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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 18 December 2024

Created: 18 December 2024

Last Updated: 18 December 2024

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Santa and his elves must be very busy this week fulfilling gift requests. The Scarsdale Recreation Department’s call for “Letters to Santa” yielded 400 letters. Recreation Supervisor Kevin Blanden explained that the department read and mailed responses to 300 of these letters, where a return address was supplied. Given that the deadline for the letters was December 11 and we met Blanden on December 18, that’s impressive!

The letters included drawings, colorful ink, stickers and glitter and a wonderful display of creativity and talent. The writers were not limited to Scarsdale residents, and came from far and wide, including the Bronx, Yonkers and Beford.

What did the kids request –- and why did they think they were worthy?

Many of the writers reported that they had been good, in fact very, very good. One even listed her accomplishments, including not getting into fights every day with her sister, improving her handwriting, reading thicker book and even improving her executive function!”

Many of the kids asked after Mrs. Clause and the elves and offered to “leave some milk and cookies for Santa and “carets” for the “raindeers.” One child asked Santa to leave a photo of him and Mrs. Clause on his bed.

Another asked, “Can you get something for my dog?” One child even asked for a golden retriever.

Before a long list of requests, one wrote, “Please, Please, Please.”

One writer went beyond asking for gifts for herself and outlined what she planned to give to her parents, sister and grandparents, who were arriving for 16 days. She finished with, “I lov Christmas Day.”

What were some of the gift requests? Here is a list of some popular items, in no particular order:

A baby brother
Squishmallows
Plushies
Stuffed penguin
Stuffed shark
A “unikorn” pillow
Elsa dolls
A doll with a pretty pink dress
Barbie and Barbie Dream House
Rapunzel
Lego of all kinds
Pokemon cards
Play station 5
Nintendo Switch with Fortnight
Lots of LED lights
An Apple watch
iPad
a race track
ear buds
3D pen
20”bike
Gizzmo watch
A hover board
A vending machine
Hess truck
Water bottle
A bean bag chair
A microscope kit
Toy snake
Kitten sticker book
A kitchen and food
Ulta mini brands
Swifty Pack
Ultimate make-up kit

Happy shopping everyone and merry, merry to the children of Scarsdale.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 09 January 2025

Created: 09 January 2025

Last Updated: 09 January 2025

Hits: 587

This Moment in Time, a panel on discussion on antisemitism and publishing will be held on Thursday, January 16th at 10am.  The panel will be moderated by author Barbara Josselsohn, and will feature Fredric Price, novelist and publisher of Fig Tree Books, which publishes books about the American Jewish experience; Jackie Friedland, author of several novels including the upcoming Counting Backwards, Samantha Woodruff, author of the best seller The Trade-Off; and Haya Leah Molnar, award-winning memoirist.

Click here to register.

Commenting on the event, Josselsohn explained, "Many in our community are highly aware of, and many are personally affected by, the impact of antisemitism. As we all know, Scarsdale is a town that loves reading — just witness how incredibly popular and busy our library is! Over the summer, Fredric Price—the publisher of Fig Tree Books and a novelist in his own right—and I started to brainstorm the idea of a panel discussion on this topic for concerned readers and writers. We have put together a fabulous multi-genre panel, and I’m looking forward to hearing their analysis of where we stand now and where we go from here. I think it’s going to be a very insightful discussion, and we welcome the community to come with questions and thoughts."

Here's more on the moderators and panelists:

Fredric Price grew up and still lives in Westchester and is the founder, publisher, and editor of Fig Tree Books LLC, which is dedicated to publishing the best literature of the American Jewish experience. He is also the award-winning novelist of My Mother’s Son and Jacobo’s Rainbow, writing under the pseudonym David Hirshberg.

Barbara Josselsohn is the best-selling author of eight novels, including the recently published The Forgotten Italian Restaurant, a sweeping, multi-generational story of the Resistance in northern Italy during World War 2. She teaches fiction writing at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence and Westport Writers Workshop, and also leads the Writers Center at Scarsdale Library.

Jacqueline Friedland USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of He Gets That From Me, That’s Not a Thing, and Trouble the Water, Friedland graduated Magna Cum Laude from both the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School. She practiced as a commercial litigator at the New York law firms of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP and Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP. After determining that office life did not suit her, Jacqueline began teaching Legal Writing and Lawyering Skills and working on her first book in her limited spare time. Finally deciding to embrace her passion and pursue writing full time, Jacqueline returned to school to earn her Masters of Fine Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, graduating from the program in 2016.

Haya Molnar was born in Bucharest, Romania under Communist rule. Her parents were Holocaust survivors who hid her Jewish identity to protect her from anti-Semitism. When she discovered that she is Jewish — Haya’s life and her self-identity changed forever. Haya’s family emigrated to the US when she was thirteen. Even while struggling to learn English, Haya loved to write. As an adult, she became a copywriter and creative director at global advertising agencies, winning over 25 industry awards. Haya’s first book, "Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania" about growing up and escaping Communism was published by Farrar Straus Giroux and won the National Jewish Book Award.

Samantha Greene Woodruff is the author of two #1 Amazon bestselling historical fiction novels, The Lobotomist’s Wife (2002) and The Trade Off (2024). Sam has a BA in history from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. After studying in the continuing education program at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, Woodruff completed her first novel, The Lobotomist’s Wife, which was an Amazon First Reads pick. The Trade Off was amongst She Reads Best Historical Fiction of 2024, and is a finalist for for three Zibby awards. Sam’s writing has appeared in Newsweek, Writer’s Digest, Female First, LitHub, Writer’s Read and more. In addition, she has contributed an essay entitled “Jew-ish” about her lifelong conflicted relationship with Judaism, to the anthology, On Being Jewish Now (2024) edited by Zibby Owens. All proceeds from the sale of her book will go to Artists Against Antisemitism, a non-profit founded in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel. Woodruff lives in southern Connecticut with her husband, two children, two dogs and a small reptile zoo.

A book signing will follow the discussion, with books supplied for sale by Scarsdale bookstore Bronx River Books.

Register to attend here.

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Written by Mark Fowler

Published: 29 November 2024

Created: 29 November 2024

Last Updated: 29 November 2024

Hits: 1598

A book is a holiday gift you can open again and again. Jessica Kaplan and Mark Fowler, owners of the local independent bookstore, Bronx River Books at 37 Spencer Place in Scarsdale Village, recommend these season’s readings:

Percival Everett is surely having his moment. Last year’s Academy-Award-nominated film American Fiction was based on Everett’s novel Erasure. And this year, James, his satirical and terrifying response to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will deservedly make many 10 Best lists. It’s eminently readable and worthy of discussion – the perfect book group choice.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story revisits the memorable events in the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ years, as the much-admired historian recounts her husband’s and her own “we-were-there” stories. Those who avoid history because they fear it may be too dry should make a point of reading this vivid account of the 1960s.

Easily the buzziest novel of the year is All Fours by Miranda July, a droll, explicit, adulterous romp about midlife reinvention. The protagonist, a quirky “semi-famous” artist, plans a cross-country LA-to-NYC road trip, which abruptly ends in a nondescript motel room in a Southern California suburb just a few miles from her point of departure, where she pursues sexual and creative freedom. The prim and proper reader should beware.

Another funny, shocking novel is Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles. Here, too, some readers may be put off by Margo’s occupation (a single mother supporting her baby as an OnlyFans performer), but it’s a book with a good heart and, interestingly, a strong moral compass. Highly praised by the authors Kevin Wilson and Nick Hornby.

The football team at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, a state-run school with only 168 high school students, had endured 51 losing seasons. But suddenly, with a new coach in 2021, it was having an undefeated season. The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory, by Thomas Fuller, dramatically explores “the mechanics and the mysteries of successful teamwork.” A GOAT nonfiction sports book.

Cornelia Funke, the terrific author of three middle school fantasies that began with Inkheart (2005), has finally written a fourth book, an addition to her trilogy, that is well worth the wait. The New York Times calls Inkworld The Color of Revenge “beguiling” and the Kirkus Review says its “a true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book.” Her earlier books, Thief Lord and The Dragon Rider series, are delicious as well.

Although Robert Munsch’s classic picture book, The Paper Bag Princess, for children ages four to seven, is not a new tale, its women’s liberationist message remains as important today as it was in 1980, when it was first published: Smart, strong, determined girls can rely on themselves and don’t need saving.

In Leaving, Roxana Robinson writes poignantly about college lovers who reunite decades after marriages to others, families, and careers. A mature, hauntingly memorable novel.

Perhaps 2024’s most discussed and most controversial book on public policy is The Anxious Generation by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (the co-author of the equally controversial 2018 book The Coddling of the American Mind). Haidt explores the causes of the rising rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide among adolescents, focusing on the decline of play-based childhood and the rise of social media. A must read for parents.

For the reader who is all business, there is the Atlas of Finance, by Dariusz Wojcik, which explicates everything from the emergence of money to today’s high-frequency trading and cryptocurrency with scores of stunning graphics and maps.

House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng is a transporting novel set in colonial Malaysia and South Africa, an exotic tale of love, betrayal, revolution, and redemption. Read it together with the short story "Rain" by Somerset Maugham, who is a character in House of Doors.

At last Americans are discovering Katherine Rundell, the renowned British scholar and writer of children’s literature, that The Washington Post has called “this generation’s Tolkien.” Her new fantasy novel Impossible Creatures is great, but her earlier book for young readers, Rooftoppers may be even better. Rundell is astonishingly multi-talented, also writing adult non-fiction, such as the superb biography of the poet John Donne, Super-Infinite, and this year’s Vanishing Treasures a beautifully written homage to the world’s most extraordinary animals.

Do not read Liz Moore’s thriller God of the Woods while your kids are at summer camp. In Chapter 1, 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar goes missing, and she is not the first child in her family to vanish from her camp in upstate New York. This story will keep you on tenterhooks.

Finally, The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradly, blends history, romance, and sci-fi. A time-travel story with a satisfying twist at the end. And it’s funny: shortlisted for the P.G. Wodehouse award for the year’s best work of comic fiction.