The Whole Megillah- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 16, 2021Some quick things: I finally found the burials of my mother’s mother’s parents! They are buried at United Hebrew Cemetery on Staten Island in the United Hebrew Community section. I now have the exact block, row, and grave numbers. I’ll … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 24Even if these essays about my immigrant forebears don’t receive publication, I know I’ve been able to somewhat piece together the fragments of their lives into a sort of biography. During a bout of insomnia the other night, I thought … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 9, 2021Some quick things: I completed revisions on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. I hope my editor agrees that I completed them! I gave a presentation on Yizkor books (Holocaust memorial books) to my graduate “Reading Yiddish for Holocaust Research” … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 23Inspired by Toni Morrison’s “Sites of Memory” chapter in William Zinsser’s edited volume, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, I began to think about my trip to my grandfather’s shtetl in 2008, recalling my thoughts about the … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 2, 2021Some quick things: Still sloughing away at revisions on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. This week I’m back at translating from Yiddish a 1947 journal article about the destruction of eastern Galician Jewry. I should have it completed by … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Week 22Years ago when I first embarked on my family history journey, I spent a lot of time at the local Mormon stake, ordering and reviewing scores of microfilms. One of the volunteers there said with absolute conviction, “Our ancestors want … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 26, 2021Some quick things: I await yet more comments from my editor on my Ethel Rosenberg bio in verse. I know what I’ll be doing over Memorial Day weekend! Today I’m giving my two-minute pitch at the Jewish Book Council’s Author … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- #52snapshots–Weeks 20 & 21I’ve been writing about my maternal great-grandmother Esther Toby Drewno Entel through a “braided essay” class given by Marian Calabro at the Montclair (NJ) adult school. At our last session last week, I began to write about changes in headstone … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 19, 2021Three quick things this week: My contemporary YA novel in verse has finally been sent out into the world. It lingered with my agent for months. It’s been called “gritty.” Working hard on a new short story for my Displaced … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | May 12, 2021Four quick things this week: I have joined a Holocaust writing group. Other members are children of survivors. We meet on an ad hoc basis to share our writing and to generate new writing. I am no longer a literary … Continue reading →Barbara Krasner
- Mid-Week Field Notes | June 16, 2021
Category Archives: Authors
Author’s Notebook | The Singer and the Scientist by Lisa Rose
Rose, Lisa. The Singer and the Scientist. Illustr. Isabel Muñoz. Kar-Ben, April 2021, 32 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): I’m going to start with a set of bundled questions: How did you find this story about Marian’s performance at McCarter … Continue reading
Posted in Authors
Tagged Albert Einstein, Isabel Munoz, Kar-Ben, Lisa Rose, Marian Anderson, The Singer and the Scientist
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Author’s Notebook | The Woodcarver’s Daughter by Yona Zeldis McDonough
McDonough, Yona Zeldis. The Woodcarver’s Daughter. Kar-Ben, April 2021, 128 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired you to write The Woodcarver’s Daughter?Yona Zeldis McDonough (YZM): I had gone to the Museum of American Folk Art to see a show … Continue reading
Posted in Authors
Tagged Kar-Ben, Susanna Einstein, The Woodcarver's Daughter, Yona Zeldis McDonough
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Author’s Notebook | Jumping Over Shadows: A Memoir by Annette Gendler
“The true story of a German-Jewish love that overcame the burdens of the past.” Gendler, Annette. Jumping Over Shadows: A Memoir. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, 2017. 233 pages, $16.95 list, paperback. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What prompted you to … Continue reading
2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour | Final Stop
You’ve now come to the final stop along the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award blog tour, the culmination of a full week of insightful and inspiring award-winning author and illustrator interviews. Read about the blog tour and all 2021 Sydney … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Contests, Uncategorized
Tagged 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Awards, 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Blog Tour, anne blankman, Anya and the Nightingale, Dancing at the Pity Party, evan wolkenstein, I Am the Tree of Life, Jane Yolen, Khoa Le, leslea newman, M Evan Wolkenstein, Miriam at the River, Monica Hesse, mychal copeland, sofiya pasternack, Susan Gal, The Blackbird Girls, Turtle Boy, tyler feder, Welcoming Elijah
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Two-in-One Author’s Notebook | The Ninth Night of Hanukkah, Written by Erica S. Perl, Illustrated by Shahar Kober
Perl, Erica S. The Ninth Night of Hanukkah. Illus. Shahar Kober. Sterling Children’s Books, 2020, 32 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired this story? Erica Perl (EP): The story was inspired by my two daughters. One Hanukkah night, they … Continue reading
Author’s Notebook | The Assignment by Liza Wiemer–Now a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable Book!
Wiemer, Liza. The Assignment. Delacorte Press, 2020, $17.99 The Whole Megillah (TWM): What prompted you to write The Assignment? Liza Wiemer (LZ): On April 4, 2017, I visited Oswego, New York, for a book signing at River’s End Bookstore for … Continue reading
Author’s Notebook | Judah Touro Didn’t Want to Be Famous, Written by Audrey Ades
Ades, Audrey. Judah Touro Didn’t Want to Be Famous. Illus. Vivien Mildenberger. Kar-Ben, 2020, 32 pp. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired you to write this book? Audrey Ades (AA): I started writing this book in 2016, when I felt … Continue reading
Posted in Authors, Uncategorized
Tagged Audrey Ades, Judah Touro Didn't Want to Be Famous, Kar-Ben, Vivien Mildenberger
3 Comments
Author’s Notebook | Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, Written by Laurie Wallmark
Wallmark, Laurie. Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life. Illus. by Katy Wu. Sterling, 2019. 48 pp., $16.95 The Whole Megillah (TWM): You’ve now published four picture book biographies. What has driven your interest in writing about female scientists? Laurie Wallmark (LW): There … Continue reading
Author’s Notebook | A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine
Levine, Gail Carson. A Ceiling Made of Eggshells. HarperCollins, 2020, 371 pp. $17.99, Grades 4-6. The Whole Megillah (TWM): What inspired you to write this book? Gail Carson Levine (GCL): This was a trip into family history. My father’s ancestors … Continue reading
