The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

White Bird: A Novel by R.J. Palacio with Erica Perl, illustrated by R.J. Palacio Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules   Buy at Bookshop.org Some readers prefer prose. For this reason, R.J Palacio’s editor suggested a novelization of Palacio’s acclaimed graphic novel, White Bird. Palacio agreed but felt that the story needed new energy for a new approach. Co-author Erica Perl has done an excellent job of offering readers an opportunity to experience this compelling story in prose format.  The novel begins with Julian from Palacio’s book, Wonder , FaceTiming his grandmother in Paris to gather information for a school project. In a refreshing change, technology connects rather than separates the generations, allowing Julian to learn Grandmére’s painful past.  Grandmére begins her story in the 1930’s when she was known as Sara Blum. Adored by two loving parents, Sara acknowledges th...

Berliners by Vesper Stamper Knopf (imprint of Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder   Buy at Bookshop.org In WWII Berlin, fifteen-year-old Rudolf is given the Hitler Jugend uniform and told to be on the lookout for Jews in critically-acclaimed author-illustrator Vesper Stamper’s latest novel Berliners . Rudolf doesn’t give it much thought until he discovers his crush is Jewish and turns her in. Later when Rudolf meets scared teen Ilse, he realizes he must do what he can to save her. She will be his redemption. When unfaithful Ilse discovers she is pregnant, they reluctantly decide to wed. This page-turning story fast-forwards the reader to 1961 when twins Rudi and Peter are fifteen and follow the mantra "twins against the world." Peter is a creative thinker, popular and smart. Rudi is jealous of his twin and believes in the words of the socialist party. When the parents split up, Rudolph escapes to West Berlin just before the Berlin Wall is bui...

This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke A Borzoi Book/Alfred A. Knopf (imprint of Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner Buy at Bookshop.org Living with her Tante Ilona, a Holocaust survivor, in post-WWII Budapest, Hungary, Csilla Tisza’s life rests on the edge of a knife, cutting between the truths and lies about her parents’ deaths and the false exoneration for their crimes. Csilla must decide if she will stay in Hungary and fight or flee to safety. Constantly under surveillance by the ÁVH, the State Protection Authority, Csilla knows you can be “disappeared” for a range of suspicions. While being followed one morning, she finds safety in Azriel, a suspiciously friendly stranger who doesn’t quite sound like a Hungarian. Meeting Azriel is not by chance; however, because he is bound to Csilla and her friends as they light the flames of revolution. Several literary attributes stand out in This Rebel Heart . The Duna River is a magical protector of Csilla, calling...

Blips on a Screen: How Ralph Baer Invented TV Video Gaming and Launched a Worldwide Obsession by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Zachariah Ohora Alfred A. Knopf (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org “Rudolph ‘Rolf’ Baer loved games.” That is the beginning and the essence of the story of the life Ralph Baer, the inventor of the first video gaming system. He and his sister Ilse had enjoyed a typical childhood in Cologne, Germany, of friends, school, and games. Then when Baer was 10 years old, Hitler came to power and everything changed. He and his family managed to escape Germany weeks before the borders closed, eventually arriving in America, changing the children’s names to the less German sounding Ralph and Jane.  There Ralph began working in various industries, from a leather factory to radio repair to designing televisions to military electronics. All this job experience combined to give him the knowledge to do what...

    Tía Fortuna's New Home by Ruth Behar, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth Alfred A. Knopf, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shirley Reva Vernick   Buy at Bookshop.org   In Miami, Estrella loves to visit her elderly aunt, Tía Fortuna, and explore their shared heritage as Sephardic Jews. Fortuna had fled her home in Havana during the Cuban Revolution, bringing only a mezuzah, her memories, and the key to her Cuban home. Now Fortuna has to move again – into an assisted living facility – because her beloved Miami apartment building is slated for demolition. On moving day, Estrella is surprised that her aunt seems happy instead of sad or frightened. Over the course of the day, though, Fortuna shares her optimism, the stories from her colorful life, and the history of their ancestors. Estrella learns that goodbyes lead to new beginnings, and that changes can be weathered if you hold onto family memories, traditions, and a spirit of hopefulness.    The narr...

  The Way Back by Gavriel Savit Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Beth Gallego   Buy at Bookshop.org Yehuda Leib and Bluma have lived all their lives in the tiny shtetl of Tupik, somewhere in the woods of eastern Europe. Bluma’s father is a baker, and their home is warm and bright. Yehuda Leib scarcely remembers his father, though all the neighbors shake their heads and sigh when they speak of him. Right now, all anyone can talk about is the Rebbe of Zubinsk, who is about to preside over the wedding of his fifth granddaughter. It is to be a grand celebration, and the invitation is open to anyone who wishes to come. This interests not only the people of the surrounding villages, but also the creatures who make their home in the Far Country, where time and space are different from the human world. The Far Country is the home of angels and demons, beings like Lilith, Lord Mammon, and the Dark Messenger, who take this rare opportunity of an open invitation to cross into the land o...