Happy Jewish Book Month! Begun in 1924 as Jewish Book Week by a Jewish librarian who worked at the Boston Public Library, it has stretched to the entire month before Chanukah. Jewish Book Month is a time to highlight and celebrate libraries, books and Jewish writers.
Jewish books have been around for a very long time: even if not everyone was literate, each person knew the value of the Torah and the highest aspiration was to be a scholar of Jewish books.
In modern times, Jewish writers have left their mark in the secular community, especially in the mid-20th century, winning recognition, prizes and readers of all backgrounds.
There was even a revolution in Jewish children’s books ushered in by Sydney Taylor, author of the All-of-a-Kind Family series which is still in print more than 70 years after its first publication. There was no stopping Jewish writers from then on and Jewish children’s literature has become as good–and often better than—secular books.
Some books about writing and writers:
Bergstein, Rachelle. The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood For All of Us. Although Blume is well into her 80s and some of her books were written more than 50 years ago, they are still loved by preteens and are still among the most challenging books for young readers.
Churnin, Nancy. Dear Mr. Dickens. Writers not only write books, plays and poetry; letters are also part of the literary and historical record . They can be as influential as a full length book. This is the true story of the letters that Eliza David wrote to the famous author Charles Dickens criticizing his portrayal of Jews in his books. As a result of their correspondence, Dickens actually changed some wording in Oliver Twist and became a defender of Jews.
Cummins, June. From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind-Family.
Michelson, Richard. One of a Kind: The Life of Sydney Taylor (Young reader)
In the only full biography of the woman who brought Jewish children’s books not only into the modern age but also onto the American stage, her early years and the by-chance events that turned her into a best-selling author are covered. The young reader’s version of Taylor’s story features brightly colored illustrations that make the text and Taylor’s unusual (for the times) life come alive.
Lansky, Aaron. Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books.
Macy, Sue. The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come (Young reader). These two books tell the amazing story of Lansky who started a movement to rescue Yiddish books as their readers died and their books were discarded. One of the results is the Yiddish Book Center, a library/museum/research center for Yiddish books; another is the revival of Yiddish through the attention Lansky brought to the language through the museum, publications, and programs.
CHECK THE LIBRARY DISPLAY OF BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS AND BOOK PEOPLE!
