Followers of Blue Thread probably know that the title of the book refers to a blue-colored fringe in a prayer shawl. In the Bible’s Book of Numbers 15:38, the ancient Israelites are commanded to add fringes (in Hebrew: tzitzit) to the corners of their garments. The Biblical edict goes on to require that the tzitzit [...]
All posts in category Judaism/Jewish culture
Blue Thread Meets Blue Shoe
Posted by Ruth on March 18, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/03/18/blue-thread-meets-blue-shoe/
Wealth, Weddings, and Downton Abbey
Blue Thread and Downton Abbey? As I was watching a recent episode of this popular TV series, I was struck by how much the two stories have in common. Time period for one. Both works are set in 1912. Blue Thread mentions the sinking of the Titanic only briefly, with Lillian worrying about taking a [...]
Posted by Ruth on February 7, 2013
http://bluethreadbook.com/2013/02/07/wealth-weddings-and-downton-abbey/
Blue Thread’s Blue Thread
Taking a break from elections and suffrage, I thought you’d like to read this guest blog from Michael Feldman, who lives with me and my fictional people. Thanks, Mike! One of the key characters in Blue Thread is inanimate: a strand of blue thread. Why blue thread? The blue thread is part of an old [...]
Posted by Ruth on November 8, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/11/08/blue-threads-blue-thread/
BT + Activities = Teaching Guide
With thanks to education students at Portland State University, I can now offer you a teaching guide to Blue Thread. The guide is wide-ranging and thorough, with activities that include curriculum-framing questions, writing prompts, lesson plans, bio-poem worksheets, and brainstorming charts. I expect I’ll use some of these activities myself in school visits. Yo, [...]
Posted by Ruth on July 27, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/07/27/bt-activities-teaching-guide/
This Week, It’s the Daughters’ Turn!
Hi, it’s Michael again with a guest post. Every Jewish house of worship has a cabinet or Ark which contains one or more Torah scrolls. Each scroll is made of parchment, on which the entire Hebrew text of the Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (a.k.a. Old Testament)—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—is [...]
Posted by Ruth on July 12, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/07/12/this-week-its-the-daughters-turn/
Fictional Ephraim and the True Tragedy
Ephraim Jacobowitz, who loves his boss’s daughter, Miriam, has a small role in Blue Thread. We get a hint of his life before 1912, when he tries to persuade Miriam that he wants to help her print her postcards. “I think you are printing cards for the suffrage campaign—and, yes, women should vote. I do [...]
Posted by Ruth on June 6, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/06/06/fictional-ephraim-and-the-true-tragedy/
What’s with the Cucumbers?
There she was again, that odd girl, wearing the same gray dress and stuffing cucumber sandwiches into a large handbag. I’ve received a lot of questions to answer for an upcoming blog tour (which I’ll tell you about another day). So far no one has asked: “Why in Blue Thread is Serakh so totally into [...]
Posted by Ruth on March 15, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/03/15/whats-with-the-cucumbers/
Micah House Answered the Challenge
As some of you know, Blue Thread is about a 16-year-old girl who discovers an ancient prayer shawl. Embroidered on this magical garment is a phrase from the Bible with the commandment to pursue justice. One of the organizations that pursues justice for women in the here and now is Micah House. I asked Ed [...]
Posted by Ruth on March 12, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/03/12/micah-house-answered-the-challenge/
Is Blue Thread a Midrash or Not?
During a Q and A session with Ooligan staff about Blue Thread, Stephanie Kroll—now with Scholastic in New York (yay!)—leaned over to me and whispered, “It’s a midrash.” Exactly. OK, some might argue that Stephanie and I are stretching the meaning of this Hebrew word. Midrashim (the plural of midrash) are part of a body [...]
Posted by Ruth on March 5, 2012
http://bluethreadbook.com/2012/03/05/is-blue-thread-a-midrash-or-not/
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Welcome!
My name is Ruth. I write books and articles for children and young adults. Blue Thread is my eleventh book, and the first one in which I have knowingly stretched the truth.Visit this blog to satisfy your curiosity about:
- Every factual and fictional part of Blue Thread
- What happens to the characters after the book ends
- The real connection between Blue Thread and pursuing justice
- The next book in the Blue Thread series
- Almost anything else you ask
Thanks for stopping by.
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