Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2010

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2010 gold and silver medalists and with our special Notable Book for All Ages with a Blog Tour, February 1-5, 2010! Here is a celebratory video for your enjoyment, and the schedule for the Blog Tour is posted below.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010

Monday, February 1, 2010
April Halprin Wayland, author of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Practically Paradise

Monday, February 1, 2010
Stephane Jorisch, illustrator of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Frume Sarah's World

Monday, February 1, 2010
Margarita Engle, author of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at bookstogether

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Robin Friedman, author of The Importance of Wings
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Little Willow's Bildungsroman

Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Jacqueline Davies, author of Lost
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Biblio File

Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Jonah Winter, author of You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Get in the Game: Read! and cross-posted at Examiner.com

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Elka Weber, author of The Yankee at the Seder
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at BewilderBlog

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Adam Gustavson, illustrator of The Yankee at the Seder
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Great Kids Books

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Judy Vida, daughter of the late Selma Kritzer Silverberg, author of Naomi's Song
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at The Book Nosher

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Jacqueline Jules, author of Benjamin and the Silver Goblet
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at ASHarmony

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Natascia Ugliano, illustrator of Benjamin and the Silver Goblet
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at The Book of Life

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Deborah Bodin Cohen, author of Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Ima On and Off the Bima

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Jago, illustrator of Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Jewish Books for Children

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010

Friday, February 5, 2010
Annika Thor, author of A Faraway Island
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at The Little Book Room

Friday, February 5, 2010
Ellen Frankel, author of The JPS Illustrated Bible for Children
Sydney Taylor Notable Book for All Ages
at Deo Writer

Interview with Richard Michelson

Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee member and blogger Barbara Bietz has posted a lovely interview on her blog with Richard Michelson, 2009 gold and silver Sydney Taylor medalist. Here's a little taste:

BARBARA: Are there some interesting facts about the relationship between Reverend King and Rabbi Heschel that you did not include in the book?

RICHARD: Reverend King was killed on April 4th, 1968, just 9 days before Passover was to begin. King’s emphasis on the Jewish Exodus in his sermons formed the basis of a strong bond between both men and King and his family had planned to join the Heschel’s at their Seder. What a wonderful holiday celebration that might have been. I am sure it would have forged further alliances between the two men.

Click here to read the entire interview!

Interview with STBA Committee Member Barbara Bietz

Barbara Bietz, author, blogger, and Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee member, was interviewed on the blog The Writer's Journey. In a very profound and philosophical conversation, she shared her insights into the writing process. Here's a sample:

The Writer's Journey: Taking the stance that creativity is a natural state, how do you view getting stuck?
Barbara: Creativity is a natural state, but so is getting stuck. Like the ebb and flow of the tide, there is a time for high-energy work, and a time for quiet stillness. Getting stuck is a time to listen more carefully to the inner voice. It is time to think, to ask questions of yourself and your characters. Getting stuck is an opportunity to stand back and ask, “What do I need?” It can also be an opportunity to regroup and nurture other aspects of your creativity – often resulting in a flood of new ideas. The hard part is giving in to being stuck, and letting the process take you to a new place.

You can read the entire interview here.

Blog Tour Begins: Hesse & Siegal

The Sydney Taylor Blog Tour got off to a good start today with interviews on the winners in the award's Older Readers Category: Karen Hesse and Aranka Siegal.

Brooklyn Bridge is the Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medalist in the Older Readers Category. Read an interview with author Karen Hesse at Jewish Books for Children with blogger Barbara Bietz.

Here's a sampling of the interview:

BARBARA: In Brooklyn Bridge you tell the story of Joe Michtom and his parents who created the Teddy Bear. What about their story inspired you?

KAREN: I’m always interested in exploring stories with Jewish themes. So when I came across the teddy bear entry in Bill Slaven’s book I was taken not only with the step-by-step description of the construction of a teddy bear (I really am fascinated by how things work, how things are made, etc), but with the back story, the story about how this beloved toy came into creation as a result of the inspired vision of an immigrant Jewish couple struggling to make a living in America. There are millions of immigrant stories and each one is a testament to individual courage and hope. I’m so fortunate that twice now immigrant stories have come to me at a time and in a way that I was able to receive them and make literature out of them.

Read more...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Memories of Babi is the Sydney Taylor Honor Book silver medalist in the Older Readers Category. Read an interview with author Aranka Siegal at The Book of Life with blogger/podcaster Heidi Estrin.

Here's a sampling of the interview:

HEIDI: It's remarkable how clearly you are able to recall Babi and your childhood. Why do you think these early memories live on so strongly for you?

ARANKA: All through my internment in concentration camps I held on to my memories. These were my only identity left after all other recognition was stripped away. I would revisit Babi, listen to her voice and remember her teaching me the laws she had lived by and the things we did together. I would go over them often until, in my moments of fantasy I was back in the countryside of Komyat and be myself, instead of the skeletal figure with head shaved in a dirty, shapeless gray sack, wooden shoes, starving with hunger pains in Auschwitz, a place devoid of nature, surrounded by death.

Read more...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Richard Michelson (author of As Good As Anybody; A is for Abraham) at The Well-Read Child, and Ron Mazellan (illustrator of A is for Abraham) at Tales from the Rushmore Kid.

Aranka Siegal Joins the Blog Tour

Aranka Siegal, author of Memories of Babi, the Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category, will be appearing on our Blog Tour on Sunday, January 18 at The Book of Life!

Once again, here is an updated schedule for you:

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Karen Hesse, author of Brooklyn Bridge
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Jewish Books for Children

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Aranka Siegal, author of Memories of Babi
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category
at The Book of Life

Monday, January 19, 2009
Richard Michelson
Author of As Good As Anybody, Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
and
Author of A is for Abraham, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Well-Read Child

Monday, January 19, 2009
Ron Mazellan, illustrator of A is for Abraham
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Valerie Zenatti, author of A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Lori Calabrese Writes

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jane Yolen, author of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Boston Bibliophile

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Anna Levine
Author of Freefall, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category
and
Author of Jodie's Hanukkah Dig, Notable Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Abby (the) Librarian

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jim Burke, illustrator of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Page Flipper

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jacqueline Jules, author of Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Chicken Spaghetti

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Natascia Ugliano, illustrator of Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Write for a Reader

Friday, January 23, 2009
Deborah Bodin Cohen, author of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Becky's Book Reviews

Friday, January 23, 2009
Shahar Kober, illustrator of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Into the Wardrobe

Additional Stops on the Blog Tour

I am pleased to announce two additional stops on the Blog Tour! Valerie Zenatti, author of A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, will appear at Lori Calabrese Writes on Tuesday, January 20, and Natascia Ugliano, illustrator of Sarah Laughs, will appear on Write for a Reader on Thursday, January 22.

Here is a full, updated schedule for you:

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Karen Hesse, author of Brooklyn Bridge
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Jewish Books for Children

Monday, January 19, 2009
Richard Michelson
Author of As Good As Anybody, Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
and
Author of A is for Abraham, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Well-Read Child

Monday, January 19, 2009
Ron Mazellan, illustrator of A is for Abraham
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Valerie Zenatti, author of A Bottle in the Gaza Sea
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Lori Calabrese Writes

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jane Yolen, author of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Boston Bibliophile

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Anna Levine
Author of Freefall, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category
and
Author of Jodie's Hanukkah Dig, Notable Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Abby (the) Librarian

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jim Burke, illustrator of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Page Flipper

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jacqueline Jules, author of Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Chicken Spaghetti

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Natascia Ugliano, illustrator of Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Write for a Reader

Friday, January 23, 2009
Deborah Bodin Cohen, author of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Becky's Book Reviews

Friday, January 23, 2009
Shahar Kober, illustrator of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Into the Wardrobe

Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2009 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour! Here is the preliminary schedule:

Sunday, January 18, 2009
Karen Hesse, author of Brooklyn Bridge
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Jewish Books for Children

Monday, January 19, 2009
Richard Michelson
Author of As Good As Anybody, Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
and
Author of A is for Abraham, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Well-Read Child

Monday, January 19, 2009
Ron Mazellan, illustrator of A is for Abraham
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jane Yolen, author of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Boston Bibliophile

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Anna Levine
Author of Freefall, Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category
and
Author of Jodie's Hanukkah Dig, Notable Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Abby (the) Librarian

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jim Burke, illustrator of Naming Liberty
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at The Page Flipper

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jacqueline Jules, author of Sarah Laughs
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Chicken Spaghetti

Friday, January 23, 2009
Deborah Bodin Cohen, author of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Becky's Book Reviews

Friday, January 23, 2009
Shahar Kober, illustrator of Engineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
at Into the Wardrobe

Bad Blogger

Okay, I'm a bad, bad blogger. I haven't posted in months. But all that is about to change, because the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Awards will be announced any minute now! And this year, we are planning a blog tour to kick things off. Watch this space for a schedule of authors (and possibly illustrators) along with the blogs where their interviews will be featured!

Shiny Gold Buttons

Whew, what a weekend! I spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Book Expo America in LA, trekking up and down the aisles to hand out Sydney Taylor Book Award media kits to publishers and to investigate the newest in Jewish lit.

I also gave out shiny gold Sydney Taylor Book Award lapel pins. You can see one on my name badge in this picture - I'm on the right. With me are (left) uberlibrarian Etta Gold, and (middle) uberblogger/author/STBA-committee-member Barbara Bietz. The pins were a new addition this year to our Sydney Taylor marketing efforts and people seemed to like them - they are awfully gold and shiny!

Thanks goodness Barbara took one picture because I left my camera at the hotel and just concentrated on getting as many audio interviews as I could. After introducing myself and inquiring about a publisher's forthcoming Jewish titles, I handed them a media kit and then stuck a microphone in their face. I made a lot of people nervous, so I want to thank everyone for being such good sports about being recorded. The audio will be posted on my podcast, The Book of Life, within the next few weeks. Stay tuned to find out about the newest of the new in Jewish lit for kids and for adults! Maybe one of the books I found will even turn out to be the next winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award!

The View from Down Under

Bookawardsonline.com is project born out of Kevin Parker's passion for fine literature. It is his personal goal to publicize books that receive recognition from literary peers and that deserve to be widely read. Kevin lives in Australia, and his web site is international in scope, covering news, longlists, shortlists, winners, and reviews from around the English-speaking world.

Kevin wrote a beautiful article about the Sydney Taylor Book Awards in general and about the 2008 winners at www.bookawardsonline.com/sydneytaylor.html. He also included an extremely cool Amazon widget that displays all the books and allows you to click-and-buy.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award is included amidst such wonderful awards as the Kate Greenaway, the Golden Kite, the Cybils, the Americas, and of course those familiar ALA awards. Thanks so much to Kevin for including us!

Blog Carnival of Children's Book Awards

We're on Wizards Wireless! This blog hosted a Carnival of Children's Books this month on the theme of children's book awards, and our post "Chocolate Babies" was included.

What is a blog carnival, you ask? Here's a good definition from the blog Chicken Spaghetti:

A "carnival" takes place at one blog; it is a conglomeration of links (from many different blogs) to posts on a certain theme. Children's books and reading are the focus of the Carnival of Children's Literature. Carnivals generally include one post from each blog who wants to join in.

The carnival at Wizards Wireless had posts about the Cybils (an award whose winners are chosen by kidlit bloggers) and ALA's awards (ye olde Newbery, Caldecott, etc.). Our post was included in the category "Other Awards," which also linked to awards focusing on African-American literature, ethnic diversity, Librarian's Choice lists, the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award (selected by kids in Illinois), the Gryphon Award for transitional books, state/regional awards, and a post from the author of To Fly, The Story of the Wright Brothers, about the experience of winning a Boston Globe/Horn Book honor. The Carnival also has links for "Books Worthy of Awards," "Thoughts About Awards" and "Blogger Awards."

Thanks for including us, Wizards Wireless!

Chocolate Babies

Remember the chapter in All-of-a-Kind Family when Charlotte and Gertie buy penny candy and sneak it into bed to nibble at night?

When they reached the candy store, the two little girls stood before the glass cases so full of chewy and sucking delights and could not make up their minds. It was most important that they get something exactly right for tonight's fun in bed. It was hard to choose when everything looked so tempting.

That's how I felt when I joined the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee of the Association of Jewish Libraries, which just happens to be named in memory of the author of All-of-a-Kind Family. I was like a kid in a candy store, faced with overloaded shelves of literary delights.

Like Charlotte and Gertie, who finally settle upon chocolate babies as their top choice, I enjoyed the process of discussion and selection. For most of the year, we read and review 100+ Judaic kids' and YA books on our own. Around December, the real fun begins! That's when we begin a vigorous e-mail discussion about the merits and flaws of our contenders, about kid-appeal, about age appropriateness, and about the very definition of Jewish literature. A certain title may be both loved and hated by committee members, while others inspire complete accord. We play a balancing game between championing our favorite books, being sensitive to each other's opinions, and trying to choose titles that we will all feel proud to promote to readers as authentically representing the Jewish experience.

Some of the roadblocks that we've faced time and again on this committee are:

• the preponderance of Holocaust-related middle-grade literature and the dearth of contemporary Judaic themes for young readers
• a tendency among writers to project backwards, giving their modern child characters grandparents like those we remember, instead of like the grandparents of today (i.e. too many immigrant or Yiddish-speaking grandparents)
• too few Judaic books for really young children, and especially too few non-holiday picture books

Despite these patterns, we do find that Jewish publishing has been growing and expanding in exciting ways! With multiculturalism an established value, mainstream publishers are now happy to put their considerable editorial and design skills behind Judaic titles, creating top quality books in this genre. Jewish presses are emboldened to be adventurous in theme and format.

In fact, this year's Sydney Taylor Book Award winners represent a mix of these trends. The winner in the Younger Readers' Category, The Bedtime Sh'ma, was published by EKS Publishing Co., a small press that specializes in books and materials for mastering Classical Hebrew, and this lovely, meditative title is accompanied by a companion CD. The winner in the Older Readers' Category, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk published by HarperCollins, is more traditional for our award: a Holocaust-related novel by a large publisher. Yet author Sid Fleischman's creativity raises the story above the ordinary by using ghosts, possession, and revenge and mixing these themes with humor! The winner in the Teen Readers' Category, Strange Relations published by Knopf, bucks the historical fiction trend by presenting us with a contemporary story that dares to address the relations between observant and non-observant Jews. The uniqueness of each of these books shows us that, despite some stumbling blocks, Judaic youth literature is continuing to push the boundaries.

So, here's to our chocolate babies, the winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards! May you get more delicious every year!

Notes from Nyssaneala

Over at Nyssaneala's blog Book Haven, there's a post listing all the Sydney Taylor winners, followed by some interesting comments. Thought you might like to see how folks are responding to the award, and perhaps check out their blogs as well!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...
Holy heck, I've never heard of these awards! I'd better get busy making notes of titles and authors and figuring out how much money I can spend on yet more books...At least if I run out of room here at home, I can donate them to the Temple and visit them there.

Nyssaneala said...
susan - I'm glad I could enlighten you! I only learned about the award a month ago when I read a picture book that won the award. I will be getting a book each week from the library off of this list to read to my daughter. I hope to review many of those books here.

Since Judaism is still new to me (my hubby is Jewish, and we are raising our daughter Jewish), Jewish children's lit is a whole undiscovered literary delight!

gautami tripathy said...
You are going to make me bankrupt! As a school teacher, I do not earn much either!BTW, I added you to my blogroll.

Kathe said...
This years marks the 40th anniversary of the book award presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries. I've just written an article about how many of these books have also been recognized with Newbery and Caldecott Honors. I am spending the year reading previous winners. You can see the lists of them at www.sydneytaylorbookaward.org.

Kathe Pinchuck, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries

More Links to the Sydney Taylor Book Award!

The 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award announcement is still getting lots of attention in the blogosphere and on the web in general. For example:

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)

Chicken Spaghetti

Elizabeth's Children's Book Blog (at About.com)

A Year of Reading

Ms. Yingling Reads

Elisha D. Smith Public Library, Menasha, Wisconsin

Kudos for Chicken Soup by Heart

The 2003 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner for Younger Readers was Chicken Soup by Heart by Esther Hershenhorn, and it has stood the test of time. It was just featured as a favorite book on the blog of Scholastic.com in their Parents section. The blogger, Els Kushner (aka "Librarian Mom"), describes cuddling with her sick daughter and reading to her, then goes on to list books having to do with feeling sick.

...a couple of my favorite picture books about illness:

Chicken Soup by Heart, by Esther Hershenhorn, ill. by Roseanne Litzinger. Rudie Dinkins’s sitter, Mrs. Gittel, always knows just how to take care of him when he has a “Rudie Dinkins chest cold.” But now Mrs. Gittel has the flu herself. With his mom’s help. Rudie fixes up a batch of special chicken soup, mixed in with stories and memories.

This is one of those rare and special books that you have to read aloud to truly appreciate. When I skimmed through this book silently, I liked the illustrations but the text didn’t jump out at me. But when I read it to a class, the words sang, and I understood why it won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in 2003. A warm and sweet treat.

For the full post, listing various other titles about illness, click here.

Honoree Sarah Lamstein Interviewed

Sarah Lamstein, author of the 2008 Sydney Taylor Honor Book Letter on the Wind, has been interviewed on the blog of Barbara Bietz, author, blogger, and incoming member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. Barbara asked Sarah what it was like to receive the award:

Congratulations on the Sydney Taylor Book Award! How did you hear the news?

I received a very tantalizing email from Rachel Kamin, the chair of the Sydney Taylor Award committee asking me to call her. I did and was thrilled to hear that Letter on the Wind was selected as an Honor book. I was glad I could directly hear her enthusiasm for the work of her committee and that I could convey my excitement to her. It was great!!

For the full interview, click here!

Blog Coverage

We've been getting some good coverage on the blogs for the news about the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award winners. Here's a sampling:

Little Willow

Book Buds

Becky's Book Reviews

Blog from the Windowsill

Barbara Bietz's Book Blog

Jen Robinson's Book Page

The Fortress of Solitude

BookThink

Bookshelves of Doom

Jewish Literary Review

The Jewish Literature Challenge (well, ok, that was me)

The Book of Life (that was me too)

School Library Journal's Extra Helping - not a blog, but an e-newsletter... still, how cool is that, getting an immediate write-up from SLJ?

Jen Robinson Reviews Julia's Kitchen

The acclaimed Jen Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page (and recent interviewee on Just One More Book) has posted a glowing review of Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber, which was the 2007 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category. Jen, in fact, mentions the award and discusses the Jewish content of the story:

Julia's Kitchen won the 2007 Sydney Taylor Book Award, which recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Cara's Jewishness is an essential part of the story. The community from their local Synagogue supports Cara and her father in their tragedy. They follow the Jewish customs of mourning. Cara analyzes her feelings about God, in light of the events. She misses the food-related rituals that her mother celebrated, and eventually learns from her grandmother how to make challah. The details about Cara's family's Jewish customs are organic to the story, never over-explained or feeling "educational". The funeral details, in particular, give Cara, and the reader, something to focus on besides sadness. Here's an example:

"We weren't allowed to get any food for ourselves or help with the dishes or anything. Friends and relatives did it all. We didn't have to greet anyone or say thank you either. I liked those customs." (Page 24)

For the full review, click here. And thanks to Jen for this lovely review!

Last Year's Winner

While you are waiting for the 2008 winners to be announced, here is a lovely post from the Young Readers blog about the 2007 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner (Older Readers Category), Julia's Kitchen by Brenda Ferber. Blogger Becky says:

There are not enough words to describe how much I loved Julia's Kitchen by Brenda A. Ferber. I enjoy much of what I read. I love many. But there are a few that touch my heart and I know that I'll always alwayslove. Julia's Kitchen is now one of them. It is the story of a young girl, Cara Segal, as she goes through a heartbreaking journey of grief and sorrow when her mother and sister die in a fire. When we first meet Cara she is happy and carefree. Having stayed overnight at a friend's house she is unaware that her life is forever changed. One phone call changes everything. Suddenly a happy family of four is a confused and grief-stricken family of two. Having been her mother's pet, the two liked to bake together, she is struggling trying to connect with her father emotionally. Her mother, Julia, owned her own catering business "Julia's Kitchen" and Cara loved helping her mother. Now she's vowed never to eat another dessert. Cara's journey of how she learns to live again, love again, believe in God again, and yes, even bake chocolate chip cookies again is unforgettably touching. And there is even a recipe for those cookies in the book!

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog

Welcome to the newest blog in the kidlitosphere! This blog will keep you up to date on news related to the Sydney Taylor Book Award, the only literary prize that focuses solely on Jewish children's literature.

I'm Heidi Estrin, and you may know me as the host of The Book of Life podcast. I really love doing the podcast, but if you've heard it you know that it's a mix of kidlit, adult lit, music, and other Jewish content. It's not pure kidlit... and I've been angsting over the fact that I am not a true part of the kidlitosphere, since that is where my heart belongs! My solution? Create a blog focusing on another passion of mine, the Sydney Taylor Book Award!

I chaired the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee for the Association of Jewish Libraries several years ago, and I still have a strong interest in it. In fact, I've never really managed to leave the committee! Although I am no longer a voting member, I still do a lot of administrative stuff for them. So I've got an inside track to bring you news about the prize, and to hook you up with tidbits about past winners!

FYI, you can regard this blog as reliable... but not official. I'm doing it out of my own interest, not as an official AJL task.

So, welcome! Please let me know if you have questions about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, or any particular topics you'd like me to cover. And be sure to visit the official award web site at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.