The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Dandelion Snow by Rinat Primo, illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom, translated by June Amikam Green Bean Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shirley Reva Vernick Buy at Bookshop.org This Israeli author/illustrator team brings a life-affirming story about a kindergarten class in an Israeli town. Every Friday, the teachers take the children to play in nearby verdant fields bursting with wildflowers. The children’s favorite blossoms are the dandelions because of their bright yellow color and their white seed heads that flutter like snow when blown on. One day, though, the children learn that the fields will be closed off for the construction of new homes; quickly, the fields start getting dug up. The youngsters worry about what will become of their beloved dandelions. In a stroke of compassionate genius, they decide to gather some of the remaining dandelions and blow their seeds all along their walk back to school. The children know that next year, there will be flowers all over the ...

 Nathan's Song by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom Dial Books for Young Readers (imprint of Penguin Young Readers) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Nathan’s Song is a charming, well-told tale about creative drive, family love, immigrant pluck, and the benevolence of good luck. Growing up in a Russian shtetl, Nathan loves to sing, and longs to study opera. His family scrimps and saves, and when Nathan is sixteen, they send him to Italy to pursue his ambition, vowing to join him when he’s famous. When Nathan accidentally boards a ship bound for New York, it seems that all is lost. But Nathan sings on the boat to earn his passage, sings on the streets to make a start in New York, where he finds a music teacher, a singing career and a wife. His dreams are not complete, however, until he is able to send for his family and greet them on Ellis Island with a celebration of song. Maya Ish-Shalom’s folkloric illustrations are blocky and brig...