The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Grasya Oliyko  Quill Tree Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus   Buy at Bookshop.org   This picture book biography tells the story of Volodymyr Zelensky, starting with his childhood and leading all the way to his election as the president of Ukraine. Using simple language and concepts, author Linda Marshall explains how the young Zelensky grew up seeing evil and corruption in his country. From a young age, his goal was to make the country and the world a better place for everyone. His career as an entertainer led him to run in the presidential election, because he realized that humor alone cannot keep a country free and independent.    Zelensky is Jewish, and yet he grew up to be president of a country that in the past has been very antisemitic. Ukranian discrimination against in the Jewish people is mentioned in the book. Volodymyr's

The Promise by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Cinzia Battistel Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org Jacob and Hassan live in a small village in Morocco. The boys go to different schools, practice different faiths, and are best friends. They play together in the cool, lush garden of Jacob’s family, designed to resemble gardens of ancestral Spain. Their families share meals, conversations, and drink mint tea together in the lovely garden. Hassan’s father says, “A garden is a prayer.” And Jacob’s father says, “A garden is also a promise.” The boys agree and tend the garden together. All is well until news arrives: “Frightening things, terrible hateful things, were being done to Jews in Europe.” Fearing the spread of danger, Jacob’s family must flee Morocco. Before Jacob departs, he asks Hassan to tend the garden. Hassan promises he will. Years later, a grey-haired Jacob re

I Can Wait written & illustrated by Rikki Benenfeld Hachai, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Chava Pinchuck Buy at Hachai A brother and sister learn to wait as they go through their weekly activities. Rhyming couplets with easy words narrate the story. On Sunday, the boy wakes up early, but refrains from drumming until everyone else wakes up. The kids wait for rides to school, wait for a doctor's appointment, wait for Mommy to finish talking on the phone, wait for their father to bring their pizza order, and wait to cross the street. On Friday, the children wait for the challah dough to rise and wait for a taste of chocolate cake. Then they don their special clothes that they have waited to wear. The book ends with the ultimate wait - "For Moshiach to come quickly B'mheira, b'yomeinu!" Rikki Benefeld writes and illustrates "The Toddler Experience Series" for Hachai, and the consistent style of illustration throughout the series will be immediat

How to Welcome an Alien by Rebecca Klempner, illustrated by Shirley Waisman Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shanna Silva Buy at Bookshop.org How to Welcome an Alien is rooted in the long-standing Jewish values of hospitality and kindness. An alien spaceship crash lands in a residential neighborhood. The protagonist, Dina, welcomes the strange creatures into her home, even reminding her doubtful mother about the mitzvah of giving guests food, drink, and a place to rest. Humor leads this tale as the hosts and guests struggle to communicate and the creatures find unusual uses for the human objects. The alien vocabulary is funny-sounding, but familiar enough to be understood. A surprise ending brings the tale and lesson full-circle. The aliens are illustrated in a non-threatening way with a color scheme that matches those of their human hosts. The art reminds us that commonalities can be found even in seemingly different spe

When Zissel Got Rich by Maxine Rose Schur, illustrated by Cristina De Liso Lawley Publishing, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org “Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot.” (Ethics of the Fathers 4:1). This adage comes to mind when reading the appropriately titled picture book When Zissel Got Rich . Zissel and her family lived simply until her husband does well in business and they become rich. That’s when the trouble begins, as Zissel now wants a new ring with a bigger diamond, thinking that then she will have everything her heart desires. After this ring, she wants a new bracelet, followed by a new necklace. Unfortunately, each new piece of jewelry brings it with it disastrous results for Zissel, until a simple beauty in nature is the wake-up call she needs to realize the errors of her ways. Disney fans will especially appreciate the bright and expressive illustrations, as well as the clothing and furniture which are reflec

Dream by Dream The Story of Rabbi Mayer Wise by Geri Kolesar, illustrated by Sofia Moore Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Bookshop.org This picture book biography of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise details his life from his childhood experiences of poverty and antisemitism in Europe to his development of Reform Judaism in America. We learn about his revolutionary ideas of girls learning Talmud along with boys, women and men being treated as equals in Jewish life and sitting together in synagogue, as well as adding instrumental music to Shabbat services. These objectives were originally disruptive but later found acceptance and sparked a form of Judaism which has grown and become part of the established Jewish world. A remarkable powerhouse, he initiated construction of a major synagogue, began a Jewish newspaper, and founded Hebrew Union College, all still in existence. His dream of a tolerant and universally

Luis de Torres Sails to Freedom by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, illustrated by Oliver Averill Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org On the eve of the date when all Jews must leave Spain, July 31, 1492, Yosef ben HaLevi Halvi faces a choice. He must leave the country or become a converso, a hidden Jew who is publicly Christian. He had already taken the Christian name Luis de Torres, but de Torres chooses to leave. Taking a position as a translator on a ship heading to the Far East, he hopes to find a place where he could openly practice his Judaism. When de Torres says goodbye to his family as they celebrate Shabbat in a hidden room, his nephew Jacobo presses a good luck charm in his hand, a silver hamsa. Jacobo hopes it will keep his uncle safe.  Arriving at the ship that will take him from Spain, the commander tells him they will leave on July 31. That day is Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning commemora

Challah! written & illustrated by Varda Livney PJ Publishing, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Louis, a toddler bunny rabbit, utters his first word ever at Shabbat dinner. It's "challah," of course! Throughout the rest of the week, Louis proudly uses his new word to describe puffy objects from clouds to trees to sheep. When Shabbat comes around again, he surprises and delights his parents by taking one look at the challah and saying his second new word: "Shabbat!" Young children will enjoy chiming in with the "challah" refrain and identifying the various puffy objects. The reinforcement of the days of the week (Jewishly listed from one Friday to the next) is another point of educational interest for the preschool set. Gentle line drawings in pastel colors show a cheerful anthropomorphic family of blue, pink, and green rabbits. Notes on the back cover of the board book provide more information about Shabbat and challah, inclu

The Miracle Seed by Martin Lemelman Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (imprint of William B. Eerdmans), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org The Miracle Seed follows the story of a Judean date seed that was germinated by two female scientists, centuries after the tree had gone extinct.  In 1963, an archeologist named Yigael Yadin did a dig with sixteen other volunteers at the top of Masada in Israel. They discovered a clay jar that held date palm seeds that were 2,000 years old. However, instead of being immediately studied, they were locked away in a drawer until 2004 when Dr. Sarah Sallon, together with Dr. Elaine Solowey, attempted to bring the date seeds back to life. They successfully planted the seeds on Tu’Bshvuat in 2005 and they eventually grew. The scientists were able to share the pollen with others and crossed with a modern date, they able to produce strong trees and dates, starting in 2011.   Written and illustrated by Martin Lemelman, thi

The Circlemaker by Maxine Rose Schur, cover art by Polina Solomodenko Lawley Publishing, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Mendel loves to wake up early and meet his best friend Zalman at the riverbank. They play with toy boats until they must run to arrive at school on time. He is a happy boy in spite of the poverty imposed by antisemitic restrictions in Ukraine in 1852 and a bully named Dovid who calls him K’vatsh, the Yiddish word for coward. Everything changes when the Czar’s soldiers come to his village to kidnap boys for the military. To avoid twenty-five years of conscription, Mendel cuts his earlocks and flees his village with only a vague plan to reach his Aunt Bella in America. His journey through Ukraine to reach the Hungarian border is a fast-paced adventure. Mendel doesn’t know who to trust and one hurdle follows another. When he finds smugglers, he learns that his nemesis, also on the run from the Czar’s soldiers, is being helped b

Absolutely, Positively Natty by Lisa Greenwald Katherine Tegen Books (imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Beth L. Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org "Good vibes only!" Natty Blanken lives by the words on the patch on her backpack. What's the point of focusing on the negative? So, last year she was part of the popular group at her Long Island middle school, and her parents were together, and now she lives with her dad at his parents’ house in a small Pennsylvania town where she doesn’t know any of the other junior high students? That’s all fine. It’s an opportunity to make new friends and try new things. Her parents won’t really get divorced; her mom will join them in Miller Creek eventually. Everything will be just fine. Better than fine. Natty just has to put that good energy out into the universe, and ignore that weird twisted-up feeling she keeps getting in her gut, right? When it seems like everyone around her can only talk about how b

Questions I am Asked About the Holocaust: Young Readers Edition by Hédi Fried; translated from the Swedish by Alice E. Olsson, illustrated by Laila Ekboir Scribble Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heather J. Matthews Buy at Bookshop.org Written by survivor Hédi Fried, and adapted for young audiences from the 2017 original edition, this book is a collection of questions which Hédi is frequently asked when lecturing at schools. Early in the book, Hédi writes “One of the lessons from the Holocaust is this: never get used to injustice.” This idea sets the tone of much of the book – Hédi’s life story and subsequent answers to questions she is asked surround the idea that it is only with education and proactive efforts that we can both remember the Holocaust while also working to prevent such atrocities from occurring again. Readers learn that Hédi was nineteen when, on May 17, 1944, she arrived Auschwitz. Alongside her sister, Hédi was sent to three different labor camps over th

The Unexpected Adventures of C.A.T. by Johanna Hurwitz, illustrated by Sam Loman Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Beth Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org Chaya is in the fourth grade, lives with her family in an apartment in New York City, and loves cats. She loves everything about them. She loves that her initials - from Chaya Ann Tober - make her a cat, or at least a C.A.T. Her initials aside, Chaya describes herself as thoroughly average. She is in the middle of her class academically, and also when they line up by size. She lives with her parents and older brother in a New York City apartment. She dotes on the family’s pet cat, Ollie. After accidentally taking a bite of Ollie’s food, Chaya has an exceptionally vivid dream of becoming a cat with fur the same bright ginger as her hair. The next night, she finds herself once again a cat, and realizes it was no dream. She quickly discovers that cat life brings its own challenges. Chaya