The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy Katherine Tegan Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org Two very different boys. One (literally) never-ending bar mitzvah weekend. Finn and Ezra seem to have nothing in common, except that both boys are inexplicably trapped in a time loop that has them living their bar mitzvah weekends over and over and over and… Ezra is the middle child in a large Orthodox family, feeling like an afterthought even at his own bar mitzvah. Finn is the suffocatingly adored only child of secular Jewish parents. Ezra is laid back, avoidant, and hasn’t done much to end his time loop… until he meets Finn, who is competitive, likes to be in charge, and is determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Even if some of Finn’s ideas for how to escape the time loop strike Ezra as a little dubious, it doesn’t really matter, does it? No matter what they do, time will always re-set. Or will it...

Ben's Bonkers Bar Mitzvah by Ivor Baddiel, illustrated by Zoom Rockman Green Bean Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Ben Jacobs is worried about his upcoming bar mitzvah. He feels like he's not ready to be seen as an adult in the Jewish world, and he imagines all sorts of things that could go wrong on the big day. But never in his wildest dreams or worries did he think he'd need to save his bar mitzvah from an alien invasion! Weird things occur: the shul disappears and reappears, his family acts strangely, there is a green glow outside. Ben's family chalks up his alien story to pre-bar mitzvah jitters. Little do they know the danger they are all in, with an eventual world takeover being planned for Ben's bar mitzvah day, launching from his own shul. Only Grandpa believes him, and works with Ben to save the day and prove to Ben himself that he is ready to take on some more adult responsibilities. The relationship between ...

Monster Bar Mitzvah by Josh Anderson, illustrated by Dustin Evans Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Josh Anderson’s slim graphic novel, Monster Bar Mitzvah , presents the story of Eli, one of those kids who can’t seems to get out of his own way. It’s summertime, and Eli is feeling lonely and bored because his older brother Adam is so busy preparing for his bar mitzvah. Every time one of his parents gives Eli a task to help around the house, he gets distracted and messes things up, whether it’s putting together a table, sorting response cards, or simply getting a bag of flour down from a high shelf. Feeling sorry for himself, Eli retreats to his room where he meets one of his stuffed animals come-to-life, a friendly monster named Brisket. Brisket is out to prove to Eli that his summer can still be fun. The story is light on explanations– readers never find out how Brisket becomes animate or why ...

Coming of Age: 13 B'nai Mitzvah Stories edited by Jonathan Rosen and Henry Herz Albert Whitman & Company, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Beth L. Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org “Sure, even though one by one we were being called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah, none of us had miraculously become a grown-up. But we were getting there,” reflects the narrator of Nancy Krulik’s “The Contest” in this anthology. Krulik is one of thirteen authors presenting tales of young people preparing for B’nai Mitzvah celebrations large and small, ceremonies and parties they look forward to or dread. The characters struggle with self-confidence and religious identity as well as the challenges of school bullies, a global pandemic, and various manifestations of antisemitism. The thread that runs through the anthology is what it means to become an adult. Some characters struggle with shyness, particularly when it comes to approaching a romantic interest, whether they happen to be in suburban Connect...

It's My Party and I Don't Want To Go by Amanda Panitch Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org Ellie Katz has a plan. Well, many plans. Her bat mitzvah is coming up and she does not want to have it. Sometimes she can’t breathe when she has to do things in front of people, like when she went up to light the candles at her sister’s bat mitzvah two years ago. She can’t imagine having to read from the Torah, say the blessings, and give a speech at her own bat mitzvah. So together with her best friend Zoe, Ellie devises ways to make sure her bat mitzvah doesn’t happen. From canceling the venue to shocking the DJ to starting a food fight to deter the caterer, Ellie’s sure her bat mitzvah won’t go through. But when her parents find out what is going on and she and Zoe get into a fight, Ellie finds a way to make sure she does her bat mitzvah...her way. This middle grade book examines the themes of the Jewish rite of passage of becoming a woman in the community...

Fish Out of Water by Joanne Levy Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org Fishel “Fish” Rosen is not a typical twelve-year-old boy. He does not like “typical” boy activities like sports—playing or even watching with his zaida. He doesn’t want to take the water polo class his mom and stepfather sign him up for and really doesn’t want to help his best friend collect used hockey equipment for his mitzvah project. Instead, Fish comes up with his own plan for his mitzvah project. But for his project, Fish must learn how to knit and his bubby won’t teach him, saying “knitting isn’t for boys.” After he joins the school’s Knitting Club, Fish’s friends shut him out and his best friend calls him “weird” and “girly.” After he sneaks into the Seniors' Zumba class at the JCC rather than going to water polo, his stepfather yells at him and then informs him, “Boys don’t cry.” With support from his rabbi and knitting teacher, Fish learns to stand up for himself. Fish’s refu...

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Will Levine, a.k.a. Turtle Boy, has a thing about turtles. He’s facing surgery to correct a medical problem that’s making his chin recede, and has inspired his humiliating nickname. When life gets tough, he hides inside a psychological shell. On a more positive note, he’s fascinated by actual turtles – but he collects them illegally from the Back 40, a beloved wild area. Will Will summon the courage to undergo surgery? Will he learn to face life’s difficulties? What will happen to his turtles? Will developers destroy the Back 40? Enter Rabbi Harris. Will needs to perform a community service for his upcoming bar mitzvah, and the rabbi arranges visits to RJ, a wise-cracking, punk-rock drummer teen who’s dying at a local hospital. Can fulfilling the mitzvah of visiting the sick make Will a better, stronger person? Short, snappy chapters and a lively first-person narrator keep this multiple-thread stor...

Becoming Brianna by Terri Libenson Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Becoming Brianna is the fourth book in author/illustrator Terri Libenson’s Emmie & Friends series and the first book of the series to focus solely on a Jewish main character. The book opens with a prologue: 13-year-old Brianna nervously steps out from behind a curtain for some kind of performance. She’s so anxious, in fact, that she imagines herself tied to railroad tracks as a train approaches. Brianna’s bat mitzvah ceremony is about to begin. From there, narrator Brianna moves eight months back in time and chronicles her harrowing friendship struggles, overwhelming bat mitzvah preparations, and bickering divorced parents, all leading up to that moment behind the curtain. Interspersed with these chapters are scenes from the bat mitzvah day itself, told through comic-like illustrations of Brianna panicking about forgetting her Hebrew and screwing up her speech. Not quite a graphic novel, ...