Jewish Book Carnival!

It is my great pleasure to host this month's Jewish Book Carnival.This is a monthly event, bringing together those who cover Jewish literature online to “meet, read, and comment on each other’s posts”. Organized by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL), the Carnival is hosted by a different participant’s site on the 15th of every month.

The Book of Life features an interview with Isaac Blum (The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen) and Leah Scheier (The Last Words We Said) about Orthodox representation in mainstream kidlit, which until recently was nearly non-existent.You can listen to the podcast (or read a transcript) here: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2022/10/orthodox-excellence-new-ya-novels.html 

On the Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog we offer reviews of Jewish children's books. Here's a review of Alte Zachen/Old Things, a graphic novel by Ziggy Hanaor.

https://www.sydneytaylorshmooze.com/2022/10/review-alte-zachenold-things.html

Howard Lovy shared his podcast interview with author Ben M. Freeman, who just released Reclaiming our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride.

Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah interviews author Chana Stiefel about her new picture book, The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs (Scholastic, 2022).

https://thewholemegillah.wordpress.com/2022/10/19/authors-notebook-the-tower-of-life-by-chana-stiefel/

We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story, Book Review https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2022/10/we-survived-holocaust-bluma-and-felix.html Shiloh Musings reviewed We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story is graphic memoir. Graphic here means cartoonish pictures. Bluma and Felix Goldberg's story is a true story. Things are obviously simplified, since it's short and written for children. It's an interesting story geared to youngsters telling history and a personal story. 

On her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Gloria Koster about her new children's picture book, Dance the Hora, Isadora!.

 

Reuven Chaim Klein of The Rachack Review has a new review here: https://rachack.blogspot.com/2022/10/strauss-spinoza-sinai-orthodox-judaism.html

 

At Jewish Books for Kids ... and More, Barbara Bietz interviews Elana Rubenstein about her new book, A DONUT IN TIME (Apples&Honey), from her Saralee Siegel chapter book series. Jewish Books for Kids ... and More

 

On her My Machberet blog, Erika Dreifus has launched a special Reading Challenge for #JewishBookMonth (which, for 5783/2022, begins November 18).  

 

This month on gilagreenwrites, author Nancy Churnin posts about the beauty of Jewish Board Books and why they are a valuable tool for parents that should not be missed.  

Finally, The Association of Jewish Libraries asked that this be included in the Carnival:

The Sydney Taylor Book Award (STBA) Committee is seeking applicants to serve a two-year term from January 2023 through the June 2025 Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) conference.  Committee members are expected to: Read 120+ picture, middle grade, and young adult books throughout the calendar year, score them, and include notes. Attend the STBA meetings and sessions at the AJL annual conferences during their term. Attend virtual STBA meetings. You do not need to be an AJL member to apply; however, being a committee member is contingent upon AJL membership. The application can be found here: https://jewishlibraries.org/stba-committee-seeking-new-members/ *Applications must be submitted by December 12.* Please contact Martha Simpson (sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org) if you have any questions. Martha Simpson Chair, Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

 Thanks for joining us for this month's Jewish Book Carnival!