The Book of Life: Jewish Kidlit (Mostly)

Click here for full SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT If you enjoy a good heist story, here's one with a lot of heart. Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz is a middle grade novel about a Jewish girl who gets into good trouble in order to right a wrong. Banding together with friends and frenemies helps her expand her thinking and bring more generosity into the world.  SHOW NOTES:  Diana Harmon Asher's website, Instagram, and Facebook Buy Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz, Sidetracked, and Upstaged Diana's Tikkun Olam suggestion: donate to food banks at community colleges CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.

Click here for full SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT If you've ever read books to a baby or toddler, you're familiar with board books, those small sturdy books with stiff cardboard pages that can withstand drool and rough handling. But just because these books are designed for babies doesn't mean they are baby-ish. Suzy Ultman's deceptively simple storytelling in board book format has brought about a historic moment. For the first time ever, a board book has won a Sydney Taylor Book Award. Among the four Jewish board books Suzy has created so far, the one that got her the gold was Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset. Her signature bright, quirky, cheerful art, paired with reassuring, calming text, invites us to stop all the doing and just be. If you need to give a baby gift, I highly recommend one or all of Suzy's Jewish board books... but you might actually want to get copies for yourself because they are like tiny mantras about Jewish concepts and Jewish pride. SHOW NOTES: Suzy Ultman's website and Instagram Buy Shabbat Shalom, I Like Your Chutzpah, It's a Mitzvah, and How Do You Jew? Creative Bug online classes from Suzy Ultman Heidi's tikkun olam suggestion: use Democracy.io to email your reps CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.

Click here for full SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT Welcome to the 17th annual Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, taking place February 9-12, 2026. I am participating in the Blog Tour by interviewing Caroline Kusin Pritchard and Selina Alko, author and illustrator of The Keeper of Stories, which was a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Picture Book category. SHOW NOTES: Here's the schedule for the 2026 Blog Tour Here's the archive of all past blog tours, beginning in 2009 Caroline Kusin Prichard's website and Instagram Selina Alko's website and Instagram Buy The Keeper of Stories, The Day the Books Disappeared, The Remembering Candle, and Otherwise Known as Judy the Great Article in PEN America about censoring censorship, "Don't Mention It" Video by Adam Gidwitz on the value of school visits Geraldine Brooks, The People of the Book, on The Book of Life in 2008 Caroline's podcast, Kidlit Happy Hour CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.

Click here for full SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT The winners of the 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, recognizing the best Jewish children's and young adult literature of the year, were announced on January 26, 2026 at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards event. Melanie Koss is the current chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, and she joined me on the podcast to discuss the 2026 winners of the award. LEARN MORE: Sydney Taylor Book Awards The Sydney Taylor Portal ALA's YouTube channel, where you can watch a recording of the announcement Heidi's unofficial 2026 Sydney Taylor shortlist 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Awards GOLD Picture Book Winner: Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman, published by Rise x Penguin Workshop Middle Grade Winner: Neshama by Marcella Pixley, published by Candlewick Young Adult Winner: D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White, published by Levine Querido SILVER Picture Book Honors The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Leanne Hatch, published by Clarion Books The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers My Body Can by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo, published by Apples & Honey Press Middle Grade Honor Beinoni by Mari Lowe, published by Levine Querido Young Adult Honor The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor, published by HarperCollins NOTABLE Picture Book Notables Fanny's Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Alyssa Russell, published by Rocky Pond Books Finding Forgiveness by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Diana Mayo, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux The Remembering Candle by Alison Goldberg, illustrated by Selina Alko, published by Barefoot Books Middle Grade Notables A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff, published by Dial Books The Daughter of Auschwitz: The Girl Who Lived to Tell Her Story by Tova Friedman, published by Quill Tree Books Right Back at You by Carolyn Mackler, published by Scholastic Press Same Page by Elly Swartz, published by Delacorte Press The Trouble with Secrets by Naomi Milliner, published by Quill Tree Books Young Adult Notable Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow, published by Storytide OTHER 2026 Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award Winner: Uri Shulevitz 2026 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Winner: "How to Catch a Mermaid (When You're Scared of the Sea)" by Jessica Russak-Hoffman CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.

TRANSCRIPT: Hello! This is Heidi Rabinowitz, your host at The Book of Life Podcast, and I have some news to share. A year ago I started a Substack newsletter for The Book of Life Podcast to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. The free Substack posts include podcast episodes, show notes, transcripts, Jewish kidlit news, and calls to action.  A number of listeners have very kindly pledged to upgrade to paid subscriptions to support the show. I am now turning on paid subscriptions, and I'm starting a new bonus segment on The Book of Life, especially for paid subscribers. It's called Share Your Shelf. I'll be asking guests to look at their own bookshelves to share the books that are important to them, or that have an interesting origin story; books they've hung onto or just acquired, their oldest or newest books, or even the books that are actually missing from their shelves. The first Share Your Shelf bonus segment will go out to paid subscribers on January 26th, when I'll also be posting a free podcast episode for everyone, about the winners of the 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Award. If you'd like to hear these personal stories from Book of Life guests, and if you'd like to support my work advocating for Jewish kidlit, please subscribe to the Substack at BookOfLifePodcast.Substack.com and click on the Upgrade to Paid button.  And no matter how you listen to the show, and whether or not you're a free OR paid subscriber on Substack, I want to thank you for giving the podcast and Jewish kidlit your attention!

SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT: https://open.substack.com/pub/bookoflifepodcast/p/podcast-20th-anniversary-retrospective?r=16b2w9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  It's The Book of Life's 20th Anniversary! In celebration, here's a super deluxe retrospective episode, with short clips from every year of the podcast. We'll start with this anniversary year, 2025, and then move back through time to 2005. HANUKKAH TREATS:  Miniature Zine about the podcast -- print and fold! folding instructions here Book of Life 20th Anniversary Merch -- sales benefit the Association of Jewish Libraries  LEARN MORE:  Read Podcasting Since the Dawn of Time, my essay on the evolution of the show  Like the clips in this special? Click here for the full episodes CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-hanukkah-classic-crossover-with-fuse.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/2QqWmvmeK1xGjP9AmSJelGqNVCg?utm_source=copy_url  Fuse 8 n' Kate is a weekly podcast hosted by School Library Journal, in which super-librarian Betsy Bird and her sister Kate evaluate 20+ year old picture books to decide whether they should be considered classics. Since The Book of Life is 20 years old (and hopefully a classic), I asked Betsy and Kate to collaborate on a Hanukkah episode! We did a joint episode that will appear on both our feeds, interviewed each other, and talked about The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Nancy Cote, published in 1997. Did we decide it was a classic? Listen and find out! LEARN MORE:  Fuse 8 n' Kate Podcast Buy or Borrow The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes Linda Glaser's website Nancy Cote's website Linda Glaser on The Book of Life in 2006 (Bridge to America) and 2014 (Hannah's Way) Betsy's 2025 recommended reading throughout December: 31 Days, 31 Lists Heidi's "Share Your Shelf, Share Your Story" Jewish Book Month posts on  Facebook or Instagram. HANUKKAH TREATS: Miniature book about the podcast -- print and fold! folding instructions here Book of Life 20th Anniversary Merch -- sales benefit the Association of Jewish Libraries! CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/11/november-throwback-jewish-book-month.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/sEuzJ-GYxRIHREm5DRtY94hYkFI?utm_source=copy_url  Continuing the celebration of my 20th year of podcasting, I've got another archival episode for you from 2006, about Jewish Book Month. In the early days of The Book of Life I usually had multiple guests in each episode, and this one includes four: Folklorist Howard Schwartz, talking about his picture book Before You Were Born, which had just won the Koret Award | Website of Howard Schwartz z"l | Buy Before You Were Born Carolyn Starman Hessel, longtime director of the Jewish Book Council, whose nickname was "the Jewish Oprah" | Jewish Book Council Esme Raji Codell, author of one of my favorites middle-grade novels Vive La Paris | Website of Esme Raji Codell | Buy Vive la Paris David Levithan, author of the 2004 young adult novel Wide Awake, which was reissued as Wide Awake Now in 2024 because its themes of politics and protest are more relevant than ever | David Levithan on Wikipedia | Buy Wide Awake Now I'm celebrating Jewish Book Month by participating in the Jewish Book Council's "Share Your Shelf, Share Your Story" project. I will post a photo on social media each day of Jewish Book Month, November 13 through December 13, 2025, showing a Jewish book from my personal collection with a comment about why the book is special to me. See Facebook or Instagram. CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/11/jean-meltzer-queen-of-jewish-joy.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/65Uhjlmyb1QYDBa_KvBpl0TCTyU?utm_source=copy_url  Back in July 2025 I did a brief interview with Jean Meltzer, so she could tell you about Jewish Joy Con, an exciting event coming to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in March 2026. But I promised you a longer interview later - and here it is! Jean talks about her writing, her Jewish Joy Book Club and subscription box, more about the con, and about her newest book, The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah.  LEARN MORE:  Jean Meltzer's website, Instagram, and Facebook Jewish Women Talk About Romance Books group on Facebook The Jewish Joy Box Jewish Joy Con (March 13-15, 2026 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL) Jean's own books: o The Matzah Ball o Mr. Perfect on Paper o Kissing Kosher o Magical Meet Cute o The Eight Heartbreaks of Hanukkah Jean's recommended reading suggestions: o Blood Bond by Helen Hardt o Never Planned on You by Lindsey Hammerhof o Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady o Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chechebar o Soon by You by Dahlia Adler o Good Grief by Sarah Goodman Confino Heidi's "Jewish Joy" series on Multicultural Kid Blogs CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/october-throwback-laurel-snyder-redux.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/eP9KxOhurmOFV6jIhbWPC5jYX8Y?utm_source=copy_url  Continuing the celebration of my 20th year of podcasting, I've got a 2013 archival episode for you with author Laurel Snyder, who at that time was best known for her iconoclastic picture book, Baxter The Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. Amazingly, Laurel says that The Book of Life podcast actually impacted her writing! In a 2017 blog article she credited our first podcast conversation as a turning point in her career. She said "Heidi asked me, reasonably, what made my book Jewish, and I found I didn't have an answer for her…. She could not possibly have known, when she asked me that question a decade ago, what journey she was sending me on. The power of the right question is a mighty thing." Laurel has gone on to win the 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medal for her Exodus picture book The Longest Night, and a 2024 bronze for a middle grade fantasy, The Witch of Woodland. This year she's published The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah. LEARN MORE: Laurel Snyder's website Buy or Borrow Laurel's newest title, The Book of Candles Other past episodes with Laurel: 2008 "Two Jews, Three Opinions" 2015 "The Longest Night" That time Laurel interviewed Heidi in 2010 Bonus content for this episode in Substack newsletter Recent print interview about Countering Antisemitism & Hate CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/10/one-small-spark-more-than-enough.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/-_ly-iTlaYO1hZfUChOPKsYnXTI?utm_source=copy_url  If you're a regular Book of Life listener, you know I always ask guests for tikkun olam suggestions about ways to repair the world. Well, that's what this entire episode is about. I've got a pair of Jewish activist picture books for you: One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story by Ruth Spiro, and More Than Enough: Inspired by Maimonides Golden Ladder of Giving by Richard Michelson, a story about tzedakah. These are both gorgeous picture books that convey their important messages without being preachy - absolutely worth sharing with the kids in your life to help turn them into mensches. LEARN MORE:  Richard Michelson's author website and art gallery website Ruth Spiro's website Borrow or Buy More Than Enough Borrow or Buy One Small Spark Read-alike suggestions: Ruth Suggests Out and About: A Tale of Giving by Liza Wiemer; Rich suggests The Midnight Mitzvah by Ruth Horowitz CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/september-throwback-sweep-story-of-girl.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://open.substack.com/pub/bookoflifepodcast/p/september-throwback-sweep-the-story?r=16b2w9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  To continue with the themes of golems and fighting for justice that we explored in our most recent episode about Kyle Lukoff's A World Worth Saving, AND in honor of my 20th year of podcasting on The Book of Life, I'm bringing you an episode from the archives. It's an interview about the middle grade historical fantasy Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier which originally aired in May, 2019, and it's also about golems, and fighting for justice. Since 2019, Author Jonathan Auxier has become a podcaster too. He and Matt Bird cohost A Good Story Well Told, a show about the craft of storytelling.  LEARN MORE: Jonathan Auxier's website Borrow or Buy Sweep A Good Story Well Told - Jonathan's podcast Original show notes with links to books and games mentioned in the interview Follow-up episode with Jonathan: Superfight! Bonus Content in Substack Newsletter CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.  

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-world-worth-saving.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/_6lUDoKCnGpaSn-_alokxvSNtEo?utm_source=copy_url A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff is a queer Jewish fantasy adventure in which a trans boy and an unusual golem must save the world by Yom Kippur! I interviewed Kyle about this new middle grade novel, as well as his seasonally appropriate picture book, I'm Sorry You Got Mad, a wonderful reflection on the art of apology. Shana Tova! LEARN MORE: Kyle Lukoff's website Borrow or Buy A World Worth Saving Borrow or Buy I'm Sorry You Got Mad Kyle's recommended queer Jewish reading: When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb (interview on The Book of Life in January 2023) Throwing Sheyd, a podcast about Jewish demonology that Kyle used for research Bonus content at The Book of Life Podcast Substack newsletter CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: TRANSCRIPT: In honor of my 20th year of podcasting on The Book of Life, I'm bringing you another episode from the archives: Summer Coolness, released in June 2007. The episode featured a now-defunct website called ReaderGirlz, and the website Nextbook that morphed into Tablet Magazine in 2009. There were also many mentions of MySpace. I interviewed Melissa Schorr, author of Goy Crazy, who, according to her website, seems to have mostly moved on from kidlit to journalism. I must say, her most recent book from 2017, Shame Nation: Choosing Kindness and Compassion in an Age of Cruelty and Trolling, looks extremely on point. And the episode featured the band Sababa, which happily is still in existence, and in fact, they've recently released their fourth album called When We Rise.  LEARN MORE: ReaderGirlz history on Wikipedia, and Guest Lorie Ann Grover Author Melissa Schorr and her book, Goy Crazy Sababa website, and Guest Scott Leader Nextbook history on Wikipedia, and Guest Julie Sandorf Julie's reading recommendations: o Joy Comes in the Morning by Jonathan Rosen o Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror by Jeffrey Goldberg o When We Were Bad by Charlotte Mendelson o Disobedience by Naomi Alderman Bonus content for this episode on The Book of Life's Substack Newsletter CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/08/the-five-books.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/newZynBRoGzWkdF7PaTnzDLDSP4?utm_source=copy_url  The Five Books is a new literary Jewish podcast hosted by Tali Rosenblatt Cohen in partnership with the Jewish Book Council. I'm very happy to welcome another show to our little corner of the book world, so I invited Tali to do a mutual interview. We interviewed each other, and the episode will appear on both our podcast feeds.  LEARN MORE: The Five Books Podcast website Highlights of past episodes: o Yale Strom on The Book of Life o Gayle Forman on The Five Books Recommended podcasts: o Heidi: Nice Jewish Books, Recognizably Jewish, Fuse 8 and Kate o Tali: Identity/Crisis, Call Me Back, The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, How to Fail For the full list of all the books we discussed, plus links to other past podcast swaps I've recorded, see the Substack post for this episode. CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/07/announcement-jewish-joy-con.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/K_DNE5hooD1D-ujpoI2gQUXpsZs?utm_source=copy_url  LEARN MORE: Jean Meltzer's website Jewish Joy LLC (the Jewish Joy Book Club and the Jewish Joy Box) Jewish Joy Con, March 13-15, 2026 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/07/july-throwback-inquisitors-tale.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/idZDWVCvKcbXcYPMmx4uUuonYQE?utm_source=copy_url  As a follow up to my recent interview with Adam Gidwitz about Max in the Land of Lies, and in honor of my 20th year of podcasting on The Book of Life, I'm bringing you an episode from the archives, from January 2017. I met Adam Gidwitz at an author "speed dating" event at the American Library Association conference, where he was promoting his middle grade fantasy The Inquisitor's Tale, which later went on to win a Sydney Taylor Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and a lot of other awards.  If you enjoy this blast from the past, please check out other past episodes of The Book of Life from any time in the last 2 decades. Go to Bookoflifepodcast.com and Click on Archive in the sidebar, or just go to the episode list on your podcast player and keep on scrolling down, down, down. LEARN MORE:  Adam Gidwitz's website Adam Gidwitz's July 2025 interview about Max in the Land of Lies Original 2017 show notes for interview about The Inquisitor's Tale Buy or borrow The Inquisitor's Tale CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/07/max-in-land-of-lies.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/4wQEsnmUalkzvYUesd-o7pDjudQ?utm_source=copy_url Last July, Adam Gidwitz was on the podcast talking about his middle grade Holocaust historical fantasy novel, Max in the House of Spies, and he told us it was part of a duology. Well, now the second book is out, and I think it's even more powerful than the first one. Max in the Land of Lies continues Max's page-turning, hair raising adventures... AND continues the profound exploration of prejudice that we found in Book 1. Adam offers the best explanation I've ever encountered for how the Holocaust could happen. The parallels with today's world are frightening, AND illuminating. To put it simply, this is a book that I think *everyone* needs to read right now.  LEARN MORE: Buy or borrow Max in the House of Spies (Book 1) Buy or borrow Max in the Land of Lies (Book 2) Adam Gidwitz's website Tikkun Olam suggestions: EveryLibrary.org and SGCCAmerica.com "Espionage! Secrets! Suspense!" Holocaust Books with Adam Gidwitz & Steve Sheinkin" on The Book of Life, July 2024 Bonus content for this episode on Substack CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/06/pride-month-throwback-new-queer.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://open.substack.com/pub/bookoflifepodcast/p/pride-month-throwback?r=16b2w9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true  In celebration of Pride Month and The Book of Life's 20th year of podcasting, I'm re-releasing an archival episode from June, 2021. It's an interview with Adam Eli, a young activist and author of The New Queer Conscience, a manifesto about how the queer community can use k'lal yisrael as a model for solidarity. If you enjoy this blast from the past, check out other past episodes of The Book of Life. Click on Archive in the sidebar at Bookoflifepodcast.com, or just go to the episode list on your podcast player and keep on scrolling down, down, down. LEARN MORE: Buy or borrow The New Queer Conscience Adam Eli on Instagram Adam Eli on I Weigh Adam Eli in Tablet I've updated my list of Queer Jewish Kidlit, which has grown by 48 titles and 13 interviews since I first compiled it in 2022! CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/06/pride-month-special-gender-binary-is.html  TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/0xdCC0WUSVL8flI0x3kljyCApps?utm_source=copy_url I don't normally interview an author about a single chapter of a book, but for my friend Lee Wind, I'm making an exception. He's written a fascinating nonfiction book, The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie: Infinite Identities Around the World, and Chapter 2 is about "The Six Genders of Classical Judaism." I just had to learn more. We also talked about his two new picture books (both featuring 2-dad families), Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally and Banana Menorah. In addition to writing great kids' books about gender, Judaism, and allyship, Lee is literally a champion against censorship. He received the 2025 Industry Champion Award from the Book Industry Study Group for his project called We Are Stronger Than Censorship. Lee tells us more in the interview.  For bonus content (Jewish kidlit news and calls to action), sign up for The Book of Life Substack Newsletter. LEARN MORE:  Buy or borrow The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie Buy or borrow Like That Eleanor Buy or borrow Banana Menorah Teaching guides Lee Wind's website We Are Stronger Than Censorship project (Lee won an award for it!) Independent Book Publishers Association (Lee's day job) My Queer Jewish Kidlit bibliography - updated CREDITS: Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.