CURRENT POSITION Librarian, Temple Rodef Shalom, Falls Church, VA DEGREE MLIS, University of Maryland College Park, 2008 FAST FACT Kusel’s picture book, The Passover Guest (Holiday House, 2021), was recognized in 2022 with the Sydney Taylor Book Award. FOLLOW susankusel.com; bit.ly/TempleRodefShalomLibrary; sydneytaylorshmooze.com Photo courtesy of Susan Kusel

Battling Anti-Semitism

Susan Kusel has read numerous books featuring Jewish characters, but many focus on the Holocaust and Hanukkah, rarely featuring Jewish joy. As the synagogue librarian for Temple Rodef Shalom Library and a children’s book consultant, Kusel says she wants to see more literary mirrors for children who are Jewish and offer windows to youth of different faiths to better understand Jewish beliefs and culture. “I see so many non-Jewish children who have misunderstandings and make assumptions about Jews because they haven’t learned otherwise,” Kusel says. If not corrected, misunderstandings and assumptions lead to harmful stereotypes, and potentially, violence. “The more we educate, the more books we have without stereotypes, the more lives we save,” Kusel says.

While serving on the Caldecott award committee and chairing the Sydney Taylor Book Awards, Kusel was part of the collaborative effort to include the Sydney Taylor winners in the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards press conference, starting in 2019. “The real magic is getting to watch so many Jewish books be recognized every year” at the Youth Media Awards, Kusel says.

As synagogue librarian, Kusel increased patron access to books by moving to an online catalog, carefully curating the collection, and offering library programs to early childhood and religious classes. She encourages authors and editors to expand the types of stories published about Jewish heritage and people. “I see so much potential in the field and so many exciting new Jewish books coming out,” she says. “I keep dreaming of what more can be done to make it even better.”