SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/10/festive-friends-part-i-teshuvah-and.html

TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/x1-e3vOomTqZOrPvQPzePL4ZOKQ 

In honor of this holiday-packed month, I've got a 2-part series for you. I'm calling it Festive Friends, because each episode features a pair of friends talking about books relevant to our fall holidays. Here in Part I, the Festive Friends are Gayle Forman, author of Not Nothing, and Marjorie Ingall, author of Getting to Sorry. While neither of these books are explicitly about Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, they are both about teshuvah, growth, and the art of apology, perfect for this season. I invited this duo not only because of their excellent books but because of their Big BFF Energy, which is a joy to behold.

This is Gayle's first appearance on the podcast, but Marjorie has been a frequent guest. Her past appearances include: Enough with the Holocaust Books for Children! (2015), Mamaleh Knows Best (2017), A Field Guide to Jewish Kidlit (2019), and The Mitzvah of Voting (2020 & 2024).

In Part II, available now, you'll hear from Erica Lyons and Christina Matula, friends and co-authors of the picture book Mixed-Up Mooncakes, about a Chinese Jewish family celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and Sukkot.

LEARN MORE:

• Festive Friends Part II with Erica Lyons and Christina Matula
• Gayle Forman's website
• Marjorie Ingalls' website, and SorryWatch
• Buy Not Nothing
• Buy Getting to Sorry
• Reading Recommendations: Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz, The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales, I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff, A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban, the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Gayle volunteers with TheStatesProject.org and AuthorsAgainstBookBans.com
• Gayle's interview at The Horn Book (has a spoiler, read after finishing the book) 
• Heidi's "Jewish Joy with Ruth Behar" guest post on Multicultural Kid Blogs
• Learn about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year (October 2-4, 2024)
• Learn about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (October 11-12, 2024

ENTER THE DRAWING

Post a review of The Book of Life or Nice Jewish Books, or BOTH, on social media or on any podcast player such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Take screenshots of your reviews and email the images to [email protected]. You'll be entered into a drawing for a special tote bag with the logo of The Book of Life on one side and Nice Jewish Books on the other. Every review you send is an entry in the drawing, and multiple entries are allowed. The deadline to email us is October 24th, 2024, the beginning of the ultimate Jewish celebration of reading, Simchat Torah. Your posts will help our podcasts find more listeners, and help more readers find great Jewish books! 

"JEWISH JOY" SERIES ON MULTICULTURAL KID BLOGS

I am pleased to announce that Multicultural Kid Blogs has invited me to do a "Jewish Joy" series of interviews with diverse Jewish authors. The first one features Ruth Behar, who was on the podcast in May 2024 to talk about her novel Across So Many Seas.