The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Violin of Hope by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Juliana Oakley Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Doreen Robinson Buy at Bookshop.org Violin of Hope tells the story of a Jewish family - Mama, Papa, and young children Itzik and Feiga. At night, Papa takes the violin, which hangs on a special hook, and plays beautiful music. Sometimes the music makes the children laugh and dance, sometimes the music makes them melancholy. When Itzik tries to play it, the sound is shrill, but Papa encourages him to practice. One night, before Shabbos, Papa plays and Mama sings along in Yiddish, but a pounding on the door interrupts the family’s joy. As the children hide behind Papa and Mama, a Nazi soldier snatches the violin. It’s tossed into a truck filled with pillaged items from Jewish homes. The violin is dumped into a damp cellar where it waits, in silence. Years pass, until one day, light pours into the cellar and a luthier retrieves the

Uri and the King of Darkness: A Hanukkah Story by Nati Bait, illustrated by Carmel Ben Ami Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountain Publishing), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Doreen Robinson Buy at Bookshop.org As siblings Uri and Shir await Dad's arrival on a dark winter’s night, Uri ponders why his father is late. Mom assures Uri that Dad will come and together they’ll light the first candle for Hanukkah. Looking out the window, Uri sees shadows and envisions an enemy army with spear and shield approaching, a parallel to the Hanukkah story of King Antiochus. The story continues with Uri worrying and wondering about his Dad, while the enemy king of darkness approaches. In a nod to Judah and the Maccabees, Uri finds the courage to be brave, and together with Shir, they proclaim that they’ll fight to fend off the darkness. And then, the door opens and…surprise! Spoiler alert: it’s Dad with a yummy, sweet jelly-filled treat! The story ends with the family celebrating Hanu

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

Like the Sea and the Sky: A Mysterious Mollusk and Its Magical Blue Ink by Jordan Namerow, illustrated by Michelle Simpson Brandylane Publishers, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Doreen Klein Robinson Buy at Bookshop.org We first meet Zinni while under the warmth and comfort of her mom’s tallit, with its dangling fringes that remind her of the arms of jellyfish. While her mom, a rabbi, offers a morning prayer of thanks, Zinni daydreams about the her favorite sea creatures – the mollusks that hide inside beautiful shells. When Zinni misses the school bus, we learn that she mixes up letters and numbers and is afraid to ask for help. Zinni’s mom shares that sometimes being a rabbi feels scary, too. This makes Zinni feel better, until she gets teased at recess for drawing sea creatures in her notebook. On the bus ride home, Zinni wishes she could be one of the sea creatures that squirts colorful clouds of ink to scare away its predators. At home, Zinni’s mom tells her about an ancien

Big Bad Wolf's Yom Kippur by David Sherrin, illustrated by Martin Morón Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books  Reviewer: Doreen Klein Robinson Buy at Bookshop.org Big Bad Wolf’s Yom Kippur is a delightful story that twists the conventional tale on its… tail! Author David Sherrin does a clever job mashing up two favorite fables: Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. The story takes place during Yom Kippur, but for Big Bad Wolf it’s just another day of being bad, until he accepts Raccoon’s invitation to go to synagogue. Rabbi’s hug and Cantor’s cheerful singing might just make a big bad wolf change his ways. But then he remembers that wolves don’t like hugs, or singing, or changing. Big Bad Wolves like being bad. His encounter with Little Red Riding Hood and her Granny has him almost apologizing, a sign that he is starting to change. As he heads home, he feels something warm in his heart. Then he sees the Three Little Pigs, but