The Book of Life: Jewish Kidlit (Mostly)

Unsettled: The Problem of Loving Israel is Marc Aronson's rather unsettling new nonfiction book for teens. We spoke to him about the challenges of writing and reading nonfiction and about this book at the SLJ Leadership Summit in Hollywood Florida. www.bookoflifepodcast.com

The Book of Life celebrates Chanukah with Sylvia Rouss, author of the Sammy Spider series; Eric Kimmel, who now has audiobooks available on his website; Josh Nelson, a performer in the Lights TV special; and Rabbi Ilene Schneider, author of the mystery Chanukah Guilt.

Are you a member of the tribe? Which tribe? What is a tribe, anyway? We take a look at the Klezmer Company Orchestra's CD "Beyond the Tribes," the documentary film "The Tribe," and a book by photographer Rafael Goldchain, "I Am My Family." Links, as always, at www.bookoflifepodcast.com. Please send comments and questions to [email protected].

The Book of Life's Blog Action Day episode features Blog Action co-founder Cyan Ta'eed, and authors Aubrey Davis (Bagels from Benny) and Eric Kimmel (The Mysterious Guests), discussing themes of poverty and generosity. See blogactionday.org for info about this worldwide event. www.bookoflifepodcast.com [email protected]

Meet The Book of Life's new Canadian Correspondent, author & librarian Anne Dublin! Anne introduces us to her Toronto writers' group as they discuss the Jewish elements of their work. Check out Anne's website at annedublin.ca. www.bookoflifepodcast.com [email protected]

The Book of Life's 2008 High Holidays Special! We speak to Jacqueline Jules, author of the picture book Sarah Laughs, and to Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, author of the self-help book We Plan, God Laughs: 10 Steps to Finding Your Divine Path When Life Is Not Turning Out Like You Wanted. Then we ask graphologist Arlyn Imberman to analyze the handwriting of these two authors as well as Book of Life Host, Heidi Estrin, to help us get into a self-reflective mode for the Jewish New Year. www.bookoflifepodcast.com [email protected]

In this episode of The Book of Life, we talk to 2 Jews and get way more than 3 opinions. These two conversations are the last of the material recorded at Book Expo 2008. Smart, articulate women Kathy Bloomfield (a Jew by choice) and Laurel Snyder (a product and practitioner of interfaith marriage) explore Jewish identity and how it affects our reading and our writing. Please visit www.bookoflifepodcast.com to vote on our format: should our podcast have short single-interview episodes, or should we continue with longer shows featuring several guests? Feedback: [email protected] XML: http://heidiestrin.audioblog.com/rss/the_book_of_life.xml

In Part 4 of The Book of Life's series from the Book Expo America conference, we hear about new and forthcoming titles on the Holocaust for adults and youth. Before closing, we'll cleanse our palates with a non-Holocaust-related interview, one that was mistakenly left out of Part 3 (Jewish Literature for Adults). Please take the survey at bookoflifepodcast.com: Do you prefer the current format of a half-hour show with several interviews, or would you like shorter single-interview episodes? Thanks for your feedback! www.bookoflifepodcast.com [email protected]

The Book of Life's coverage of Jewish books at the 2008 Book Expo America conference in Los Angeles. In this third segment of the series, we look at Judaic books for adults. www.bookoflifepodcast.com

Interviews recorded at Book Expo America 2008, covering Jewish books for older kids and teens.