Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel. Illus. by Amy Cartwright. Price Stern Sloan. Preschool. The familiar words of the children’s Hanukkah song flow along the pages of this charmingly illustrated board book. There’s a nice surprise waiting at the end: a pop-up scene with a spinning menorah.

Eight Winter Nights by Laura Kraus Melmed. Illus. by Elizabeth Schlossberg. Chronicle. Preschool-Kdg. Short verses tell the story of a family’s enjoyment of Hanukkah, from lighting the menorah to singing, dancing, eating, and giving tzedakah. The pencil and pastel illustrations in shades of rust and magenta bathe the story in a warm, cozy light. End notes give background on the holiday and its traditions.

The Hanukkah Trike by Michelle Edwards. Illus. by Kathryn Mitter. Albert Whitman. Kdg. – Gr. 2. A little girl named Gabi is thrilled to receive a new tricycle at the end of the first night of Hanukkah. She names it “Hanukkah” but is daunted when she tries to ride it and falls off. The story of the Maccabees inspires her to persevere and her success is captured in bright paintings as well as in a rather bland text.

Happy Hanukkah Lights by Jacqueline Jules. Illus. by Michelle Shapiro. Kar-Ben/Lerner. Preschool. Rhymes, counting, and Jewish traditions are combined in this board book that shows a family’s joyful Hanukkah celebrations on all eight nights. The illustrations are cheerful and child-like.

Jackie’s Gift: A True Story of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Jackie Robinson by Sharon Robinson. Illus. by E. B. Lewis. Viking. Gr. 1-4. When young Steve Satlow helps his neighbors, the family of the baseball great, Jackie Robinson, trim their Christmas tree, he tells them that his family has no tree of their own. Not realizing that the Satlows are Jewish, Jackie delivers them one. After a few awkward moments, the Satlows decide that for this year only, they’ll have both a menorah and a Christmas tree. Jackie Robinson’s daughter wrote this handsomely illustrated story based on real events and it abounds with friendship and understanding.

The Kvetch Who Stole Hanukkah by Bill Berlin and Susan Isakoff Berlin. Illus. by Peter J. Welling. Pelican. Preschool-Kdg. There is no joy in Oyville when the local kvetch steals all of the menorahs. But fear not: the town’s brave children confront the old man, regale him with the story of the Macabbees and the true meaning of Hanukkah, and accomplish a miracle by opening the kvetch’s heart and mind to the joy of the holiday. Unpolished but energetic illustrations abound in a zany story that is meant to remind children of Dr. Seuss’s Grinch.

Maccabee! The Story of Hanukkah by Tilda Balsley. Illus. by David Harrington. Kar-Ben/Lerner. Kdg. - Gr.3. The story of how Judah and the Maccabees fought the tyrant Antiochus for religious freedom o the Jews and the restoration of the Temple is retold in this animated rhyme punctuated by a repeated refrain: "Sometimes it only takes a few,/ Who know what's right, and do it, too." The rhythmic narrative is enhanced by bold paintings and would lend itself to readers' theatre.

www.ajljewishvalues.org

Chag Sameach. Here are some great links from around the blogiverse on Jewish books, libraries and more.

From TCJewfolk.com, Noshin' Review: Quiches, Kugels and Couscous by Joan Nathan.

From Stephen's Lighthouse, How Many Books Are There In Your Library?

From ACRLog, On Being Valuable: Point-Counterpoint.

From Tablet, Ban My Book- Please!

From the Jerusalem Post, A Succot Harvest with a Charitable Twist.

From Resource Shelf, Tweets and Reports from the "Libraries at the Tipping Point" Online Conference by Sue Polanka and the Librarian in Black.

That's it. As always comment or send me an email at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org with links, feedback or ideas.

Posted by Marie.

It's Banned Books Week this week, September 25-October 2. Banned Books Week is the American Library Association's annual spotlight on books that have been challenged or banned from libraries all over the United States.

You can click here for ALA's main Banned Books Week page, including free downloads and other resources.

Does your library have a policy in place to deal with challenges? What happens in your library when a patron says a book should be removed, or that access should be limited? Have you ever had to remove a book or move it to another section because a patron complained?

The State of Oregon compiled this useful page of resources and tips for dealing with challenges.

The National Coalition Against Censorship offers the Book Censorship Toolkit.

Last year 460 challenges were reported to ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. See the 2009 Top 10 List here.

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this important issue!

Posted by Marie.

Here's some great links from around the blogosphere this week. If you know of a great blog you'd like me to read and include in these roundups please send me a note at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org.

From Tablet Magazine, Sukkah of the Soul.

A Sukkot Link Round-up from Jewesses with Attitude.

From Stephen's Lighthouse, Pew/Nielsen: The Rise of Apps Culture.

From ACRLog, Ready, Set, Teach: You in the Classroom. This is the first in a new series of academic-librarian guest bloggers.

Netflix in libraries and hypocrisy, from Information Wants to be Free.

J Literary Links from the Jewish Book Council.

Posted by Marie.

Several weeks ago I had the privilege to interview Alix Strauss, author of Based upon Availability, published this past summer by HarperCollins.

Alix and I talked about the book, her own story and her history with libraries and Judaism.

The interview is about 18 minutes long in two parts:

Alix Strauss Part 1

Alix Strauss Part 2

We are hosting a giveaway of a finished, signed copy of Based Upon Availability in conjunction with this interview. To enter, simply  leave a comment on this post with your email address. I will pick a winner using random-number generator random.org on October 7 and notify the winner on October 11. The winner will have until Friday, October 15 to reply. The contest is open to United States addresses only.

Don't forget to comment with your email address for a chance to win a paperback of the book!

Posted by Marie.

Here are this week's links from around the blogosphere on books, librarianship and more.

Ray Frank's Historic High Holy Day Services, from The Sisterhood.

Inspiring Stuff to Read, Take 2, from Information Wants to be Free.

Favorite Fictional Jewish Characters, from the Jewish Book Council Blog.

Rising Through the Ranks: On Upward Mobility in Librarianship, from In the Library with a Lead Pipe.

Yom Kippur Machzor Translated for Brazilian Jews, from the Jerusalem Post.

New Jewish Poetry from Yehoshua November from the Jewish Literary Review.

Posted by Marie.

Today is the Jewish Book Carnival!

This month the Carnival is hosted by The Jewish Publication Society here.

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 have hosts lined up through the end of 2010 but if you are interested in hosting the carnival on your blog sometime in 2011, feel free to contact Marie at mcloutier@jewishlibraries.org.

Click here for the full schedule and list of participating blogs.

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.

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!

For now, head over to the Jewish Publication Society and check out this month's collection of great links.

Posted by Marie.

Association of Jewish Libraries

Call for Papers 2011

The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) will hold the 46^th Annual Convention at the Marriott Chateau Champlain in Montreal, Quebec June 19-22, 2011. Librarians, archivists, scholars, educators, authors and others will meet to share their interest in Judaica librarianship and related topics.

AJL is soliciting proposals for papers and presentations on aspects of Judaica librarianship as it pertains to libraries, archives, museums, schools, synagogues and related institutions. Past topics have included literature and other resources, collection management, programming, reader advisory services, special and rare collections, cataloging and classification, digital and electronic resources, technology and local Jewish history.

A special focus this year will be the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Montreal Jewish community.

Submissions should include the following:

Presenter’s name, address, affiliation , telephone and email contacts.

Brief biography.

Title of proposed presentation.

Summary of proposal.

Specific technology or equipment requirements, if any.

All submissions must be received by November 30, 2010. Please submit proposals by email to:

ajlconvention@gmail.com

or by mail to:

Marsha Lustigman,

Bialik Library,

6500 Kildare Rd.,

Cote St. Luc, QC, Canada, H4W 3B8

Proposals will be reviewed by the Program Planning Committee, which is composed of national and local AJL members. Notification will be made in January, 2011.

Posted by Marie.

We have returned with some great links on Jewish books, libraries and librarianship.

The Melbourne Writers' Fest produced this video on 10 Facts You Won't Read in a Book About Books.

From Schocken Books, Ruth Gruber Inspires New Movie.

From the ACRLog blog: Is There a Rescue Plan at Your Library?

From Information Wants to be Free: What's the Deal, JSTOR?

From the Jerusalem Post: French Teacher Suspended for Teaching 'Too Much' Holocaust

From the Jewish Literary Review: Elie Wiesel's The Sonderberg Case.

Posted by Marie.

A recommended reading list from AJL's Jewish Valuesfinder:

Engineer Ari and the Sukkah Express. Illus. by Shahar Kober. Kar-Ben/Lerner. The chipper trio of railroad engineers first met in Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride builld a sukkah and place it on the train to share with all their friends along the tracks from Jaffa to Jerusalem. ( Kdg; Primary)

Even Higher: A Rosh Hashanah Story by Eric A. Kimmel. Illus. by Jill Weber. Holiday House. A skeptic is convinced of the rabbi's holiness in this lively retelling of one of I. L. Peretz's best-loved stories. (Primary; Elementary)

Greater than Gold and Silver by Rav Naftali Ehrmann. Illus. by Chedvah Rubin. Feldheim. A lavishly illustrated Sukkot story about the mitzvah of the etrong, written from an Orthodox point of view. (Primary; Elementary)

New Year at the Pier by April Halprin Wayland. Illus. by Stefane Jorisch. Dial Books for Young Readers. Izzy, his family, and members of their congregation gather at the pier to symbolically cast away their sins in the ceremony of tashlich. Action and emotions are captured by the lilting illustrations. (Preschool; Primary) WINNER OF A SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD.

Sammy Spider's First Simhat Torah by Sylvia A. Rouss. Illus. by Katherine Janus Kahn. Kar-Ben/Lerner. Sammy and his human buddy, Josh, learn what the holiday is all about and Sammy takes a ride to shul on a candy apple! (Preschool; Primary)

The Secret Shofar of Barcelona by Jacqueline Dembar Greene. Illus. by Doug Chayka. Kar-Ben/Lerner. Secret Jews find a way to blow the shofar in plain sight during a concert for the Spanish nobility. Set in Spain during the Inquisition, the story celebrates faith and courage. (Primary; Elementary)

Sukkot Treasure Hunt by Allison Ofanansky. Photographs by Eliyahu Alpern. Kar-Ben/Lerner. After building their sukkah, an Israeli child and her parents search the hills and valleys of the Gallilee for myrtle, willow, palm, and citron. Color photographs add realism to a story set in Israel. (Primary; Elementary)

Tashlich at Turtle Rock by Susan Schnur. Illus. by Alex Steele-Morgan. Kar-Ben/Lerner. Primary. A family custom - walking in the woods on Rosh Hashanah - offers an idyllic view of the ceremony of tashlich. (Primary)

Today is the Birthday of the World by Linda Heller. Dutton. A beautifully illustrated story about animals and children doing their best. Although Rosh Hashanah is never mentioned, the theme reflects the holiday's meaning. (Preschool; Primary)

The American Library Association has launched a new page rounding up all of their online learning resources in one place.

Here you will find links to many programs, forums, webinars and webcasts covering a range of topics from collection development and management, to advocacy, to service delivery, and more. The programs are even sorted by ALA units and delivery type- it's like one-stop shopping for your remote learning needs.

Most programs are open to anyone, ALA member or not. Many are free; others have fees attached depending on the course type, length and membership status of the librarian taking the course.

I know I'm going to be spending some time investigating ALA's offerings, now that they're gathered together on this page; it looks like there's something for just about everyone!

Posted by Marie.

Here's our weekly roundup of posts from across the internet and the blogosphere on books, Jewish books, libraries and more.

Librarians as___________: Shapeshifting at the Periphery, about  the changing roles of librarians in the information age, from In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

Adding Irena Klepfisz to the Canon, from Jewesses with Attitude.

Strike a Pose...Yale UP, from the Jewish Book Council blog.

Rosh Hashanah Books from the Jewish Literary Review.

Open Access and the Library's Missing Mission, at Inside Higher Ed.

Posted by Marie.

You can see the full press release here:

Nominations are being accepted through September 20, 2010 for this  year's I LOVE MY LIBRARIAN AWARD.

The award is open to MLS-holding librarians in the following categories:

• School Library


• Public Library- including synagogues and community centers whose libraries are open to the public, and


• College, Community College and University Libraries.

The Promotional Tools page includes sample press releases, logos, badges- and flyers to distribute to your patrons.

When you make them available in your library, your patrons have the chance to recognize the work you do.

ALA will select up to ten winners; what a great opportunity to create some buzz in our communities and even nationally, for AJL and for all the work you do to promote Jewish books, scholarship and reading.

Good luck!

Posted by Marie.

Welcome to the second monthly Jewish Book Carnival!

The Jewish Book Carnival is your chance to participate in People of the Books.

The Carnival was started by Heidi Estrin and me, to promote blogs that cover Jewish books. It’s an effort to build community, so that blog writers and readers can share posts on Jewish books. We’ll read each others’ blogs, support each other and promote each other- and Jewish books-  throughout the blogosphere.

Every month on the 15th, someone will host the roundup; in September, you can find it at the Jewish Publication Society.

On the Carnival's home page you can find a list of participants, links to past carnivals and other information.


The Jewish Book Carnival has a GoodReads page; we’d love for you to join, to keep up with Carnival news, join in our discussions and share what you’re reading and writing about.

This month we have several new participants- and lots of great links.

We hope you have time to visit and comment on lots of the featured blogs.

And if you'd like to join the Carnival or host, please email me at mcloutier @ jewishlibraries.org.

The Links:

Bagels, Books & Schmooze reviews Sima's Undergarments for Women, by Ilana Stanger-Ross

Boston Bibliophile reviews The Frozen Rabbi, by Steve Stern

Here in HP: Review with Carrot Watercolor and  Sharkskin Suits and Cairo Longings

Homeshuling: Bible Stories for Children- Does the Torah Belong in Picture Books?

JBooks.com: Rabbi Harvey Interviews Gary Shteyngart

Jewish Book Council: Israeli Fiction Roundup

JewishBoston.com reviews Tough Questions Jews Ask: A Young Adult's Guide to Building a Jewish Life

The Jewish Publication Society shares The Top 5 Jewish Book to Film Adaptations and Introducing our new CEO, Barry Schwartz!

JewWishes reviews Displaced Persons, by Ghita Schwarz

My Machberet: Recent Reads- The J-Word, by Andrew Sanger

Needle in the Bookstacks asks Is Jozefow Close to Chelm?

Rhapsody in Books reviews Songs for the Butcher's Daughter, by Peter Manseau

Sylvia Rouss: Lessons I Learned When I Wrote My First Book

The Whole Megillah reviews Once and Sharing Our Homeland

Thanks once again to all the participants, and to you for visiting and commenting on their blogs.

Posted by Marie.

It's that time again. Here's a selection of links on books, libraries and more for the week.

AJL's Lisa Silverman published a great article, What's New for Kids to Read, at JewishJournal.com.

Treasures of the Bavarian State Library, including a section on Hebrew books, available as an iPhone app.

My Jewish Learning is running a poetry contest for the High Holy Days.

The American Association for School Librarians posted is Top 25 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

Calling Dibs on Culture, a fascinating article from the Jewish Publication Society.

From the Jewish Literary Review, Jonathan Papernick: A Modern-Day Book Peddlar.

From Points of Reference, OverDrive Customers Can Add Project Gutenberg Titles to Their Virtual Collections.

AJL's monthly Jewish Book Carnival post will be up on Sunday, August 15. Hope to see you here!




As always feel free to contact me if you have a link you think would be good for our weekly roundup. My email is mcloutier @ jewishlibraries.org.

Posted by Marie.

So you're interested in AJL and want to connect with a group of AJL librarians local to you? Here's a list of some of the websites and blogs set up for and by some of AJL's regional chapters.

Greater Cleveland AJL Chapter

Judaica Librarians’ Group (Israel) (in Hebrew)

Judaica Library Network of Metropolitan Chicago

New England AJL Chapter

AJL of Southern California

South Florida AJL

Some of these are fully-functional website and some are blog-style; all of them provide great basic information on what folks are up to elsewhere in the United States, and elsewhere in the world.

This list is also included in AJL's blogroll, which is linked to on the right hand side of this page. The list is updated regularly. If you are part of a regional chapter and you don't see your chapter's site listed, please email me at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org and I'll be sure to include it.

Posted by Marie.

The facts:

1. AJL has held 45 annual conventions in the US, Canada and Israel, beginning in 1966 in Philadelphia. Ohio and California are tied for hosting the largest number of conventions over the years - six each, and Canada will catch up by holding its 6th AJL convention in 2011 in Montreal. While conventions are always exciting, we have persevered through many outrageous adventures such as the SARS scare (Toronto in 2003) and the transvestite beauty pageant being held at the convention hotel (Miami Beach in 1991).

2. AJL is the Association of Jewish LIBRARIES, not LIBRARIANS. We have members from all streams of Judaism and members who are not Jewish. What we all have in common is an interest in sharing Jewish culture and knowledge through libraries.

3. AJL is a volunteer-run organization with no central office. Members volunteer their time for everything from running local chapter meetings to writing publications to organizing international conventions.

4. AJL has been podcasting its convention sessions and other events since 2008. You can hear recordings of lectures, panel discussions, author talks, and workshops at jewishlibraries.org/podcast.

5. AJL has two divisions- the Research Libraries, Archives and Special Collections division (RAS) for academic libraries and the School, Synagogue, and Community Centers division (SSC) for general interest libraries.

6. AJL publishes a quarterly Newsletter and an occasional scholarly journal called Judaica Librarianship, as well as various guidebooks and bibliographies available through the Publications Department [link: http://www.jewishlibraries.org/main/Portals/0/AJL_Assets/documents/Publications/publications.htm].

7. AJL recognizes great Jewish literature through several annual awards: the Sydney Taylor Book Award [link: http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/stba/index.htm] and Manuscript Award [link: http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/st_ms.htm] for children's literature, and the Reference and Bibliography Awards for scholarly works [link: http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/ref_and_bib.htm].

The seven blogs we'd like to nominate are:

Jewish Book Council

Jewish Publication Society

Jewish Womens Archive

Kar-Ben Publishing

My Machberet

The Sisterhood, a blog of The Forward

Tablet Magazine

Thank you to JPS for this honor!

Posted by Marie

Things have been a little slow over the summer, so I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts lately. I promise we're going to have some great content for you very soon. In the mean time here's our roundup of great finds on the web for the week.

From Stephen's Lighthouse, Another Great Library Video, from the University of Bergen in Norway.

A report from the Jewish Women's Archive on their 2010 Institute for Educators.

The Most Interesting Reaction to my NewCAJE Workshop, from OnLion/Behrman House.

Summer Nostalgia, from the Jewish Publication Society.

Summer Reading: Jewish Bestsellers on Amazon, from the Jewish Literary Review.

Got a link you'd like to share? Email me at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org. Have a great week.

Posted by Marie.

We have a bunch of great links to share this week!

Book Recommendation Services, about online readers' advisory sources, from the great Stephen's Lighthouse blog. What are your favorite online resources for RA?

Connecting Kids to Character, from OnLion.

Social Media: Fad or Friend? from the AJL's Greater Cleveland Chapter blog. This is such an important topic for all libraries and librarians.

News Update from ALA's Washington Office: 'Topic du Jour? Access' (aka A Busy Time in DC), from ResourceShelf.

ebrary Adds 400 Titles to Public Library Complete, from Points of Reference.

Posted by Marie.

We skipped our weekly link roundup last week because we had the Jewish Book Carnival but we're back today with some great things to share.

Why the Next Big Pop Culture Wave After Cupcakes Might be Libraries, from NPR.org.

ALA Virtual Conference: Top 10 Trends in Academic Librarianship, from Blogomancy.

Rabbi Harvey Interviews Gary Shteyngart, at Jbooks.com.

The New Era of Israeli Literature, from Jewcy.com.

Jamie Keiles: Teens Writing About Teens, from the Jewish Womens' Archive.

Legal Research Guide: Israel, from the Library of Congress.

Special Treasures from the JTS Library.

PLA offers free library advocacy training, from ALA.

Harvey Pekar Dies, from Tablet.org.

Art for Peace: A Poet's Voyage to Israel, from TCJewfolk.com.

Oldest Written Document Ever Found in Jerusalem, from PhysOrg.com.

I am actively seeking new blogs to add to the feedreader. If you know of an interesting, well-written blog that's updated regularly focusing on librarianship and/or Jewish books and publishing, please email me at mcloutier at jewishlibraries.org. In particular I'm looking for blogs on academic librarianship.