The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Every Wrinkle Has a Story by David Grossman, illustrated by Ninamasina, translated by Jessica Cohen Groundwood Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock Buy at Bookshop.org Every Wrinkle Has a Story opens with a startling question from a curious grandson to his grandfather. The grandson—Yotam—is asking about the wrinkles on Grandpa Amnom's face. How did he get them? How do they feel? The story is essentially a long conversation between grandfather and grandson that takes place at Aviva's Cafe, where they are affectionately known as "the grandpa who laughs and the boy who draws." Grandpa explains that some of his wrinkles come from getting older and others from both happy and sad things he's lived through. Yotam listens, thinks, and then views the other people around him through that lens. Finally, he expresses his feelings and discoveries though his colorful, joyous art. Grossman's minimalism and word choice are appropriate for his intended ...

Afikomen by Tziporah Cohen, illustrated by Yaara Eshet Groundwood Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org As author Tziporah Cohen writes in the back matter of this wordless picture book, when each Jew celebrates the Passover seder, they should see themselves “as if we, not just our ancestors, were the ones to escape Egypt.” In this graphic novel for the youngest readers, Cohen and illustrator Yaarah Eshet guide the reader into the Passover story, along with the three young children and their dog, on a time traveling voyage to help bring baby Moses safely down the Nile to Pharoah’s daughter. The children begin their illustrated adventure at a multi-ethnic intergenerational seder as they follow their tradition of stealing the afikomen, the last bit of matzah eaten at the seder meal, from the leader of the seder. When the dog steals the afikomen from the children and dives underneath the expansive blue tablecloth, the children follow him. They soon fin...

The Prisoner and the Writer by Heather Camlot, illustrated by Sophie Casson Groundwood Books, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Emily Roth Buy at Bookshop.org The Prisoner and the Writer recounts the famous Dreyfus Affair of late 19th century France, in which military officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of sharing confidential information with the Germans. After Dreyfus was sentenced to life in prison on an island, writer Emile Zola published a now-famous opinion piece in a French newspaper titled “J’Accuse…!” stating that Dreyfus' imprisonment was a blatant act of antisemitism. Although the two men never met, these events inextricably bind them together. The Prisoner and the Writer focuses more on the emotional journeys of Dreyfus and Zola, jumping right into the action of the story and weaving back and forth between their points of view to highlight the contrasts between their lives and their perspectives. Camlot's spare poetic verse does a remarkable job of gett...

A Boy Is Not a Ghost by Edeet Ravel Groundwood Books Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus   Buy at Bookshop.org A Boy is Not a Ghost is an incredible story. Written by Edeet Ravel as a sequel to A Boy is Not a Bird , it is the story of a young boy caught up in life during the Second World War in Russia. Readers will feel like they have stepped into the shoes of Natt Silver and really understand what it was like to live through this horrific experience. Natt is twelve years old as he rides with his mother and their neighbors in the cattle car of a train headed for Siberia. He describes in perfect detail the sounds, smells and crowded conditions on the train as they slowly travel across Russia for two long months. The food is scarce and the weather gets colder as they travel north. His father is in a Gulag or prison under extreme conditions. He and his mother do not know where they are going to end up or what life will be like there. Then his mother is falsely arrest...

  A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night is a story of friendship between Jewish and Muslim characters, so I thought it would be interesting to draw your attention to this review written from a Muslim point of view. It's by Sadaf Siddique at Lantern Reads, a website that focuses on South Asian and Muslim children's literature. Sadaf and I have worked together several times: first I interviewed her on The Book of Life podcast ; then we co-wrote an article for The Horn Book ; more recently we presented a workshop together for EMIERT on fighting antisemitism and Islamophobia through children's literature. To hear her perspective on A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night , please READ HER REVIEW HERE . -- Heidi Rabinowitz, co-admin, Sydney Taylor Shmooze

A Sweet Meeting on Mimouna Night by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Rotem Teplow Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sandy Wasserman Buy at Bookshop.org A lovely historical fiction picture book about a lesser known and more recent tradition to the cycle of Jewish holidays- mimouna, following the end of the Passover holiday, often celebrated in North African Jewish communities, particularly in Morocco. We meet Miriam and Jasmine, a Jewish girl and a Muslim girl and their relationship, though tentative at first, is quickly warm and friendly as they get to know each other, and as they bond over the necessary flour for making moufletas for mimouna. Even after Miriam and her family make aliyah, she thinks back to her Muslim friend back in Morocco. The illustrations are entrancing- both the scenes in Morocco and then in Jerusalem seem like familiar photos. The recipe for moufletas at the end is an usual addition to the typical Passover picture book. This is a Passover book with a twist! This...

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer   Buy at Bookshop.org No Vacancy is the story of eleven-year-old Miriam Brockman whose family moves to upstate New York to run a motel. Unfortunately, they learn pretty quickly that the previous owners had overvalued the hotel's income potential. The book is set against a backdrop of religious identity and acceptance. Miriam and her family are Jewish and have some religious practices, such as not eating pork and celebrating Shabbat with Friday night dinner, and her uncle who comes to visit is shomer shabbat . However, the area of New York they have moved to has seen few Jews. When Miriam and her new friend, Kate, find an image at the run-down drive in movie theater that looks like the Virgin Mary, the town is suddenly in the midst of miracle mania. When this leads to antisemitic vandalism on the hotel, the predominantly Christian town has to stand together with their new Jewish neighbors. I think this book s...