The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Walking West by Tovah S. Yavin Menucha Publishers, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at MenuchaPublishers.com Life in 1880s Oklahoma Territory isn't easy, particularly if you are a Jewish peddler intent on keeping kosher and observing Shabbat. David Kamen and his Uncle Simon travel with their donkey Star throughout the territory, bringing needed items to farmers, ranchers, soldiers, and Indians, while encountering storms, stampedes, and even rattlesnakes along the way. An adventure story to enjoy, the details about the roughness of life and the challenges of battling ever changing weather, really draw the reader in. David is resourceful, levelheaded, and accepting of everyone he encounters, including the original Cherokee and Cheyenne residents of the land now being “settled.” And in return, these “egg eaters” as the Jewish peddlers are known, are equally accepted. David dreams of becoming a writer, and as he progresses in age from 12 to 17, he moves from ke...

The Things We Miss by Leah Stecher Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Seventh grade is NOT a good time for J.P. (Joan Phyllis). Her father has recently died, her beloved grandfather, Pop Pop, has a recurrence of cancer, and mean girl Miranda is determined to body shame her at school whenever the chance arises, be it in PE, the cafeteria, and even at the mall. Only her best friend Kevin, with whom she shares a passion for the sci-fi comic book and tv show “Admiral K” can bring her some semblance of happiness, especially when planning for the opening of an “Admiral K” movie. In an attempt at an escape from her unhappiness, J.P. climbs up to a neighbor’s old treehouse and discovers a secret: it is a portal through time, roughly allowing her to “skip” 3 days. Her body is present but her memories of those days are gone! What a perfect way to get through the school year! Or is it? Sure, the tedium and torture are avoided...

The Light Keeper by Karen Levine and Sheila Baslaw, illustrated by Alice Priestly Second Story Press, 2024 Category: Picture Books  Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Shmuel’s family is poor and work is hard to find in their shtetl. Mama frets about feeding her six children and Papa searches for work to earn a few kopecks. Shmuel wishes he could help and is willing to do anything – except patching holes in the roof, as he is afraid of heights. It is into this setting that a cart arrives one day, with news that the men are there to bring electricity to the shtetl! Shmuel watches every moment he can, until the day the lights are turned on. Upon packing up, one of the workers shows Shmuel the boxes being left for repairs. One day the mayor appears at the door, pleading with Shmuel to repair the lights from recent storm damage. It is time to face his fear of heights. Hand over hand, Shmuel climbs to the top of a light pole and does what is needed. Thanks roll in, with gifts ...

Uprising by Jennifer A. Nielsen Scholastic Press (imprint of Scholastic, Inc), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Based on the life of Lidia Durr Zakrzewski, this is a fictionalized account of Poland under the Nazi occupation, as experienced by Lidia and her well-to-do family in Warsaw. They are not Jewish but seem to have good relationships with the Jews around them, including employing Doda as a housekeeper. Lidia is a headstrong, confident pre-teen as the book begins, talented at the piano, but the object of her mother's constant criticism, unlike her older brother, Ryszard and the memory of a long dead sister, Krystina. With Germany's invasion, life changes suddenly. Papa joins the army and is not seen again. With the months and years of war and its deprivations, Lidia grows to be an independent and resourceful young woman, determined to get an education, help others, and join the Resistance. When Doda and her mother, Bubbe are forced ...

Becca and Benj (Becca the Brave, Book 1) by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Amy Jindra Reycraft Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org The first book of a new series for newly independent readers, Benj tells of life’s little events alongside his pal Becca. Among the highlights is celebrating Shabbat nearly every week with Becca and her family, and battling classmate “Warren the Worst.” Benj is short, chubby, and appears to be African American; taller Becca is white, Jewish, and brave “like a Maccabee”. These friends support and celebrate each other in a very genuine 1st-3rd grader way. Yiddish is sprinkled throughout as are some excellent vocabulary building words, each with definition and pronunciation worked smoothly into the text. An incident with a mildly antisemitic tone (Warren calls Shabbat “Shabbat-butt-butt”) is rectified with gentle guidance by a neighbor: “‘It’s good to invite your enemies for matzah ball soup,” Mrs. Lieberman said...

My Mezuzah written and illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (Behrman House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org A young rabbit jumps up and down in an effort to touch an interior mezuzah in this board book. After several not-quite-high-enough attempts, Mommy comes to save the day by little up her little bunny, and the mezuzah is kissed at last. Uncluttered illustrations feature a palette of bright blue, yellow, and orange. An afterword depicts several designs of mezuzot and a brief explanation of what one is and how it marks a Jewish space. This is clearly a book for a Jewish audience, as a knowledge of why a child would want to kiss a mezuzah is needed; there is nothing in the text or endnote to explain why this is done. The persistence shown is fairly brief and there is no problem-solving included before the mother steps in to assist. This book has a very limited text and the majority of the explicit Jewish content is in the e...

Run and Hide: How Jewish Youth Escaped the Holocaust written and illustrated by Don Brown Clarion Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Employing his signature angular, thin-line style and a subdued palette of grays and browns with effective pops of red, orange, and yellow, Don Brown presents the rise of the Nazis and the devastation they brought to the world, succinctly and powerfully. Beginning with the end of WWI and the economic woes of post-war Germany, he traces Hitler’s rise to power with a rhetoric of blame that is eagerly accepted by Germans. Moving through restrictions on Jewish life and employment, Kristallnacht, and roundups of adults, Brown keeps his focus on the lives of children: those sent on Kindertransports; those who were hidden; and those who survived by their own wits. While concentration camps are mentioned, this is not a book about those children sent to the camps. The work of resistance groups...

Ben's Bonkers Bar Mitzvah by Ivor Baddiel, illustrated by Zoom Rockman Green Bean Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Ben Jacobs is worried about his upcoming bar mitzvah. He feels like he's not ready to be seen as an adult in the Jewish world, and he imagines all sorts of things that could go wrong on the big day. But never in his wildest dreams or worries did he think he'd need to save his bar mitzvah from an alien invasion! Weird things occur: the shul disappears and reappears, his family acts strangely, there is a green glow outside. Ben's family chalks up his alien story to pre-bar mitzvah jitters. Little do they know the danger they are all in, with an eventual world takeover being planned for Ben's bar mitzvah day, launching from his own shul. Only Grandpa believes him, and works with Ben to save the day and prove to Ben himself that he is ready to take on some more adult responsibilities. The relationship between ...