Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Had Anne Frank survived the Holocaust she would have been 80 this week and to honor her memory an “age progression” image was created for the Anne Frank Trust UK. The Telegraph reports:

Created for the Anne Frank Trust UK to mark her birthday on Friday – using the same techniques developed to artificially age missing people such as toddler Madeleine McCann – it is hoped the picture will help inspire Britain’s school children to think about the kind of lives they would like to lead, and to remember the loss of six million people in the Holocaust…

The aged image was produced by a Michigan firm called Phojoe which has worked with US police on dozens of missing persons cases.

To view the image and read the complete article, please visit here.

And, this October Francine Prose will publish a new book on Anne Frank called Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife (published by Harper), in which she argues that the diary of Anne Frank is as much a work of art as a historical record. Through close reading, Prose examines Frank’s ability to “turn living people into characters” and discusses Frank’s narrative voice. She also investigates the afterlife of the published diary: obstacles, criticism, and conspiracy. Ultimately Prose aims to tell the exceptional story of the book and establish Frank as as a writer of outstanding merit.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Galleycat just reported that Daniel Mendelsohn’s The Lost may soon make it the big screen:

Jean-Luc Godard, the French film director who publicly criticized Steven Spielberg for his handling of Schindler’s List, is considering adapting a book about the Holocaust.

The director is eying The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by NY Times writer Daniel Mendelsohn.

Read the complete report here.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Jess Horwitz over at Kar-Ben Publishing (@KarBenPub on Twitter) just shared a great video with me from author Scott Muskin, who just published the title The Annunciations of Hank Meyerson, Mama’s Boy and Scholar. It’s an instructional video for Magers & Quinn Booksellers, an independent bookstore in Minneapolis. If you’ve ever found yourself confused about how to find a particular book at Magers & Quinn, enjoy: click here.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Congratulations to Fred Wander, who has won this year’s Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize for his workThe Seventh Well, translated by Michael Hoffman.

Shortlisted authors include:

* Amir Gutfreund – The World a Moment Later 
* Zoë Heller – The Believers
* Ladislaus Löb – Dealing with Satan
* Denis MacShane – Globalising Hatred
* Jackie Wullschlager – Chagall: Love and Exile

To read the complete release, please visit here.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Recognizing the need for reliable and up-to-date reference works for the study of the Holocaust, The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum along with Indiana University Press is producing a 7-volume encyclopedia describing the more than 20,000 camps and ghettos that the Nazis and their allies operated from Norway to North Africa and from France to Russia called The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945 (Geoffrey P. Megargee, ed.). This reference work will provide detailed operation on each individual site as well as source information to aid further research.

The first volume, due out next Friday (June 12th), covers three groups of camps: the early camps that the Nazis established in the first year of Hitler’s rule, the major SS concentration camps with their constellations of subcamps, and the special camps for Polish and German children and adolescents.

A fine addition to your local library’s Holocaust Studies collection. Read more here

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Join the conversation! The ForeWord book club title for the week is Literature and War: Conversations with Israeli and Palestinian Writers (Runo Isaksen; Kari Dickson, trans.). ForeWord offers an excerpt by David Grossman from the book for discussion here (you can download the complete excerpt on the right). The interview will only be available for one week—so be sure to visit the site soon!

Let us know what you think.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Congratulations to Kathy Kacer, author of the 2006 title Hiding Edith that has won the
2009 Yad Vashem Prize for Children’s Holocaust Literature.

In Hiding Edith, Kathy Kacer tells the incredible true story of Edith Schwalb, a young girl who survived the Holocaust in the small French village of Moissac, where everyone, from the mayor to the knitting circle, was part of a plan to protect the presence of hundreds of Jewish children in a nearby “orphanage.”

Kacer also won the 2008 National Jewish Book Award in Children’s and Adult Literature for her title The Diary of Laura’s Twin.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Franklin Littell, a father of Holocaust studies, died last Saturday at his home in Pennsylvania. The New York Times reports:

Dr. Littell (pronounced lih-TELL), the author of more than two dozen scholarly books and a thousand articles, was among the first intellectuals to delve into the question of how baptized Christians in the heart of Christian Europe could have either killed or ignored the killing of six million Jews. A big part of the answer, as he found it, was that Christians from the time of Jesus on had shown systematic contempt for Jews and their beliefs

To read the complete article, please click here.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

We’ve been waiting years for the Jewish equivalent of Samantha, Kirsten, Felicity, Molly, Nellie, and Addie, and we finally have it: Rebecca Rubin. PHEWWWWW.

The series will feature the titles:

Meet Rebecca

Rebecca Rubin is a lively nine-year-old girl growing up in a big Jewish family in New York in 1914. She dreams of becoming an actress, but her parents and grandparents have traditional ideas and don’t think young ladies should perform. When Rebecca learns that her cousins in Russia are in great danger and must escape to America, she puts on a show to raise money–until her disapproving grandmother steps in. Unexpectedly, Rebecca finds another way to earn money. But for her plan to work, she’ll have to keep it a secret. Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” essay about Jewish immigration and culture.

Changes for Rebecca

Rebecca thinks it’s a grand idea to make a movie with her cousin Ana, but when gentle Ana plays the role of a cruel factory boss, the fun turns sour. Later Rebecca goes to the factory where Ana’s brother and father work, and she’s horrified at the terrible conditions-but she knows the workers desperately need their jobs. There’s got to be a way to make things better at the factory, and Rebecca is determined to do her part–even if it means marching straight into danger. Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” section about the labor movement in Rebecca’s time.

Candlelight for Rebecca

Rebecca is troubled when her teacher assigns her class to make Christmas decorations. Rebecca’s family is Jewish and doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but her teacher says Christmas is a national holiday, for all Americans to celebrate. Yet Rebecca knows she’s as American as anyone else, even without celebrating Christmas! She wants to please her teacher, but she’s sure her family will be upset. Then, on the first night of Hanukkah, Rebecca finds kindness in an unexpected place, and learns the real meaning of the holiday season. Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” section about Christmas and Hanukkah in 1914.

Rebecca to the Rescue

Rebecca is thrilled to spend a day at the Coney Island amusement park with her cousins. If only Papa hadn’t put her bossy brother Victor in charge of all the games and rides! Fuming, Rebecca resolves to show Victor that girls can do anything boys can do. When the boys tease and laugh at her, she and Ana decide to leave their brothers and have fun on their own. Then the Ferris wheel gets stuck and Ana disappears–and the girls get more excitement than they bargained for. Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” section about Coney Island in 1914.

Rebecca and Ana

At last, Rebecca’s cousin, Ana, has made the long journey from Russia to Ellis Island. It’s crowded with two families living in one small apartment, but Rebecca is happy to share everything with Ana. At school, she is determined to help Ana learn English. But when the teacher tells her to include Ana in a special performance, Rebecca panics–Ana’s broken English will ruin the show! As the big day draws near, Rebecca learns an important lesson about what matters most. Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” section about urban schools in 1914.

Rebecca and the Movies

On her tenth birthday, Rebecca can hardly believe it when her cousin Max, the actor, invites her to come to his movie studio! Although her parents don’t approve of actors or movies, Mama relents and says Rebecca may go. When the camera begins to roll, Rebecca finds herself facing an opportunity she never imagined in her wildest dreams. Does she have the nerve for it? And what would her parents say if they knew? Includes an illustrated “Looking Back” section about the early days of silent movies.

Posted by Naomi Firestone-Teeter

We’ve had a busy morning on Twitter…

@JewishBook: A little exercise to get you going this AM: http://bit.ly/135rBk
@JewishBook:NPR lists Binnie Kirshenbaum’s new book, The Scenic Route, on their Summer 2009 reading list: http://bit.ly/BDoxI
@JewishBook:And, check out other 2009 Summer recommendations from NPR: http://bit.ly/15vNg1
@JewishBook:NYC Event tonight at Pianos–Literary Death Match featuring Alan Zweibel and Rivka Galchen: http://bit.ly/JLjuA
@JewishBook:ANOTHER social networking site was just launched: ReadersPlace, which is aimed at book clubs: http://bit.ly/c2eJM
@JewishBook: Looking for ideas for your next bk clb? Try this one: Your Heart’s Desire: Sex and Love in Jewish Literature Book Club:http://bit.ly/CcE17

Come follow us at http://www.twitter.com/jewishbook