ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question:  Traditionally, what did Iraqi Jews pin to a baby’s crib, and why?

Carol Isaacs was born in England to Iraqi-Jewish parents. She is a keyboard player and accordionist in the pop and world music fields, and has recorded and toured worldwide with many international artists including Sinéad O’Connor from Ireland, The Indigo Girls from the US, and Ahmed Mukhtar from Iraq. She is co-founder of the London Klezmer Quartet.

Carol is also a cartoonist, and under the name The Surreal McCoy she has published in the New Yorker, Spectator, and Sunday Times, among others. The Wolf of Baghdad is a graphic memoir based on her own family’s recollections of Jewish life in Baghdad.  There is a print-only version of the book, but it has also been published in DVD form as a “motion comic”, combining elements of print comic books with animation and music. (Watch the trailer.) Also included in the book is a timeline of the history of the Jews in Iraq and suggested reading and related websites you can go to for more information.

You can read Carol’s blog here.

Go here to order the DVD or CD.

Go here to order the book from the publisher (UK) or Amazon.