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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: sydney taylor book award, Most Recent at Top [Help]
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1. #STBAblogtour16 DAY FIVE


 The "grand finale" of the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour is a virtual panel discussion amongst the various winning authors and illustrators. As always, this roundup is hosted by Barbara Krasner at The Whole Megillah.


The participants made comments about the experience like "Always inspiring to be included in a group of such accomplished, thoughtful authors and illustrators!" (Leslie Kimmelman), "It's wonderful to read all the blogs!" (Kathy Kacer), and "It has been an honor and a privilege getting to know all of you. See you in Charleston!" (Heidi Smith Hyde). We hope to see you as well, dear reader, in Charleston at the 51st Annual Association of Jewish Libraries conference where the Sydney Taylor winners will receive their awards!

The entire blog tour may be found here.


 

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2. #STBAblogtour16 DAY FOUR

A little catch-up today with the Shanghai Sukkah interviews, and two new Blog Tour stops: Everybody Says Shalom and Stones on a Grave.

Be sure to check out yesterday's interview on The Hired Girl, and get the rest of the blog tour schedule here.

Catching up from WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016
 
Shanghai Sukkah by Heidi Smith Hyde, illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Kristi's Book Nook
Author & Illustrator Interviews  


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016
 
 
Everybody Says Shalom by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Talitha Shipman
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Book Q&A's with Deborah Kalb
Author Interview

   
Stones on a Grave by Kathy Kacer
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Randomly Reading
Author Interview and Book review


 

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3. #STBAblogtour16 DAY THREE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016




The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Prosen People
Author interview

We're not sure what happened to the the interview on Shanghai Sukkah that was supposed to appear at Kristi's Book Nook today - we hope Kristi is okay and we'll bring you the interview ASAP. In the meantime, here is the Jewish Book Council's interview on The Hired Girl!

Be sure to check out yesterday's interviews on Adam and Thomas and Hereville, and get the rest of the blog tour schedule here.


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4. #STBAblogtour16 DAY TWO

Two more stops on the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour today, another gold medalist and another silver. Be sure to check out yesterday's interviews on Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed and Serendipity's Footsteps, and get the rest of the blog tour schedule here.  

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016  


Adam & Thomas by Aharon Appelfeld, translated by Jeffrey M. Green, illustrated by Philippe Dumas
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Jewish Books for Kids with Barbara Bietz
Translator Interview
   
Hereville by Barry Deutsch
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Jewish Comics
Author-illustrator interview
 

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5. #STBAblogtour16 DAY ONE

Today kicks off the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, a virtual book tour for authors and illustrators of this year's gold and silver medalists. Check back each day for new interviews, or wait until the end and read all the interviews at once! Find the entire blog tour schedule here.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016



Ketzel the Cat Who Composed by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky's Blog

Author Interview
Illustrator Interview



Serendipity's Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman
Author Interview


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6. The 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2016 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 8-12, 2016! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit 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 2016 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 them plenty of comments!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2016

Ketzel the Cat by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky's Blog

Serendipity's Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Adam & Thomas by Aharon Appelfeld, translated by Jeffrey M. Green, illustrated by Philippe Dumas
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Jewish Books for Kids with Barbara Bietz

Hereville by Barry Deutsch
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Jewish Comics

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Prosen People

Shanghai Sukkah by Heidi Smith Hyde, illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Kristi's Book Nook

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Everybody Says Shalom by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Talitha Shipman
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Book Q&A's with Deborah Kalb

Stones on a Grave by Kathy Kacer
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Randomly Reading

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Blog Tour Wrap-Up with all authors and illustrators
At The Whole Megillah

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7. My Grandfather's Coat

Barbara McClintock & Jim Aylesworth

My Grandfather's Coat won the 2015 Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medal in the Younger Readers' Category, and I was thrilled to meet author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock, along with their editor, my old friend Dianne Hess, at the Association of Jewish Libraries conference in Silver Spring, MD.

The conversation was like a meeting of the Mutual Appreciation Society, because these are three of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. I'm sure you will enjoy hearing their stories on the creation of this book, which is a new version of the folktale represented by Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Sydney Taylor silver medal, 1999) and Something From Nothing (Sydney Taylor gold medal, 1992).

Bonus Track: You'll also hear Jim Aylesworth's delightful conference session, in which he "walked the walk" by getting librarians to stand in for students in an interactive presentation.

The 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Awards will be announced this month - watch this space for details!

AUDIO:


Or click Mp3 File (41:21)

Barbara, Dianne, and Jim

CREDITS:

Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel 
Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries  
Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band  
Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast  
Twitter: @bookoflifepod 
 
Support The Book of Life by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/bookoflife!
 
Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to [email protected]

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8. Dear Tomato & New Year at the Pier: Food and Forgiveness for Poetry Friday

.
Howdy, Campers--happy Poetry Friday (link at the bottom) and happy home grown veggies to all! (Did you know that August 2-8th was National Farmers Market Week? Or that August 22nd is National Honey Bee Day and September 7th is National Acorn Squash Day?)

We're blogging about going back to school this round. Esther starts us off with a review of Kate Messner's book on revision, a useful and inspiring book; JoAnn writes about using repetition and how to Write a Poem Step by Step, and you can win her book of that very title by entering the latest TeachingAuthors' book giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight) Then Carla shows how to approach the familiar How I Spent My Summer Vacation essay as a non-fiction writer, and Mary Ann tells us the story behind her wonderful book, First Grade Stinks!

Now it's my turn. I'm here to suggest two very different books for this time of year. One about food, one about forgiveness...and the new year.

As the daughter of a farmer and the sister of a sustainable agriculture journalist, I was proud to be included in Carol-Ann Hoyte's latest anthology, DEAR TOMATO ~ an International Crop of Food and Agricultural Poems.  (Great title!)


This collection,with photographs by Norie Wasserman (wonderful cover!) includes poems about small gardens, free range chickens, bees, farmers' markets, fair trade, food banks, a poem that mentions Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, and more.

Any of these would be a wonderful topic for student poems, stories or a class discussion about food and farming.  And the remarkable Renee LaTulippe, at No Water River, has created what she calls "poet-a-palooza" about Dear Tomato. which includes videos of some of the poets reading their poems from this book. Many of the poems are by friends from the Kidlitosphere, including B.J.Lee, Mary Lee Hahn, Charles Waters, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Bridget Magee, Buffy Silverman, Stephen Withrow, J. Patrick Lewis, Elizabeth Steinglass, and I'm sure I've missed some others. This is the book I've been giving my neighborhood gardeners with whom I trade homegrown veggies.  

Here's one of my poems from the book:

           HOE OBSERVING THE FARMER
           by April Halprin Wayland
            .
            He knows a hoe.
            Never letting go.
            Holds me steady in his grip,
            lifts me up to rip against the weight of air.
            Then he pulls me back, bearing down,
            yielding to the power of the ground.
            Holds me steady in his grip,
            never letting go.
            He knows
            a hoe.
poem (c)2015 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.

my father and mother on the farm

The second book, relevant this time of year is:


The Jewish New Year--Rosh Hashanah--is on September 13-15th this year, so now is a good time to read my picture book, New Year at the Pier--a Rosh Hashanah Story  illustrated by Stephane Jorisch. Here's Dial Books for Young Readers' summary:
Izzy's favorite part of Rosh Hashanah is Tashlich, a joyous ceremony in which people apologize for the mistakes they made in the previous year and thus clean the slate as the new year begins. But there is one mistake on Izzy's I m sorry list that he's finding especially hard to say out loud.
Humor, touching moments between family and friends, and lots of information about the Jewish New Year are all combined in this lovely picture book for holiday sharing.
Winner of the Sydney Taylor Gold Medal for best Jewish picture book of the year

Here are four ways to use New Year at the Pier with kids--and adults:
1) Use it to explain to students where absent schoolmates may be during the Jewish New Year.
2) Use it to open discussions about how to apologize and forgive.
3) Use it to show how other cultures celebrate New Year.
4) Give it to someone you’ve wanted to apologize to for a long time

Click here for more activities,and for New Year rituals around the world.

 And remember to enter our latest book giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight!)

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Reading To The Core--thank you!

It's been nice chatting with you today--thanks for allowing me to share ~ April Halprin Wayland

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9. The 2015 Sydney Taylor Book Awards!

I am thrilled to share with the you winners of the 2015 Sydney Taylor Book Awards for Jewish children's and teen literature! A blog tour will feature interviews with gold and silver medalists, February 8-13, 2015 - watch the AJL blog for details. The gold medalists will be presented with their awards at the 50th annual conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries in Washington DC this June. Mazel tov to all the authors and illustrators and their publishers!

If you haven't tried it yet, take the Sydney Taylor Buzzfeed Quiz "Which All-of-a-Kind Family Sibling Are You?" Awards committee member Elissa Gershowitz and her Horn Book colleague Shoshana Flax were instrumental in creating the quiz!


Elissa Gershowitz (STBA committee member) with podcaster Heidi Estrin
at the 2014 AJL Conference
THE 2015 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS
ANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers:
 My Grandfather’s Coat by  Jim Aylesworth with illustrations by Barbara McClintock
(Scholastic Press)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers:
Hidden:  A Child’s Story of the Holocaust by Loic Dauvillier & Greg Salsedo with illustrations by Marc LIzano
(First Second, and imprint of an imprint of Roaring Brook Press)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers:
Storm by Donna Jo Napoli
 (a Paula Wiseman Book, published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers:
 Goldie Takes a Stand by Barbara Krasner with illustrations by Kelsey Garrity-Riley
(Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.)
Never Say a Mean Word Again by Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Durga Yael Bernhard
(Wisdom Tales)

 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers:
Death by Toilet Paper by Donna Gephart
(Delacorte Press)
The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren , illustrated by Fabio Santomauro
(Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers:
Isabel’s War by Lila Perl
(Lizzie Skurnick Books, an imprint of IG Publishing)
Like No Other by Una LaMarche
(Razor Bill, an imprint of Penguin Group)

Notable Books for Younger Readers:
Anna & Solomon by Elaine Snyder illustrated by Harry Bliss
(Macmillan)
Here is the World by Lesléa Newman illustrated by Susan Gal
(Abrams Books for Young Readers)
The Mitten String by Jennifer Rosner illustrated by Kristina Swarner
(Random House Books for Young Readers)
Rabbi Benjamin’s Buttons by Alice B. McGinty illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
(Charlesbridge)
Simon and the Bear by Eric Kimmel illustrated by Matthew Trueman
(Disney-Hyperion)
                The Story of Passover by David A. Adler illustrated by Jill Weber
(Holiday House)

Notable Books for Older Readers:
Fleabrain Loves Franny by Joanne Rocklin
(Harry N. Abrams)
From Foe to Friend & Other Stories: A Graphic Novel by S.Y. Agnon and illustrated by Shay Charka
(The Toby Press)
I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin illustrated by Lee White
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Schools of Hope:  How Julius Rosenwald Helped Changed African American Education
by Norman Finkelstein
(Calkins Creek)


Under the Egg, by Laura Marx Fitzgerald
( Penguin Young Readers)
 

Notable Books for Teens:
Freedom Summer:  The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi by Susan Goldman Rubin
(Holiday House)
Gottika by Helaine Becker illustrated by Alexander Griggs-Burr
(Dancing Cat Books)
Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail
(Candlewick)
Prisoner of Night & Fog by Anne Blankman
(Balzer + Bray)
Rachel’s Hope by Shelly Sanders
(Second Story Press)




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10. The Nazi Hunters

Neal Bascomb at the 2014
Association of Jewish Libraries Conference


In honor of Veteran's Day and to show our appreciation for those who strive to keep us safe, let's hear this interview with author Neal Bascomb about The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi. The young adult book, which was based on Bascomb's adult title Hunting Eichman, won the 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category.

AUDIO: 

Press the play button to listen to the podcast now:

Or click MP3 File

CREDITS:

Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel 
Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries 
Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band 
Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast 
Twitter: @bookoflifepod 

Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to [email protected] or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.


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11. The Book of Life at BookExpo America 2014


I will be attending BookExpo America this year and I'm very excited!

As in past years, I'll be recording interviews for The Book of Life, and I'll be talking to publishers about the Sydney Taylor Book Award (I'm past chair of the award committee, so I like to promote it whenever I can).

Here's a message from the current awards chair, Diane Rauchwerger, for all you publishers out there:
Entries are now being considered for the 2015 Sydney Taylor Award, which recognizes the best children's literature of Jewish content. We would like to invite you to submit any children's books with a 2014 copyright that meets the criteria below. In order to be considered, a review copy must be sent to each of the nine members of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. No application form is necessary; simply mail the books to each member in a package labeled "Sydney Taylor Book Award Submission."

The awards will be announced in January, 2015. To ensure that the committee has enough time to evaluate all of the submissions, there is no guarantee that books received after November 30, 2014 will be considered for the awards. Please send submissions as soon as they are available. The committee is happy to receive a pre-publication version while waiting for the bound book.

The criteria used to evaluate books for the Sydney Taylor Book Award are:

1. The book has literary merit.

2. The book has positive or authentic Jewish religious or cultural content.

3. The book is appropriate for the intended grade level in style, vocabulary, format, and illustration.

4. Whether fiction or nonfiction, the book is solidly rooted in authentic and accurate detail through scholarship and research by the author.

5. Textbooks and reprints are not eligible, although revised editions and re-illustrated editions are eligible.

You can read about past years' awards at the www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org, a section of the website of the Association of Jewish Libraries. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. The committee looks forward to evaluating your new books.

Sincerely,

Diane Rauchwerger, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
The Association of Jewish Libraries
[email protected]






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12. 2013 STBA Blog Tour: Day 5

On this final day of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, awards committee member Barbara Krasner hosts a roundtable wrap-up at her blog, The Whole Megillah. Read responses from various winners, as if they were participating in a panel presentation at a conference!

Thanks to all the winners for their participation in the blog tour, to all the bloggers for hosting, and to you, the readers, for your enthusiasm and attention!

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13. 2013 STBA Blog Tour: Day 4



Read an interview with Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Pen and Prose! A highlight: "As I was writing the story, I kept hearing the cadence of my grandparents’ Yiddish-speaking voices in my head. The repetition of phrases, the rhythms, the word combinations. And I think their voices also very much informed the way I wrote the story."

Read an interview with Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Madelyn Rosenberg's Virtual Living Room! A highlight: "In my artistic education, illustration was really not just for children. In my formative years, art was part of the idealogical system. We were living at that time on the other side of the Iron Curtain so everything was very ideological and politicized. But in the illustration field you could be a little more creative, not so rigidly following certain requirements of clichés and artistic concepts with which you didn’t necessarily always agree."



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14. 2013 STBA Blog Tour: Day 3



Read an interview with Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Read, Write, Repeat! A highlight: "My dearest wish is that Zayde will bring reassurance, peace, and completeness — shalom! — to children just discovering the circle of life they’ve heard sung about in the popular animated movie."

Read an interview with Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Writing and Illustrating! A highlight: "I really didn’t want to make the art too sad or pensive. The ideas evolved as I sketched, and the more I sketched, the more the tenderness and joyfulness of the story came out in the art."

***
PODCAST!

Audio interview with Sheri Sinykin and text interview with Kristina Swarner
coming soon on The Book of Life!



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15. 2013 STBA Blog Tour: Day 2

Read an interview with Linda Glaser, author of Hannah's Way (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category) at This Messy Life! A highlight: "This is a story about staying true to one’s traditions but still wanting to “belong.” It’s also a story about ordinary children who, through a simple act of kindness, become heroes. I hope that with the help of the Sydney Taylor Award, Hannah’s Way will reach many more kids and will do its small part to encourage tolerance, acceptance, and kindness."

Read an interview with Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah's Way (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category) at Here in HP! A highlight: "I’ve always drawn; my mother was an artist when I was growing up, and my brothers and I drew like most other kids would play ball. It was a big part of how we played together. My father, an engineer, used to come home with art supplies he’d picked up for us on his way home from work. I grew up in the only household for miles and miles where a crisis consisted of my mother trying to find out just who took her kneaded eraser."

Read an interview with Louise Borden, author of His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers Category) at Randomly Reading! A highlight: "Young readers have much longer lives ahead of them.  I want them to be inspired by this man and by his character and actions.  I want kids to know that they too can make a positive difference in the world.  I want them to find their own heroes.  And I want readers to remember Raoul Wallenberg and to carry his story into their own futures.  We are all storytellers - kids will remember a great story and I hope they will tell others and use its power for good in their own lives."

Read an interview with Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category) at The Fourth Musketeer! A highlight: "I wanted to capture that moment in a teen's life when she realizes that someone she adores and even idolizes is flawed. That happened to me in a pretty spectacular way in my community growing up (though not quite as spectacularly as in the book!) and it was a truly painful time. That moment informs who you become I think--because how you deal with it can shape the rest of your life."

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16. Share This Blog Tour Poster!


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17. 2013 Blog Tour: The Sydney Taylor Book Award


The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2013 gold and silver medalists and a few selected Notables with a Blog Tour, February 11-15, 2013! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit 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 2013 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 them plenty of comments!


THE 2013 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR

 
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Shelf-Employed 

Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky’s Blog 

Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013
 
Linda Glaser, author of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At This Messy Life 

Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger ReadersCategory
At Here in HP 

Louise Borden, author of His Name was Raoul Wallenberg
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Randomly Reading 

Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer 


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013 

Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Read, Write, Repeat 

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Writing & Illustrating


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category
At Pen and Prose 

Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category
At Madelyn Rosenberg’s Virtual Living Room 


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah

















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18. Yay for us!


The Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee has chosen A Song for My Sister as a Notable book in the Younger Readers Category for 2013!
I love this even more because I remember how much I enjoyed the All Of A Kind Family books when I was a kid.
Thank you!

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19. Complete List of 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners




The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers:
Hannah’s Way by Linda Glaser with illustrations by Adam Gustavson
 (Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group)


The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers:
His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden
(Houghton Mifflin Books for Children)


The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers:
Intentions by Deborah Heiligman
(Knopf Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House)


Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers:
Zayde Comes to Live by Sheri Sinykin with illustrations by Kristina Swarner
(Peachtree Publishers)
The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale by Linda Leopold Strauss with illustrations by Alexi Natchev
(Holiday House)
  
Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Older Readers:
The Wooden Sword: A Jewish Folktale from Afghanistan
 by Ann Redisch Stampler with illustrations by Carol Liddiment
(Albert Whitman & Company)

Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Teen Readers:
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
by Doreen Rappaport
(Candlewick Press)

Notable Books for Younger Readers:
Sadie and the Big Mountain by Jamie Korngold with illustrations by Julie Fortenberry
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group)
The Schmutzy Family by Madelyn Rosenberg with illustrations by Paul Meisel
(Holiday House)
A Song for My Sister by Lesley Simpson with illustrations by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
(Random House Books for Young Readers)
Speak Up, Tommy! By Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Deborah Melmon
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group)
A Sweet Passover by Lesléa Newman with illustrations by David Slonim
(Abrams Books for Young Readers)
   
Notable Books for Older Readers:
Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite by Barry Deutsch
(Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams)
Looking for Me by Betsy R. Rosenthal
(Houghton Mifflin Books for Children)
Sami’s Sleepaway Summer by Jenny Meyerhoff
(Scholastic Paperbacks)
Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy
(Bloomsbury USA Children)
Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House)

Notable Books for Teens:
The Last Song by Eva Wiseman
(Tundra Books)
Now by Morris Gleitzman
(Henry Holt and Company)
Rachel’s Secret by Shelly Sanders
(Second Story Press)

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20. 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced by AJL

While attending the 2013 Midwinter Council meeting of the Association of Jewish Libraries, I had the chance to interview Aimee Lurie, chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. That interview will be podcasted soon. In the meantime, here is the official press release from AJL, announcing this year's winners. ~ Heidi


Linda Glaser and Adam Gustavson, author and illustrator of Hannah’s Way, Louise Borden author of His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg, and Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions, are the 2013 winners of the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award. The awards were announced at the Mid-Winter Meeting of the School, Synagogue and Community Center Division of the Association of Jewish Libraries.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries Conference in Houston, Texas this June.

Glaser and Gustavson will receive the 2013 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers category for Hannah’s Way, published by Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner Publishing. When Hannah’s family relocates to rural Minnesota after her father loses his job, she is the only Jewish student in her class.  Hannah worries she will not be able to attend a Saturday class picnic when her teacher arranges a carpool. Her observant family does not ride in cars on the Sabbath. In a delightful display of acceptance and friendship, the entire class chooses to walk with Hannah so she can attend the picnic. Barbara Krasner, a member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, said: "The Minnesota setting, the Depression timeframe, and a Jewish girl's dilemma all add up to a winning story. Linda Glaser's story and Adam Gustavson's illustrations, both meticulously researched, make Hannah's Way a new classic for young readers." In 2011, Glaser received a Sydney Taylor Honor for her book, Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty.

The award in the Older Readers category will be presented to Louise Borden for His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Written in verse, this biography of the Swedish humanitarian highlights his commitment to rescuing Jewish people in Budapest during World War II for readers aged eight to twelve. Teeming with photographs, Wallenberg’s passion for helping others is dramatically portrayed. Committee Chair, Aimee Lurie commented: “His Name Was Raoul Wallenbergshows how the courageous actions of one person, despite tremendous obstacles, can make a difference. Louise Borden's well-researched biography will, without out a doubt, inspire children to perform acts of kindness and speak out against oppression.” In 2006, Borden’s The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margaret and H.A. Rey was a Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Younger Readers.

Deborah Heiligman will receive the 2013 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers category for Intentions, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers an imprint of Random House, Inc. The loss of innocence Rachel Greenberg, 16, experiences when the adults in her life betray her trust and the relationship with her best friend crumbles is explored in this contemporary novel.  Rachel’s home life, once calm, has now become strained; her parents are constantly bickering and her beloved grandmother’s health has deteriorated.  Her uncertain home life, pales in comparison to her shattering discovery that her respected rabbi is an adulterer. Although she makes mistakes, Rachel eventually learns to cope with the revelation that no one -- including her parents, friends, and rabbi -- is perfect by relying on lessons learned from her Jewish education. Diane Rauchwerger, member of the Award Committee noted: “Rachel grows in her understanding and strength of character, while struggling with moral issues teens confront every day.  Most importantly, she learns to forgive and to act with intention.” 

Four Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2013: The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale by Linda Leopold Strauss with illustrations by Alexi Natchev (Holiday House) and Zayde Comes To Live written by Sheri Sinykin and illustrated by Kristina Swarner (Peachtree Publishers) are recognized in the Younger Readers category. The Wooden Sword by Ann Redisch Stampler with illustrations by Carol Liddiment (Albert Whitman & Company) garnered recognition as an Honor Book for Older Readers. For Teen Readers, the honor goes to Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport (Candlewick).

In addition to the medal-winners, the Award Committee designated thirteen Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2013.  More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award can be found at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.

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21. Rubin & Sharenow: 2012 Sydney Taylor Winners

Next month the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award winners will be announced, but for now we are still celebrating the wonderful winners that were named in January 2012. At the Association of Jewish Libraries annual conference this summer, I did a joint interview with winners Susan Goldman Rubin (Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein) and Rob Sharenow (The Berlin Boxing Club). Both were charming and personable, a delight to speak with as they talked about the inspiration for and ties between their two books. 

AUDIO:

Click the play button to listen to the podcast now:

Or click
MP3 File to start your computer's media player.

CREDITS: 

Produced by: Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel 
Supported in part by: Association of Jewish Libraries 
Theme music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band 
Facebook: facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast 
Twitter: @bookoflifepod 

Your feedback is appreciated! Please write to [email protected] or call our voicemail number at 561-206-2473.


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22. Hanukkah Read Up!

The Association of Jewish Libraries has created “Hanukkah Read Up!,” a list of Hanukkah books for children recommended by the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. The colorful 2-page flyer is available on the AJL website at http://tinyurl.com/AJLhanukkah. All the titles on the list have been recognized by the award committee as gold or silver medalists or as “Notable Books.” A special section is devoted to the Hanukkah works of prolific author Eric A. Kimmel, a past Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award winner.

The list should prove interesting and useful for families seeking Hanukkah titles for their children, to read together or buy as gifts, as well as for librarians who wish to purchase titles for their holiday shelves. AJL members and friends are welcome to distribute the list, digitally or printed out, to their own library patrons.

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Reading!

Heidi Estrin
AJL President
Host, The Book of Life



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23. Thank you, AJL!

The Association of Jewish Libraries Convention took place last week in Pasadena. Four days packed with wonderful sessions, friends, and fun. My experiences being the chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee have been rewarding beyond measure. Here's a taste of this year's convention through my eyes:



My name tag!



Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners - Susan Goldman Rubin and Rob Sharenow


SharingChanukah Lights with Debbie Feder and Aimee Lurie

Sharing a smile with the lovely Susan Goldman Rubin

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24. The 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour


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!

The Book of Life will be participating on Tuesday, February 8, hosting an interview with Jaime Zollars, illustrator of the Sydney Taylor Honor Book Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale by Barbara Diamond Goldin.

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 0 Comments on The 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour as of 1/1/1900

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25. 2011 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries

Here is a press release from the Association of Jewish Libraries about the newest winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award! Please note that The Book of Life has an interview with Barry Deutsch, winner in the Older Readers Category for Hereville, posted below. Interviews with some of the other recognized authors were recorded in 2010 and are in the queue to be released on the podcast in the coming year.

~~~




Howard Schwartz and Kristina Swarner, author and illustrator of Gathering Sparks, Barry Deutsch, author and illustrator of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, and Dana Reinhardt, author of The Things a Brother Knows are the 2011 winners of the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Montreal this June.

Schwartz and Swarner will receive the 2011 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers Category for Gathering Sparks, published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing. Both are second time winners. In 1992, Schwartz received the Sydney Taylor Book Award for The Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from Around the World. Swarner earned the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award for her illustrations in The Bedtime Sh’ma: A Goodnight Book by Sarah Gershman.

Gathering Sparks is based on a sixteenth century teaching of “tikkun olam,” or “repairing the world.” Committee member Debbie Colodny commented, “Schwartz spins a calming tale that suggests that the way to bring peace and well-being to our world is by doing good deeds and loving
one another... Swarner’s art and Schwartz’s poetic words interpret the concept of the vessel as a fleet of ships outlined in the night sky by millions of starry points of light.”

Deutsch will receive the 2011 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Older Readers Category for Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams Books. This is the first graphic novel to win the Award. Committee member Aimee Lurie noted, “Mirka is a clever, headstrong and imaginative heroine who will appeal to a wide audience. Teens who feel like they don’t fit in will have no trouble relating to her balancing what is best for her family versus her desire to fight dragons. Grounded in her religious beliefs, she is willing to put her fantasies aside to celebrate Shabbat. The illustrations strike the perfect balance of showing a realistic Orthodox community, while creating the perfect backdrop for a fairytale.”

Reinhardt will receive the 2011 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers Category for The Things a Brother Knows, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Levi’s older brother Boaz is a military hero, and Levi has always lived in his shadow. Now Boaz is returning from war and it seems everyone thinks Levi is the luckiest boy in town. When Boaz refuses to engage with his family and barely leaves his room, Levi won

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