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Stories of ghosts, grief and Shabbat gladness win top prizes in Jewish children’s literature

JL;DR SUMMARY Neshama, a novel-in-verse by Marcella Pixley, took the gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Awards for middle-grade readers, highlighting the resilience and identity of Anna, a Jewish girl who finds solace in her heritage amidst adversity. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish TraditionsJewish IdentityResilienceJewish Children's LiteratureAwardsSydney Taylor Book AwardsMiddle Grade ReadersMarcella PixleyUri ShulevitzBoard Books

Places mentioned

Chicago, Illinois, United States
"Its Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced today in a virtual livecast from Chicago."
Evanston, Illinois, United States
"Winners will receive their awards in June in Evanston, Illinois at the AJLs annual conference."
Poland
"Uri Shulevitz, whose 2008 book How I Learned Geography drew on his boyhood experiences fleeing Poland after the Nazi invasion in 1939, as the winner of its Body-of-Work award."
Israel
"who lived with his family in Israel before settling in New York, the committee recognized him as a foundational voice in Jewish childrens literature."
New York, United States
"who lived with his family in Israel before settling in New York, the committee recognized him as a foundational voice in Jewish childrens literature."
Rome, Italy
"Tudela, an illustrated travelogue for children based on the real-life voyages of the 12th-century Jewish traveler who visited Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad and Jerusalem."
Constantinople, Istanbul, Turkey
"Tudela, an illustrated travelogue for children based on the real-life voyages of the 12th-century Jewish traveler who visited Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad and Jerusalem."
Baghdad, Iraq
"Tudela, an illustrated travelogue for children based on the real-life voyages of the 12th-century Jewish traveler who visited Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad and Jerusalem."
Jerusalem, Israel
"Tudela, an illustrated travelogue for children based on the real-life voyages of the 12th-century Jewish traveler who visited Rome, Constantinople, Baghdad and Jerusalem."

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Cairo Item ID 73555
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Retrieved 2026-01-27 05:31:09 UTC
Curated 2026-01-27 08:30:30 UTC