March Jewish Book Carnival

Welcome to the March Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly event where those who cover Jewish books online "can meet, read, and comment on each others' posts." Organized by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL), the Carnival travels around and is hosted on a different participant's site on the 15th of each month.

I've hosted the Carnival here on gilagreenwrites several times, but never imagined hosting during a war. In addition to this post-October 7th existence, it is impossible to ignore that it is Adar and Purim is around the corner. 

How to balance these two realities, colliding in uniquely Jewish time? Three of my children are Adar babies, adding to the joyous spirit that normally fills my home at this time of year. And yet--the hostages, the war, the hostages, the sense of foreboding, the hostages, the rising antisemitism abroad. 

In this spirit, I share with you Psalm 30:5, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." We continue to write, to post, to share in these nothing-is-normal times.

Here are the offerings for March:

Author Mirta Ines Trupp's latest publication was inspired by daily devotionals and the practice of reflection, meditation, and journaling. Read more about it on Bonnie Reads and Writes.

Writing in Conversation with the Torah. Sally Wiener Grotta had the pleasure of talking with fellow author Judith Sarah Schmidt about their parallel intellectual and spiritual journeys involved in writing their newest books. Neither are biblical scholars, but their creative processes took them deep into the Torah, as they explored their heritage by questioning it.

On gilagreenwrites, author Nancy Ludmerer discusses fear, anxiety, sadness, melancholia and more in her new work: Sarra Copia: A Locked-In Life. 

On The Book of Life Podcast, listen to an interview with Martin Lemelman, author/illustrator of the graphic novel The Miracle Seed. This middle grade book tells the true story of how the extinct Judean date palm was brought back to life by two Israeli female scientists, after thousand year old seeds were found at Masada. You can hear the podcast at https://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-miracle-seed.html, where you'll also find links to more information and a transcript.

Roni Robbins sends us a book review: Book Review Hands of Gold: Hands of Gold: One Man's Quest to Find the Silver Lining in Misfortune — Layla Promotions (squarespace.com).

The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog has entered its fifth year of reviewing Jewish children's literature. Read a reflection on this work and learn how you can help promote these books!

Ahead of International Women's Day 2024, Erika Dreifus amplified five Substack publications from Jewish women writers on the My Machberet blog (and invited readers to recommend others).

On the People of the Books blog, the Association of Jewish Libraries has announced the 2024 winner and honor books for the Jewish Fiction Award!

On her blog Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Rebecca Gardyn Levington about her new children's picture book, Afikoman, Where'd You Go?

Photo: Unsplash Sheri Silver