Category Archives: Uncategorized
Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld’s 118th Birthday
A Writer’s Journey
My essay, “A Writer’s Journey”, part of “Reflections from the Field” was published in the December 2021 issue of Religious Studies and Theology. This special issue focused on Canadian Jewish women writers. This journal is published in Sheffield, UK: Religious Studies and Theology (equinoxpub.com). Thanks to Prof. Catherine Caufield for her continuing research in this often-ignored field of study.
Q&A on Deborah Kalb’s blog!
My first Q&A on a blog! Deborah Kalb was kind enough to interview me about Jacob and the Mandolin Adventure. Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3td0S65. Thanks to Deborah for asking some great questions and giving me time and room to answer them. So exciting!
Virtual Book Launch
Jacob and the Mandolin Adventure was officially launched on Sun. March 21, 2021. Here’s the YouTube video of the launch.https://youtu.be/PGAp1-bZsBY
I enjoyed sharing this launch with my writer-friend, Rona Arato, whose new book is Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Anti-Semitism and the MS St. Louis (Lorimer Press). Two different stories but both connected in many ways.
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
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.