Sydney Taylor Book Award

Starting on Sunday, and continuing throughout the week, there'll be a blog tour connected with the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Jewish children's and teen literature. This is an annual award by the Association of Jewish Libraries, for "outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience." To see a schedule of the full tour, check out the Sydney Taylor Book Award blog, but here are some highlights:

Richard Michelson will be at The Well-Read Child on Monday, January 19
He had two books honored, but As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom won the Gold Medal for younger readers.

Two very special clergymen, one a rabbi, the other an African-American reverend are raised in divergently different countries yet experience similar levels of persecution and bigotry that will one day bring them together. As colleagues in America’s struggle for civil rights, they march together from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965. Colon’s colored pencil and watercolor illustrations “offer a beautiful complement to the text, describing two unique paths from childhood to adult life – Martin’s in the rich, warm brown-tones of the American south and Abraham’s in cool blues and grays that reminded the illustrator of old World War II movies. When the two exemplary men join in their march for tolerance, the palettes merge in full color harmony,” comments Debbie Colodny, a member of the Award Committee. This book is recommended for grades 2-5.

Karen Hesse will be at Jewish Books for Children on Sunday, January 18
Hesse's Brooklyn Bridge received the gold medal in the Older Readers Category

While his family left the anti-Semitism of Russia to build the American dream, Joey Michtom’s dream is to visit the glittering Coney Island. “Crafting a story from the spark of a true event, the invention of the Teddy Bear in 1903, Hesse masterfully weaves multiple themes of hard-work, survival, homelessness, and familial dedication with interlocking and parallel stories of families who live reasonably well opposite those less fortunate living in the shadows below the imposing Brooklyn Bridge,” comments Rita Soltan, a member of the Award Committee. This book is recommended for grades 5-8.

Valerie Zenatti will be at Lori Calabrese Writes on Tuesday, January 20
Zenatti is a French Jew who spent her adolescence in Israel. Her required service in the Israeli armed forces was the fodder for her memoir, When I Was A Soldier. Her novel, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea won the Sydney Taylor gold medal in the Teen Readers Category

“This story about the relationship between an Israeli girl, Tal, and a Palestinian boy, Naim, via e-mail and instant messaging, is honest but hopeful. Well-written and compelling, the tale of their relationship conveys the confusion, anger, exhaustion, and depression felt by many young people during the 2003 intifada,” comments Susan Berson, a member of the Award Committee.

Also Jane Yolen will be at The Boston Bibliophile on Tuesday, January 20. Her book Naming Liberty was one of the runners-up in the younger readers category. I happen to admire both Yolen and Marie at The Boston Bibliophile, so I'll definitely be checking that out on Tuesday.