Category Archives: Uncategorized

Middle Grade Magic

On March 9, 2023, I participated in a panel called “Yes, It’s True”, part of SLJ’s “Middle Grade Magic”.I talked about my new book, She’s a Mensch! : Ten Amazing Jewish Women. I was honoured to join these other panelists:
Zaila Avant-Garde, It’s Not Bragging If It’s True (Penguin Random House)
Joseph Bruchac, Voices of the People (Reycraft)
David Roth and Rinee Shah, LOL 101 (Chronicle Books)
Jessica Speer, The Phone Book (Familius)
If you registered for the event, the recordings will be available until June 2023.

Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld’s 118th Birthday

I was thrilled to see Bobbie Rosenfeld featured in the Google Doodle of Dec. 18/22! Let’s not forget her importance as a formidable Canadian Jewish woman athlete and journalist. I was honoured to write her biography: Bobbie Rosenfeld: The Olympian Who Could Do Everything (Second Story Press, 2004).
Here’s the link to my book:

Presenting at Limmud Toronto!

On Sun. Nov. 22, 2020, I’ll be on a panel with authors Tziporah Cohen and Kathy Kacer at the virtual Limmud Toronto conference. The topic is: “More than Menorahs: A Conversation with Authors of Jewish Children’s Literature”. Sidura Ludwig will moderate the discussion.

 How do writers of Jewish books for children balance the need to provide educational and celebratory books about Jewish holidays and tell important Holocaust narratives while still ensuring a diversity of Jewish stories? Where are the stories about contemporary Jewish kids, about Sephardic kids, or about lesser-known happenings in Jewish history? Why isn’t the range of Jewish identity reflected in books for young readers?

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to the Limmud Toronto website: https://www.limmud.ca/

My Readings in Portugal

Linda Patient and Anne at OIS International School, Lisbon

On March 9, 2020, before the coronavirus attacked Portugal and closed all schools down, I had the opportunity to speak at the Oeiras International School near Lisbon. Mrs. Linda Patient, head of the Humanities department, welcomed me warmly to the school as did the principal, Mr. Steve Lewis. I gave  presentations to Grade 6 and 7 students of A Cage Without Bars  and was delighted with the intriguing questions the students asked.

As of this writing, there have been over 10,000 cases of coronavirus in Portugal and over 250 deaths. My heart goes out to the warm and generous people of Portugal, and to everyone affected by this devastating plague. I hope that we will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Written on the Wind is now an e-book!

I recently made a foray into the Land of Self-Publishing, and came out relatively unscathed. My historical novel,  Written on the Wind (HodgePog Books, 2001), which was out of print, is now available as a Kindle e-book on Amazon. Written on the Wind tells the story of eight-year-old twins, Sarah and Michael, who are caught up in the devastating events in Toronto 1954 when Hurricane Hazel hit an unprepared city.

Podcast of “A Cage Without Bars”

The newest episode of The Book of Life Podcast features me, talking about my middle grade historical novel A Cage Without Bars. This book brings to light the little-known history of Jewish children kidnapped into slavery after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. With family separation on our minds, this history is disturbingly timely.

You can hear the episode at https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/07/a-cage-without-bars.html, where you can also find a link to the written transcript. Please share with your friends and colleagues!

Podcast of Anne Renaud’s “Fania’s Heart”

My interview with Anne Renaud about her Holocaust book, Fania’s Heart, was posted on March 11, 2019 on the Book of Life website. https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2019/03/fanias-heart-birthday-card-in-auschwitz.html. It’s the true story of a heart-shaped birthday card created in Auschwitz at great personal risk by women prisoners for the 20th birthday of fellow prisoner, Fania Landau Fainter. The card was made from scraps of fabric, stolen materials, and glue made out of bread and water, The real heart is now in the Montreal Holocaust Museum, and it’s one of the few surviving objects created by prisoners of Auschwitz. Fania’s Heart won the 2018 Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Youth literature). It’s aimed at readers ages 8 to 12.