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The Book of Life is an interview-format podcast about Jewish kidlit, mostly, with occasional coverage of YA/adult books, music, film and web,  established in December 2005. Host Heidi Rabinowitz is a Judaica librarian at Congregation B'nai Israel of Boca Raton, FL, and the podcast reveals the backstory of materials that might be found in a synagogue library like Heidi's. As director of the Feldman Children's Library at B'nai Israel, Heidi focuses on material aimed at youth, but the podcast does cover a range of subject matter for all ages. If you are a creator of Jewish books, music, film, or web content, please see our submission guidelines.

Jul 16, 2026

Behrman House has been publishing Jewish educational materials and children's books for over 100 years, and up until now, has been a family-run business. But David Behrman and his wife Vicki Weber are about to enter their well-deserved retirement, and they are passing the business out of the family into the capable...


Jul 1, 2026

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Kar-Ben Publishing has been producing Jewish children's books for over 50 years. After the recent retirement of 20-year veteran Joni Sussman, we've got new leadership at Kar-Ben with Editorial Director Leila Sales. Here's my conversation with Leila about...


Jun 1, 2026

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What better way to kick off pleasure reading season than with a fun Jewish romantasy? A Practical Guide to Dating a Demon offers a richly-imagined fantasy realm, a magic school, puzzles, quests, adventure, and of course, romance. When I got to the last page and realized it...


May 3, 2026

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My friend Susan Kusel has all the Jewish literary bases covered. She's an author, she's a synagogue librarian, she's been a buyer for a bookstore, and like me, she's a past chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. We are basically Best Book Buddies, and we do a lot...


Apr 12, 2026

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I recently heard a piece on NPR about the little jars that hold yarhzeit memorial candles, and how some people repurpose these glasses to hold juice or to use as cookie cutters. It was an interesting look at how death is treated as a part of life in the Jewish tradition....