The Whole Megillah- Author’s Notebook | Jacqueline JulesJacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of 23 books including The Hardest Word, Once Upon a Shabbos, Goodnight Sh’ma, Picnic at Camp Shalom, and two Sydney Taylor Honor Books, Sarah Laughs and Benjamin and the Silver Goblet. Her books have … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Book Review | Hiding Places by Diane WyshogrodHiding Places: A Mother, a Daughter, an Uncovered Life By Diane Wyshogrod Excelsior Editions/State University of New York Press, 2012, 298 pp. The good stuff Intraspection—Perhaps because Wyshogrod is a psychologist, her in-depth questioning of herself helps the reader understand … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- New Historical Novel Named Editor’s ChoiceFor all of you who enjoy historical novels… HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY NAMES YOU, FASCINATING YOU EDITOR’S CHOICE Author Germaine Shames’ Storytelling “Faultless” You, Fascinating You, recently released by Pale Fire Press, has been honored by the Historical Novel Society as … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | Nancy K. Miller, author of What They SavedI had already bought a copy of Nancy K. Miller’s memoir, What They Saved, published this year by the University of Nebraska Press, when I attended her panel on family story at the 2012 Association of Writers and Writing Programs … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Poet’s Notebook | Michal Mahgerefteh, Editor, Poetica MagazineIf you don’t know Poetica Magazine, you should. Edited by Michal Mahgerefteh, it offers opportunity for emerging and well-known poets alike. The Whole Megillah recently spoke with Michal. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What prompted you to start this magazine? Michal … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Book Review | Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved AmericaJean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America Written by Susan Goldman Rubin Illustrated by Jeff Himmelman Abrams, 2012 The good stuff Ahoy, matey – a Jewish pirate! Historical context – Rubin points out the motivation behind the piracy and privateering … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | Ellen Cassedy, author of We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian HolocaustIn early March at the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), I had the pleasure of attending a panel on family story and meeting Ellen Cassedy, author of We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Lerner Publishing Launches Jewish Interest E-BookstorePublishers Weekly announced today that “Lerner Digital, Lerner Publishing Group’s two-year-old digital publishing division, has launched the Kar-Ben eBookstore, which is selling e-books for children with Jewish themes. The e-bookstore launched with 170 fiction and nonfiction titles in its inventory that … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Book Review | When Jackie and Hank Met by Cathy Goldberg FishmanWhen Jackie and Hank Met Written by Cathy Goldberg Fishman and illustrated by Mark Elliott Marshall Cavendish Children, 2012 The good stuff Ingenuity — The idea to write about the meeting of baseball greats Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg, who each … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Attention Illustrators | A Message from Kent Brown and the Highlights FoundationThe following comes from Kent Brown of the Highlights Foundation I got this idea, and at first I thought it was another goofy one. Here’s what I’m faced with. The Highlights Foundation is expanding its programs, and, to my great … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Author’s Notebook | Jacqueline Jules
Monthly Archives: June 2010
A History of Jewish Children’s Books—Part One
This is the first installment of a multi-part series, adapted from a talk given by Lisa Silverman, Blumenthal Library Director of the Sinai Temple, Los Angeles on May 23, 2010 at the Highlights Foundation Workshop, “Writing Jewish-themed Books for Children.” … Continue reading
First Annual New York Sephardic Jewish Book Fair
I was excited to see this press release, passed on to The Whole Megillah by reader Dorothy Goldstone. I plan to attend. Hope to see you there! First Annual New York Sephardic Jewish Book Fair to be held July 25, … Continue reading
This Month in Jewish History | Let History Inspire Your Writing
Just looking at the list of June events in Jewish history gave me several ideas I might use someday in my writing. They included: June 5–Jews of Canada were accorded equal political rights with Christians, 1832. June 8–Jewish insurgent forces … Continue reading
Book Review: The Righteous Smuggler
The Righteous Smuggler Written by Debbie Spring (Second Story Press, 2005, A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers) Beginning in 1940 when the Germans occupy Holland, Hendrik Vandinther faces the restrictions, isolation, and ultimate removal of his Jewish friends from … Continue reading
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
I came to Washington, DC for a couple of days to do some onsite research at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) about the St. Louis. In the sweltering heat, I waited outside for the museum to open with several … Continue reading
Making Time to Write in an Impossibly Busy (Jewish) Life
The following comes from guest blogger Pamela Ehrenberg. As we fly out the door to my daughter’s preschool—”Is today the day you need a two-liter bottle/four dollars/a percussion instrument?” I sometimes think of the ancient Israelites, hastening to flee Egypt. … Continue reading
Book Review: Lost
Lost Written by Jacqueline Davies (Marshall Cavendish, 2009) I am a big fan of immigrant novels. My critical thesis in the Vermont MFA Program focused on the immigrant experience in children’s literature. For that work, I compiled a list of … Continue reading
Librarian’s Notebook | Kathe Pinchuck
Kathe Pinchuck, The Whole Megillah‘s June 2010 Librarian of the Month, is the outgoing chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee and that experience has given her a unique perspective on Jewish children’s literature. She is the librarian at … Continue reading
Posted in Librarians
Tagged AJL, All-of-a-Kind Family, American Girl Rebecca, Boy of Old Prague, Diary of Anne Frank, Elie Wiesel, Eric Kimmel, Holocaust, Jacqueline Jules, Jewish holidays, K'tonton, Kar-Ben, Kathe Pinchuck, Katherine Paterson, Mitali Perkins, Our Eddie, Robin Friedman, Sadie Weilerstein, Sulamith Ish Kishor, Sydney Taylor, Sydney Taylor Book Award, The Importance of Wings, The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah
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