Check out some great winter reading at December’s Jewish Book Carnival. It is hosted this month at the Whole Megillah.
Archive for Sheryl Stahl
22
Sep 2011
Banned Books Week Again!
Two years ago we put together a small display of banned books at the Frances-Henry Library. We focused on censorship imposed on Jewish world texts, whether exercised by outsiders who banned, burned and “edited” Jewish sacred and secular texts, or by insiders; rabbis, librarians, teachers who stopped short of burning books, but did not shy away from banishing, banning and censoring books that they deemed blasphemous, inappropriate, and sacrilegious.
This year, as the Banned Books Week approaches (September 24-October 1), I find myself, once again, puzzled by the fact that more than 500 years after the invention of moveable print, and two decades of a constantly expanding Internet, we still need to remind ourselves that banning books is almost as common as publishing them, and that some people and institutions are still threatened by the endless possibilities of open access and the freedom to read.
Exhibit in the Frances-Henry Library
The books I chose to display are my own, part of a collection I use when I teach about censorship and the power of reading. You, too, have some banned books in your libraries. Just look at the lists published by the American Library Association at: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm
I guarantee that you will find some old friends listed.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
Decameron (1350-1353)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884/1885)
Harry Potter (1997-2007)
Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
Clockwork Orange (1962)
Animal Farm (1945)
What’s Wrong (2000)
Yaffa
15
Aug 2011
Jewish Book Carnival
Welcome to the August Jewish Book Carnival
There are lots of cool and refreshing choices to help beat the summer heat dulldrums
On My Machberet, Erika Dreifus shares fond memories of a beloved book from childhood: Habibi and Yow: A Little Boy and His Dog, by Althea O. Silverman.
Our favorite Boston Bibliophile, reviews The Elected Member, by Bernice Rubens, a Booker-Prize-winner about a Jewish family.
Amy Meltzer reviews a “not your average” Alef-Bet book by Michelle Edwards at Kveller
For all you Potter-heads (me included!) JPS rounds up a bunch of links on the question: “Is Harry Potter Jewish?”
It’s not too late for a great summer mystery – Jonathan Kirsch reviews The Honored Dead by Joseph Braude at the Jewish Journal
The Jewish Book Council Blog features an article by Melissa Fay Greene on Raising an Ethiopian Jewish child in Georgia.
Over at the Whole Megilla, Barbara Krasner offers a video of the Editors Roundtable from the Second Annual Highlights Foundation Workshop on Writing Jewish-themed Children’s Books with Margery Cuyler, Publisher of Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books/Shofar Books as well as a review of a YA/middle school boy lit! Beyond Lucky by Sarah Aronson
Not your typical summer reading – Ann Koffsky ruminates on kid-lit and shares her Thoughts on Tisha b’Av & Books
Over at the The Book of Life, Heidi Estrin interviews Joan Leegant about her novel Wherever You Go
Linda K. Wertheiner offers some literary tips on handling Shabbat services with a toddler at her blog the Jewish Muse.
And for those who have spent their summer writing, Yotzeret Publishing offers some suggestions on polishing your transcript with some lessons from Dr. Seuss
Many of us attended a baseball game or 2 this summer – Kathe Pinchuck not only attended but was truly inspired in Life is like a Library.
Enjoy this great assortment of blogs and stop by and leave the authors a comment!
26
Jul 2011
Israeli Summer Harvest – New Books from Israel
I love the end of the budget year! When all the research and curricular materials have been added to our collection, and some money is left in the budget, my inner Israeli signals “go for it!” This is when I go shopping for books that illuminate contemporary interests of the Israeli cultural and academic universes, just in case somebody will come looking…
Here is a sampling of our latest acquisitions:
התקווה- עבר, הווה, עתיד: מסע רב תחומי בעקבות ההמנון הלאומי. אסתרית בלצן. משרד החינוך, האגף לתכנון ולפתוח תכניות לימודים. 2009
+ 2CDs.
A literary, artistic and musical journey following the historical foot prints of Israel’s national anthem.
עצים מקודשים בישראל. אמוץ דפני. הקבוץ המאוחד/קק”ל. 2010
Sacred trees in Israel/ Amots Dafni
A colorful look at traditions, locations and customs surrounding trees in Israel that are sacred to specific religions.
שעור מולדת: חינוך לאומי וכינון מדינה 1966-1954 . טלי תדמור שמעוני. מכון בן-גוריון לחקר ישראל והציונות/ אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, 2010 .
National education and formation of state in Israel/ Tali Tadmor-Shimony.
“Moledet” means “Homeland” in Hebrew. Coming from the verb indicating “birth”, a “moledet” class was the place where you learned the geography, botany, agronomy of the Land of Israel. This book looks at the relationship between teaching the love of the land and the formation of the State of Israel between 1954-1966.
לבשל בטעם לאדינו: לקט מתכונים מהקהילות היהודיות-ספרדיות/ מתילדה כהן-סראנו. ש. זק 2010
Gizar kon gozo: rikolio de rechetas de kuzina de las Kommunitas sefaradias/ Matilda Koen-Serano.
Cooking a-la Ladino! Bi-lingual recipes for the Sephardic cooking aficionados.
בעקבות הבעש”ט: מאוצרות הספריה הלאומית. 2010
In the footsteps of the BESHT: exhibition of treasures from the collections of the National Library of Israel.
Literary and archival treasures about the Ba’al Shem Tov and rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.
איורי התנ”ך של גוסטב דורה ואמנות ישראלית עכשווית. הגלריה האוניברסיטאית לאמנות, אוניברסיטת תל-אביב, 2010
Gustav Dore’s illustrations for the Bible and Contemporary Israeli art.
Artistic commentaries on the famous Dore` illustrations of biblical scenes.
נעמי: אמה של אומה/ פנינה גלפז-פלר. כרמל 2010
Naomi: a mother of a nation – a new reading of the book of Ruth/Pnina Galpaz-Feller.
לכתוב בשפת האחר: מבטים על ספרות עברית וערבית. רסלינג 2010
Writing in “the other’s” language: studies in Hebrew and Arabic literature.
Collaborative volume of Israeli Jews and Arabs about “the other” in their respective literatures.
תשע אמהות ואמא: ייצוגי אימהות בסיפורת העברית החדש/ אברהם בלבן. הקבוץ המאוחד 2010
Nine mothers and Mother: representations of motherhood in modern Israeli fiction/Avraham Balaban.
אשת חיל עבריה: עיונים בשירות נשים מהיישוב העברי במערכות הבטחון / ניר מן (עורך). כרמל 2010.
“Woman of Valor”: studies in Yishuv women’s participation in defense forces/ Nir Mann (ed.)
Abstracts in English.
Yaffa Weisman, your LA librarian and bibliophile!