April Jewish Book Carnival

I'm thrilled to be the host of this month's Jewish Book Carnival. Passover is a season for growth, famil,y and fun, but also for time off to read and explore new authors. Welcome! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the contributing bloggers and to wish all of them and all of you a chag Pesach kasher V'Sameach! 

The Jewish Book Carnival was started by Heidi Rabinowitz and Marie Cloutier to build community among bloggers and blogs who feature Jewish books. It runs every month on the 15th (or close to the 15th when it falls on Shabbat).

Here are the entries for this month's carnival and there's something for everyone:

Mark Levenson takes the fantasy genre out of the shire and into the shtetl in his book, The Hidden Saint. The story celebrates Jewish folklore and mysticism. Read Heidi Slowinski's review at her self-titled blog 

On her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviewed Anna Salton Eisen about her new book, Pillar of Salt: A Daughter's Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust.

Shiloh Musings has found the perfect few Haggadah for the seder, The Haggadah for The Curious #3 by Rabbi A Levin, Mosaica Press. It has an excellent translation and easy to read print.

At Life Is Like a Library, Kindness is the word of the month.

In March, Jill at Rhapsody in Books reviewed "The World That We Knew" by Alice Hoffman, a poignant story about the Holocaust in France combined with a bit of magical realism in the form of a golem.

The Association of Jewish Libraries' "Holiday Highlights" committee recommends the best new children's books about Jewish holidays. Tune into The Book of Life podcast to hear about this project and learn about the best new Passover picture books! 

On the Everyone Loved It But Me podcast, guest Heidi Rabinowitz explains the many reasons why she does NOT love The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. 

"The Hidden Saint," Book Review. A Jewish Grandmother found The Hidden Saint to be a fantastic book, recommended for all ages. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed reading it. 

The Sydney Taylor Shmooze mock award blog reviews Jewish children's books year-round. Here are the reviews posted so far this month.

On her My Machberet blog, Erika Dreifus routinely compiles news of Jewish literary interest. Here's one recent post.

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein offers a fascinating review of Pini Dunner's intriguing book about different Jewish misfits and charlatans throughout the generations.

At Jewish Books for Kids, Barbara Bietz interviews Leah Scheier, author of the YA Sydney Taylor Honor book, THE LAST WORDS WE SAID.

On my own blog, check out my interview with Meryl Ain. Meryl's novel The Takeaway Men centers around the Lubinski family, who are Holocaust survivors, and their twin daughters. Among other themes it explores assimilation into a new country and the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash