The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

 The Singer and the Scientist by Lisa Rose, illustrated by Isabel Muñoz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton Buy at Bookshop.org In this picture book, almost all the action takes place on one evening in 1937—an evening that speaks  volumes about the people involved and the times when they lived. African American singing icon Marian Anderson performed that night before an all-white audience at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. Young readers will get a sense of what that meant in 1937—for Ms. Anderson to see no one who looked like her in the audience, for the people who had just enthusiastically applauded her to ignore her after the show, and for her to be denied access to a hotel room because of the color of her skin. Enter the famous Jewish physicist Albert Einstein, on the surface so different—his wild hair and wrinkled clothing contrasting with Ms. Anderson’s impeccable outfit ...

A Zombie Vacation by Lisa Rose, illustrated by Ángeles Ruiz Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz Buy at Bookshop.org Everyone needs a break from their daily routine now and then, especially when you are not yourself. That’s why you might go on a vacation. But sometimes it is hard to know where to go to rejuvenate yourself. In A Zombie Vacation by Lisa Rose, the undead Israeli narrator takes readers on a tour throughout Israel to find the perfect place to relax. The zombie visits tourist destinations in Israel such as the Sea of Galilee, the Israel Museum and Luna Park in Tel Aviv. But they are all too beautiful or joyful for the Zombie to relax. Then, the undead traveler sees an advertisement for the Dead Sea in a tourist magazine, and eureka, the perfect vacation destination has been found. Upon arriving at the Dead Sea, the zombie delights in the decay of his temporary dwelling when he describes, “The hotel was crumbling into a sinkhole. Roaches roamed the lobby. My bed was...