Welcome to the February 2011 edition of the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read and comment on each others’ posts.

This month, the Carnival is hosted by The Boston Bibliophile and you can find the post here.

The carnival was started by Heidi Estrin and Marie Cloutier to build community among bloggers and blogs who feature Jewish books. It runs every month on the 15th. The Carnival headquarters is here.

The Jewish Book Carnival has a GoodReads page, where we host discussions and more. Whether or not you’re participating, we hope you’ll stop by, join and take part!

If you’d like to participate, either to host or contribute a link, send me an email at heidi@cbiboca.org and I’ll get you hooked up on the particulars. We are actively looking for hosts for May 2011 and beyond.

Feel free to download and save the logo, and use it on your blog posts or sidebar. Please do not link directly to the picture.

In the mean time, visit The Boston Bibliophile for this month’s carnival and don’t forget to check out the many great participating bloggers!

Hello Safranim, here are this week’s Judaica links of interest. I'll be trying to post the link roundups earlier in the week in order to give you more time to explore them. From here on out, I’ll also be archiving all of these links under the tag “ajl_links” in Delicious. If you want to see them, just go to the www.delicious.com and type the query “ajl_links” in the search box. More on this next week…  Bob

World War, 1939-1945, German Concentration Camps and Prisons Collection
Correspondences available from various concentration camps. "More than 2000 correspondences were scanned and the images are in jpg format. Images are available for screenshow or download (by way of Blog for IST 677: Creating, Managing & Preserving Digital Assets 2010).

Flickr accidentally nukes user's 4,000 photos: Makes you think twice about the viability of preserving your pictures and other personal content online.

Selections from Three Faiths Exhibit at NYPL. You can also watch a few videos on the making of parchment and ink as well as the scribal arts by linking to videos from the main page here. If you're in the NYC area, try to go see this great exhibit before it closes on February 27th.

Jewish Life in America, 1654-1954: “Jewish Life in America will enable you to explore the history of Jewish communities in America from the arrival of the first Jews in the 17th century right through to the mid-20th century…This treasure trove of material provides digital images of collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York. All of the typescript and printed material is full-text searchable.” (by way of Michelle Chesner’s Jewish Studies at CUL Blog).

Extensive Collections from the Center for Jewish History: I was fortunate to have had the opportunity this week to interview Andrea Buchner (director of the Gruss Lipper Digital Lab) for one of my classes. If you’ve never been to the catalog, take a look now. This is a gigantic (and FREE) repository of Judaica artifacts which includes all different types of media formats.

Today is the final day, the "grand finale" if you will, of the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. We hope you've been enjoying the interviews with our gold and silver medalists, and that you'll continue to follow their work.

Don't forget, in addition to these medalists we've featured in the blog tour, we've also got lots of fine books on this year's Notables list. Be sure to check out those books too; here's a PDF listing every book recognized by the awards committee for 2011.

Here are the last two stops on our blog tour. Enjoy!

Once is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Morris Gleitzman at The Fourth Musketeer with blogger Margo Tanenbaum.

Here's a teaser:

Margo: Could you also comment on why you prefer to call Once and its sequels novels about friendship, rather than novels about the Holocaust?

Morris: My starting point for these books, even before I decided to set them against the Holocaust, was friendship.  I've long been interested in how young people today feel growing up in a world that increasingly seems to be the product of the worst of our human tendencies.  I like to write stories that don't shy away from that worst, but which also never lose sight of the best we're capable of.  And I think loving friendships are where most of us get to show our best.

Read more...

Finally, we have a wrap-up of the Blog Tour with a virtual panel featuring various winners over at The Whole Megillah with blogger Barbara Krasner.

Here's a teaser:

Barbara: What trends do you see coming our way?

Kristina Swarner: I’ve been approached about electronic books more often lately, and have been thinking about ways to make illustrations move or interact with the readers.
Dana Reinhardt: It’s tough out there for writers of realistic fiction. But thanks to organizations like the Association of Jewish Libraries, sometimes these smaller books get attention and ultimately find their audience.
Sarah Gershman: I see more of an openness to talking about G-d, particularly in books aimed at both affiliated and unaffiliated families.

Read more...

To learn more about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, please visit the Association of Jewish Libraries. You can hear podcasts of past winners receiving their awards at the AJL convention at jewishlibraries.org/podcast.

Thanks for reading the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour!

Welcome back to the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! We've got three more amazing interviews for you today.

Kristina Swarner is the illustrator of two books recognized in the Younger Readers Category this year! She illustrated Gathering Sparks by Howard Schwartz (Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner) as well as Modeh Ani by Sarah Gershman (Sydney Taylor Honor Book).

Read an interview with Kristina at The SCBWI Children's Market Blog with blogger Alice Pope.

Here's a teaser:

Alice: Your style is so soft and beautiful--it has an ethereal quality. Will you tell us about your technique?

Kristina: I begin with a black and white linoleum print that helps me get the positive and negative shapes and the underlying texture. Then I go over it with watercolor and colored pencil. I try to leave the white of the paper where I can, so things like stars really glow.

Read more...

Life, After is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Sarah Darer Littman at Into the Wardrobe with blogger Tarie.

Here's a teaser:

Tarie: What does winning a Sydney Taylor Honor Award for Life, After mean to you?

Sarah: I can't tell you how incredibly honored I feel to be twice honored by the AJL. When my first book, Confessions of a Closet Catholic won the Sydney Taylor Award for Older Readers in 2006, I was new on the scene and there was a part of me that thought maybe it was a fluke, especially since I followed up my win with a terrible case of second book blues (probably not helped by the fact that I was going through a very lengthy and painful divorce at the time). This time, it is perhaps even more meaningful because I feel like, "Wow, maybe they didn't make a horrible mistake that first time after all!"

Read more...

Hush is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Eishes Chayil at Frume Sarah's World with blogger Frume Sarah.

Here's a teaser:

Frume:As our synagogue educator is fond of asking, what is your goal? What do you hope that this book will do for others?

Eishes:It was the only way to have a voice heard that would not be heard otherwise. It was witnessing the agony and devastating trauma that abuse brings on its victims and realizing that I was lucky (or cursed) enough to be a writer, and can tell the story they can not.

Read more...

Tune in tomorrow for the final day of our blog tour! We'll feature an  interview with Morris Gleitzman (Once) at The Fourth Musketeer, and we'll have a wrap-up with all the winners over at The Whole Megillah. We hope you've been enjoying the blog tour and we'll see you tomorrow!

Welcome back to the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! Today we've got interviews with each of our gold medal-winning authors!

Gathering Sparks is the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Howard Schwartz at Boston Bibliophile with blogger Marie Cloutier.

Here's a teaser:

Marie: Who do you see as the audience for the book?

Howard: Since the repair of the world is such a big job, I hope that everyone will do their part. So while the Ari lived in an exclusively Jewish world in Safed, his myth should be an inspiration not only for Jews, but for everyone. Of course, Jewish people can be especially proud that a genius like the Ari [Rabbi Isaac Luria] created a myth to inspire and guide the people to work together in harmony to make the world a better place. But the basic teaching of tikkun olam can be appreciated by everyone, Jewish or not.

Read more...

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword is the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category.

Read an interview with author/illustrator Barry Deutsch at BewilderBlog with blogger Laurel Snyder.

Here's a teaser:

Laurel: Did you just wake up one day and say, “Aha! What the world really needs is an Ortho-fantasy-graphic novel!”

Barry:Yes, that’s exactly it!

I think Hereville was mostly inspired by Lis Harris’ book Holy Days, which has a lot of appealing stories of daily Hasidic life. I read Holy Days 10 or 15 years before I created Hereville, but I thought it would be a great setting for a comic book, so it was in the back of my brain, waiting to be used.

Read more...

The Things a Brother Knows is the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Dana Reinhardt at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy with blogger Liz Burns.

Here's a teaser:

Liz B: After reading The Things a Brother Knows, two things in particular stay with the reader. First, the family and friends of Levi Katznelson are amazing. I want to go his house for Friday dinner. Second, there are no easy answers, but much to think about, when it comes to sending young people to fight wars. What inspired this story? In creating such a complex world, were you a “plunger” or “plotter”?

Dana: For better or worse, I’m a plunger. This does tend to get me into trouble when I reach a certain point in my writing, as I inevitably do, where I have no idea where the story is going next. I start with characters. I begin at the beginning. I usually have some sense of where they’re going, and often I find out later that it’s somewhere I didn’t imagine.

With this book I started with listening to the radio and hearing the voices of the mothers of returning soldiers telling the stories of their changed and damaged sons, and I started to wonder about the other son, the brother who didn’t go. What has his life been like the last few years? What will it be like now that his brother is back? This is where I found Levi and the rest of the Katznelsons. They’d love to have you over for Friday night dinner, by the way.

Read more...

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Kristina Swarner (illustrator, Gathering Sparks and Modeh Ani) at Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog, Sarah Darer Littman (Life, After) at Into the Wardrobe, and Eishes Chayil (Hush) at Frume Sarah's World.

Welcome to Day 3 of the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! We've got three more exciting interviews for you today.

Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Barbara Diamond Goldin at Great Kid Books with blogger Mary Ann Scheuer.

Here's a teaser:

Mary Ann: What was the inspiration for this story, Cakes and Miracles? Does it come from a specific folktale?

Barbara: The inspiration for Cakes and Miracles came from a dream where, in my sleep, I put together aspects of tales I’d been reading in a new way. I love Isaac B. Singer stories, and had just read one about a blind boy and girl who were friends. I was also reading a book by Bella Chagall, where she mentioned that on Purim in her home town, people gave each other not only hamentashen, but also cookies in the shapes of violins, etc. That night I had a dream about a blind boy who makes cookies in wonderful shapes. As soon as I woke up, I wrote these ideas down. Then I had to fill in the story.

Read more...

Jaime Zollars is the illustrator of Cakes and Miracles.

Read an interview with Jaime at The Book of Life with blogger Heidi Estrin.

Here's a teaser:

Heidi: Cakes and Miracles was originally published in 1991 with illustrations by Erika Weihs. Did you refer to the original illustrations in any way as you worked on this book, or did you start completely fresh?

Jaime: I started completely fresh on this title. My first instinct was to look at the original book first, but then I decided that it would only limit my thinking if I peeked too early in the process. Once I had my sketches in, I did order the book to see how it was first illustrated.

Read more...

Black Radishes is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Susan Lynn Meyer at The Three R's - Reading, 'Riting & Research with blogger Joyce Hostetter.

Here's a teaser:

Joyce: Talk to us about research – how you approach it, what you’ve learned about how to research, and about your favorite way to gather info.

Susan: What works best for me is a “total immersion” method of research for historical fiction. I read everything I can about the period, especially first-hand accounts, such as memoirs. I love reading newspapers from the time, because they give you a very vivid sense of what daily life was like. They can be painful to read, too, because of their immediacy—they are written just as terrible things are happening, and the writers are living through those terrible times and don’t know yet how the events will turn out.

Read more...

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Howard Schwartz (Gathering Sparks) at Boston Bibliophile, Barry Deutsch (Hereville) at BewilderBlog, and Dana Reinhardt (The Things a Brother Knows) at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

Welcome back to the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! We've got three more exciting interviews for you today.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="138" caption="Emma's Poem"][/caption]

Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Linda Glaser at ASHarmony with blogger Elizabeth Lipp.

Here's a teaser:

Elizabeth: Linda, I was surprised to read that you struggled as a young reader. How does your struggles as a young reader inform your writing for young readers?

Linda: Yes. I did struggle with reading when I was a kid. In fact, I thought I'd never learn how. That may be why I use a clear simple style when I write for children. I was the type of reader who needed that. And now, I want my books to be accessible to all children--including those who find reading difficult. When I do school visits I always let kids know that I struggled to read. I figure there are probably some kids listening who are heartened to hear that I know what they are going through and that there is hope.

Read more...

Claire Nivola is the illustrator of Emma's Poem.

Read an interview with Claire at Lori Calabrese with blogger (wait for it) Lori Calabrese.

Here's a teaser:

Lori: Emma Lazarus's famous lines inspired the way we envision America's exceptional freedom and the way we hold it dear today. How were you inspired to create the amazing illustrations in Emma's Poem?

Claire: Most inspiring for me was the photographic record of the time - pictures of newly arrived immigrants, photographs of the statue itself partially uncrated, of the statue once erected seen from the decks of ships arriving in the N.Y. harbor. Photography was still in its infancy then, but often those early black and white pictures documenting the arrival of a refugee or a family carrying all its modest belongings provided a powerful, deeply telling, and poignant record.

Read more...

One Is Not a Lonely Number is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Evelyn Krieger at Ima On and Off the Bima with blogger Phyllis Sommer.

Here's a teaser:

Phyllis: What inspired you to write this story? I see from your biography that you are one of six kids, what brought you to a story about an only child?

Evelyn: When you are the oldest of six kids, its only natural to occasionally wonder what it's like to be an only child.As part of my preparation for the book, I interviewed only children--both kids and adults.  I remember a first grader who wanted a sibling so badly that he invented his mother's pregnancy for show and tell. And I fell for it!

Read more...

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Barbara Diamond Goldin (Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale) at Great Kid Books, Jaime Zollars (illustrator, Cakes and Miracles) at The Book of Life, and Susan Lynn Meyer (Black Radishes) at The Three R's - Reading, 'Riting, & Research.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award 2011 Blog Tour begins today with three stops!

Resistance is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Carla Jablonski at Jewish Comics with blogger Steven Bergson.

Here's a teaser:

Steven: When did the idea for writing the Resistance books come to you? Was there a particular event that occurred which inspired you to write it?

Carla: The war in Iraq, actually, got me wondering about what it would be like to live in an occupied country. I was also interested in the tensions between an experience as it is happening vs. history or hindsight.

Read more...

Leland Purvis is the illustrator of the graphic novel, Resistance.

Read an interview with Leland at Shelf-Employed with blogger Lisa Taylor.

Here's a teaser:

Lisa: In Resistance, you often use Paul’s sketchbook to portray people or events  in the story. I found it interesting that, in most cases, Paul’s sketchbook depicts events not through the filtered eye of the young boy, but as they are. In my mind, that tells a story in itself - that the behavior of Nazi  Germany was so horrific that exaggeration, even for an imaginative young boy, is impossible. Was that the point that you were trying to make, or does the sketchbook have another purpose in the story?

Leland: The sketchbook serves a couple of purposes, which is why you were sensing a dual-role, essentially. On the one hand it was a narrative device by which Paul could be valuable to the Maquis resistance in a credible way. Also it does provide a look into Paul's head about his reaction to the town and people around him. We very much included panels that were strictly Paul's P.O.V. This has continued into the sequels.

Read more...

Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book is a 2011 Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category. Its predecessor, The Bedtime Sh'ma, was the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category.

Read an interview with author Sarah Gershman at Biblio File with blogger Jennie Rothschild.

Here's a teaser:

Jennie: Many Jews do not write out God and instead use a substitute, such as G-d. However, throughout your book, you use God. Why did you make this decision and do you have a response to those who are critical of it (I noticed it came up in the Amazon reviews of the Bedtime Sh'ma.)

Sarah: My main motivation was to make the book accessible to people of all backgrounds. That being said, there are also Rabbinic opinions that say that writing God in English is not the same thing as writing God's full name in Hebrew. We were careful not to do that in the Hebrew portions of the book, as well as on the Bedtime Sh'ma CD.

Read more...

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Linda Glaser (author, Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty) at ASHarmony, Claire Nivola (illustrator, Emma's Poem) at Lori Calabrese, and Evelyn Krieger (One is Not a Lonely Number) at Ima On and Off the Bima.

Here’s this week’s collection of links about libraries, Jewish libraries, librarianship and more. Many thanks to Marie Cloutier for establishing this feature on AJL's Blog, and welcome to Bob Schrier, who now takes up the reins!

In the recent reference workshop held by the local NYC chapter of AJL, Columbia University’s Michelle Chesner discussed the social bookmarking tool Delicious. If you haven't signed up for an account yet, now is the time. Use Delicious to save your bookmarks into a searchable index that can be shared with others and is web-accessible (rather than accessible only locally on your computer).   Search and see what a couple of AJL members have done with Delicious here and here.

Are upper-classmen popping into your library yet to begin looking for jobs? JewishJobs provides a searchable database and weekly email digest for Jewish-related jobs nationwide.

Cooking based on the weekly parsha brought to you by Elisha's Double Portion. Each week, Elisha takes some element of the weekly Torah portion and transforms it into an idea for a recipe. Look at her recipe for gold dusted chocolate covered sesame cookies for Parshas Terumah.

Keep your eyes on the National Digital Public Library program sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which is attempting to make millions of books and resources accessible to library and school systems nationwide for free (as opposed to GoogleBooks). Follow their blog here at Library City.

The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure recently began its large-scale four year project. Financially sponsored by the EU, 20 organizations worldwide are joining together on a collaborative digitization program that will promote greater access to geographically dispersed Holocaust documents and artifacts.

Check out Anya's War, a new young adult Jewish novel by Andrea Alban about a girl and her family who escape Hitler's forces by running away to China. The book is due to be released sometime in the beginning of this month.

Enjoy! Email Bob at schriro at gmail.com with feedback and suggestions of links for future roundups!

By Barbara Bietz, Chair, Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee

I recently returned from an inspiring weekend in New York attending the AJL Mid-Winter Board and Council Meeting. Earlier in  January I experienced a flurry of activity for the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee and I was excited about the announcement of the 2011 Awards. It was so heartwarming to arrive in New York to discover that everyone from AJL was equally enthusiastic and appreciate of the committee’s efforts. On Sunday night after the Board meeting, the SSC gang had a dinner meeting at Mr. Broadway (SSC is the Synagogue, School & Center division of AJL, which oversees the Sydney Taylor Book Award). Over pickles and stuffed cabbage, SSC President Joyce Levine led the group. We discussed important issues and brainstormed solutions, including outreach to library volunteers, updating our blog, and finding more way to reach out to the AJL community. As I looked at all the faces at the table I felt a sense of awe. Here we sat, a group of passionate, committed peoples from various parts of the country and Canada, with a shared mission – to promote Jewish libraries. Whether it’s placing the perfect book in the right hands, educating others, or fundraising – it’s all about doing the best for our communities.

The Monday morning Council meeting started early – with plenty of coffee and pastries for all! Development Chair and SSC Secretary Kathe Pinchuck shared an inspiring D’var Torah that underscored our commitment as a group. I didn’t know what to expect from the meeting. AJL President Jim Rosenbloom encouraged everyone to share their thoughts and concerns. We tackled some serious challenges – from budget cuts to convention planning and more. There were respectful disagreements, but overall I was encouraged by the level of respect that everyone showed one another. There was a consensus about the importance of welcoming to new members, supporting local chapters, and helping library school students follow a path towards Judaica librarianship. Although much was accomplished, the meeting was also an opportunity for everyone to share good news, visit with old friends, and connect with new ones. I have a wonderful time in New York and feel honored to be part of the AJL family. There are lots of committees that need hands and hearts – so if you have a bit of time and you would like to participate, please consider AJL!

On Friday, January 28, AJL librarian and former AJL President Susan Dubin joined AJL Facebook fans for an hour of questions and answers on using general-interest books to teach Judaism and Jewish values.

Visit the Facebook Friday homepage here and email Heidi Estrin at heidi@cbiboca.org if you're interested in participating as a moderator or guest.


Association of Jewish Libraries: Welcome to Facebook Friday! With us today is Susan Dubin, librarian extraordinaire, to discuss using general-interest books to teach Judaism and Jewish values. Welcome, Susan!

Association of Jewish Libraries: This is Heidi Estrin - nice to "see" you, Suzi! Off the top of your head, do you want to name a few favorite secular books with Jewish values?

Susan Dubin: Hi everyone! I am here in sunny California. If anyone would like a bibliography I prepared for teaching about service learning, it has a lot of books covering various Jewish values.

Steven Bergson: I'm a bit uncomfortable with the concept of "Jewish values". As a Jew, I can identify certain values as being "Jewish", but several of them seem more like universal values which are shared by other faiths and cultures.

Susan Dubin: By Jewish values in our school environment we mean the mitzvot. Every year we highlight one of the m as a theme.

Sheryl Stahl I think it depends on the context - In a religious school, it make sense to teach Jewish values - even if other people/religions share them once the kid hits the street

Sheryl Stahl on the other hand - or same hand? I get really offended if when I help someone they thank me by saying that was very "Christian" of me.

Association of Jewish Libraries: True! It is also important to allow these students to be proud that such universal concepts are Jewish!

Steven Bergson: That's one perspective. Then there's the other one that questions why we Jews are "claiming" values that came from another culture.

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: sounds like another topic for another- and very lively- Q&A!

Susan Dubin: A favorite activity in our library is our cave for Shakespeare Week which morphs into a cave for Lag B'Omer. Students help decorate the cave and then come into the library pretending to watch for Roman soldiers. Of course, we tell Jewish stories secretly in the cave. Rabbi Ben Zakai watches over us.

Susan Dubin: Posted on our catalog website is a bibliography for B'tzelem Elohem. There are Judaic and secular books listed. The website is www.vbs.org/library. Do you have any favorites?

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: Did we lose a comment under Heidi's first question?

Association of Jewish Libraries: Yes. I posted a response and now it is gone. Suzi Dubin

Susan Dubin: I answered Heidi's question by saying that just last week I used "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss to teach about Tu B'Shevat. The children made a puppet play conversation between the Lorax and the Onceler about the importance of trees.
Another book I use every year is "The Relatatives Came" to introduce the idea of Welcoming Guests.
Our theme this year is "Btzelem Elohem". To introduce it I used the book ""I Like Me."

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: I have a question. what do secular books offer that's different from Jewish books when it comes to teaching mitzvot?

Susan Dubin: Secular books are often more readily available.

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: Another question: Do you ever use books that come from a different religious tradition or do you just use books with no overt religious content?

Susan Dubin: Yes. I use books from everywhere. If a book is from another religious point of view I point it out to the students.

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: For the purposes of this conversation, does a book count as Jewish if it has Jewish characters, or do you encounter books with Jewish characters that you would nonetheless count as secular if there was no other Jewish/religious content?

Association of Jewish Libraries: Yes. I consider books of general interest books with no specific Judaic content.

Sheryl Stahl: Do you have any favorite young adult novels?

Steven Bergson: Favorite YA novel that I haven't read yet : The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Sheryl Stahl: Love the movie! haven't read the book - but what values do you think it illustrates?

Steven Bergson: Can't say until I finish reading it. I've got to go back to it one of these days. It's on my "to read when I have free time" shelf.

Steven Bergson: However, from what I've read about it & from leafing through parts of it, I can tell that the movie condensed it.

Susan Dubin: I love YA books. A recent favorite is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Sheryl Stahl: Hunger Games was a favorite at my house too - but again - what values do you see?

Association of Jewish Libraries: Marie here: The hour is officially up, but folks can feel free to continue to chat. I'll keep recording the convo as long as I can. Thank you so much to Suzi for being our guest this week & for everyone who participated!

Susan Dubin:Thank you for joining me. I will be checking back throughout the day.

Posted by Marie.

Here's this week's collection of links on Jewish books, libraries and librarianship.

Do you know a librarian superhero? Enter him or her in a contest starting from this post on Stephen's Lighthouse.

Graphic Storytelling by Jewish Women from the Sisterhood.

From Tablet, Daybreak: Holocaust Remembrance Day.

OA: Just Another Business Model, from ACRLog.

Ebooks and Libraries: A Stream of Concerns, from Information Wants to be Free.

The Jewish Book Council's J Lit Links.

That's it for me. The weekly roundup may be on a brief hiatus in the coming weeks.

Posted by Marie.

January is National Mentoring Month

By Stephanie (Sara Leah) Gross (revised)

I just returned from an innervating session with 40 council members at the annual mid-winter conference.  Of course, there were the usual deliberations about  budget, convention expenditures and ratifications of past minutes. However, there were some much-awaited proposals for innovations to increase our membership as well as make AJL a more-valuable resource to its members.

• Michelle Chesner, RAS Secretary, pushed for more inclusion of library science students, including possible free membership for them.  She related how her internship at NYU’s dual-master’s program with a qualified mentor shaped her future in the profession.  I have long been involved with library students, from my early days in the New York Library Club, and most recently with my own networking group (NY Librarians Meetup Group).  Now, I was finally hearing multiple voices who wished to propel this idea into action.  Although still in its infancy, I was given to understand that there will be collaboration among at least a few committees:  the Task Force, RAS, SSC and Mentoring.


• Professional development and continuing education: To be honest, such collaboration  will be a challenge for our organization, where many members have been out of library school for considerable time.  Not to worry, there are great plans for professional development and continuing education, including podcasts, webinars and wikis. I requested that any members who had a desire to include mentorship in their work contact me so that we may get down to business as soon as possible.


• Internships and grants: Michelle also described possible initiatives concerning student internships as well as IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants.  The former will certainly help draw new members as well as the much needed “fresh blood”  to maintain our momentum.


• We were given a preview of the new web site which is scheduled for its roll-out in February. In addition to being able to edit our committee pages more easily than in the past, committee chairs may be able to set up their profiles, included headshots and social media links.  For those interested in networking and establishing appropriate visibility, these improvements will be a boon, especially to our new members.


• I hope to sponsor a Mentor Mingle at the Montreal convention, but must remind all chapters and divisions that mentoring is a processes that is mutually beneficial to those involved, from the individuals to the association itself.  It is a perk of membership that is at times under-used, and we must be vigilant that we do not lose sight of our mission as educators to share, support and encourage newcomers to our group and to our organization.


• As Chair of the Mentoring Committee, I’m hoping that my committee will be more effective to members in “far-flung” corners of the world where access to Judaica librarians is challenging.  I hope to use my space on the web for telecommunication, such as Skype, Instant Messaging, and perhaps even group events on social media such as Facebook or Second Life.  If there are individuals out there who would like to be included in this initiative, please contact me at AJLMentoringATgmail.com.  Until that time, do make a point of visiting my page on the AJL wiki dedicated to social media for librarians.  Look it over and please send me feed-back. We will all benefit from that.

New Book on Mentoring: Now, onto a special “shout-out” for a new book on mentoring by  ALA.  The title is aptly, Mentoring in the Library:   Building for the Future by Marta K. Lee. I must say that it certainly met my expectations from the first peek at the Introduction.  I  learned of this book through an ALA newsletter alert on new publications and immediately purchased it online (ISBN 9780838935934 ; $50.)  It arrived in the mail just today, and I thought “How marvelous! Just in time for my blog post!  The book itself is a mere 122 pages, replete with chapters devoted to enumerating the kind of skills a mentor should have, with techniques for successful development, education and training.  Also included are guidelines for establishing formal and informal mentoring arrangements, with a chapter devoted to mentoring librarians electronically.  The book flap boasts “In this useful book, Lee shows librarians how mentoring can be both personally satisfying and a path to career development.”  Besides the requisite bibliography and index, this handbook includes appendices with forms for requests, proposals, and promotion review timetable .  Of interest, too, are the case studies from two academic institutions.  However, both volunteers and school librarians are given space, so those who are not planning mentorship in RAS will still wish to give this volume and careful read.  Finally, the book jacket suggests other related titles, such as Coaching in the Library:  A management Strategy for achieving excellence 2nd ed. By Ruth F. Metz and Succession planning in the library:  Developing leaders, managing change by Paul M Singer with Gail Griffith.  These books may be order at www.alastore.ala.org or 866.746.7252!

Happy Mentoring! Remember to send your stories, lessons learned, and feedback to be shared with others.  Look for me, too, on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  I often post to AJL, but have my own Twitter account (NYLibrarians).  Other contact information:  ajlmentoring AT gmail.com.  Skype: Stephanie.L.Gross.  Best of luck to you all in 2011!  I plan to be at the convention in June, so do send me ideas for sessions or general ideas for PR and outreach.  You need not be a library student, and librarians in transition as well as newly-minted librarians are warmly encouraged to become involved.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2011 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 6-11, 2011! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish, kidlit, and family-interest blogs. For those of you who have not yet experienced a Blog Tour, it's basically a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author or illustrator speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author’s or illustrator's interview.

Below is the schedule for the 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour dates, and be sure to leave plenty of comments!

For the full list of this year's winners, honors, and notable books, please visit the Association of Jewish Libraries website.

THE 2011 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Carla Jablonski, author of Resistance
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Jewish Comics

Leland Purvis, illustrator of Resistance
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Shelf-Employed

Sarah Gershman, author of Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Biblio File

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Linda Glaser, author of Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at ASHarmony

Claire Nivola, illustrator of Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Lori Calabrese

Evelyn Krieger, author of One Is Not a Lonely Number
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Ima On and Off the Bima

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011

Barbara Diamond Goldin, author of Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Great Kid Books

Jaime Zollars, illustrator of Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at The Book of Life

Susan Lynn Meyer, author of Black Radishes
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at The 3 Rs – Reading, ‘Riting & Research





WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Howard Schwartz, author of Gathering Sparks
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Boston Bibliophile

Barry Deutsch, author and illustrator of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at BewilderBlog

Dana Reinhardt, author of The Things a Brother Knows
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Gathering Sparks
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
And illustrator of Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Alice Pope’s SCBWI Children’s Market Blog



Sarah Darer Littman, author of Life, After
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Into the Wardrobe

Eishes Chayil, author of Hush
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Frume Sarah’s World

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2011

Morris Gleitzman, author of Once
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at The Fourth Musketeer

Sydney Taylor Award Winners – Wrap-Up
All winners, all categories
at The Whole Megillah

Author Sharon Bially recently made the decision to publish her most recent novel, Veronica's Nap, online, as a blog; the story of a mother struggling with marriage, children and life choices has a distinctly Jewish setting in the milieu of Sephardic France and in the questions below, she addresses why she chose these topics to write about, the challenges she faced and her views on the future of publishing and of the book.



1. Why did you choose to set your novel in the Sephardic culture of
France? What do you find interesting or special about this corner of
the Jewish world? How does the setting impact your characters and by extension, the story?

France’s diverse and vibrant Jewish community is a fascinating microcosm of world Judaism, embodying nearly all of its aspects and living them out with an intensity rarely seen outside of Israel.  Its half-million-plus members – the third largest Jewish population worldwide after Israel and the U.S. – include both Ashkinazi survivors of Nazi occupation (as well as their descendants), and large numbers of Maghreban Sephardim – emigrants from France’s former colonies, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.  Discovering these two groups’ differences and similarities, their traditions, customs and direct, palpable links to the past, was far more intriguing to me than getting to the bottom of that French je-ne-sais-quoi during the twelve years I spent in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.   And learning about the Maghreban Sephardim has opened my eyes to a whole other dimension of Judaism that deserves a lot more attention than it gets!  It’s so important to be able step outside of ourselves and look back in from another angle.  As a Jewish American married to a French-Italian Cohen, I continue this discovery process every day and want to share it.

On top of its cultural and historical richness, the French Jewish community lives alongside France’s 5 – 6 million Muslims.  Tensions often flare, particularly in conjunction with developments in the Middle East.  Synagogue bombings and other such incidents spark high-voltage emotions that can make Jewish life in France feel like it’s taking place at the very core of the Middle East conflict.

I find Provence intriguingly symbolic of all this.  There’s a large population of both Maghreban Jews and Muslims, and the landscape even reminds me of parts of Israel, with its Mediterranean blue skies and cypress trees.  Its vivid contrasts – striking shades of blue and green and orange, harsh wind that rips through the peaceful scenery, architecture that simultaneously encapsulates both the past and the present – resonate with all sorts of conflicts, from world politics to one woman’s identity struggle.  And its beauty can fool you into forgetting what’s really going on beneath the sunny surface.  This is the linchpin of the emotional bond between the setting, the characters and the story of Veronica’s Nap.
2. Your protagonist, Veronica, is a privileged married woman who has the luxury of time to herself and the resources to follow her dreams of painting, yet she struggles. What kinds of value-oriented questions is Veronica challenged by? What are her moral guideposts?

Veronica Berg Benhamou, the story’s protagonist, has the good fortune of having most of her material needs provided for by her husband and parents.  Like many others with a similar background, she’s awash in choices and has never had to fight for her well-being or ideals.  When her hard-working, Moroccan-Sephardic husband loses patience with her aimlessness, triggering her quest for change, she’s forced to question the assumptions underlying her rose-tinted values about personal merit, hardship, the sources of inner strength and her role as an adult.

As guideposts, Veronica initially looks to the values touting individual fulfillment she was raised with in suburban New Jersey and the sanguine belief these fostered that if you just give it a good old college try, things will always turn out for the best.  Deeply attached to her own family, she values Jewish family life – enough to agree to the more observant lifestyle her husband leads, including keeping kosher, and to join his family in celebrating holidays Moroccan-style.  As the story unfolds, she’s forced to question what these values mean to her, too.

3. You’re publishing this novel on a blog, at www.veronicas-nap.com. How did you become interested in using social media as a vehicle for telling your story? Has it changed the way you told the story?

As a professional publicist, I’m fascinated by the power of social media, which has blurred the lines around many stalwart institutions including the press and is a fantastic community-building tool.  And as a writer who’s had two unsuccessful agency contracts over a period of ten years, I was yearning to share my work by the time I finished Veronica’s Nap.  I was also eager to connect with people about its many issues – motherhood, identity, the French and Jewish angles – and to share the “backstory” about my path as a writer and what I’ve learned from it, which I hope can be of value to others.  Blog technology just seemed like the right tool for accomplishing all these goals together.

Because I completed the book before launching the blog, blogging hasn't changed the way I've told the story -- which in fa ct may not be particularly well suited to blogging!  It'll be interesting to see this relationship evolves for others, though, as more writers begin posting work-in-progress online.
4. What are some of the challenges you faced writing this story? What did you learn?

To adequately describe the challenges of writing this book, I’d need to write another!  I began writing fiction before the internet age really took off, and even when I started scribbling the first drafts of Veronica’s Nap, online resources for writers were rare.  So I relied mainly on a couple of local writing groups for support.  Unfortunately, the quality of the input I received was often dubious at best and it was difficult to figure out where to get better advice.  At one point, I threw up my hands and stopped looking, since this search seemed to take up more time and energy than writing.

As a result, I had no guidance shaping the narrative or plot of Veronica’s Nap in a way that fits in with current publishing trends.  Veronica’s inner conflict, her denial, her relationship with her husband, how it feels to be her – these quiet, contemplative events inspired me, so that’s what I wrote about.  I’ve only recently learned that they’re too “quiet” from publishers’ perspective.  Still, it was as exhilarating as it was challenging to explore them in depth, and in addition to growing as a writer, I learned a lot from putting myself in Veronica’s shoes about the power and limitations of denial.

Now that I’m more familiar with the publishing world and its trends, I’ve also learned to question my own values as a writer.  While I used to be determined at all costs to to write a book that would attract a publisher, I now feel differently.  Simply continuing to write what’s meaningful, to improve as a writer and share my stories when I’m ready has become much more important.  And the lives of French Jews are extremely close to my heart: Veronica’s Nap is just the tip of the iceberg.  My next book will tell the story of a woman who’s the victim of a bizarre and fiery form of terrorism targeting a synagogue in Paris and the unfair fate of the Muslim man who tries to help.  Maybe a bit risqué, but I intend to write it.
5. What do you see as the future of e-publishing? It differs even from “traditional” paper-based self-publishing as being a more ephemeral medium. Do you plan to publish your book in paper form, ever? Why or why not? What do you see as the advantages of e-publishing?

Confession: I don’t have an e-reader, and always buy paper copies of books!  And since I love that there are so many different reading options out there today, I do want to produce both a paper copy and an e-book of Veronica’s Nap to supplement the blog.   I’ve been looking into it, but haven’t made as much progress by now as I would have liked.  There are only so many hours in a day!

While I hope paper books will never go extinct and don’t think they will, I do see e-publishing as the mainstream of the future.  Just look at how quickly the world switched to reading and watching the news online.  And this is not a clock we can turn back: publishers will only be able to resist the tidal wave for so long.  E-books are cheaper to produce and are better for the planet.  They make great economic sense for books whose profit margins don’t absorb the costs of printing – and even for those that do.  They’re easier to publicize and distribute.  And with four times as many self-published books as traditionally published books in 2009 alone and those numbers growing, e-books are helping make writing into what it should be: something to share.

Sharon, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us about your book and the future of the book business. As librarians this is a topic that has a big impact on us and the services we offer and will be offering into the future. Thank you for your insights, and best of luck with the book! Sharon is Vice President, Farrell Kramer Communications and Principal, Connaissance Media.

On Friday, January 28, please join us for our third and final installment of Facebook Friday in its trial run, with librarian extraordinaire and past AJL President Susan Dubin, who will answer questions on using general-interest books to teach Judaism and Jewish values.

The details:

Who: Susan Dubin, librarian and past AJL President


Where: AJL’s Facebook page here.

When: Friday, January 28 9am PST/12pm EST


What: A live Q&A chat on teaching Jewish values with general interest books.


You must “like” AJL on Facebook in order to participate. To ask questions, just use the “Status Update” tool.

Want more Facebook Friday? Want to be a guest host? Email Marie Cloutier at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org by the end of January.

Posted by Marie.

Here's this week's collection of links about libraries, Jewish libraries, librarianship and more, as well as some holiday links for Tu B'Shevat.

What Doesn't Kill You on Tu  B'Shevat, from TCJewfolk.

Eating Jewish: Recipes for a Tasty Tu B'Shevat table, from Jewesses with Attitude.

The Triangle Fire, in Couplets: Enter the Poetry Contest! from Tablet. This might be fun to share with your patrons as well!

Another 12 Technologies on the Verge of Extinction, from Stephen's Lighthouse. I'm not sure I agree with all of his choices, but it's thought-provoking. What do you think?

The Jewish Museum tells us about Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish and the Opening Night: 2011 New York Jewish Film Festival.

New Book on American Hebrew Literature, discussed at the Jewish Literary Review.

Searching 60 Million Pages of Canadian History, an article highlighting the Canadiana Discovery Portal, a new database of Canadian history sources. A search for the keyword "Jewish" brought up 10 pages of results!

That's it for this week. Email me at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org with feedback and suggestions. Have a great week.

Posted by Marie.

When I sent out an email to AJL members asking for Tu B'Shevat resources for a blog post, I was overwhelmed by the responses.

AJL's Bibliography Bank has lots of resources, including two dedicated bibliographies just on Tu B'Shevat and lots of other suggestions mixed in with bibliographies on holidays and children's literature.

You can also search in AJL's fabulous Jewish ValuesFinder resource.

AJL Librarian Melinda Herman of the Beth-El Synagogue Center recommends A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry and Marc Simont, Zolkower's It's Tu B'Shevat, Gold-Vukson's Grandpa and Me on  Tu B'Shevat, The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco, Behold the Trees by Sue Alexander and Leonid Gore, and Pearl Moscowitz's Last Stand by Arthur A. Levine and Robert Roth.

The Jewish Community Library of Greater New Haven responded with a link to their catalog, where you can find lots of great Tu B'Shevat materials. Click on "holidays" under EXPLORE.  Then click on Tu B'Shevat.

Publisher Kar-Ben sent me a link to their selection of Tu B'Shevat books.

AJL Librarian Basya Karp of the Shulamith High School and the Shulamith School for Girls says "Dear Tree by Doba Rivka Weber (Hachai Publishing) is a gem of a book in which a young boy expresses his wish that his favorite tree should always have what it needs to flourish."

AJL Librarian Natasha Krause of the Vancouver  Talmud Torah School likes The Giving Tree, Sammy Spider’s Tu B’Shevat and Grandpa and me on Tu B’Shevat by Marji Gold-Vukson.

AJL librarian Barbara Mende suggested Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and Sylvia Rouss's Sammy Spider's Tu B'Shevat and It's Tu B'Shevat by Edie Stoltz Zolkower.

Jennifer Russell, an MLIS student in Ohio, says "I really enjoyed Behold the Trees by Sue Alexander (a history of the land of Israel focusing on the fate of the trees) for upper elementary readers (although it's in picture book format, it's a sophisticated narrative).  The illustrations, by Leonid Gore, are excellent. And there's always the picture book Solomon and the Trees, by Matt Biers-Ariel."

AJL librarian and kidlit guru Linda Silver created a bibliography, For the Trees, for the Greater Cleveland AJL's blog.

AJL Librarian Ellen Tilman of Meyers Library, Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, says "We define Tu B'Shevat very broadly and include books about trees and the environment.  I am particularly fond of the two books about Wangari and her planting trees in Kenya. (Planting the Trees of Kenya and Wangari's Trees of Peace.)"

I also received a number of full-length bibliographies and shelflists that I wasn't able to include on a brief blog post but I encourage you all to visit your local synagogue or community-center library to check out their holdings- there's a lot of great stuff out there!

Feel free to leave a comment on this post with your favorite Tu B'Shevat books for children- or adults!

Posted by Marie.

Welcome to the January edition of the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly event where bloggers who blog about Jewish books can meet, read and comment on each others' posts.

The carnival was started by Heidi Estrin and Marie Cloutier to build community among bloggers and blogs who feature Jewish books. It will run every month on the 15th.

We're hosting this month, and we got a fantastic collection of links from our participants.

From Barbara Bietz comes Welcome Howard Schwartz- Gathering Sparks.

Boston Bibliophile has a review of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch.

Waste Not, Want Not comes from ForwordsBooks.com.

The Fourth Musketeer brings Book Review: Threads and Flames, by Esther Friesener.

Leora of Here in HP gave us Scapegoat by Eli Amir: A Book Review.

Ilana-Davita sends Hush: A Short Book Review.


The Jewish Book Council blog sends two great links: 2010 National Jewish Book Award Announcement and JBC Bookshelf: First Edition.

Turning Numbers into People comes from the Jewish Journal.

The Jewish Publication Society offers Tu B'Shevat is Almost Here, So Get Ready to Plant Some Trees!

Review: An Italian Renaissance, Choosing Life in Canada: a review from JewWishes.

Ann Koffsky sent us two links this month: Reports of the Death of the Book Have Been Greatly Exaggerated for your consideration, and Snowman Coloring Pages, just for fun.

My Machberet has Richard Holbrooke's German War Photo-and Mine.

Needle in the Bookstacks sends us Treasures in the Library.

Rhapsody in Books offers a Review of Stronger than Iron: The Destruction of Vilna Jewry 1941-1945: An Eyewitness Account, by Mendel Balberyszski.

Sylvia Rouss has Everyone Loves Sammy!

Thanks to all our participants for these links. Please take some time to visit and comment on those that interest you- which I hope is all of them! Stay tuned to the Jewish Book Carnival home page for a schedule of upcoming Carnivals and email Heidi Estrin at heidi@cbiboca.org if you'd like to participate!

The Jewish Book Carnival has a GoodReads page, where we host discussions and more. Whether or not you’re participating in the Carnival, we hope you’ll stop by, join and take part!

Posted by Marie.


Feel free to download and save the logo, and use it on your blogposts or sidebar. Please do not link directly to the picture.


The Jewish Book Carnival has a GoodReads page, where we host discussions and more. Whether or not you're participating, we hope you'll stop by, join and take part!

So many great links this week. So difficult to choose!

Stephen's Lighthouse offers his Predictions on the Future of Book Publishing.  What do you think?

The Greater Cleveland Chapter of AJL has an article by our very own Linda Silver called For the Trees, a list of recommended books for Tu B'Shevat. I'll have more Tu B'Shevat book lists next week. I was overwhelmed with the responses I got when I put out my call for ideas!

OnLion, the blog from Behrman House, offers Transformative Learning in the Religious School Classroom.

Yehuda Halevi, National Jewish Book Award Winner!, from Schocken Books.

A List to End All Lists! from the Jewish Publication Society.

The Jewish Literary Review has The Comic Torah: Reimagining a Very Good Book.

What's Your Favorite Yiddish Word? from the Yiddish Book Center.

Have a great week. Email me at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org with questions, feedback or suggestions.

Posted by Marie.