The Book of Life: Jewish Kidlit (Mostly)

What's new in Jewish picture books? Follow Book of Life host Heidi Estrin around the 2008 Book Expo America conference to listen in on publishers talking about their new and forthcoming titles!

Book of Life host Heidi Estrin will be attending Book Expo America 2008 in Los Angeles, to record material for the podcast and to promote the Sydney Taylor Book Award. If YOU will be at Book Expo, drop her a line at [email protected]! (If you meet up, she'll give you a shiny gold Sydney Taylor Book Award lapel pin!) The Book of Life www.bookoflifepodcast.com

The Book of Life celebrates Israel's 60th birthday with a musical extravaganza! 1) Composer Yuval Ron talks about the music he created for the Oscar-winning short film West Bank Story. 2) Fran Manushkin discusses her book Come, Let Us Be Joyful: The Story of Hava Nagila 3) We learn about the 60 @ 60 concert tour with music promoter Michael Dorf, who tells us about the best in new Israeli pop music Links to more info on the artists featured in this episode can be seen at www.bookoflifepodcast.com. Please email comments and questions to [email protected].

The Book of Life takes you on a virtual trip around the world for Passover! 1) Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks discusses People of the Book, her fictional history of the Sarajevo Haggadah. 2) Basya Schechter talks about her band Pharoah's Daughter, which mixes world music and psychedelic rock with Middle Eastern sounds. 3) Author Ilana Kurshan describes her compilation of translations, Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights? The Four Questions Around the World. Bonus: Even more translations with 300 Ways to Ask the Four Questions! Links to the featured books and CD's are at www.bookoflifepodcast.com. Send feedback to [email protected]. In our next episode we'll celebrate Israel@60! Don't miss it!

The Book of Life, a show about Jewish people and the books we read! In this episode we hear from Amy Meltzer, author of Mezuzah on the Door, and from Sarah Gershman & Kristina Swarner, author & illustrator of The Bedtime Sh'ma: A Good Night Book. Authors Eric Kimmel and Maggie Anton chime in with their own mezuzah memories.

The Book of Life hosted a live, call-in show on February 7, 2008 with special guest Pamela Ehrenberg, author of Ethan, Suspended. Our discussion topic was "what makes a book Jewish?" This recording of the call-in show has been edited for clarity and sound quality, but is essentially the same show heard by those who listened live on the big day. Many of those who called in are well-known as authors or bloggers, and links to their accomplishments may be found at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.

In this special "Bells & Whistles" edition of The Book of Life, host Heidi Estrin gives instructions for accessing the live Book of Life call-in show being held on Thursday, February 7, 2008, 3-4pm EST. These same instructions are available in written form at www.bookoflifepodcast.com. The theme of the February 7 program is "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish" and our guest will be Pamela Ehrenberg, author of the middle-grade novel Ethan, Suspended. We'll take calls about Ethan, Suspended, and about what makes a book Jewish in general. Remember, the call-in number for February 7 is 724-444-7444, and the Call ID is 10816. www.bookoflifepodcast.com

The Book of Life, a show about Jewish books, music, film and web! This January 2008 episode offers themes of empowerment with these interviews: 1) Raz Godelnik, founder of Eco-Libris, where you can plant a book for each book you read 2) Chana Rothman, whose debut album "We Can Rise" displays her female fronted earthy groove 3) Linda Silver, creator of The Jewish Values Finder, a database and book identifying values in Jewish children's books 4) Rachel Kamin, chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, describing the 2008 winners of this award for Jewish lit for kids and teens FYI: February 7, 2008, 3-4pm EST The Book of Life will host a live call-in show on the theme "Funny, That Book Doesn't Look Jewish!" Please join us by calling in! Instructions will appear on our web site. www.bookoflifepodcast.com

Markus Zusak speaks! A live, unedited presentation recorded at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida with the author of The Book Thief. This extra December 2007 episode of The Book of Life podcast is a Hanukkah present for all you listeners, along with our new embeddable podcast player. Visit www.bookoflifepodcast.com and click on the "Put my show on your site" button to embed The Book of Life player on your own web site, blog, or social network! Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah, and Happy 2nd anniversary to The Book of Life! On this episode, we meet: 1) Illustrator Ann Koffsky to learn about her snowflake Jerusalem of Peace, created for Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure; 2) Author Sarah Lamstein & illustrator Neil Waldman, creators of Letter on the Wind: A Chanukah Tale; 3) Kenny Ellis, cantor and performer who created the CD Hanukkah Swings; and 4) Barbara Bietz, author of the chapter book Like a Maccabee. Links to more info on all these people and their work can be found at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.