The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Slow Down, Shoshi!: It's Shabbat in Uganda by Shoshana Nambi, illustrated by Moran Yogev Kalaniot Books, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton   Buy at Bookshop.org   In Slow Down, Shoshi! , the protagonist from the acclaimed The Very Best Sukkah is back, with a challenging situation for her energetic nature—slowing down for Shabbat. The story opens lyrically, transporting readers to its rural Ugandan setting, with the sights, sounds, and smells of coffee trees. Shoshi rushes, both during harvest time and as she and her grandfather walk to town to sell coffee beans and buy supplies for Shabbat. Her haste causes her to forget one key element. As she gathers items to replace it, she gets another chance to slow down and, this time, experiences the value of savoring the moment. While portraying a universal and very relatable growth arc about slowing down, author Shoshana Nambi also draws on her upbringing and exposes her audience to life in rural Uganda and t...

King's Legacy by L.C. Rosen Union Square, 2025 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Kathryn Hall   Buy at Bookshop.org King's Legacy is the second book in Rosen's "Tennessee Russo" duology. In Lion's Legacy  ( reviewed on The Shmooze in 2023 ) we met Tennessee, a gay Jewish teenager who is a queer history nerd. His parents are divorced, and he joins his gentile archeologist and reality show star father in a search for artifacts related to queer ancient Greek soldiers. Indiana Jones style adventures ensue. King's Legacy can be a stand-alone read, but I recommend reading them in order if you enjoy the genre. Tennessee, his best friend, his father, and their producer/camerawoman, journey from Rome to Venice to Paris to a fictional Mont Saint Michel-inspired island in a wild chase for an ancient lyre. There are multiple escapes from improbable mechanized death traps, as well as some failures to escape (only the villains die). Gay sexual scenes occur but are not ...

Mazel Toes! by Audrey Barbakoff, illustrated by Annita Soble Collective Book Studio, 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Rochelle Newman-Carrasco   Buy at Bookshop.org This sweet board book uses rhyme and memorable Yiddish phrases to celebrate all things baby. Each page has a short rhyming expression of love and playfulness. Each page shares a way a family might gather round and let a baby know how loved they are and how much joy they are bringing into their homes. The beautiful illustrations are a really powerful part of this book. It's as if the reader is invited into the homes of a series of different families, from different generations and walks of life. These diverse families are united in their focus on a newborn and the smiles and tenderness that brings. The illustration style is so vibrant and alive, you can almost hear the cooing, the giggling, and the baby talk. The Yiddish expressions are explained in a Glossary, and they're such great words. Exactly the kind of Y...

The New Sefer Torah Parade by Tzivia Adler, illustrated by Mira Simon Hachai, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Doreen Robinson   Buy at Hachai.com   Told from the point of view of a young child, this beautiful book is about a community celebrating the completion of a new Sefer Torah. The excitement around this event feels genuine as the character explains that when this Torah is ready it will be taken to its new home in the shul (synagogue). And the real excitement (aside from this new Torah) is the community-wide parade with the Torah front and center. The excitement builds as the rabbi, the child’s zeidy, and father each get the honor of writing the last letters in the Sefer Torah until it is complete. The Torah is lifted for all to see and then receives its velvet coat and silver crown. Now it’s ready for the parade, complete with torches, flags, music and a chuppah. Throughout the story, important Hebrew words are used in context, but a glossary at the front is helpf...

Twinkle, Twinkle, Hanukkah by Talia Benamy, illustrated by Aura Lewis Workman Kids, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Julie Ditton   Buy at Bookshop.org Twinkle, Twinkle, Hanukkah is a cute rhyming picture book that takes the reader through the Hanukkah celebration. Youngsters may know the simple preschool song “Twinkle, Twinkle Hanukkah Lights” (based on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star") which teaches the holiday with a familiar tune and hand motions. This book takes the concept a step further. We start with “Twinkle, twinkle menorah” and read about candles and dreidels. But the book goes beyond the party and talks about some important ideas too: the history, celebrating with family near and far, and placing the menorah in the window to spread the light. The watercolor illustrations by Aura Lewis are sweet and simple, and represents a diversity of skin tones. The afterword discusses the Hanukkah story and all these activities in more detail for the adult reader. This b...

The Mouse Who Loved Latkes written and illustrated by Joy Nelkin Wieder Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Claire Freeland   Buy at Bookshop.org The Mouse Who Loved Latkes tells the story of a mouse who fears his home’s new feline residents, the Katz family. The littlest cat, Kitty, spots the mouse exploring, drawn out of his hole by delicious smells. A “cat and mouse game” ensues. But Kitty is only interested in making a friend. The mouse is torn between worry that Kitty will eat him and curiosity about the delicious doughnut crumbs, chocolate bits, and a strange item that we know is a dreidel. Finally, Kitty convinces the mouse to help make latkes. Now comfortable with Kitty and Mrs. Katz, he runs away once again when he sees Mr. Katz with a scary object but is reassured upon learning that it’s a menorah. The mouse joins the Katz family in lighting the menorah and eating latkes. The twist at the end about why the Katz ...