The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

It's a Love/Skate Relationship by Carli J. Corson Harper (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner   Buy at Bookshop.org When Charlie Porter, a D1 college hockey hopeful, is bested by her anger off ice at the annual Winthrop, Vermont Hockey Cup, a throwdown in fisticuffs and all-out brawl damages the ice rink and gets Charlie in big trouble. Charlie is suspended from her team and from the Cranford Preparatory School for six months, because she violated the terms of her athletic scholarship. In the meantime, Charlie will attend her hockey team’s rival high school, Winthrop, working off the rink damages. But this rough ice is zambonied by Coach Geri Goldstein, figure skating coach, Olympic bronze medalist, and mother to Alexa Goldstein, a pairs skater. Coach Geri makes a deal with Charlie and the rink management. Instead of rink duty, Charlie will train with her daughter Alexa in preparation for regionals, because Alexa’s skating partner broke h...

Shira the Singing Puppy by Ilana R. Wieder, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cindy Rivka Marshall   Buy at Bookshop.org We first meet the puppy, Shira, in a colorful garden with musical notes floating across the landscape. Shira - whose name appropriately means "song" in Hebrew - loves to sing and howl. The opening pages of nature imagery, with flowers, ladybugs, snail and bee, immediately conveys Shira’s joy in life. Each day of the week, the puppy tries to sing for her human family. But repeatedly, they say, “Hush and shush, Shira. Not today.” The children are doing homework or have music lessons. They are watching TV or have playdates. The puppy’s howls are not appreciated, but the reproach is gentle. The repetition of “sh” sounds in the refrain, “Hush and shush, Shira,” reminding one of comforting a baby. The book has an added layer of teaching the days of the week, with Shabbat and Havdalah a...

Scattergood by H.M. Bouwman Neal Porter Books (imprint of Holiday House), 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Ellen Scolnic   Buy at Bookshop.org This historical novel takes place in 1941, as the United States prepares to enter World War II. Thirteen year old Peggy grapples with daily chores and farm life while her town welcomes refugees and her cousin and best friend is dying of leukemia. "Authentic" is the word that comes to mind when describing this book. Bouwman has a solid grasp of her teenage protagonist’s point of view. Dialogue rings true. Peg’s ideas and hopes are valid. She is rational and very talented in math, so she tries desperately to save her cousin’s life - or find a doctor who can care her. Peg’s ideas – ambushing a visiting professor or praying because that’s what some adults have said they are doing - seem like ideas a real teen would come up with. This book is beautifully written. Peg is a self-described nerd who enjoys playing chess with an elderly re...

Call Me Gebyanesh by Arlene Rosenfeld Schenker and Gebyanesh Addisu, illustrated by Chiara Fedele Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lisa Trank   Buy at Bookshop.org Seven-year-old Gebyanesh, a young Ethiopian Jew, starts the new school year in Jerusalem, where her family has recently settled after escaping from persecution, famine, and civil war. When her teacher is unable to pronounce her name, she is instead assigned a new name - Rakhel. Gebyanesh/Rakhel experiences her new school as an outsider and with the exception of another student named Daria, she is not accepted by the other Israeli kids. She is mocked for her different food, her clothing, and the color of her skin. Gebyanesh hides her school experience from her family until her younger brother discovers her schoolwork with the name Rakhel on it. Gebyanesh's mother tells her to be proud of her name and where she comes from, showing Gebyanesh a family photo album th...

Wicked Darlings by Jordyn Taylor Delacorte Press (imprint of Random House Children's Books), 2025 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner   Buy at Bookshop.org Wicked Darlings  opens with the main character, Noa Falk, relishing her newfound opportunity to bask in the spotlight, now that her older sister Leah no longer casts Noa in her shadow. Feeling like a monster for a sense of freedom, rather than the grief for her sister’s tragic death, Noa plans an epic party while her parents are away at a cousin’s bat mitzvah.  Throughout the novel, Noa carries guilt for not responding to Leah’s text message, an urgent cry for help with her journalism internship with the Gotham Sentinel, where Leah covered the lives of Manhattan’s socially elite. But journalism was always Noa’s thing, not Leah’s passion, and it’s just one more situation where Leah blocks Noa’s light. When Noa’s curiosity and sadness lead her to the family safe, she retrieves her sister’s cell phone and evid...

Eve and Adam Discover the World by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Irina Avgustinovich Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton   Buy at Bookshop.org   Author Leslie Kimmelman and illustrator Irina Avgustinovich, whose talents came together in 2023 for Eve and Adam and Their Very First Day , return with this sequel, Eve and Adam Discover the World . This story recounts Eve and Adam’s actions around the Tree of Knowledge and what follows. As in the first book, Eve is portrayed with a lively intellect. Here, her curiosity is emphasized, so the Tree of Knowledge is alluring. Adam is grateful and trusting, and God is portrayed with a kind-parent energy. Kimmelman shows Eve’s thought process as she is tempted by the snake, as well as all the characters’ interpretations of what results. Through these portrayals of good-intentioned but imperfect humans, Kimmelman deftly provides a safe and positive container for ...