The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

 The Donkey and the Garden by Devorah Busheri, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt Green Bean Books Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org This picture book biography of Rabbi Akiva is not a whole-life portrait; it does not follow Akiva from childhood to adolescence and adulthood until he becomes one of Judaism’s greatest scholars, sages, and tannaim. Slightly more tightly focused than Jacqueline Jules' Drop by Drop , it begins in his adulthood, when he is a forty year old, illiterate shepherd. Akiva’s wife, Rachel, is truly the heroine of this story, for she is the one who encourages Akiva to learn to read and write. Akiva wants to, he yearns to, but worries he will never fit in with the children and that people will laugh at him. Instead of pushing him, Rachel plants a garden on a donkey’s back and insists Akiva come to the market with her. The first day, people point at the donkey and laugh. The second day, people still point and laugh. But on the third...

The Abba Tree by Devora Busheri, illustrated by Gal Shkedi Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org The Abba Tree opens with a passage from the Babylonian Talmud, in which Honi sees a man planting a carob tree and asks him how long it will take for the tree to bear fruit. When he replies "seventy years," Honi asks if he will live seventy more years to eat this fruit. The man says, “I found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted trees for me, I too am planting for my descendants.” The story then begins with Hannah searching for a tree to climb. Her father, who is resting under a young carob tree, suggests she plant one, as it is soon to be Tu B’Shevat. But Hannah wants “to climb a tree now.” And so she goes searching for a tree to climb, trying unsuccessfully with three other types of trees. She returns to her father who then suggests she plant an Abba Tree, which she does by “planting” her father into the gr...

My Sister is Sleeping by Devora Busheri, illustrated by Michel Kichka Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Fern Richardson My Sister is Sleeping is a quick picture book tale of an older sister waiting for her younger sister to wake up from a nap. The older sister spends nap time describing the younger sister’s various characteristics and activities while she draws or paints portraits of her life with her sister. She anticipates holding her sister in her lap, feeding her oatmeal, and taking her for a walk in a stroller. While the story was originally published in Hebrew, it is not particularly Jewish or uniquely Israeli. The text on each page is simple, allowing the illustrations to really shine. The book’s artwork was created by Michel Kichka, a highly regarded Israeli cartoonist. Each scene is incredibly detailed and a charming combination of Kichka’s style as well as how he imagines a young child might draw. The last spread in the book is especially nice and depicts the moth...