. You can hear all
about it on The Book of Life Podcast at
This message was sent to AJL's Facebook account, so I'm sharing it with all
of you:
The Phoenix Holocaust Association will be conducting a teachers' conference
on February 26.
We are collecting books about the Holocaust for teacher education and
professional development.
If you would like to
Because we are all in dire need of some Jewish joy right now, I posted on
The Book of Life's social media about books that brings me #JewishJoy each
day from November 7 all the way to the end of Hanukkah on December 15. Here
are all the titles I included. Each title is linked to a past interview,
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for December. Our host this
month is Barbara Bietz at Jewish Books for Kids...And More! You can read it
at
Initiated in response to the horrific act of domestic terrorism at the Tree
of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA in October 2018, and in continuing
response to rising antisemitism in the United States, the Association of
Jewish Libraries offers the Love Your Neighbor series of book lists for
young
Dear Safranim,
The newest episode of The Book of Life Podcast features Elissa Brent
Weissman, author of the picture book Hanukkah Upside Down, which may well
be the first Jewish picture book with a New Zealand setting. You can listen
to the podcast at
Announcing The Book of Life's Hanukkah Book Bingo! Print the image to play
along at home! Share to get more positive Jewish representation out into
the world!
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for November. Our host this
month is Gila Green and you can see the Carnival at
On the newest episode of The Book of Life podcast we hear from Emily Bowen
Cohen, author of the graphic novel Two Tribes, which echoes Emily's
experience growing up as a Jewish member of the Muscogee Nation. You can
listen to the podcast at
On Tuesday 11/14 at 6pm ET, I'm leading an online book discussion of When
the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb for Palm Beach County Library
in honor of Jewish Book Month. It would be great if some of you could come
to this, so the public library can see that there's a desire for Jewish
Erika Dreifus alerted me to this "Open Letter: A Call for Empathy for
Innocent Israelis" in the Chronicle of Higher Education. You can add your
name too by writing to James McAuley . You do
not have to be an academic to sign it. See the letter at
Dear Safranim,
Once again, I'm interrupting my regular podcast schedule to bring you
additional content related to the war in Israel and Gaza. This conversation
with Yael Levy
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for October. Our host this
month is Erika Dreifus, and she's compiled links that all have to do with
Israel. You can read it at
Dear Safranim,
With my mind so occupied by the situation in Israel, I went back and
listened to the 2017 Book of Life podcast interview I did with Tammar Stein
about Sydney Taylor Honor book The Six-Day Hero, a middle grade novel about
the Six-Day War. She subsequently wrote Beni's War, a
Please welcome 12-year-old literacy advocate E Train to The Book of Life!
You can hear the interview (or read the transcript) at
Safranim, if you are not already aware of Unite Against Book Bans, I wanted
to make sure you know about it. Please see this email below about actions
you can take for Banned Books Week.
Best,
Heidi Rabinowitz
-- Forwarded message -
From: Unite Against Book Bans
Date: Thu, Sep
Dear Safranim
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for September. Our host this
month is Marie Cloutier. You can read it at
Please welcome Richard Ho and Lynn Scurfield, author and illustrator of the
picture book Two New Years, which brings together celebrations of Rosh
Hashanah and Lunar New Year! You can hear the interview (or read the
transcript) at
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for August. Our host this
month is author Gila Green. You can read it iat
How exciting - The Book of Life's July episode inspired listeners to
action! In July we spoke with Arthur Levine of Levine Querido and learned
about the challenge of being a tiny new diversity-focused publisher in an
era of book banning. Listeners Liza Wiemer and Deborah Lakritz (authors,
but
Dear Safranim,
The Association of Jewish Libraries is pleased to announce that nine titles
have been selected for its seasonal AJL Holiday Highlights list,
celebrating Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Hanukkah. One
book celebrates the entire year of Jewish holidays. These titles
Here's a message I received from an author who's written a novel in the
genre of spiritual fiction, on the important topic of climate change. I
told her I'd pass the info along. - Heidi Rabinowitz
Climate change is causing serious calamities across our planet, but too few
are listening to the
Please welcome Josh Levy, the newest guest on The Book of Life. Josh is the
author of The Jake Show, a middle grade novel about a kid caught between
religious and secular divorced parents. Hilarity ensues! You can hear the
interview (or read the transcript) at
My friend Kate Reynolds from Storytime Solidarity wants librarians to know
about this opportunity to participate in a focus group and get paid $200
for doing so! She gets a finder's fee for referrals, so please mention her
name if you apply to participate.
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for July. Our host this month
is Barbara Bietz at Jewish Books for Kids...And More! You can read it iat
Please welcome Arthur Levine, the newest guest on The Book of Life podcast.
Arthur heads Levine Querido, the publisher that won two out of three 2023
Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medals (Aviva vs the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe, and
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb). You can hear it at
Past AJL President Heidi Rabinowitz presents a FREE webinar Wednesday June 7 at
7pm ET, "A Place at the Table: The Jewish Community Within the Library
Diversity World," hosted by the Florida Library Association!
The Book of Life podcast celebrates Pride Month with Andrew Sass, the
author of middle grade novels Ana On the Edge, Ellen Outside the Lines, and
Camp QUILTBAG, all of which include LGBT+ and Jewish representation. Please
enjoy this episode at
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for May. Our host this month
is Life Is Like a Library, the blog of Chava Pinchuck. Please visit
In answer to the question about finding AJL webinar recordings, you can log
into the members only section and go to AJL Resources>Roundtables (
I am so happy for my friend Susan Kusel, who has won the ALA Equality
Award! Here's the press release, and I also want to share what she wrote on
Facebook, because it's very significant that ALA is recognizing Jewish
advocacy work as being worth celebrating. Here's the press release:
Hello Safranim,
I created a quick resource for using Jewish kidlit to celebrate Jewish
American Heritage Month in May. You can find it here:
The newest Book of Life episode features Susan Lynn Meyer, discussing her
middle grade novel A Sky Full of Song. It's been called the Jewish Little
House on the Prairie! You can hear it at
ALA Graphics has worked with AJL to create a Jewish American Heritage Month
poster, now for sale for $18 at
"The AV Club" is what we call the crack team of volunteers who helped run
the tech for our last digital AJL conference. Many members of last year's
AV Club are returning for another gig, but we welcome new members as well!
If you (1) are planning to register for the AJL Conference and (2) are
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for April. Our host this month
is Book Q with Deborah Kalb. You can see the Carnival at
The newest Book of Life episode features three guests talking about the
challenges of a mixed Jewish identity. We've got middle grade authors Aimee
Lucido (Recipe for Disaster) and Amanda Panitch (The Two Wrong Halves of
Ruby Taylor) and YA author Primrose Madayag Knazan (Lessons in Fusion). You
Safranim, as a follow-up to my article in the AJL News & Reviews about JCLC,
here’s an email I received from another attendee, Sarah Fischer from the
National Library of Medicine. She’s got some useful information to share below
about emergency funding. – thanks, Heidi Rabinowitz
Dear Heidi,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for March. Our host this month
is Barbara Bietz at Jewish Books for Kids...And More. You can see the
Carnival at
The newest Book of Life episode features Sarah Sassoon and her debut
picture book, Shoham's Bangle, a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book, at
The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog reviews Jewish children's and YA
books that are eligible for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Reviews of
(c)2023 Purim books will start posting on Monday February 27! Watch this
space:
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for February. Our host this
month is me, Heidi Rabinowitz, at The Book of Life. You can see the
Carnival at
Dear Book of Life Listeners,
The newest Book of Life episode celebrates the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book
Awards, which were announced today at ALA's Youth Media Awards event! I
interviewed the awards committee chair, Martha Simpson, and you can hear
our conversation at
Susan Kusel and I were interviewed by the most conscientious journalist
ever, Kara Yorio, for School Library Journal. She wrote a great article
about the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and it was entirely accurate! We are so
grateful to her and to SLJ for helping build buzz and anticipation for the
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for Janjuary. Our host this
month is Erika Dreifus, blogging at My Machberet. You can see the Carnival
at
Time to vote for your favorite Jewish children's/YA books for the Mock
Sydney Taylor Book Awards at The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog!
This week is Round 1 and voting closes on Friday January 13. Round 2 will
take place Monday Januray 16-Friday January 20, and mock winners will be
Has anyone purchased furniture from National Business Furniture? They have
a desk that looks like just what I need for my synagogue library, but the
company's reviews are not encouraging...
Does anyone use LibraryThing for circulating books? If so, how do you like
it?
Thanks
Heidi Rabinowitz
bookoflifepodc...@gmail.com
__
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)
Hi, Book of Life listeners,
This month's Book of Life episode features Sacha Lamb, author of the queer
historical fantasy YA novel When the Angels Left the Old Country. You can
listen to the podcast (or read a transcript) here:
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for December. Our host this
month is Chava Pinchuck at Life Is Like a Library. You can see the Carnival
at
Here is my request for reconsideration form for challenged books. Luckily,
I've never had to use it.
Heidi
Heidi Rabinowitz
Feldman Children's Library
Congregation B'nai Israel of Boca Raton, FL
On Mon, Dec 12, 2022 at 5:16 PM Susan Kusel via Hasafran <
hasafran@lists.osu.edu> wrote:
> Hi
Monday December 12, 2022 at 7pm Eastern Time
AJL Presents: Fall 2022 Jewish Kidlit Author Showcase
In celebration of Jewish Book Month and Hanukkah, our Fall 2022 Jewish
Kidlit Author Showcase will present new and forthcoming Jewish picture
books, middle grade books, and young adult books written
Hi Book of Life podcast listeners!
This month's Book of Life episode was recorded live and the energy comes
through! I spoke to Bridget Hodder (The Button Box) and Sarah Aroeste (Buen
Shabat, Shabbat Shalom) all about Sephardic culture. You can listen to the
podcast (or read a transcript) here:
FYI, for those who were interested in my talk for my local public library
about The History of Jewish Children's Literature, the video will only be
available until Wednesday November 23 (this week!), so watch now or forever
hold your peace.
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for November. Our host this
month is Marie Cloutier at The Boston Bibliophile. You can see the Carnival
at
Hello Safranim! I'll be giving a free virtual talk on Zoom for Palm Beach
County Libraries on Wed Nov 16 at 6:30pm ET on the History of Jewish
Children's Literature! All are welcome! You can preregister here:
On 10/27/22 AJL Presents offered the Zoom event Stronger Together Combating
Antisemitism Through Positive Jewish Role Models in KidLit with picture
book authors Chana Stiefel and Nancy Churnin and YA author Liza Wiemer.
This was a very valuable session.
You can now watch the recording here:
I have exactly the list you were asking for, Jodi. These are kids' books
that are not about the Holocaust that mention antisemitism (it may be a
major theme or just a brief mention).
Just following up about my talk for the public library on November 16 about
the History of Jewish Kidlit. It will be recorded but the recording will
only be available for 1 week. If you can't come live, please register and
then watch the video during the following week.
Thanks!
Heidi
On Tue, Nov
Hi Book of Life podcast listeners!
I've got an intriguing episode for you this month. I talked to Isaac Blum
(The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen) and Leah Scheier (The Last Words We
Said) about Orthodox representation in kidlit, which until recently was
nearly non-existent.You can listen to the
Dear Safranim,
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for October. Our host this
month is Heidi Slowinski at her self-titled blog. You can see the Carnival
at
Hi Book of Life podcast listeners!
I've got a unique podcast episode for you this month. I talked to Shoshana
Nambi about her debut picture book, The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from
Uganda, just in time for the Sukkot holiday (October 9-16, 2022). Shoshana
is a member of the Abayudaya, the Jewish
Wendie asked for the list of AJL-recommended High Holiday books. Under the
Publications drop down menu on the AJL website you can find Holiday
Highlights at
Hello everyone. Apologies about sending you to the video recording of
"Freedom to Read vs Freedome from Disinformation" without double checking
first that the link was working. The problem has now been fixed, thanks to
Jackie Ben-Efraim! Please login to the members only section of the AJL
website
Hi everyone,
Sorry about the technical difficulties with the video of "Freedom to Read
vs Freedom from Disinformation." I should have checked it before sharing
the link. I'll let you know when it's fixed.
Thanks
Heidi
On Sun, Sep 18, 2022 at 3:50 PM Heidi Rabinowitz <
Hi everyone. On Wednesday 9/14 we had a very interesting members-only Zoom
event, "Freedom to Read vs Freedom from Disinformation" with Deborah
Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom. You can
now watch the recording by signing into the Member Portal on the AJL
website.
The Jewish Book Carnival,a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for September. Our host this
month is Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah. You can see the Carnival at
*Freedom to Read vs Freedom from Disinformation*
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
Like most librarians, we at the Association of Jewish Libraries are
concerned about the increase in book banning and the suppression of
marginalized voices. At the same time, AJL members were
Hi safranim,
I just want to remind y'all that The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog
reviews Jewish books for kids and teens year round. Our wonderful team of
volunteers is providing reviews for board books, picture books, middle
grade, and YA with Jewish content. Read the reviews at
Hi Book of Life podcast listeners!
I've got an important podcast episode for you this month. I talked to Sarah
Darer Littman about her YA novel, Some Kind of Hate. It's about
radicalization and antisemitism and although it's a hard read, it really
helps you understand how and why this kind of
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for August. Our host this
month is Jewish Books for Kids...And More! You can see the Carnival at
AJL members and Jewish Kidlit Mavens are invited to an important Zoom
discussion.
*SSCPL Roundtable: Freedom to Read vs Freedom from Disinformation*
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
Like most librarians, we at the Association of Jewish Libraries are
concerned about the
Hello Safranim! As the school year begins and we get back into collection
development mode, we want to remind all the children's librarians out there
that The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog offers a constant flow of
book reviews of Jewish children's and YA literature. Check it out at
I'm very happy to welcome Pamela Ehrenberg and Tracy Lopez to The Book of
Life to talk about their co-authored middle grade novel, Detour Ahead,
a novel in 2 voices, about a white neurodivergent Jewish bat mitzah girl
who loves break dancing, and a Salvadoran-American boy who loves poetry,
and how
The Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly compilation of Jewish literary links
from across the blogosphere, has been posted for July. Our host this month
is The Rachack Review. You can see the Carnival at
Hi, sorry if you had trouble when you tried to play The Book of Life
Podcast episode Catnip for Librarians: Smart Kids Talk About Books. I
believe I have now corrected the error. Please try again at
I've had some heavy episodes of The Book of Life for you lately but my new
episode is more lighthearted. I spoke to two super smart kids about their
lives as readers: Ellery and Hudson, who have both served on the Design
Team for PJ Our Way. I am sure you will enjoy hearing their thoughts! You
can
Some of you asked if you could read the speech I gave at the conference,
the one for which I gave out a checklist of things you can do to help the
world through Jewish kidlit. It is now on The Book of Life website at
Some of you asked if you could read the speech I gave at the conference,
the one for which I gave out a checklist of things you can do to help the
world through Jewish kidlit. It is now on The Book of Life website at
I was honored to receive the Groner Wikler Scholarship from Kar-Ben
Publishing, and to be asked to speak at the SSCPL division meeting at
#ajlcon22. The text of my speech and the associated handout are both
available in Socio, in the SSCPL meeting session on Tuesday 6/28. It's kind
of a call to
I'm arriving at the Philadelphia airport on Sunday at 11:19am ET. Anyone
want to share a cab or go on a SEPTA adventure with me to get to the
conference hotel?
__
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of
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