The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Gingerbread Dreidels by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Thai My Phuong Charlesbridge, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Elizabeth Suneby Buy at Bookshop.org Every 15 years or so, the first night of Chanukah coincides with Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. When Max and Sophie learn that their family will celebrate Chanukah and Christmas at the same time with their Jewish and Christian grandparents, the siblings go to bed worrying if they will get as many gifts, a natural worry for young kids. They wake the next morning to a snowstorm and no grandparents, yet. To pass time, the family bakes--making the requisite mess, complete with blue and white and red and green sprinkles everywhere. As they clean up, both sets of grandparents arrive, and the family joyfully prepares their meal, with traditional holiday foods from both cultures. While dinner cooks, they play outdoors. Back inside, they light the menorah and sing "O Chanukah," and they light the Christmas tree and sing ...

On Friday Afternoon: A Shabbat Celebration by Michal Babay, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt Charlesbridge, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org With On Friday Afternoon , author Michal Babay and illustrator Menachem Halbertstadt have given us an upbeat and cheerful portrait of a family getting ready for Shabbat—specifically, Friday night dinner. The main characters are a young girl, Leelee, and her dog Pickles. They giggle and race through the house making messes, cleaning up those messes (because Shabbat is coming) and then making still more chaos. Each encounter leads fluidly into the next: when they discover change under the couch, that leads to making a tzedkah box; finding a trombone while cleaning the bedroom leads them to marching in a musical parade. The structure reminded me of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series-- in the best of ways. Halbertstadt’s illustrations are exuberant and joyful. Leelee’s slightly rumpled hair gives off oodl...

Yossel's Journey by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Johnson Yazzie Charlesbridge, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Yossel's family leaves Tsarist Russia because of anti-Jewish violence, traveling to the fictional Two Red Hills Navajo reservation in New Mexico where Uncle Izzy has left them a trading post. Shy and feeling displaced, it takes a while for Yossel to warm up to his new home. When he meets Thomas, a Navajo boy his age, he comes out of his shell and the two become friends. Yossel finally feels at home when he tells a chicken joke that had been a hit with his friend Moishe back in Russia, and Thomas's family gets it. He's especially pleased that his joke caused Thomas's baby brother's first laugh, a significant event in Navajo culture. Johnson Yazzie's stylized acrylic paintings, with their earth tones and wide open skies, make every setting (from Russia to New York to New Mexico) evoke a southwestern flavor....

Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson, illustrated by Ariel Landy Charlesbridge, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org In Brand-New Bubbe , a non-Jewish youngster's mother remarries. Jillian appreciates her Jewish stepfather, but is skeptical--at first--of her new step-grandmother, called by the traditional Eastern Yiddish moniker, "Bubbe." With an orange Jewfro and offers of matzah ball soup and exuberant affection, Bubbe is just too intense for Jillian's taste. Plus, she already has two grandmothers! Jillian stages a protest, refusing the generous gifts and attentions of Bubbe. Mom reminds her child that "Family is more than blood," and tells Jillian to be more welcoming of Bubbe. On Bubbe's next visit, she asks for Jillian's help to make matzah ball soup. As she explains the correct technique for fluffy matzah balls, Bubbe tells Jillian that her own bubbes taught her to make matzah ball soup. After Jillian tastes t...

Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Kris Easler Charlesbridge Publishing, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Linda Elovitz Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org In this charmingly old-fashioned Hanukkah story, the Menashe family is accustomed to celebrating the holiday with potatoes for making latkes and apples for making applesauce. But this year, that’s impossible. An early winter snowstorm has buried the still-in-the-ground potatoes under mounds of snow. That same storm also prevents the family from gathering still-on-the-tree apples. Everyone is hungry! Worse, two strays - a hungry cat and a hungry dog come in search of food and shelter. There’s no food for anyone. Nevertheless, the Menashe family – sharing Talmudic-sounding wisdom – helps the animals. After all, the dog and cat are God’s creatures. Yet, still, it snows.  Finally, on the last night of Hanukkah, the sky clears, the snow stops, and everyone goes outside. The dog digs in the snow…a...

The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom by Michal Babay, illustrated by Paula Cohen Charlesbridge, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shirley Reva Vernick Buy at Bookshop.org The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom is a hilarious contemporary retelling of the Yiddish folktale popularized by Margot Zemach’s 1977 book, It Could Always Be Worse . In Babay’s story, the students at Parley Elementary tell their principal, Mrs. Mensch, that the cafeteria is too noisy and crowded. Mrs. M. responds by moving more and more things into the lunchroom – things like science projects, classroom pets, and school sports teams. When the situation reaches peak chaos, the principal finally returns the cafeteria to its original state. The students are now thrilled with their suddenly roomy and quiet lunchroom. The end note summarizes the original Yiddish folktale and explains the story's importance to the author. The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom is a warm, smart, and funny demonstration of the importance...

The Golden Dreidel by Ellen Kushner, illustrated by Kevin Keele Charlesbridge Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org The Golden Dreidel , by fantasy author Ellen Kushner, is a re-issue of the 2007 book The Golden Dreydl , itself a novelization of the 2002 recording, stage show, and concert, of the same name by Kushner and the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra. Billed as “A Klezmer Nutcracker for Chanukah,” the recording, like the book, is a charming mash-up of the famous Tchaikovsky ballet with klezmer music and Jewish folklore.    The Golden Dreidel follows the plot of "The Nutcracker," with a dreidel that comes to life. The narrative begins when Sara, envious of her non-Jewish friends during the winter holiday season, reluctantly goes to her extended family’s annual Chanukah party. While Sara is playing a game of dreidel with her cousins, the mysterious Tante Miriam arrives at the party bringing gifts for all the children. At midnight, Sara’s gift...

Baby Loves Angular Momentum on Hanukkah! by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan Charlesbridge Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sarah Aronson   Buy at Bookshop.org   As a brand new bubbe, I am always on the hunt for great board books that are fun to read and capture the kids' imagination, and no one is better at creating these books than the team of Ruth Spiro and Irene Chan.    Angular Momentum is many things: It’s an introduction to the meaning of Hanukkah. It’s an introduction to the game of dreidel. AND it’s a discussion about physics, gravity, and angular momentum. Spoiler: I learned something!   Spiro’s prose are simple, fun, and respectful—and scientifically accurate. No misinformation here! Chan’s illustrations bring the text to life. They are delightful—colorful and engaging--perfect for young eyes.    A special surprise: at the end of the book, Spiro includes a nod to diversity and inclusion (and other titles): not all Baby’s f...

Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal Category: Picture Book Reviewer: Anna Caplan In Lesléa Newman’s gentle picture book Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, the Passover seder is rich with sensory experience. It’s also a little bit magical. Using simple, lyrical prose, Newman takes readers on a journey through two separate worlds: a boy experiences the seder indoors while a stray kitten wanders outside. Although the boy and the kitten occupy different spaces, their experiences echo one another: Inside, the boy dipped parsley into salt water. Outside, the kitten chewed A wet blade of grass. Inside, the boy broke the middle matzo in half. outside, the kitten split a twig in two. This soothing pattern of phrases beginning with “inside” and “outside” continues throughout the book. The repetition propels readers forward towards the inevitable meeting between boy and kitten. When they eventually meet...