The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Lucky Penny by Aimee Lucido, illustrated by Jon Davis Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House Publishing), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org When Penny (the girl) picks up a face-down penny (the coin), her best friend warns her that she’s in for a run of bad luck. Penny doesn’t believe it. She’s done a lot to ensure that she has a lucky day—a day that will hopefully end with her being chosen to blow the shofar at her school’s Rosh Hashanah picnic. But a cascade of disasters seems to prove that Penny’s luck really has gone bad. Can she turn it around? Penny’s earnest efforts and inevitable mishaps are authentic and fun to read about. The charming illustrations complement the story perfectly, making this a delighful—and definitely Jewish—chapter book. This fun, fast-moving story incorporates a number of Rosh Hashanah traditions, from shofar to honey cake to Tashlich, with a light but meaningful touch.  Ed. note: This early chapter book w...

Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy Katherine Tegan Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org Two very different boys. One (literally) never-ending bar mitzvah weekend. Finn and Ezra seem to have nothing in common, except that both boys are inexplicably trapped in a time loop that has them living their bar mitzvah weekends over and over and over and… Ezra is the middle child in a large Orthodox family, feeling like an afterthought even at his own bar mitzvah. Finn is the suffocatingly adored only child of secular Jewish parents. Ezra is laid back, avoidant, and hasn’t done much to end his time loop… until he meets Finn, who is competitive, likes to be in charge, and is determined to get to the bottom of the problem. Even if some of Finn’s ideas for how to escape the time loop strike Ezra as a little dubious, it doesn’t really matter, does it? No matter what they do, time will always re-set. Or will it...

Doña Gracia Saved Worlds by Bonni Goldberg, illustrated by Alida Massari Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sydney Taylor Shmooze Editors   Buy at Bookshop.org Doña Gracia Nasi, born Beatriz de Luna, was a 16th century crypto Jew from Portugal, famous for working valiantly to save many of her co-religionists. Her history is complicated and many facts are in dispute. To simplify the story for a picture book audience, the author sometimes chooses one historical opinion over another or glosses over details. It is difficult to compress Dona Gracia's adventurous life into this format and difficult to determine the accuracy of this brief portrayal. However, the book succeeds in conveying the general outlines of Dona Gracia's life and the impressiveness of her accomplishments. The illustrations are sumptuous, with their rich colors and intricate patterns. Dona Gracia is an important historical figure and an inspiring woman,...

Hidden Junior Fun-to-Read Adventures series by Rivkah Yudasin, illustrated by Jacky Yarhi Hachai Publishing, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Hachai.com Hidden is an early reader adventure story based on a true historical event. The book relates the struggles of Rav Yitzchak Zilber, a labor camp in Stalin’s USSR. His determination to keep Shabbos in the camp led to a series of trials and adventures that Yudasin deftly turns into an age-appropriate page turner. Yahri’s wonderfully-drawn illustrations work well with the text to tell the story and hold the reader’s interest. The book focuses on the immediate dangers to Rav Zilber, and includes only the historical background that is necessary to tell the story. This book should be a strong contender for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. It is an age-appropriate, fast-moving chapter book that reflects both an important part of Jewish history and a commitment to keeping Jewish tradition. Are you interested in reviewing ...

The Porridge-Pot Goblin by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Hector Borlasca Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org The Porridge-Pot Goblin is a charming picture book in which an invisible goblin disrupts the Shabbat preparations of two village children. After several mishaps and some chaos, the children outsmart the goblin and save the Shabbat meal (and their mother’s nap). The story focuses on Shabbat preparations, and the chaos of the goblin’s mischief is contrasted to the peace and happiness of the Friday night meal, in a way that makes the atmosphere of Shabbat feel almost tangible. The well-written text and delightful illustrations work together to bring this fun, humorous story to life. It should be a strong contender for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Illustration Editor  Dena Bach  adds: The illustrator sets the story in a shtetl-like village with lively, off-kilter images reminisc...

Ripped Away by Shirley Reva Vernick Regal House, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org It's just an ordinary day for Abe Pearlman: he's leaving school, head down, "not exactly frowning but not looking delirious with life either." He's braced for his usual daily routine, the highlight of which is being ignored by his crush. Then, on a whim, he steps into a fortune teller's shop... and next thing he knows, he is waking up in the body of a Jewish boy in Victorian London, where Jack the Ripper's victims are being left in the streets. Thanks to the fortune teller's cryptic warning, Abe knows he has been sent to the past to save someone's life. But is it the life of one of the Ripper's victim? Or is it someone closer to home... like his neighbor, who has been arrested because of the public suspicion that Jack the Ripper is likely a Jewish shochet (ritual slaughterer)? Abe's engaging voice, and the author's deft...

Aviva vs. the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe Levine Querido, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org Aviva lives with her mother in the apartment above the town’s mikvah (ritual bath). Aviva’s mother never leaves the apartment, and Aviva herself leaves only to go to school, where she has no friends but is at least good at sports. At home, she does her best to care for her mother, who has sunken deeply into depression since her father died. On top of all that, she has to deal with an exasperating dybbuk – a sometimes friendly, sometimes vengeful spirit who delights in wreaking havoc upon Aviva’s careful, quiet life. When rivalries at school begin to spiral out of control, and vandalism of the synagogue fills the Jewish community with fear, Aviva may be the only one who can make things right. But first she will have to face some hard truths about her present, her past, and what the dybbuk really wants. Aviva vs. the Dybbuk is a gem of a middle grade book. The fully fl...

Shield of the Maccabees: A Hanukkah Graphic Novel by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Dov Smiley Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House)   Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org "All history books," Dara Horn has written, "fact or fiction, are really about the times in which they are written, not about the times they supposedly describe." This is particularly true when it comes to historical fiction, and it's very true about Shield of the Maccabees, Eric Kimmel and Dov Smiley's graphic novel about a friendship between a Greek boy and a Jewish boy that is fractured by the conflict between the Greeks and the Jewish Maccabees.   Kimmel uses this framework to tell a story about friendship transcending differences -- a story that should appeal greatly to its intended modern-day audience, although the main message might have made little sense to its historical characters.   Its main poin...

She Persisted: Clara Lemlich by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint Philomel (imprint of Penguin Random House) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org She Persisted: Clara Lemlich is the latest entry in "She Persisted," a series of chapter books about women in history who made a difference. This book focuses on Clara Lemlich, a Jewish woman born in a small village in the Ukraine. After her family fled to the United States, poverty forced Clara to give up her dream of becoming a doctor in order to work in a clothing factory. However, the now-notorious conditions for workers in such factories -- especially female workers -- led Clara to become involved in union activities, including taking a key role in the largest strike of women in the history of the US.    This is an interesting, well-written book that is ideally suited for a younger middle grade audience. Difficult subjects, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist...

The Seventh Handmaiden by Judith Pransky Green Bean Books Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org The Seventh Handmaiden by Judith Pransky is a middle grade work of historical fiction. Set in the Persian Empire, the book follows a young slave girl, Darya, with a mysterious past. Eventually Darya is assigned to the royal palace, where she becomes embroiled in the intrigue surrounding the king's search for a new queen... and, eventually, in that queen's confrontation with the king's minister, Haman. This unique and fascinating book blends Darya's life with the Purim story. The connection between the two does not become clear until the middle of the book, but the characterization of Darya and the whirlwind ups and downs of her life make compelling reading even without the Purim tie-in. Historical details about the Persian Empire are woven into the highly readable story. An afterword helps separate facts from fiction, and also explains some of the...

Shimmy Shambone Will Not Share His Toys by Yael Zoldan, illustrated by Robert Salanitro Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Feldheim Shimmy Shambone Will Not Share His Toys is the third in a series of picture books about Shimmy. This book stands alone. In it, Shimmy won't share his toys with anyone, and ends up with a heap of toys but no friends to play with. With the help of a kind adult, Shimmy comes to realize both that sharing is the right thing to do, and that it ends up being a lot more fun for him. This is a fun, child-friendly book. Shimmy is marvelously drawn, through both text and illustrations, as a character most children will easily identify with. The easy, playful rhyme is a great counterweight to the moral of the story. The characters in the book are clearly Orthodox, but the book is easily relatable to all children. Sharing is described as a "mitzvah," and God is referred to as "Hashem." The thrust of the message is the importan...