The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

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...

A Place to Belong: Debbie Friedman Sings Her Way Home by Deborah Lakritz, illustrated by Julia Castano Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder Buy at Bookshop.org Author Deborah Lakritz brings the young reader into the warm Jewish life of singer/songwriter Debbie Friedman, who uplifted Jewish synagogues around the world with her music.   Little Debbie Friedman’s Jewish life in Utica, New York is full. Her singing is sweet, and her comical expressions bring laughter to her entire family. Debbie is where she belongs. When her parents move her to Minnesota she thinks St. Paul is lonely. No laughing with aunts, uncles, and cousins. No lighting candles with Bubbe. Debbie wonders, Will I ever belong? There is a feeling of inclusion for the reader when Debbie sings with campers around the campfire. Her voice rises with the campers and counselors. The songs aren’t Jewish, but they feel like prayers. Her voice soars with...