The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Space Torah: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Craig Orback Intergalactic Afikomen, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Space Torah tells the story of astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, who flew into space five times between 1985 and 1996. In its opening pages, this beautiful picture book brings readers back to Hoffman’s childhood and adolescence, when his dreams of going into space begin in earnest. When he is finally able to join a space mission, he feels profound peace and gratitude in the vastness of the cosmos and thinks about God being up there with him. He even brings Jewish items with him on his missions- a siddur, a dreidel, a mezuzah. On his flight on the space shuttle Columbia, he brings a miniature Torah scroll and as he floats in zero gravity, he performs the mitzvah of reading from the Torah. Space Torah ’s strength comes from the way it shows the deep connection that Hoffman feels between himself a...

The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler Carolrhoda Books (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org Rosie is on strike. Until now her life has been all about music. As a 12-yr old violin prodigy she has played Carnegie Hall, but all she wants is a normal life. Born with synesthesia, she senses music not just as sound, but also as colors, smells, tastes, and textures. It’s hard for her to figure out who she is without music, so, against her parent’s wishes, she’s taking a break from playing. Usually, her summers are spent at a prestigious summer music camp, but with nothing else to do, Rosie ends up spending the summer at her grandparents’ home with her mother.  The summer ahead does not feel promising to Rosie. She has just lost her best Julianne because of her music. She doesn’t know her grandparents very well - Grandpa Jack rarely talks, and ailing Grandma Florence has advanced Alzheimer’s. Rosie has no idea what to d...

  Rising by Sidura Ludwig, illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy Candlewick Press, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org Replete with similes, metaphors, one-word line breaks, and beautiful imagery, Sidura Ludwig's Rising is picture book poetry at its finest. Told in the first person from the perspective of the child narrator, the reader is invited along as she bakes challah with Ima (who is expecting). Shabbat dinner is held in a beautiful outdoor setting in the backyard, complete with guests. The story ends on a joyful note with newborn baby in Ima's arms and the protagonist handing the challah bowl to Abba who is donning the apron. Complementing the flowing text, Sophia Vincent Guy's gorgeous illustrations are warm and soft, evoking in each spread the calming feeling that Shabbat brings into a home. Back matter includes a glossary of eight Hebrew words; kudos for the accurate definition of Shabbat in terms of when it...

The Hedgehog Who Said Who Cares? by Neri Aluma, illustrated by Amit Trainin Kalaniot Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cindy Rivka Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org Author Neri Aluma has transposed a teaching story from the Talmud into a vibrant picture book that is relevant to challenges in our contemporary world. Hedgehog digs a burrow, smack in the middle of a road used by other animals. Rabbit and Mouse, stymied by the large pile of dirt blocking their way, wonder who is responsible. Meanwhile Hedgehog is oblivious and cozy in his new home. When Rabbit and Mouse confront him, Hedgehog snorts “Who cares?” But the next day, when a rainstorm causes the burrow to collapse into mud, Hedgehog needs help. Rabbit and Mouse come to his aid and help him dry off and get warm. Hedgehog apologizes and admits his wrongdoing. The book ends with Hedgehog helping others to plant a garden of flowers along the road. This book was originally published in Hebrew and the translation does an admir...

The Blue Butterfly of Cochin by Ariana Mizrahi, illustrated by Siona Benjamin Kalaniot Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Doreen Robinson Buy at Bookshop.org The Blue Butterfly of Cochin tells the story of a Jewish girl named Leah who lives in the ancient city of Cochin, India. Leah loves her city and its special synagogue, which has two bimahs. After Shabbat services, Leah tells the other children stories. Even the blue butterflies listen! In an exchange with a bright blue butterfly, we learn that Leah is sad that the Jews of Cochin have decided to leave India. But at the same time, she’s excited to move to Israel. The butterfly assures her that Cochin will always be with her – in her heart and in her stories. Even though Leah and her family settle in a moshav in Israel, there are things she still misses about Cochin. A friendly neighbor named Shifra takes Leah to a nearby olive grove where a blue butterfly lands on her shoulder. That’s when Leah realizes that India will b...

The Apple Argument by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Anita Barghigiani Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org The Apple Argument is a modern midrash, a backstory to the tales told in the Torah. With richly colored, appropriately lush illustrations by Anita Barghighiani, Jane Yolen spins a story explaining why we must work to coax food from the land. As the fruits bicker over which one of them is best overall, just like people so often do, each cites their strongest quality but fails to recognize that their varied strengths combine to create something better together - a fruit salad perhaps? In a scene relatable to any parent, an exasperated G-d leaves the scene, saying, “I will move far away so I do not need to hear you.” Human laziness - not curiosity - is the driver in this version of the Eden story, resulting in Adam and Eve finding it easier to “pluck the Fruits from the trees and Vines” tha...

Matzah Ball Chase by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Brittany Lakin Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House Publishers), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Chava Pinchuck Buy at Bookshop.org There is, of course, “On Top of Spaghetti.” Then there’s The Matzah Man by Naomi Howland (Clarion Books, 2002), The Matzo Ball Boy by Lisa Shulman (Puffin Books, 2007), and The Ball of Clay that Rolled Away by Elizabeth Lenhard (Two Lions, 2012). This latest tale of silliness and runaway Jewish food has a different spin. The rhyming couplets describe the pursuit of Savta’s matzah ball through Israel, from the amazing Baha’i Gardens in Haifa, to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem (the City of Gold), then to the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea, and Masada. The matzah ball finally ends up in Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel, and playful dolphins take it out in the Red Sea. The moral of the story – make matza squares instead of balls! The use of “savta” as grandmother will alert the reader that the...

The Peacock by Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod, illustrated by Jamie MacGibbon Orca Book Publishers, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Sara Lesley Arnold Buy at Bookshop.org Through the lens of a young girl in Toronto grappling with an unwanted garden guest, The Peacock introduces young readers to the Jewish refugee crisis after World War II. Barbara’s father, a tailor, is overcome with a feeling of responsibility for displaced persons in Europe, and sets out across the sea to help Jews secure tailoring jobs to skirt around Canada’s impossibly restrictive immigration laws. Back at home, while her father is away and her brothers are at camp, the responsibility falls on Barbara herself to care for her mother, who, in addition to being grief-stricken from the news of the horrific treatment of Jews in Europe, is terrorized daily by the peacock who has mysteriously planted himself in their yard. Learning from her father’s example of taking action and keeping in mind his wise words, “It’s up to...

Nightmares in Paradise (Ring of Solomon series) by Aden Polydoros Inkyard Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org Nightmares in Paradise is a sequel to Ring of Solomon , the first middle grade novel from Polydoros, and can be read independently, although it is better to read both sequentially. Zach Darlington has recovered from his encounter with Ashmedai, the King of Demons. When his annoying little sister Naomi disappears with his flaming sword, he and his friend Sandra call on Ashmedai to help them find her. Adventures ensue: strange beasts attack, bullies experience Biblical consequences, and the good guys win. Zach is bullied by several kids at school, who surmise that he is gay, although he has not come out even to his parents yet. The book is well written and an enjoyable read. There are two completely different types of Jewish representation in this book. Zach and his family are contemporary California Jews who prepare Ashkenazi food and ...

Jewish Mindfulness for Kids by Blanca Sissa, illustrated by Camila Carrossine Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld Buy at Bookshop.org I often say that it is harder for a person to get from zero to one than from one to a hundred. I'd add that it's hard to accomplish anything in life without the ability to sit quietly for ten minutes, even if that accomplishment is free climbing El Capitan. This is a book with a purpose: to help Jewish kids find a Jewish path into sitting quietly, breathing, and being in a mindful moment of not looking backward or forward. The text sets out the problem -- too much going on in everyone's brains, including kids' brains -- and that there is a tradition of "yishuv hada'at" (quiet, calm awareness) in Judaism. Then, Sissa and Carrossine teach kids how to get to it, Jewishly, with focus on the breath, Jewishly. Those methods of focus go through the lens of ...

First Fruits: A Shavuot Story written & illustrated by Amalia Hoffman PJ Publishing, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Quality books about Shavuot for young children are hard to find, but here’s a contender. This is a board book for the very very young–no older than 3. Sparse text explains that early Israelites gathered the “First Fruits” or “Bikurim” in baskets on Shavuot but does not explain why. A note at the end where provides a longer explanation for parents, that will not sustain a toddler’s attention span. The illustrations appears as though a young child has decorated the pages with cute little handprints and whimsical stick figures. Children will learn the names of the Seven Species and what they look like, although the term “Seven Species” is not used. There is also no mention of the Israelites receiving the Torah on Shavuot. Diversity takes front and center with this book, as the pictures of children depict all skin tones and abilities. Hoffman provid...

Things That Shimmer by Deborah Lakritz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder Buy at Bookshop.org Melanie Adler and her lifelong friend Vicky dream about being members of the Shimmers, the popular group of girls in middle school. When Melanie is asked to guide new student Dorit Shoshani around school, her budding friendship with this Israeli-born girl complicates those ambitions and threatens her relationship with Vicky. Ultimately, Melanie must make difficult decisions about the price of popularity and the value of friendship.   The story takes place in the 1970s. Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and John Denver songs are as much a part of Melanie as the freckles on her sunburned shoulders.The Watergate hearings form a significant backdrop to the story. When Walter Cronkite announces that Egypt and Syria have attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, Dorit misses a week of school. In her absence, Melanie finds her way into the...

100 Rooms by Haya Shenhav, illustrated by Yirmi Pinkus Kalaniot Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Bookshop.org The prolific Israeli author Haya Shenhav, recipient of the highest honors of juvenile literature in Israel, joins the esteemed Israeli illustrator Yirmi Pinkus to bring us this funny and engaging tale of a man who desires an ever-expanding house. When it is finally completed there are 100 rooms, each designated for a different item. There’s a room for forks, a room for chairs, a separate room for every item he owns, leaving enough for one extra empty room. But he is alone and lonely. Taking one of each item, he furnishes the remaining room. He lives in this room and sells the rest, including their contents, at very low prices. Having simplified his possessions he ventures outside to greet his neighbors who are happy to meet him. The cartoon style digital art with bright vibrant colors enhances the absurd humor. There is minimal Jewish repres...

A Party for Florine: Florine Stettheimer and Me written and illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg Neal Porter Books (imprint of Holiday House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton Buy at Bookshop.org In author-illustrator Yevgenia Nayberg’s A Party for Florine , a young artist visits a museum and sees something of herself in a self-portrait of Jewish-American painter Florine Stettheimer (1871–1944). The girl narrator is inspired to learn more, which makes for a natural flow into an overview of Stettheimer’s life as an artist. The story returns to the child’s world with her bountiful, imaginative ideas for the party she would like to throw for Florine. The resulting book is both a brief biography and an exuberant look into the mind of a creative child. As the child narrator concludes, “the world around me is full of color and full of surprise.” These qualities are depicted throughout the story, with goodies like “the famous artist Marcel Duchamp, so limber and elegant i...