SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/06/pride-month-throwback-new-queer.html

TRANSCRIPT: https://open.substack.com/pub/bookoflifepodcast/p/pride-month-throwback?r=16b2w9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

In celebration of Pride Month and The Book of Life’s 20th year of podcasting, I’m re-releasing an archival episode from June, 2021. It’s an interview with Adam Eli, a young activist and author of The New Queer Conscience, a manifesto about how the queer community can use k’lal yisrael as a model for solidarity.

If you enjoy this blast from the past, check out other past episodes of The Book of Life. Click on Archive in the sidebar at Bookoflifepodcast.com, or just go to the episode list on your podcast player and keep on scrolling down, down, down.

LEARN MORE:

• Buy or borrow The New Queer Conscience

• Adam Eli on Instagram

• Adam Eli on I Weigh

• Adam Eli in Tablet

• I’ve updated my list of Queer Jewish Kidlit, which has grown by 48 titles and 13 interviews since I first compiled it in 2022!

CREDITS:

• Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel
• Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries
• Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books
• Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
• Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com
• Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens
• Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
• Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast
• Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate

Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/05/a-special-message-from-heidi-high-low.html

TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/tomHSY9SlPPB1XDOQwsavTXOeUM?utm_source=copy_url

I'm squeezing in this quick extra episode to share with you my personal response to the shooting at the Capitol Jewish Museum, with calls to action and a message of hope.

LEARN MORE:

HIGH

• E Train Talks interviews Heidi about 20 years of The Book of Life Podcast

LOW

• The Forward's reporting on the shooting of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim
• Time op ed by Jonathan Greenblatt of ADL

CALLS TO ACTION

• Action: Watch "Cheering On Jewish Books"
• Action: Use Jewish Kidlit Action Checklist
• Action: Visit "Justice" page at BookOfLifePodcast.com
• Action: Ask your rep to support H.Res. 447 | Find your Representative HERE
• Action: Watch Heidi's talk "How (and Why) to Call Congress"

What actions are you taking to push back against antisemitism? I'd love to know. Leave a comment, write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com, or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/listen-to-podcast-read-transcript-buy.html

TRANSCRIPT: https://otter.ai/u/EnXlWNdrqXuQ4V3kzlKGwyqpPWk?utm_source=copy_url

A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell is a lovely meditation on the natural landscape of Israel, written and illustrated by Miri Leshem-Pelly. Miri's voice is calm and dreamy, and I could hear birds chirping and dogs barking in the background as she spoke. Our conversation was both fun and serious. We talked about art, nature, books, Instagram challenges... and also about the war in Israel and its impact on humans and animals.

LEARN MORE:

• Buy or borrow A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell
• Miri Leshem-Pelly's website
• Miri's Instagram
• Activity Guide for A Feather, A Pebble, A Shell
• Ravensburger jigsaw puzzle with Miri's art
• Tikkun olam suggestion: support the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
• Reading recommendations:
  o All Eyes on Alexandra by Anna Levine
  o A Hoopoe Says Oop by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh
  o Fast Asleep in a Little Village in Israel by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod
  o My Israel and Me by Alice McGinty

CREDITS:

• Produced by Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel
• Co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries
• Sister podcast: Nice Jewish Books
• Theme Music: The Freilachmakers Klezmer String Band
• Newsletter: bookoflifepodcast.substack.com
• Facebook Discussion Group: Jewish Kidlit Mavens
• Facebook Page: Facebook.com/bookoflifepodcast
• Instagram: @bookoflifepodcast
• Support the Podcast: Shop or Donate

Your feedback is welcome! Please write to bookoflifepodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 561-206-2473.

SHOW NOTES: https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/bonus-passover-interview-next-year-in.html

Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder, written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a nonfiction picture book that gives us the true backstory of how Passover first came to be celebrated in the White House. It's a stunning book; it received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, and was named to the Association of Jewish Libraries' Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights list.

Because this is a true story, I was able to interview one of the "characters" -- Eric Lesser, seen in the photo above, walking with President Obama. Lesser worked on the Obama campaign trail in 2008, and later became a White House aide. He's also served as a Massachusetts State Senator. He agreed to answer ten questions about the events covered in Next Year in the White House. Read the interview on The Book of Life blog.

LEARN MORE:

• Buy or borrow Next Year in the White House

• Websites of author Richard Michelson and illustrator E.B. Lewis

• Article in The Forward about the book

• Eric Lesser's Instagram

• A history of Passover celebrations in the White House

• Spring 2025 Holiday Highlights booklist (includes Next Year at the White House)

• Subscribe to The Book of Life's Substack newsletter