The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Hanukkah Upside Down by Elissa Brent Weissman, illustrated by Omer Hoffmann Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky   Buy at Bookshop.org From their homes in New York and New Zealand, cousins Noah and Nora celebrate Hanukkah. But which one's got it right side up, and which upside down? They have an eight-night competition to decide which side of the world celebrates it best. Is Hanukkah better in New York’s winter or New Zealand’s summer? Does it go best with snowballs or surfboards? As the competition goes on, readers get to see how each cousin celebrates the holiday differently, and also what they have in common. While they each do things differently from different sides of the world, they BOTH light the chanukiah, spin a sivivon, and enjoy latkes and sufganiot. The story is upbeat and cheerful throughout, with the competition never getting anything beyond friendly. The arc of the story—one new activity of difference, and one in comm...

Hidden Hope: How A Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Amy June Bates Harry N. Abrams (imprint of Abrams Books), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org   Hidden Hope: How A Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust tells the story of the brave Jewish teenager, Judith Geller, who posed as a Christian social worker in France. Using false papers as “Jacqueline Guither”, she was able to save many people by giving them forged papers made in secret workshops. One of the ways was through a simple toy: a wooden duck. When stopped by the Nazis, who would suspect a social worker visiting her “assigned” families with a toy? As part of the French Resistance, Jacqueline and others were able to save thousands of those in need of escape from the horrors going on, many of whom were in hiding. Though the book covers a difficult topic, it never becomes too dark for young readers. Elissa Boxer’s text is simple b...

Fighting for Yes! The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler, illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger Abrams, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sarah Aronson Buy at Bookshop.org Who likes to hear no? Nobody, that’s who. And luckily for our country, Judith Heumann didn’t stop when all she heard was no. Because of her and many others, people with disabilities finally got the yes they deserved—the yes of equal rights. Since I’m a former physical therapist with a firsthand look at how people with disabilities are treated, I was already a fan of Judith Heumann, and I couldn’t wait to read Maryann Cocca-Leffler’s FIGHTING FOR YES, THE STORY OF DISABILITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST JUDITH HEUMANN, illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger. Judith’s is a story of activism. It’s a story about learning. It’s a story about the determination that people like Judith needed to fight for equality—and get it. The text begins with Judith’s Jewish upbringing and the early obstacles sh...

Bubbie & Rivka's Best-Ever Challah (So Far!) written and illustrated by Sarah Lynne Reul Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org Anyone who has ever attempted to bake home-made challah and received undesirable results, will appreciate and relate to author / illustrator Sarah Lynne Reul’s latest title, Bubbie & Rivka’s Best-Ever Challah (So Far!) . Bubbie is “not the cooking kind of Bubbie . . . she’s more of a get-takeout-or-microwave-something kind of Bubbie” but she and her granddaughter Rivka join forces to establish a “new tradition to make challah every Friday.” The humorous, expressive illustrations are warm with a traditional feel to them, striking a complimentary balance to Rivka’s modern Bubbie. Readers will root for them to succeed, especially as they demonstrate a "growth mindset" and transform into superheroes determined to make the perfect challah. A detailed challah...

Measuring a Year: A Rosh Hashanah Story by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Zara Gonz á lez Hoang Abrams Appleseed (imprint of Abrams Books), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer   Buy at Bookshop.org The concept of measuring a year by what you’ve achieved, rather than the time spent, is not a new one (think “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent, for starters). But writer Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrator Zara González Hoang bring it down to a child-appropriate level, with, for example, illustrations of a parent measuring a child on a growth chart and a kid learning to ride a bike. While the subtitle and endpapers reference Rosh Hashanah, the holiday of Rosh Hashanah itself doesn’t make a reappearance until the end of the book. There are, however, other references to Jewish holidays and Jewish family life throughout the illustrations. I appreciated the subtle yet timeless references to the pandemic: a child getting a shot is described as “supe...

The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner by Marissa Moss Harry N. Abrams, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy at Bookshop.org The Woman Who Split the Atom is an inspiring story of a woman determined to study science in spite of the challenges she faced. Author Marissa Moss takes us through Lise's life from living at home with her family to traveling to Berlin to work with some of the greatest physicists of all time. Though she was a demure, small young woman and intimidated at first, she persisted. Meitner met important professors and scientists, who would be her friends and supporters: Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Heinrich Rubens, and Niels Bohr. She also worked with her nephew Otto Frisch and the man who became her life-long scientific partner, Otto Hahn. She published articles about her scientific findings under the name L. Meitner, so no one would know that these articles were written by a woman. This is an important book, bringing Meitn...

 The People's Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Evan Turk Harry N. Abrams Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Eva Weiss Buy at Bookshop.org The People’s Painter is a picture book that steeps young readers in life and times of the iconic American Jewish artist Ben Shahn. Each artful and commanding spread by illustrator Evan Turk re-creates the landscape of the American-Jewish immigrant experience of the turn of the twentieth century. At the heart of the story is Ben Shahn’s coming of age and the passion for justice which shaped his career as an artist. Cynthia Levinson’s narrative gives center stage to the artist’s purposefulness (“What shall I paint? Stories”) and his commitment to righting wrongs (“I hate injustice.”) The large-size format and illustrations have the look of a picture book for young readers, but the reading level is clearly more suited for middle-school readers. There are moments when the text matches the quir...

  Happy Llamakkah! by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Lydia Nichols Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Kamin Buy at Bookshop.org Llamas started showing up on goofy Hanukkah sweaters, t-shirts, greeting cards, wrapping paper and more since as early as 2016 so it was only a matter of time before someone turned the catch phrase "Happy Llamakkah!” into a children’s book. With a simple rhyming text, a family of llamas and their friends light the menorah, spin the dreidel, fry latkes, sing songs, and eat donuts and chocolate gelt. Adorable, bright, festive illustrations depicting a multi-generational llama family add to the fun and a rather comprehensive author’s note adds value to this quirky, gimmicky addition to the “animals celebrating Hanukkah” canon that began in 1988 with Jane Breskin Zalben’s bears ( Beni's First Chanukah ), rabbits ( Hanukkah Delight! by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Amy Husband, and Hoppy Hanukkah! by Linda Glaser, illustrated by Daniel Howarth), gorill...

Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin, The Story of Young Itzhak Perlman by Tracy Newman, illustrated by Abigail Halpin Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Kathy Bloomfield Itzhak Perlman is considered by many to be the greatest violinist in the world today. Itzhak: a Boy Who Loved the Violin , is the story of how he grew up, starting with his birth in Tel Aviv, Israel and moving through his life until his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show at the age of thirteen. The details of his life are well laid out. He was surrounded by music – classical, cantorial, klezmer filled his home from an early age. He is synesthetic, meaning he sees music as a rainbow of colors. By the time he was three years old, he knew he wanted to play the violin. Unfortunately, his parents could not afford that, and the toy one they were able to provide did not appease Itzhak’s desire. Even more unfortunately, at the age of four, Itzhak contracted a life-threatening case of polio. He survived and worked hard...