The Sydney Taylor Book Award

2021 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:00:00 +0000

For More Information Contact:
Rebecca Levitan, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries
www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org
sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org

January 25, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today in a virtual livecast at the Youth Media Awards announcement at the American Library Association. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

GOLD MEDALISTS

Welcoming Elijah: a Passover Tale with a Tail by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal, published by Charlesbridge, is the winner in the picture book category. This warmly illustrated, poetic book parallels the experiences of a young boy at a Passover seder and a small white kitten outdoors. When the boy opens the door to welcome the prophet Elijah, he finds a furry friend instead. Simple text, diverse characters, and a timeless feel make this a story to be treasured.

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein, published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House, is the winner in the Middle Grade category. Will’s bar mitzvah service project helps him face challenges in his own life in this engaging story by a debut author. Bullied at school and a loner, turtle-loving Will completes a bucket list of milestone activities for a terminally ill boy and gains the strength to face his own upcoming surgery.

Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House, is the winner in the Young Adult category. This debut memoir in graphic form is a funny, sad, confidently illustrated meditation on grief. It’s both a tribute to Tyler’s wonderful mom, who died of breast cancer at the age of 47, and a guide to Jewish mourning practices. A singular achievement.

SILVER MEDALISTS

Six Sydney Taylor Honor Books were recognized.

For Picture Books, the Honor Books are I Am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book by Mychal Copeland, illustrated by André Ceolin, published by Apples and Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House, and Miriam at the River by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Khoa Le, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group.

For Middle Grade, the Honor Books are Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack, published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen, published by Groundwood Books; and The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman, published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House.

For Young Adult, the Honor Book is They Went Left by Monica Hesse, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated eleven Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2021.

The Notable Picture Books are The Eight Knights of Hanukkah by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Galia Bernstein, published by Holiday House; The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Lisa Anchin, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House; and The Ninth Night of Hanukkah by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Shahar Kober, published by Sterling Children’s Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing.

The Notable Middle Grade Books are Beni's War by Tammar Stein, published by Kar-Ben Publishers, a division of Lerner Publishing Group; We Had to Be Brave: Escaping the Nazis on the Kindertransport by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Focus, an imprint of Scholastic; A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan, published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; and Letters from Cuba by Ruth Behar, published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House.

The Notable Young Adult Books are Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon, published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Publishing; The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, published by Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House; The Way Back by Gavriel Savit, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House; and The Assignment by Liza Wiemer, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.

More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, a complete listing of the award winners and notables, and seals for purchase can be found at www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org.

The 2021Winner for the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award is Cats and Honey Cake by Sonja Spear.

Winning authors and illustrators will receive their awards at the Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, to be held virtually from June 27 to July 1, 2021. Gold and silver medalists will participate in a blog tour from February 8 to 12, 2021. For more information about the blog tour, please visit www.jewishlibraries.org. For an exclusive interview with Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Chair, please visit The Book of Life Podcast at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.

Members of the 2021 Sydney Taylor Book Award committee are Chair Rebecca Levitan, Baltimore County Public Library, Baltimore, Maryland; Rena Citrin, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School Chicago, Illinois; Judy Ehrenstein, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Bethesda, Maryland; Toby Harris, Temple Beth Am, Seattle, Washington; Marjorie Ingall, freelance writer, New York, New York; Aviva Rosenberg, Ridgefield Free Public Library, Ridgefield, New Jersey; and Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Stratford, Connecticut.

The Association of Jewish Libraries, the leading authority on Judaic librarianship, promotes Jewish literacy through enhancement of libraries and library resources and through leadership for the profession and practitioners of Judaica librarianship. The Association fosters access to information, learning, teaching and research relating to Jews, Judaism, the Jewish experience, and Israel.

###

The 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 15:54:00 +0000

For More Information Contact:

Rebecca Levitan, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries

www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org
sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org

January 27, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2020 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today in Philadelphia, PA at the Youth Media Awards announcement at the American Library Association. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

2020 is the first year the Sydney Taylor Honor Books have been included along with the winners in the announcements at the American Library Association Youth Media Awards press conference.

GOLD MEDALISTS

The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come by Sue Macy, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, published by Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is the winner in the Picture Book category. The Book Rescuer celebrates the power of an individual to preserve history and culture, while also exploring timely themes of identity and immigration. In a folksy voice, this biography tells the story of Yiddish Book Center founder Aaron Lansky’s commitment to rescuing Yiddish language books and ensuring that despite all odds, Yiddish language and culture will stay alive for future generations.

White Bird: A Wonder Story by R. J. Palacio, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House, is the winner in the Middle Grade category. This beautifully illustrated graphic novel connects the Holocaust to familiar contemporary characters, as Julian from the Wonder series learns his grandmother’s powerful story of rescue in Vichy-occupied France.

Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House, is the winner in the Young Adult category. In this lushly written historical novel, Lillia and her father and sister flee Warsaw during the Holocaust and take refuge in Shanghai, China. There, Lillia’s need to support her family, her relationships with others, and her awareness of her privilege even as a refugee all contribute to her growth.

Lesléa Newman is the winner of the Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award. As the author of 70 books for all ages, she has helped broaden the scope of Jewish children’s books over her prolific career. She has received the Sydney Taylor Award for Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed, a Sydney Taylor Honor this year for Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story and four Sydney Taylor Notables.

SILVER MEDALISTS

Six Sydney Taylor Honor Books were recognized.

For Picture Books, the Honor Books are Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams Books and The Key from Spain: Flory Jagoda and Her Music by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Sonja Wimmer, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group.

For Middle Grade, the Honor Books are Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack, published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Games of Deception: The True Story of the First U.S. Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany by Andrew Maraniss, published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House.

For Young Adult, the Honor Books are Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life and Work by Victoria Ortiz, published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz, published by Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated eight Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2020. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award and a complete listing of the award winners and notables can be found at www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org.

The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Committee did not designate a winner for 2020.

Winning authors and illustrators will receive their awards at the Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, to be held in Evanston, IL, from June 29 to July 1, 2020. Gold and silver medalists will participate in a blog tour from February 9 to 13, 2020. For more information about the blog tour, please visit www.jewishlibraries.org. For an exclusive interview with Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Chair please visit The Book of Life Podcast at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.

Members of the 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Award committee are Chair Rebecca Levitan, Baltimore County Public Library; Baltimore, MD; Rena Citrin, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, IL; Shoshana Flax, The Horn Book, Inc., Boston, MA; Marjorie Ingall, Freelance Writer, New York, NY; Sylvie Shaffer, Capitol Hill Day School, Washington, DC; Marjorie Shuster, Congregation Emanuel, New York, NY; and Rivka Yerushalmi, Jewish Women International Libraries, Rockville, MD.

The 2020 Sydney Taylor Book Awards

Association of Jewish Libraries

Picture Book Winner

Middle Grade Winner

White Bird: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio, illustrated by the author, published by
Knopf Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House Children’s Books

Young Adult Winner

Someday We Will Fly by Rachel Dewoskin, published by Viking, an imprint of
Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House

~~~~~~

Picture Book Honors

Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams Books.

The Key from Spain: Flory Jagoda and Her Music by Debbie Levy, illustrated by
Sonja Wimmer, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group

Middle Grade Honors

Games of Deception: The True Story of the First US Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany by Andrew Maraniss, published by Philomel Books,
an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House

Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack, published by Versify,
an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Young Adult Honors

Dissenter on the Bench by Victoria Ortiz, published by Clarion Books,
an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz, published by Entangled Teen,

an imprint of Entangled Publishing LLC

Picture Book Notables

Doctor Esperanto and the Language of Hope by Mara Rockliff,

illustrated by Zosia Dzierzawska, published by Candlewick Press

A Scarf for Keiko by Ann Malaspina, illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard,
published by Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group

Parrots, Pugs and Pixie Dust: A Book about Fashion Designer Judith Leiber by
Deborah Blumenthal, illustrated by Masha D’yans, published by Little Bee Books

Middle Grade Notables

Masters of Silence by Kathy Kacer, published by Annick Press

A Boy is Not a Bird by Edeet Ravel, published by Groundwood Books

Rachel’s Roses by Ferida Wolff, illustrated by Margeaux Lucas, published by Holiday House

Young Adult Notables

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton, published by Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing

A Light in the Darkness: Janusz Korczak, His Orphans, and the Holocaust by Albert Marrin, published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House Children’s Books

~~~~~~

Body-of-Work Award Winner
Lesléa Newman

~~~~~~

Manuscript Award Winner

There was no Manuscript Award Winner awarded for 2020.

~~~~~~

For more information contact:

Rebecca Levitan, Chair

Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, Association of Jewish Libraries

sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org
www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org

Day 1: Sydney Taylor Book Award 2019 Blog Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 17:38:00 +0000

Emily Jenkins and Paul Zelinsky, author and illustrator of All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Out of the Box at the Horn Book

Barb Rosenstock and Mary GrandPré, author and illustrator of Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall's Life
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
At A Fuse #8 Production at School Library Journal

2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 06:44:00 +0000

BLOG TOUR: 2019 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be showcasing its 2019 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 10-14, 2019! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. Interviews will appear on the dates below, and will remain available to read at your own convenience.

Below is the schedule for the 2019 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!

2019 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019

Emily Jenkins and Paul Zelinsky, author and illustrator of All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Out of the Box at the Horn Book

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019

Jonathan Auxier, author of Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers Category
At The Prosen People at The Jewish Book Council

Jane Breskin Zalben and Mehrdokht Amini, author and illustrator of A Moon for Moe and Mo
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category
At 100 Scope Notes at School Library Journal

The Sydney Taylor Book Awards at ALA's Youth Media Awards
At the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) Blog

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category
At Good Reads with Ronna

Elissa Brent Weissman, author of The Length of a String
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category
At Mr. Schu Reads

Susan Kusel & Rebecca Levitan, leadership of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
At The Children's Book Podcast

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Vesper Stamper, author of What the Night Sings
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Erica Perl, author of All Three Stooges
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category
At From the Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah

Reflections on the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Awards at ALA at Susan Kusel's Blog

10th Anniversary of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour at The Book of Life

2019 Sydney Taylor Book & Manuscript Awards Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 20:16:00 +0000

2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today in Seattle, WA at the Youth Media Awards press conference of the American Library Association. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

2019 marks the first time the Sydney Taylor Book Awards have been included in the American Library Association Youth Media Award announcements.

GOLD MEDALISTS

All-of-a-Kind-Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul Zelinsky, published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers category. In this meticulously researched Hanukkah story based on the classic children’s book All-of-a-Kind Family, poetic language and exuberant illustrations perfectly capture the emotions of each of the iconic sisters as they prepare latkes and celebrate the holiday in New York’s Lower East Side in 1912.

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier, published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers category. Auxier masterfully weaves Jewish themes and characters into the story of Nan Sparrow, a chimney climbing girl in Victorian London, and her remarkable friendship with Charlie, the soot golem who saves her life.

What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper, illustrated by the author, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers category. This beautifully illustrated novel tells the story of teen Holocaust survivor Gerta as she struggles to reconcile her identity and desires in the wake of tragedy.

SILVER MEDALISTS

Five Sydney Taylor Honor Books were also recognized. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are A Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, published by Charlesbridge, and Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall’s Life and Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary Grandpré, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. For Older Readers, the Honor Books are All Three Stooges, by Erica S. Perl, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, and The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House. For Teen Readers, the Honor Book is You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon, published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated nine Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2019. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award and a complete listing of the award winners and notables can be found at www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org.

Winning authors and illustrators will receive their awards at the Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, to be held in Los Angeles, California, from June 17 – 19, 2019. Gold and silver medalists will also participate in a blog tour February 10-14, 2019. For more information about the blog tour please visit www.jewishlibraries.org/blog. An exclusive interview with the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Chair Susan Kusel may be heard on The Book of Life podcast at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.

Members of the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award committee are: Chair, Susan Kusel, Temple Rodef Shalom Library, Falls Church, Virginia; Rena Citrin, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, Illinois; Shoshana Flax, The Horn Book, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts; Rebecca Levitan, Baltimore County Public Library, Baltimore, Maryland; Sylvie Shaffer, Capitol Hill Day School, Washington, DC; Marjorie Shuster, Congregation Emanuel, New York, New York; and Rivka Yerushalmi, Jewish Women International Libraries, Silver Spring, Maryland.

The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) promotes Jewish literacy through enhancement of libraries and library resources and through leadership for the profession and practitioners of Judaica librarianship. The Association fosters access to information, learning, teaching and research relating to Jews, Judaism, the Jewish experience and Israel. AJL is an affiliate of the American Library Association. More information is available at www.jewishlibraries.org.

###

2019 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Winner Chosen

The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Competition committee is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2019 award. Jessica Littmann, author of A Corner of the World, will receive the award at the annual conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries to be held in Los Angeles, California from June 17-19, 2019. The Award is offered annually to an unpublished manuscript that has broad appeal to readers aged 8-13 and presents Jewish life in a positive light. The committee members felt that A Corner of the World had the perfect amount of Jewish content and values combined with complex contemporary themes.

A Corner of the World tells the story of two unlikely friends, Maya and Sam, who team up to make a difference in their community. Maya and Sam are both students at a Jewish day school who, like many middle school students, struggle with personal challenges that make them feel alone. When violence affects a member of their school's staff, Maya and Sam find common cause in a mitzvah project which brings healing and hope to a Chicago neighborhood in the spirit of tikkun olam.

In writing A Corner of the World, Ms. Littmann was inspired by a news story she had read about two teenagers who raised money to build a playground for disadvantaged children in Chicago. She said further that she “tried to provide a snapshot of the issues that contemporary Jewish kids face in the classroom and in their lives as part of the great community.”

Having grown up reading and loving Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family books, Ms. Littmann is thrilled to have been selected for this award and feels “as if she’s traveling in her own personal rainbow.” Ms. Littmann, who lives in Evanston, Illinois, is a teacher by training. She is currently working as a freelance writer and serves as a member of the board of Beth Hillel B’nai Emunah Academy. A Corner of the World is her first novel.

Members of the 2019 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award Committee are: Chair, Aileen Grossberg, Lampert Library, Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Montclair, New Jersey and Jacobs Library, Oheb Shalom Congregation, South Orange, New Jersey; Toby Harris, Seattle Public Library and Temple Beth Am, Seattle, Washington; Heidi Rabinowitz, Feldman Children’s Library and Howard Computer Lab, Congregation B’nai Israel, Boca Raton, Florida; Jill Ratzan, Temple B’nai Abraham, Bordentown, New Jersey; Rachel Simon, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts; and Debbie Steinberg, Learning Commons, Ida Crown Jewish Academy, Chicago, Illinois.

###

The 2019 Sydney Taylor Book & Manuscript Awards
Association of Jewish Libraries

Winner for Younger Readers

All-of-a-Kind-Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul Zelinsky,
published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

Winner for Older Readers

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier,
published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams

Winner for Teen Readers

What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper, illustrated by the author,
published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

~~~~~~

Honor Books for Younger Readers

Through the Window:Views of Marc Chagall’s Life by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

A Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, published by Charlesbridge

Honor Books for Older Readers

All Three Stooges by Erica S. Perl, published by Alfred A. Knopf,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books

The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman, published by Dial Books for Young Readers,
an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House

Honor Book for Teen Readers

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon, published by Simon Pulse,
an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Notable Books for Younger Readers

Irving Berlin: The Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing by Nancy Churnin,
illustrated by James Rey Sanchez, published by Creston Books

Write On, Irving Berlin! by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by David C. Gardner,
published by Sleeping Bear Press

French Toast Sundays by Gloria Spielman, illustrated by Inbal Gigi Bousidan,
published by Apples and Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House

The Passover Parrot by Evelyn Zusman, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker,
published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

Notable Books for Older Readers

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky, published by Pantheon Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House

12 Before 13 by Lisa Greenwald, published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Light the Menorah: A Hanukkah Handbook by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Kristina Swarner,
published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

The Sound of Freedom by Kathy Kacer, published by Annick Press

Notable Book for Teen Readers

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic

~~~~~~

Manuscript Award Winner

A Corner of the World by Jessica Littman

~~~~~~
For more information contact:
Susan Kusel, Chair, Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, Association of Jewish Libraries
sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org
www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org

Aileen Grossberg, Chair, Sydney Taylor Manuscript Committee, Association of Jewish Libraries
STMACAJL@aol.com
www.tinyurl.com/stmanuscript

2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:00:00 +0000

For More Information Contact:
Susan Kusel, Chair Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries
sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org

January 10, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

2018 is the 50th Anniversary of the Sydney Taylor Awards. The first winner was The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig in 1968, published by the Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

GOLD MEDALISTS

The Language of Angels: A Story About the Reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Karla Gudeon, published by Charlesbridge, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers category. This beautiful picture book tells the story of how Hebrew became an everyday language in Israel, after being out of use for two thousand years. The folk art illustrations are an illuminating match.

Refugee by Alan Gratz, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers category. The journeys of three different young refugees from Nazi Germany, 1990s Cuba and present-day Syria come together to form an emotional and timely narrative about the refugee experience.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaites, published by Godwin Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, a division of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers category. This powerful story of Dita Kraus and her protection of a handful of books in the Auschwitz concentration camp shows the importance of hope in the darkest of times.

Harold Grinspoon and PJ Library won the Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award. PJ Library, a project of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, is a family engagement program that sends free books celebrating Jewish values and culture to families with children 6 months through 8 years old. This program has revolutionized the field of Jewish children’s literature by providing dramatically improved access to Jewish books for families. It has also significantly increased the publication of children’s books with Jewish content. The Body of Work Award has been given twelve times in the 50-year history of the Sydney Taylor Awards. The last recipient was author Eric Kimmel in 2004.

SILVER MEDALISTS

Eight Sydney Taylor Honor Books were also recognized. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are: Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam adapted by Fawzia GilaniWilliams, illustrated by Chiara Fedele, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group and Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group.

For Older Readers, the Honor Books are: Viva, Rose! by Susan Krawitz, published by Holiday House, which was also the recipient of the 2015 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award; This Is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic; and The Six-Day Hero by Tammar Stein, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group.

For Teen Readers, the Honor Books are: To Look a Nazi in the Eye: A Teen’s Account of a War Criminal Trial by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz, published by Second Story Press; Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin, translated by Rosie Hedger, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic; and The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke, published by Albert Whitman & Company.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated twelve Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2018. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award and a complete listing of the award winners and notables can be found at www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org.

Winning authors and illustrators will receive their awards at the Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, to be held in Boston, MA from June 18-20, 2018. Gold and silver medalists will also participate in a blog tour February 4-8, 2018. For more information about the blog tour please visit www.jewishlibraries.org/blog.

The Language of Angels and Refugee were also named winners of the 67th Annual National Jewish Book Awards, which were announced today as well. A full list of all the winners can be found on the Jewish Book Councils website here.

Members of the 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award committee are: Chair Susan Kusel, Temple Rodef Shalom Library, Falls Church, VA; Rena Citrin, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Chicago, IL; Elissa Gershowitz, Horn Book Magazine, Boston, MA; Rebecca Levitan, Baltimore County Public Library, Pikesville Branch, Baltimore, MD; Heather Lenson, Joseph & Florence Mandel Jewish Day School, Beachwood, OH; Marjorie Shuster, Congregation Emanuel of the City of New York, New York, NY; and Rivka Yerushalmi, Silver Spring, MD.

###

The 2018 Sydney Taylor Book Awards
Association of Jewish Libraries

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers

The Language of Angels: A Story About the Reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Karla Gudeon, published by Charlesbridge

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers

Refugee by Alan Gratz, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaites, published by Godwin Books, an imprint of Henry Holt and Company, a division of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

The Sydney Taylor Body of Work Award Winner

Harold Grinspoon and PJ Library

~~~~~~

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers

Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam adapted by Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Chiara Fedele

published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg

published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers

Viva, Rose! by Susan Krawitz, published by Holiday House

This Is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic

The Six-Day Hero by Tammar Stein, published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers

To Look a Nazi in the Eye: A Teen’s Account of a War Criminal Trial by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz, published by Second Story Press

Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin, translated by Rosie Hedger published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic

The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke, published by Albert Whitman & Company

~~~~~~

Notable Books for Younger Readers

Yom Kippur Shortstop by David A. Adler, illustrated by Andre Ceolin published by Apples & Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House

Under the Sabbath Lamp by Michael Herman, illustrated by Alida Massari published by Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

Big Sam: A Rosh Hashanah Tall Tale by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Jim Starr published by Apples & Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House

The Knish War on Rivington Street by Joanne Oppenheim, illustrated by Jon Davis published by Albert Whitman & Company

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Stacy Innerst, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, a division of Abrams

Notable Books for Older Readers

Hedy’s Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust by Michelle Bisson, illustrated by El primo Ramón published by Capstone Press, a Capstone imprint

The Children of Willesden Lane: A True Story of Hope and Survival During World War II: Young Readers Edition by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen and adapted by Emil Sher published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group

Wordwings by Sydelle Pearl, published by Guernica Editions

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero published by Delacorte Press, a division of Random House Children’s Books

Notable Books for Teen Readers

Man’s Search for Meaning: Young Reader Edition by Viktor E. Frankl, published by Beacon Press

Ronit & Jamil by Pamela L. Laskin published by Katherine Tegen Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

Stolen Secrets by L.B. Schulman, published by Boyds Mills Press, a division of Highlights

~~~~~~

For more information contact:

Susan Kusel, Chair Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, Association of Jewish Libraries sydneytaylorbookaward@jewishlibraries.org

www.sydneytaylorbookawards.org

2017 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winners Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 19:36:00 +0000

For More Information Contact:

Ellen Tilman, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries
(215) 906-4657
chair@sydneytaylorbookaward.org

January 11, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2017 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Winners of the annual Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced by the Association of Jewish Libraries today. Named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series, the award recognizes books for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.

GOLD MEDALISTS

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Elizabeth Baddeley, published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers category. This delightful biography of the Supreme Court Justice teaches children that dissent does not make a person disagreeable, and can even help change the world. The grab-your-attention illustrations help explain the text.

The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz, illustrated by Hatem Aly, published by Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin Random House, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers category. Part fantasy and part adventure, this is the tale of strangers who become friends while on a quest to save thousands of volumes of Talmud. The beautiful illuminations reflect the medieval flavor of the book.

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit, published by Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers category. Anna is left alone in 1939 Krakow when the Nazis take her father away. She meets the mysterious Swallow Man who is able to speak “bird,” and travels with him in the forests of Poland, where they spend four years hiding and eluding capture. This is a haunting story that may be allegory or folktale or perhaps both.

SILVER MEDALISTS

Four Sydney Taylor Honor Books were also recognized. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy by Richard Michelson with illustrations by Edel Rodriguez, published by Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House, and A Hat For Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love written by Michelle Edwards with illustrations by G. Brian Karas, published by Schwartz and Wade Books/Penguin Random House.

Dreidels on the Brain written by Joel Ben Izzy and published by Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House, and A Poem For Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney with illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, published by Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Random House, are the Honor books in the Older Readers Category.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated ten Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2017. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award and a complete listing of the award winners and notables can be found at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.

Winning authors and illustrators will receive their awards at the Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, to be held in New York City in June. Gold and silver recipients will also participate in a blog tour during February. For more information about the blog tour please visit www.jewishlibraries.org/blog.

###

THE 2017 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDSANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers
I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Elizabeth Baddeley
(Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog
by Adam Gidwitz with illustrations by Hatem Aly
(Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin Random House)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers
Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
(Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers
Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy
by Richard Michelson with illustrations by Edel Rodriguez
(Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House)
A Hat For Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love
by Michelle Edwards with illustrations by G. Brian Karas
(Schwartz and Wade Books/ Penguin Random House)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers
Dreidels on the Brain by Joel Ben Izzy
(Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of the Snowy Day
by Andrea Davis Pinkney with illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
(Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Random House)

Notable Books for Younger Readers
Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup by Pamela Mayer with illustrations by Deborah Melmon
(Kar-Ben Publishing)
Gabriel’s Horn by Eric Kimmel with illustrations by Maria Surducan
(Kar-Ben Publishing)
Not This Turkey by Jessica Steinberg with illustrations by Amanda Pike
(Albert Whitman & Company)
On One Foot by Linda Glaser with illustrations by Nuria Balaguer
(Kar-Ben Publishing)
The Sundown Kid: A Southwestern Shabbat by Barbara Bietz with illustrations by John Kanzler
(August House)
The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank’s Windowby Jeff Gottesfeld with illustrations by Peter McCarty(Alfred A. Knopf/Penguin Random House)

Notable Books for Older Readers
The Bicycle Spy by Yona Zeldis McDonough
(Scholastic Books)
Irena’s Children: Young Readers Edition: A True Story of Courage
by Tilar J. Mazzeo and adapted by Mary Cronk Farrell
(Margaret McElderry Books/Simon and Schuster)
The Ship to Nowhere by Rona Arato
(Second Story Press)
Skating with the Statue of Liberty by Susan Lynn Meyer
(Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House)

No Honor or Notable Books were designated for Teen Readers in 2017.

2016 BLOG TOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 15:43:00 +0000

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

Author Interview

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

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

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 Interview

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

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016

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

Virtual roundtable discussion

2016 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 00:13:00 +0000

Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates, author and illustrator of Ketzel, the Cat who Composed, Aharon Appelfeld, Philippe Dumas and Jeffrey M. Green, author, illustrator and translator of Adam and Thomas, and Laura Amy Schlitz, author of The Hired Girl, are the 2016 winners of the 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 Conference in Charleston, South Carolina this June.

Newman and Bates will receive the 2016 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Reader category for Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed, published by Candlewick Press. This delightful picture book tells the true story of musician Morris Moshe Cotel, whose cat helped him compose a one-minute composition that received an honorable mention in the Paris New Music Review competition. The illustrations are heartwarming and add much charm to the story. Appelfeld, Dumas and Green will receive the 2016 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Older Readers category for Adam and Thomas, published by Seven Stories Press. This sweet story tells of two nine-year-old Jewish boys who survive the last winter of World War II, helping each other so that one grows physically stronger and braver and the other grows spiritually. Laura Amy Schlitz will receive the 2016 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen category for The Hired Girl, published by Candlewick Press. This sensitive story tells how fourteen-year-old Catholic Joan Skraggs becomes a hired girl to a Jewish family where she learns and grows in unexpected ways.

Five Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2016. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are Everybody Says Shalom written by Leslie Kimmelman and illustrated by Talitha Shipman, published by Random House, and Shanghai Sukkah written by Heidi Smith Hyde and illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong, published by Kar-Ben Publishing. Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish by Barry Deutsch, published by Amulet Books, is the Honor book in the Older Reader category. For Teen Readers, the Honor books are Serendipity’s Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson, published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, and Stones on a Grave by Kathy Kacer, published by Orca Book Publishers.

Winners and Honor recipients will be participating in a Blog Tour from February 7-12, 2016. For more information about the blog please visit www.jewishlibraries.org/blog.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated twelve Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2016. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award can be found at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.

Click here for a pdf of 2016 winners, honor books, and notable books.

For more information, contact:
Diane Rauchwerger, Chair
Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries
(408) 245-7641
chair@sydneytaylorbookaward.org

THE WINNERS

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers:

Ketzel, the Cat who Composed by Lesléa Newman with illustrations by Amy June Bates
(Candlewick Press)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers:

Adam & Thomas by Aharon Appelfeld, translated by Jeffrey M. Green
with illustrations by Philippe Dumas
(Seven Stories Press)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers:

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
(Candlewick Press)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers:

Everybody Says Shalom by Leslie Kimmelman with illustrations by Talitha Shipman
(Random House)

Shanghai Sukkah by Heidi Smith Hyde with illustrations by Jing Jing Tsong
(Kar-Ben Publishing)

Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Older Readers:

Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish by Barry Deutsch
(Amulet Books)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers:

Serendipity’s Footsteps by Suzanne Nelson
(Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House)

Stones on a Grave by Kathy Kacer
(Orca Book Publishers)

Notable Books for Younger Readers:

Hanukkah Cookies with Sprinkles by David A. Adler, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler
(Apples & Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House & Gefen Publishing House)

The Parakeet Named Dreidel by Isaac Bashevis Singer illustrated by Suzanne Raphael Berkson
(Farrar Straus Giroux)

Sadie and Ori and the Blue Blanket by Jamie Korngold illustrated by Julie Fortenberry
(Kar-Ben Publishers)

Notable Books for Older Readers:

The Girl in the Torch by Robert Sharenow
(Balzer + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)

Mr. Doctor: Janusz Korczak and the Orphans of the Warsaw Ghetto
by Irene Cohen-Janca and illustrated by Maurizio A. C. Quarello
(Annick Press)

The Safest Lie by Angela Cerrito
(Holiday House)

Watch Out for Flying Kids!: How Two Circuses, Two Countries, and Nine Kids Confront Conflict and Build Community by Cynthia Levinson
(Peachtree)

The Wren and the Sparrow, by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg
(Kar-Ben Publishers)

Notable Books for Teens:

Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in WWII Denmark by Deborah Hopkinson
(Scholastic Press)

Deep Sea by Annika Thor
(Delacorte Press)

Imagining Katherine by Carol Solomon
(Tova Press)

Last Night at the Circle Cinema by Emily Franklin
(Carolrhoda Lab)

2015 Sydney Taylor Book Award BLOG TOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 21:39:00 +0000

The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2015 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 8-13, 2015! 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 2015 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!

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Una La Marche, author of Like No Other
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Lizzie Skurnick, publisher of Isabel's War by Lila Perl
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Pen & Prose

Author Jennifer Elvgren and illustrator Fabio Santomauro, creators of The Whispering Town
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

Loic Dauvillier, Mark Lizano and Greg Salsedo, creators of Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Interlace Place

Author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock, creators of My Grandfather's Coat
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Sandra Bornstein's Blog

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

Author Barbara Krasner and illustrator Kelsey Garrity-Riley, creators of Goldie Takes a Stand
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Write Kids' Books

Donna Jo Napoli, author of Storm
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Jewish Books for Kids

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Donna Gephart, author of Death by Toilet Paper
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Monkey Poop

Author Jacqueline Jules and illustrator Durga Yael Bernhard, creators of Never Say a Mean Word Again
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky's Blog

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Blog Tour Wrap-Up with All Authors and Illustrators
At The Whole Megillah

2015 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 21:38:00 +0000

For more information contact:
Diane Rauchwerger, Chair Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee
Association of Jewish Libraries
(408)245-7641
chair@sydneytaylorbookaward.org

January 20, 2015
For immediate release

2015 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY AJL

Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock, author and illustrator of My Grandfather’s Coat, Loic Dauvillier, Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo, authors and illustrators of Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust, and Donna Jo Napoli, author of Storm, are the 2015 winners of the 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 Conference in Washington, D.C. this June.

Aylesworth and McClintock will receive the 2015 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Reader category for My Grandfather’s Coat, published by Scholastic Press. This retelling of the classic tale celebrates the clever recycling of a beloved coat that lasts through four generations until it becomes its own story. The illustrations are heartwarming and add much charm to the story. Dauvillier, Lizano and Salsedo will receiver the 2015 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Older Reader’s category for Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust, published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press. In this sensitive graphic novel, a French grandmother tells her granddaughter the story of how she and her mother survived the Holocaust with the help of several righteous gentiles. Donna Jo Napoli will receive the 2015 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen category for Storm, a Paula Wiseman Book, published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. This clever retelling of the Noah story features a sixteen year old girl who stows away on the ark and witnesses the dynamics of Noah and his family as they struggle to care for the animals under the stress of living together in close quarters.

Six Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2015. For Younger Readers, Goldie Takes a Stand, written by Barbara Krasner and illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley, published by Kar-Ben, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, and Never Say a Mean Word Again: A Tale from Medieval Spain, written by Jacqueline Jules and illustrated by Durga Yael Bernhard, published by Wisdom Tales, were selected. Death by Toilet Paper by Donna Gephart, published by Delacorte Press, and Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren, illustrated by Fabio Santomauro, published by Kar-Ben, are Honor books in the Older Readers category. For Teen Readers, the Honor books are Isabel’s War by Lila Perl, published by Lizzie Skurnick Books, an imprint of Ig Publishing and Like No Other by Una LaMarche, published by Razor Bill, an imprint of Penguin Group.

Winners and Honor recipients will be participating in a blog tour February 8-13, 2015. A schedule for the blog tour will be posted at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated sixteen Notable Books of Jewish content for 2015. More information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award can be found at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.

The complete list of 2015 winners, honors, and notable books can be found here.

2014 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced by AJL

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 21:42:00 +0000

Laurel Snyder and Catia Chien, author and illustrator of The Longest Night: A Passover Story, Patricia Polacco, author and illustrator of The Blessing Cup, and Neal Bascomb, author of The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, are the 2014 winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

Snyder and Chien will receive the 2014 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers category for The Longest Night: A Passover Story, published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Written in gentle verse, the tumultuous days leading up to the Jews’ flight from Egypt are described from the perspective of an unnamed slave girl in this beautifully illustrated story. It provides a unique introduction to the Passover holiday for young readers in an honest, but age-appropriate way.

The gold medal in the Older Readers category will be presented to Patricia Polacco for The Blessing Cup, a Paula Wiseman Book, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In this prequel to The Keeping Quilt, Polacco shares the story of a treasured family heirloom. The miraculous journey from the shtetl to America of the remaining teacup from a china tea set, deliberately left behind when her Jewish ancestors were forced to leave Czarist Russia, will strike an emotional chord with readers. In 1988, The Keeping Quilt was the Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers.

Neal Bascomb will receive the 2014 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers category for The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic. A stunning account of the mission to capture Adolf Eichmann by an elite team of Israeli spies is dramatically brought to life by Neal Bascomb.

Sydney Taylor Honor Books Selected for 2014:

Younger Readers:

Stones for Grandpa by Renee Londoner with illustrations by Martha Avilés
Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenberg Perlov with illustrations by Cosei Kawa. (both by Kar-Ben, a division of Lerner Publishing Group)

Older Readers:

The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible...on Schindler’s List by Leon Leyson with Marilyn J. Harran and Elisabeth B. Leyson (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division)
Dear Canada: Pieces of the Past: The Holocaust Diary of Rose Rabinowitz, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1948 by Carol Matas (Scholastic Canada)

Teen Readers:

Dancing in the Dark by Robyn Bavati (Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide)
The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax with illustrations by Caryl Strzelecki and translated by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)

Gold and silver medalists will be participating in a blog tour beginning February 16, 2014.

In addition to the medal winners, the Award Committee designated thirteen Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2014.

Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Call for Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:46:00 +0000

If you are an author, editor, or publisher of Jewish books for children or teens please submit your 2010 titles for consideration. For more information visit www.jewishlibraries.org or e-mail Chair@SydneyTaylorBookAward.org.

Blog Tour: Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:13:00 +0000

On our final day of the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, we wrap up with two great interviews.

A Faraway Island is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers category. Read an interview with author Annika Thor at The Little Book Room with blogger Nancy Silverrod (NOT at Nancy’s Teen Reads blog, which was originally listed on the schedule - apologies for the error!).

Here’s a teaser:

Nancy: Of the many stories you could have written about the Swedish rescue of Jews during the war, what inspired you to write this particular story?

Annika: Quite a few of the Jews who were rescued from the concentration camps have written down their own memories, in the form of autobiographies or fictional stories. I feel that these stories should be told by the people who experienced them, because they are beyond the imagination of us who did not. In contrast, very little had been written by or about the children who came with the Kindertransport before the war until I started to work on this theme (a doctoral theses on the subject was published in the same year as my first book, 1996), and I felt that the experiences that they went through are in a sense more universal and more suitable to interpret for someone with a different background.

Read more…

The JPS Illustrated Bible for Children is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book for All Ages. Read an interview with author Ellen Frankel at Deo Writer with blogger Jone MacCulloch.

Here’s a teaser:

Jone: How did you select which stories to include? (I’m glad you included one of my favorites, “Jonah and the Whale”!) Is there a story you didn’t include and now wish it was in the book?

Ellen: It was hard to limit which stories to include in the volume, but I knew that this couldn’t be a fat book. Children’s hands had to be able to carry it and balance it on their laps. I also understood that there is much in the Hebrew Bible that is not narrative: poetry, prophecy, songs, psalms, genealogies, legal material, ritual and priestly material, wisdom literature, and folklore. I left all that out. And I did leave out some stories as being too violent, sexually explicit, complicated, or not especially dramatic. Although I think that the decision to leave out “The Rape of Dinah,” “Judah and Tamar,” and “Jephthah’s Daughter” was the right one, I wonder whether we underestimate our children’s ability to deal with such brutal realities. After all, they see and read about rapes, sexual intrigues, and domestic violence every day on television, the internet, and the news.

Read more…

Thanks so much to all the bloggers, authors, and illustrators who participated in the 2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour! Keep an eye on the AJL blog People of the Books, the AJL Facebook page, or the AJL Twitter feed for announcements about more Jewish literary awards. And keep an eye on the Jewish Books for Children blog hosted by Sydney Taylor Book Award committee chair Barbara Bietz, where other Sydney Taylor related authors may be interviewed in the future.

Blog Tour: Day 4

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:48:00 +0000

Benjamin and the Silver Goblet is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers category. Read an interview with author Jacqueline Jules at ASHarmony with blogger Elizabeth Lipp.

Here’s a teaser:

Elizabeth: What challenges do you face as a writer? Meaning: what are those things that stand in your way when you have a particular idea you want to get across?

Jacqueline: It can often take a very long time to get a story or an idea right. I often think of my first drafts as caterpillars, crawling creatures hungrily nibbling on leaves. Sometimes those first drafts need to spend months or years in the cocoon stage until they emerge as wet butterflies, ready to learn how to fly. Every time I re-write a story or a poem, I am more pleased with it. I enjoy the process of rearranging words to tell the same story in a better way. However, it can also be discouraging to re-write something for years and years, hoping that this time it will connect with an editor and have the opportunity to find readers.

Read more…

The illustrator for Benjamin and the Silver Goblet is Natascia Ugliano. You can read a profile of this artist, and an interview about Natascia’s work with Joanna Sussman of Kar-Ben Publishing on The Book of Life with blogger Heidi Estrin.

Here’s a teaser:

Heidi: Can you reveal any behind-the-scenes secrets about Natascia’s art?
Joanna: We’re just completing work on the most recent title in this Bible series Miriam in the Desert,(coming Fall 2010) the story of Miriam’s leading the people through the wilderness and the introduction of the boy Bezalel, who becomes the artist who crafts the Holy Ark. The tricky part in working with the art for this story was deciding how the Ark should look because, of course, nobody knows what the original Ark of the Covenant looked like – was it plain or elaborate? Did it look like the one in the Indiana Jones movie? How big was it in proportion to the people? Both we and Natascia did a fair amount of research and we went back and forth on several designs before deciding on one that we thought would work.

Read more…

Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers category. Read an interview with author Deborah Bodin Cohen at Ima on (and off) the Bima: Real-Life Jewish Parenting with blogger Phyllis Sommer. This blog is also sponsoring a giveaway! Win a copy of the book by leaving a comment before February 7!

Here’s a teaser:

Phyllis: What inspired you to write Nachshon’s story?
Deborah: The Midrash of Nachshon – the first Israelite to have faith to walk into the Red Sea – has always spoken to me. Because of the Nachshon’s courage, God splits the Red Sea and the Israelites walk to freedom. The Torah mentions Nachshon ben Aminadav only a couple of times. Rabbinic creativity filled in the gaps in the Biblical text and the wonderful, classic Midrash of Nachshon was born. I love the lessons of Nachshon’s story: the power of one person to make a difference, having faith in face of adversity and taking risks for the benefit of the community.

Read more…

The illustrator for Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim is Jago. You can read an interview with him at Jewish Books for Children with blogger (and Sydney Taylor Book Award committee chair) Barbara Bietz.

Here’s a teaser:

Barbara: What was the most interesting thing you learned in the process of working on Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim ?
Jago: That I quite like illustrating horses! I’ve always avoided them before as they’re complicated to get right, but with the Pharaoh’s army riding chariots there was no getting away from them. Once I’d figured them out I quite enjoyed drawing them and now I don’t avoid them any more!

Read more…

Tune in tomorrow for the final day of the Blog Tour! You’ll see an interview with Annika Thor (author, A Faraway Island) at Teen Reads, and an interview with Ellen Frankel (author, The JPS Illustrated Bible for Children) at Deo Writer.

Blog Tour: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:51:00 +0000

The Yankee at the Seder is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers category. Read an interview with author Elka Weber at BewilderBlog with blogger Laurel Snyder.

Here’s a teaser:

Laurel: I’m excited about all the new things happening in Jewish kidlit right now. I wonder if– as part of that trend– you you’d be willing to share a few ideas for things you’re working on, or works in progress. What’s the wackiest Jewish pickture book you can imagine wanting to write? They book you’d liketo write, but have a hard time imagining anyone would publish?

Elka: As you say, this is an exciting time in Jewish kidlit. The Jewish community in the US has always been diverse, but we’ve gotten better at reflecting that reality. Children’s literature in general grows more sophisticated and Jewish literature is part of that larger trend. I just hope we don’t get too sophisticated to have fun.

My next book (One Little Chicken, June 2011) is a retelling of a story in the Talmud, but with a slight twist. It’s about a rabbi who was so committed to returning a lost chicken that he sells the eggs, invests the proceeds and ends up with a houseful of animals before the original owner shows up to claim his one little chicken. In my telling, the story gets a little antic toward the end.

The wackiest Jewish picture book I’d love to write would be What Do You Mean, You Don’t Want Seconds? starring feisty Jewish grandmothers from different times and places defending their traditional cooking. Naturally, it would be narrated by a piece of gefilte fish and end up in an all-out food fight at the central bus station in Jerusalem.

I am also writing for adults. I’ve finished a book about the last voyage of Henry Hudson. His men mutinied and set him adrift in the Arctic in 1611 and he was never heard from again. There’s nothing explicitly Jewish in the book but the question of what drives good men to evil deeds is most definitely a religious issue.

Read more…

The illustrator for The Yankee at the Seder is Adam Gustavson. You can read an interview with him at Great Kids Books with blogger Mary Ann Scheuer.

Here’s a teaser:

Great Kid Books: As a book lover, it interests me: What books or authors and/or illustrators influenced you as an early reader?

Adam G: My great loves are the old Mercer Mayer books from the 1960s and 1970s, like One Monster After Another and Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo. I think a lot of my cultural awareness came from these books. For example, I would see an old fashioned mailbox, and I could grasp what it was in the context of the picture.

Read more…

Naomi’s Song by Selma Kritzer Silverberg is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers category. The late Selma Silverberg wrote this story many years ago, and it was recently published by JPS through the efforts of her daughter, Judy Vida. Read an interview with Judy at The Book Nosher with blogger Robin Gaphni.

Here’s a teaser:

Robin: Naomi is depicted as a very independent, strong-minded woman in a time when men were in charge of virtually everything. Naomi’s Song was originally written in the late 1950’s-the very dawn of the women’s movement. Would you consider your mother an early feminist? Did she have some of the similar traits as Naomi?

Judy: Yes, I would consider her an early feminist. She was quiet about it, but she was determined to develop her own character and pursue her own interests even within the confines of a traditional 1950’s family role. It never occurred to her that there was anything she could not accomplish. She had long wanted to return to college to earn an elementary education degree. At the age of 44 she started toward that goal, taking only 1 course each semester, and completed her degree at the age of 58. Like Naomi she identified tasks and goals then persevered to complete them.

Read more…

Tune in tomorrow for features on Jacqueline Jules (author, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet) at ASHarmony, Natascia Ugliano (illustrator, Benjamin and the Silver Goblet) at The Book of Life, Deborah Bodin Cohen (author, Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim) at Ima On and Off the Bima, and Jago (illustrator, Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim) at Jewish Books for Children.

Blog Tour: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:48:00 +0000

The Importance of Wings is the Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers category. Read an interview with author Robin Friedman at Bildungsroman with blogger Little Willow.

Here’s a teaser:

Little Willow: You are a self-proclaimed Jersey Girl, but you were born in Israel. Have you visited Israel since leaving it at the age of five?

Robin: I’ve been back to Israel several times, including as a college student for a junior year abroad, at the University of Haifa. In that year, I literally fell in love with the landscape and the history, and learned so much about my heritage, as well as the gaps in my family’s story.

Read more…

Lost is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers category. Read an interview with author Jacqueline Davies at Biblio File with blogger Jen Rothschild.

Here’s a teaser:

Jen: In your acknowledgments, you say that it took you ten years to find a way to tell the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. What about this tragedy spoke to you so strongly?

Jacqueline: This book began with a sound. Back in 1999, I was watching Ric Burns’ documentary New York. I already knew the story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. I’d studied it years ago in college. But watching that film, I heard a sound effect that was created by the sound engineer: It was his imagining of the sound you would hear when the body of a young girl strikes the sidewalk after falling eighty feet. The sound was like a combination of an overstuffed dufflebag thrown from a great height, a stack of books dropped on a hard wooden floor, and a hand smacking a face. It’s a sound I will never forget, and it had the effect of pulling me back over a century and putting me in that place, in that fire, with those girls.

Read more…

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers category. Read an interview with author Jonah Winter with blogger Lori Calabrese at Get in the Game: Read! or at Examiner.com.

Here’s a teaser:

Lori: I read that you still have all your baseball cards from when you were a boy. How did you avert such disasters as your Mom throwing away your prized collection?

Jonah: Why would my mother have thrown away my baseball cards? She’s not a sadist! I guess there are some people who, upon becoming adults, leave their cards in the attics of their parents’ homes. Well, not this pig. I’ve always carried them around with me in my 1980 census bag (my first job out of high school was as a census taker), hauling them from one residence to the next, all 28 domiciles! (I’ve moved around a lot. In fact, that’s what inspired me to write my book The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven. I still have 11 to go…!)

Read more…

Tune in tomorrow for interviews with Elka Weber (author, The Yankee at the Seder) at BewilderBlog, Adam Gustavson (illustrator, The Yankee at the Seder) at Great Kids Books, and Judy Vida, (author’s daughter, Naomi’s Song) at The Book Nosher.

Blog Tour: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:40:00 +0000

The Sydney Taylor Book Award 2010 Blog Tour begins today with three stops covering two of our gold medalists.

New Year at the Pier is the Sydney Taylor Book Award gold medalist in the Younger Readers category.

Read an interview with April Halprin Wayland (and watch a book trailer!) at Practically Paradise with blogger Diane R. Chen.

Here’s a teaser:

Diane: Many teachers seem to ignore Rosh Hashanah and concentrate on incorporating Hanukkah into the curriculum in December. What advice would you offer them?

April: I’m sure that’s true for most teachers in non-Jewish schools. Many don’t realize that Hanukah, a relatively minor holiday, has been elevated by our culture to compete with Christmas. So it’s about educating our teachers.
One year, my nephew’s school district scheduled a major test on Rosh Hashanah, while he was out of school. Oy!

Read more…

Stéphane Jorisch is the illustrator of New Year at the Pier. A profile of Stéphane appears today at Frume Sarah’s World with blogger Rebecca Einstein Schorr.

Here’s a teaser:

I have often wondered how an artist takes an image, real or imagined, and recreates it. Is it necessary, for example, to refer often to a photograph in order to capture every finite detail? Once he starts to draw, Stéphane’s approach is to rely on his memory rather than reference materials. This freedom enables a more fluid hand. And his inspiration? His inspiration comes from everyday things, daydreams, and time spent delayed in traffic.

Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:48:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:05:00 +0000

THE 2010 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS
ANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers:
New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story by April Halprin Wayland with illustrations by Stephane Jorish (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers:
The Importance of Wings by Robin Friedman
(Charlesbridge Publishing)

The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers:
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle
(Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers:
Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim: A Passover Story
by Deborah Bodin Cohen with illustrations by Jago
(Kar-Ben, imprint of Lerner)
Benjamin and the Silver Goblet by Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Natascia Ugliano
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner)
Yankee at the Seder by Elka Weber with illustrations by Adam Gustavson
(Tricycle Press)
You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? by Jonah Winter with illustrations by Andre Carrilho
(Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers:
Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures from the Archives of the Anne Frank House
by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol, translated by Arnold J. Pomerans
(Roaring Brook Press/Flash Point, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)
A Faraway Island by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck
(Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House)

Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers:
Lost by Jacqueline Davies
(Marshall Cavendish)
Naomi’s Song by Selma Kritzer Silverberg
(Jewish Publication Society)

Notable Books for Younger Readers:
Where Is Grandpa Dennis? by Michelle Shapiro Abraham with illustrations by Janice Fried
(URJ Press)
Around the Shabbos Table by Seryl Berman with illustrations by Ari Binus
(Hachai)
The Secret Shofar of Barcelona by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Douglas Chyka
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner)
Menorah Under the Sea by Esther Susan Heller
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner)
Today Is the Birthday of the World by Linda Heller with illustrations by Allison Jay
(Dutton Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin)
The Waiting Wall by Leah Braunstein Levy with illustrations by Avi Katz
(Hachai Publishers)
Sukkot Treasure Hunt by Allison Ofanansky with photographs by Eliyahu Alpern
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner)
Fox Walked Alone by Barbara Reid
(Albert Whitman & Company)

Notable Books for Older Readers:
The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak written and illustrated by Tomek Bogacki
(Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers/Frances Foster Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)
Guardian Angel House (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers) by Kathy Clark
(Second Story Press)
Rebecca Series (American Girl Collection)
by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Robert Hunt
(American Girl)
Strawberry Hill by Mary Ann Hoberman with illustrations by Wendy Anderson Halperin
(Little Brown and Company)
The Mysteries of Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley
(Charlesbridge Publishing)
The Man Who Flies with Birds by Carol Garbuny Vogel and Yossi Leshem
(Kar-Ben, an imprint of Lerner)
Clay Man: The Golem of Prague by Irene N. Watts with illustrations by Kathryn E. Shoemaker
(Tundra Books)
Elvina’s Mirror by Sylvie Weil
(Jewish Publication Society)

Notable Books for Teens:
The Disappearing Dowry: an Ezra Melamed Mystery by Libi Astaire
(Zahav Press, an imprint of Targum)
A Family Secret/The Search by Eric Heuvel
(Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)
So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow with art by David Ostow
(Flux)
Cursing Columbus by Eve Goldberg Tal
(Cinco Puntos Press)
Puppet by Eva Wiseman
(Tundra)
The Other Half of Life: Based on the True Story of the MS St. Louis
By Kim Ablon Whitney
(Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House)

NOTABLE BOOK FOR READERS OF ALL AGES:
JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible by Ellen Frankel with illustrations by Avi Katz
(Jewish Publication Society)

2010 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:39:00 +0000

MEDIA RELEASE

2010 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS
ANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES

(New York—January 11, 2010) April Halprin Wayland and Stephane Jorisch, author and illustrator of New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story, Robin Friedman, author of The Importance of Wings, and Margarita Engle, author of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba, are the 2010 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 Seattle this July.

Wayland and Jorisch will receive the 2010 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Younger Readers Category for New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. The Jewish New Year is a special time of year, with a change in seasons, symbolic foods and other traditions. It is also the time for introspection and the ritual of Tashlich, when sins are symbolically cast into a body of flowing water. Izzy thinks about things for which he is sorry. He “compares Tashlich to cleaning out his toy closet, an example of the wonderful way this story conveys to children, at their own level, a contemporary version of the healthy Jewish way we start fresh at the beginning of each new year,” commented Susan Berson, a member of the Award Committee. Incoming Committee Chair Barbara Bietz noted that the “whimsical watercolor illustrations are a perfect pairing for the delightful prose.”

Friedman will receive the 2010 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Older Readers Category for The Importance of Wings, published by Charlesbridge. Ah, the drama of being in eighth grade! There’s the boy you have a crush on who likes someone else. There’s getting dressed in gym class and being picked last for teams. There’s your parents, who are so unlike Mike and Carol Brady and not even like Ma and Pa Ingalls. And there’s your hair, that won’t go in the popular feathered back style that everyone else is wearing. When an Israeli girl moves next door, Liat “not only shows Roxanne how to give her hair ‘wings,’ but she helps her ‘wing’ her way toward maturity and self-esteem,” asserted Debbie Colodny, a member of the Award Committee. Another Award Committee member, Kathy Bloomfield, affirmed this praise: “With appealing and affecting writing, Ms. Friedman grabs the reader immediately and takes her on a journey of self-discovery, confidence building and empowerment that will leave her hoping for a sequel.” Friedman’s book about male bulimia, Nothing, was named an AJL Notable Book for Teen Readers last year.

Engle will receive the 2010 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award’s Teen Readers Category for Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba, published by Henry Holt, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. After Kristallnacht, many Jews tried to leave Germany, but other countries refused the refugees. Cuba agreed to take in some of these people, but at a price. The tension of this era is seen through the eyes of several of the people affected: Daniel, a thirteen-year-old German boy whose parents put him on a boat to “the Americas,” hoping to save his life; Paloma, the daughter of a Cuban official who prefers a dovecote to her home; David, who escaped the pogroms of Russia, sells ice creams, and helps the new refugees; and Gordo, Paloma’s father, who is profiting by charging exorbitant fees for visas to stay in Cuba. “The verse and the different perspectives make the history of Cuba during the Nazi era accessible while illustrating the complicated situations and the twists and turns of political interactions,” noted Kathe Pinchuck, Committee Chair. Ms. Engle is known to readers for her Newbery-Honor book The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom, for which she also won the Pura Belpre Award.

Eight Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2010. For Younger Readers, Honor Books are: Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim by Deborah Bodin Cohen with illustrations by Jago (Kar-Ben), Benjamin and the Silver Goblet by Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Natascia Ugliano (Kar-Ben), Yankee at the Seder by Elka Weber with illustrations by Adam Gustavson (Tricycle Press) and You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? by Jonah Winter with illustrations and an amazing lenticular cover by Andre Carrilho (Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House). Two works in translation were named Honor Books for Older Readers: Anne Frank: Her Life in Worlds and Pictures by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol (translated by Arnold J. Pomerans) (Roaring Brook Press/Flash Point, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group) and A Faraway Island by Annika Thor (translated by Linda Schenck) (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House). Lost, a historical novel by Jacqueline Davies (Marshall Cavendish) and Naomi’s Song, a biblical fiction by Selma Kritzer Silverberg (JPS) were named Honor Books in the Teen Reader Category.

The JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible by Ellen Frankel with illustrations by Avi Katz (JPS) was named a Notable Book for All Ages. The Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee was very impressed Ms. Frankel’s retelling of biblical stories. “She succeeds in creating an age-appropriate interpretation of the most intriguing and familiar stories that allow families to gleen the essence of Jewish teachings, ethics, and history,” commented Rita Soltan, Award Committee member. “Readability, faithfulness to ‘idiomatic nuances of biblical Hebrew,’ and softly rendered color illustrations are the main features of this compilation,” noted Susan Berson, Award Committee member.

We will be promoting an author and illustrator blog tour as a way to spread the word and generate interest in these books. The tour will take place February 1st – February 5th, and the schedule will be posted at jewishlibraries.org/blog. [Note: The schedule will be posted here on this blog too.]

In addition to the medal-winners, the Award Committee designated twenty-two Notable Books of Jewish Content for 2010: eight in the Younger Readers Category, eight in the Older Readers Category, and six for Teens. Notable titles, and more information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, may be found online at www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org. A blog about the awards can be found at www.sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com.

Esther Hautzig, First Sydney Taylor Winner, Dies at 79

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:46:00 +0000

School Library Journal broke the news today (see obit) that author Esther Hautzig died on Sunday, November 1 at the age of 79. Esther Rudomin Hautzig was the author of the memoir The Endless Steppe, about her experiences in Siberia, where her family was exiled during WWII, ultimately saving their lives. The book was the winner of AJL's first book award in 1968 (before the award was even called the "Sydney Taylor").

Esther attended the 2004 Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Brooklyn, NY, where she received a standing ovation during the Awards Banquet in honor of her status as inaugural award winner. Besides winning the gold medal for The Endless Steppe in 1968, Esther also received a silver Sydney Taylor Honor Award in 1992 for Riches and silver again in 2002 for A Picture of Grandmother.

In 2002, School Library Journal included a rather tepid review of A Picture of Grandmother, calling it "a slight story." Feeling that the reviewer had missed the point, I wrote a letter to the editor explaining that anyone who knew the "backstory" of Hautzig's childhood, a warm family life disrupted by the war, would understand that A Picture of Grandmother was a poignant tribute to the lives of those who were lost. It celebrated the beautiful normalcy of their lives instead of bemoaning their deaths.

After the letter was printed in SLJ, I received an envelope with the name "Esther Hautzig" in the upper left hand corner. I almost hyperventilated. I had just finished listening to the audiobook of The Endless Steppe the week before, and still felt very close to the "character" of Esther's younger self. To my shock and delight, Esther had read my defense of her book in SLJ and had sent me a heartfelt letter and a packet of articles about Holocaust writing for children. She thanked me for the positive review I'd written for the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter (see below for review text) and she said "Your letter to SLJ made me cry. The original review (and the reviewer's response) made me cry for quite another reason. Your support of the premise, and my reason for writing it, was balm for my soul."

This was perhaps the most important thing an author has ever said to me, because it made me realize that the audience for reviews is not just fellow librarians or parents shopping for their children, it's the authors themselves. Esther taught me how very important it is to review books respectfully, and to respond to a book not only with emotion but with substantive critiques.

Just that exchange of letters would have been enough (dayenu!) but I was fortunate to have my cake and eat it too. Not only did Esther join us at our AJL convention in Brooklyn in 2004, she also met me when I traveled to New York on other occasions, getting together for a cozy dinner at a German restaurant, for a back-room tour of the Donnell Library where she worked, or for an afternoon tea break. Although I only knew her briefly, and probably spent less than 24 hours with her when you add it all together, she made me feel as if we were intimate friends. She gave me a copy of her book Remember Who You Are: Stories About Being Jewish and a classical piano CD by her husband Walter, a concert pianist. (Listen to Walter play in the video below, and watch for Esther in the audience at the 50 second mark.) I gave her a set of stationary cards printed with nature photographs taken by my husband, Jonathan, and a CD recording of my own Book of Life podcast. We took the bus together across Manhattan, and she made sure I had a transfer ticket before she got off at her stop.

Esther was the most gracious lady, one of those shining souls who makes the people around them feel good. I'll follow her lead from A Picture of Grandmother (and really from all of her writing) and say, not how much I'll miss her, but how glad I am to have known her.

A Picture of Grandmother by Esther Hautzig, illustrated by Beth Peck, Farrar Straus & Giroux 2002 (review by Heidi Estrin from Amazon.com, originally appeared in AJL Newsletter)

The Association of Jewish Libraries awarded this book a Sydney Taylor Book Award silver medal, and it truly deserves recognition. It's a quiet gem. At face value, it's about the value of truth, the importance of forgiveness, and the joy of family bonding. The language is simple yet elegant, formal in a European way that adds flavor to the Vilna setting. Young readers will be drawn in by the mystery that baffles Sara and the honesty of the emotions portrayed will resonate with them. On another level, the story is a remarkable tribute to the author's pre-war childhood. As anyone who has read Hautzig's The Endless Steppe knows, most of her family perished in the Holocaust; she survived with her parents and grandmother only because they were exiled to Siberia as capitalists. In this book she brings her belvoed Vilna back to life, peoples it with her extended family, and breathes significance back into matters that the Nazis were soon to treat as inconsequential. Rathe rthan describe the disruption of family connections by war, she examines the history of the family and the mending of broken connections. Although it takes place in 1939 the story has nothing to do with war, highlighting the normalcy that was soon to be destroyed and intensifying the poignancy for those who know Hautzig's history. The story is fiction, but it is based on real events in Hautzig's childhood, and many of the characters bear he names of her actual relatives. The facts may be fictional but the feelings are real.

More Awards for an AJL Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:43:00 +0000

Deborah Heiligman's nonfiction books for children have been named AJL Notable books several times in the past (Celebrate Hanukkah, Celebrate Passover, and Celebrate Rosh Hashanah). Now this excellent author has been named a finalist for the National Book Award in the Young People's Literature category! The book in question is a children's biography of Charles Darwin called Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith.

Here's what the National Book Foundation has to say about it, along with their suggested links:

ABOUT THE BOOK
Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species, his revolutionary treatise on evolution, in 1859. Even today, the theory of evolution creates tension between the scientific and religious communities. This same debate raged within Darwin himself and played an important part in his marriage: Emma’s faith gave Charles a lot to think about as he worked on his controversial theory.

This biography of Charles Darwin takes a personal look at the man behind evolutionary theory. His children doubled as scientific specimens, and his wife’s religious convictions made him rethink how the world would receive his ideas. What emerges is a portrait of a brilliant man, a radical science, and a great love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Heiligman majored in religious studies in college. Then she married a science writer and fell in love with science, too. She has written twenty-five books for young people, many of them about science or religion. Ms. Heiligman was born and raised in Pennsylvania, where she and her husband, Jonathan Weiner, also raised their sons. They now live in New York City.

SUGGESTED LINKS

Deborah Heiligman's Official Site
http://www.deborahheiligman.com/

Deborah Heiligman's Blog
http://deborah18.livejournal.com/

VIDEO - Features Nonfiction Children's Book Authors (including Deborah Heiligman) discussing INK (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn6uB2JkVAM&feature=player_embedded

INK Blog
http://www.inkrethink.blogspot.com/

More Awards for Richard Michelson

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Skipping Stones is an international, multicultural and nature awareness magazine for today’s youth, now in its 21st year. Their yearly Skipping Stones Honor Awards recognize books that "promote cooperation and cultivate an awareness of our diverse cultures. Together, [these books] encourage an understanding of the world’s diversity, ecological richness, respect for differing viewpoints and close relationships in human societies."

Richard Michelson, author of the 2009 Sydney Taylor Book Award winner As Good As Anybody and the 2009 Sydney Taylor Honor Book A is for Abraham (both in the Younger Readers category), has now been doubly honored. As Good As Anybody and A is for Abraham are both listed in the 2009 Skipping Stones Honor Awards! A hearty mazel tov to Richard!

Click here for the official announcement and the full list of winning titles, which includes children's books and teacher resources.

Anna Levine on SLJ Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Rabinowitz) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Sydney Taylor Honor author Anna Levine (Freefall, 2009 Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category), appears today on School Library Journal on "Bowllan's Blog." Blogger Amy Bowllan has been running a very popular "Writers Against Racism" series of interviews, and we are very pleased to see her include Judaism in the mix.

In the interview, Anna says "I am a strong believer of the power that literature can have as a way of crossing cultural and linguistic borders. As writers, if we can envision and create worlds in which people co-exist then we can plant the seeds of change." Go, Anna!

To read the full interview, click here.

To visit Anna's website, go to www.annalevine.org.

And enjoy Anna's new book trailer for Freefall below!