Arts & Entertainment LAZAR. THE GOOD DUD DOG Teach Your Children Well Gwvi,.:VV? T wo authors of children's books — Myrna Gelman Shanker and Laurel Snyder — have brought personal commitments to new projects and will appear together as part of this year's Family Day at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit's 59th Annual Jewish Book Fair 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, in West Bloomfield. At 10:30 a.m. the same day, Snyder will be in Oak Park as well. Shanker will address her attention to seniors while Snyder will focus on interreli- gious inclusion as part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning, during which communities from around the world will come together to celebrate Jewish learning, values and unity. Locally, the Global Day of Jewish Learning is co-sponsored by the JCC and Jewish Federation's Alliance for Jewish Education. Shanker, who lives part of the year in Michigan and part in Florida, took profes- sional inspiration from her daughter, Wendy Shanker, also appearing at Book Fair (for more on Wendy's book Are You My Guru? How Medicine, Meditation and Madonna Saved My Life, see opposite page), and came up with Lazar, the Good Deed Dog: Giving Love and Respect to Our Elderly (Kar-Ben; $12.95). The book describes the activities of Lazar, the golden retriever rescue dog who interacts with residents at the Fleischman Residence/Blumberg Plaza in West Bloomfield. "I was visiting a friend living at Fleischman and noticed the dog',' Myrna Shanker recalls. "I was informed that Lazar also lived there, and I saw how his energy with the residents lifted their spirits. It e w s ._ l ila seemed like a good story for children:' The book, illustrated by Linda Robinson, is presented in rhyme and introduces characters as representative of people at the facility. "I read a study that shows that when seniors have meaningful experiences with children, animals or plants, they have a reduction in loneliness, boredom and vul- nerability,' the author explains. "I hope this book motivates young people to appreciate seniors." Shanker, 61, who volunteers at Fleischman by visiting and serving refreshments, has felt connected to seniors because of the close relationship she had with her own grandparents. Although she didn't have a dog when she was young, Shanker appreciated the black poodle, Inky, given to her as a surprise gift from her husband, Mickey Shanker. The new author, a Southfield High School graduate who studied education and earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Michigan, worked in broadcast production for an ad agency before marrying and adopting her stepchil- dren, Wendy and Josh. After teaching at Temple Israel, where her father also taught, and helping friends with personal writing projects, Shanker decided to take her literary skills one step further with a children's book related to the Jewish community, where family commitment intensifies. Besides retaining their membership in Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Myrna and Mickey Shanker have developed an interest in Lubavitcher practices and joined the Bais Chabad Torah Center in West Bloomfield. "I have been so impressed with the hon- BAXTER, fo (Ng the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher Compassion and inclusion: topics of 2 new books for kids. Suzanne Chesser Special to the Jewish News CeNi 4 • thyrno 7eknor• Sr,ankof kx*,8c-4, Myrna Gelman Laurel Snyder Shanker esty and intensity of Wendy's book and the loving way in which she talked about the people close to her:' Shanker says. "Wendy always derives pleasure in shar- ing experiences so that others can benefit. I hope the importance of shared experiences comes across in my book." Snyder, whose dad was Jewish and whose mom was not, had a formal conversion to Judaism when she was 18. Married to some- one who is not Jewish, she and her husband agreed to raise their children in her faith. "I had been trying for years to write a book about intermarriage and inclusivity in the Jewish community, but it came out sounding very didactic, preachy and heavy- handed , ) ' says Snyder, 36, author of Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher (Tricycle Press; $15.99). "It was only after I had finished Baxter that I realized I had written a book that could apply to those questions and issues:' Baxter tells the story of a pig who hears about Shabbat and looks for a way to join the celebration. It is illustrated by David Goldin. "One of the most exciting things about a picture book is the collaboration with the artist, getting to see how somebody else visualizes what is described:' Snyder says. "When the art came in for Baxter, it looked nothing like I had imagined and so much better." Snyder, based in Atlanta, got the idea for the story while joking during a chance conversation. Attention to creative ideas has been with the author since fourth grade. Summers before college included programs in cre- ative writing, her focus at the University of Tennessee and the University of Iowa. Although Snyder has worked as a program director for Hillel in Iowa and Georgia, her major interest has been writ- ing. She wrote three novels for children, Penny Dreadful, Any Which Wall and Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains or The Search for a Suitable Princess. Besides completing two books of poems, she edited an anthology of nonfiction, Half/ Life: Jew-ish Tales from Interfaith Homes. She is an occasional commentator for NPR's All Things Considered. "I can speak of the emotions of someone who's grown up with intermarriage,' she says. "Whatever the complexities of that issue for the Jewish community, hearing the voices of the children of that world seems important:' ❑ There is a $5 registration fee for admission to the Global Day of Jewish Learning, which includes a series of speakers at the Jewish Community Center's West Bloomfield and Oak Park locations. Register at jewishdetroit.org/ alliance (where a list of classes is available) or call (248) 203-1520. Register online by Nov. 4 and receive a $5 coupon toward any one item at Book Fair (one coupon per person; pick it up at registration table). Walk-ins also welcome. For more info on Book Fair, call 248-432-5692 or go to www.jccdet.org . i I Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News The Couch 112 On Season three of the HBO drama In 4 1 Treatment, based on a hit Israeli series, lam returns Oct. 25-26. This year, the audi- ence is privy to the sessions psycho- therapist Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) conducts with three new patients: Sunil, an immigrant from Calcutta who has moved in with his son and daughter-in- law and struggles with life in America (airing 9 p.m. Mondays); Frances (Debra Winger, 55), a former stage and screen actress struggling to learn her lines for a Broadway play whose anxiety arises from seeing her sister cope with ter- 48 October 21 • 2010 minal breast cancer, which claimed their mother (airing 9:30 p.m. Mondays); and Jesse, a gay teen struggling with his identity and in his relationship with his Debra Winger adoptive parents (air- ing 9 p.m. Tuesdays). Paul has a new therapist of his own, Adele (Amy Ryan), with whom he con- fronts his own issues (airs 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays). Proven Innocent Conviction, opening Friday, Oct. 22, is based on the true story of Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) and his sister, Betty Ann Waters (Hilary Swank). In 1983, Kenny was convicted of murder and got a life sentence. Betty, con- vinced of his innocence, put herself through college and law school with the aim of mastering the legal skills to free her brother. The original screen- play is by Pamela Gray, 50. The direc- tor is sometime actor Tony Goldwyn, the grandson of Sam Goldwyn, the legendary film mogul (who was Tony's only Jewish grandparent). In 1999, the younger Goldwyn direct- ed A Walk on the Moon, a film about a Jewish family in the Catskills in the late '60s. Gray wrote the script, based somewhat on her own family's history. Mazel Tov Last week, David Schwimmer, 43, of Friends fame, announced that in June, he had secret- Buckman/Schwimmer ly married Zoe Buckman, 25. Buckman, who is British, was working as a waitress when they met in 2007 and now works part time as a photographer. Zoe's mother, Jennie, the longtime head of acting for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, now runs her own theater company. ❑