December: Jewish Book Carnival

Herewith, the December 2019 Jewish Book Carnival:

• From Erika Dreifus: a reminder that we are now well into Jewish Book Month, which, as a reminder, takes place during the month preceding Hanukkah. I'll send you over to a recent Washington Post Book Club newsletter, which recently ran a terrific piece about it, to learn more. (And I'll admit that I'm more than a little bit proud that something that I shared on Twitter evidently helped generate the piece.)
• Also timely/time-sensitive: Along with the Book of Life podcast's Jewish Kidlit Mavens Facebook group, and the Jewish Book Council, the Association of Jewish Libraries is co-sponsoring #Readukkah, a Jewish Reading Challenge, during the eight days leading up to Hanukkah, December 15-22, 2019. Find out how to participate here.
• Gila Green shares a lovely chat with writer and fiction editor Julie Gray who moved from Hollywood to Tel Aviv seven years ago.
• Batya Medad reviews #ShidduchCrisis: Short Stories by Penina Shtauber.
• Life Is Like a Library looks at a great resource for mothers and their Bat Mitzvah-aged daughters, created in memory of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, HY"D.
• On her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Deborah interviews Sarah Abrevaya Stein about Stein's new book, Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century.
• Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein reviews Judaism Reclaimed: Philosophy and Theology in the Torah by Shmuel Phillips.
• Jill at Rhapsody in Books reviews A Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben and illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini, in which a Jewish and Muslim family find they have much in common and celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan together.
• The Whole Megillah's Barbara Krasner interviews Israeli author Devori Busheri and Kar-Ben publisher, Joni Sussman, about In the Jerusalem Forest, Busheri's picture book (illustrated by Noa Kelner) based on a Hayyim Bialik poem.
• The Book of Life podcast shares "A Field Guide to Jewish Kidlit" to help book-lovers find titles for holiday gift-giving or year-round reading. (And podcast host Heidi Rabinowitz sends along a bonus link: a guest post at Multicultural Kid Blogs about "Hanukkah Books with Modern Settings."

Many thanks to all of the contributors for these links. Please go read/comment/share!

Reposting from Erika Dreifus. Thanks to Erika for hosting this month.