The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

My Dreidel written and illustrated by Ann Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org My Dreidel by Ann Diament Koffsky is a very short board book for the youngest readers (ages 0-3). The length and wording are just right for this younger set. A puppy attempts to spin a dreidel but needs a parent’s help to succeed, and the power of persistence prevails. The sound effects “Plop!” will engage the young readers who will enjoy spinning and throwing themselves down on the floor along with the puppy narrator. The side note about the meaning of the letters on the dreidel could have benefitted from including the actual Hebrew phrase. The book is an authentic portrayal of Jewish life, not adhering to any particular stream, although Haredi or Black Hat readers will probably not appreciate dogs wearing kippot as the main characters. A charming and simple Hanukkah book for the tots in your life. Are you i...

First Fruits: A Shavuot Story written & illustrated by Amalia Hoffman PJ Publishing, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Quality books about Shavuot for young children are hard to find, but here’s a contender. This is a board book for the very very young–no older than 3. Sparse text explains that early Israelites gathered the “First Fruits” or “Bikurim” in baskets on Shavuot but does not explain why. A note at the end where provides a longer explanation for parents, that will not sustain a toddler’s attention span. The illustrations appears as though a young child has decorated the pages with cute little handprints and whimsical stick figures. Children will learn the names of the Seven Species and what they look like, although the term “Seven Species” is not used. There is also no mention of the Israelites receiving the Torah on Shavuot. Diversity takes front and center with this book, as the pictures of children depict all skin tones and abilities. Hoffman provid...

P is for Pastrami: The ABCs of Jewish Food written and illustrated by Alan Silberberg Penguin Random House, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org Food alphabet books for children have been trendy for some time, but now we can all celebrate Jewish heritage with P is For Pastrami: The ABCs of Jewish Food . Each page presents a Jewish food that begins with a letter from A to Z. Bright, humorous illustrations will appeal to young children, and the bubble captions help explain unfamiliar foods to newbies. The book bills itself as portraying foods all over the world (injera makes an appearance), but it does lean Ashkenaz. The main focus is Jewish food, but it would be relatable to non-Jewish readers and educational too. It’s cute and snappy and delightful–exactly what you’d want in a board book for the younger kinderlach. I even learned a thing or two. Are you interested in reviewing books for The Sydney Taylor Shmooze?  Click here! Reviewer Mirel...

Help-a-Lot Shabbat written and illustrated by Nancy Cote Kar-Ben Publishing, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org It’s a fairly common occurrence to find board books that are too advanced for actual babies. Either the text is too dense or the illustrations are too complicated. This is why Help-a-lot Shabbat is so delightful; it is the perfect read-aloud for children ages 0-3. There are charming, simple rhymes with charming, simple illustrations. Readers follow along as a pair of toddlers help their parents prepare for Shabbat–from shopping and cooking to cleaning and setting the table. Adorable animal friends make appearances on most pages, adding to the playful nature of the story. The friends and neighbors who come for Shabbat dinner are an especially diverse crew, including people who appear to be of African, Asian, and Indian descent. There even appears to be (possibly) a gay couple, which is a rare for Jewish picture books. So if you’re looking...

I Hate Borsch! written and illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org I Hate Borsch! by Yevgenia Nayberg is an intriguing mix of things: part- memoir, part tribute to her Ukrainian heritage, part amusing children’s book. In it, Nayberg laments growing up surrounded by borsch and being forced to eat the red stew with the “slippery, slimy tomato and the bushy green dill.” The author immigrated to America, where she drifted towards American foods such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the “mysterious” Pumpkin Spice latte. Yet, she feels that something is missing. That’s when she pulls out her grandmother’s borsch recipes and gets cooking, embracing the part of her heritage she had left behind. Nayberg wrote and illustrated this book, which features pictures that are vibrant and whimsical–playing up the color red whenever possible. The cartoon bubbles add to the engaging illustrations,...

Peek-A-Boo Passover  by Pamela Mayer, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Cateogry: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org Peek-A-Boo Passover by Pamela Meyer and illustrated by Viviana Garofoli is a very simple board book about Passover for the youngest readers. It introduces the holiday through the sights, sounds, and tastes that a young child experiences in his house. There are some Hebrew terms ("Haggadah"), but other holiday items ("parsley") are only mentioned in English. The peek-a-boo theme would have leant itself well to a lift-the-flap format, but in this case each item is hinted at before being fully revealed by a page turn. Garofoli’s illustrations will be familiar to PJ Library readers from the [Holiday] Is Coming series – complete with the bright colors and cheerful faces. This is a good option for 0-3 year olds to learn about the holiday. All the characters are white, ab...

  The Welcome Chair by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney Simon & Schuster Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org Many people are familiar with Rosemary Wells as a beloved writer and illustrator of the Max and Ruby picture books. The audience for her latest book, The Welcome Chair, is slightly older, anywhere from precocious 1st graders through 4th graders. The semi-autobiographical story follows a rocking chair throughout generations and owners. It starts with Wells’ Jewish great-great grandfather in Germany and leads up to the present day. Wells took poetic license to imagine where this special chair would have traveled after her family surrendered it. The theme of immigration has a strong and positive presence in this book, as the owners of the chair are all new immigrants, and all of them carve the word “welcome” into the back of the chair in their respective languages. The narrative moves forward briskly, without dwelling too long o...

I Am Hava: A Song's Story of Love, Hope & Joy by Freda Lewkowicz, illustrated by Siona Benjamin Intergalactic Afikomen Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org I Am Hava is an unusual and exceptional picture book that can be appreciated by all ages, from 5 year olds all the way up to adults. The story describes the origin of the song Hava Nagila. Voiced by the melody itself, we are taken on a journey from the niggun’s origins in Poland to its present form as the beloved, well-known song we recognize today. What you get is a poetic history lesson that contains rather sophisticated ideas (persecution, redemption, etc.), many of which will fly over the heads of younger readers but will resonate with older ones. Hebrew and Yiddish words are sprinkled throughout the book, although whether the author uses the word mitzvah correctly is up for debate. Hava narrates that: “I spread hope and joy even in times of trouble. That was my mitzvah.” The word mitz...

You're My Little Latke Written and illustrated by Natalie Marshall Silver Dolphin Books (imprint of Printers Row) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous   Buy at Bookshop.org You’re My Little Latke is a Chanukah board book appropriate for children ages 0-3. Each page has a pair of Chanukah-related objects (menorahs, dreidels, latkes, etc.) depicted as parent and child. The narrator of the story, presumably the parent, is professing his/her love for their kinderlach . Endearing, bright pictures of baby menorahs and baby latkes are a crowd-pleaser, and toddlers who know something about the holiday will be excited to see their favorite parts of the holiday come alive. Although the text is age-appropriate, it is pretty generic and lacks the creativity present in the illustrations. In this reviewer's opinion, the author missed the opportunity to incorporate Hebrew words (for example, jelly donut is used instead of sufganiya). Nevertheless, if you are looking for a cute gi...

 Sarah's Solo by Tracy Brown, illustrated by Paula Wegman Kalaniot Books Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org Sarah’s Solo by Tracy Brown definitely fills a niche in children’s publishing. It portrays the Jewish wedding ceremony and after-party through a child’s eyes. Sarah is upset that she cannot attend her ballet recital, which is scheduled for the exact same day as her cousin Lizzy’s wedding. In spite of her reluctance to attend, Sarah learns that Jewish wedding music can move her in much the same way that ballet music does. It has its own dance moves, which she learns quickly. Sarah begins to enjoy herself and even performs a “solo” on the dance floor. I think that Tracy Brown could have incorporated more of the Jewish wedding ceremony (she only mentions the circling of the groom and the breaking of the glass), although she does include a glossary of wedding terms at the end. Wegman’s illustrations are whimsical, full of movement and highly ap...

Matzah Craze  by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh, illustrated by Lauren Gallegos Kar-Ben Publishing (a division of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Buy at Bookshop.org Matzah Craze , by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh and illustrated by Lauren Gallegos, takes a novel spin on the holiday of Passover. It can be awkward to bring a “Pesadic” (kosher-for-passover) lunch to school when your classmates are not familiar with Passover and its dietary restrictions. What’s a public school kid to do? Why, share the story of Passover (and the matzah) with her friends, of course! And what a diverse array of friends Noa has! Gallegos has done an excellent job portraying children of different races and backgrounds, all of whom welcome a short lesson on Jewish history from their Jewish friend. This is all done in simple rhyme, and the ease of language combined with the bright, appealing illustrations by a true professional makes this an engaging read aloud for children ages 4-7. Bu...

Havdalah Is Coming by Tracy Newman, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Category: Picture Books (Board Book) Reviewer: Mirele Kessous Tracy Newman has a formula for her board books, and it works. Following on the success of Shabbat is Coming! she now has Havdalah is Coming! . Simple 2-line rhymes grace each page and conclude with the phrase “Havdalah is coming.” This is nothing exceptionally creative, but it works for little kids, who will memorize it quickly enough. The language is appropriate for the baby through age 4 audience. The illustrations by Viviana Garofoli are bright and engaging. She does include one token person of color in the end—kudos. If you want to play it safe, pick this up for your little tyke. It won’t rock the boat. Are you interested in reviewing books for The Sydney Taylor Shmooze? Click here! Reviewer Mirele says: I am a certified librarian with a specialty in children's and young adult library services. This is my 7th year working at The Ch...

Shalmon Bayit: A Peaceful Home by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Ag Jatkowska Category: Picture Books (Board Book) Reviewer: Mirele Kessous This board book introduces the term "shalom bayit" by comparing the different places in which animals make their homes. It's a charming approach to teaching the concept and sure to appeal to toddlers and early preschoolers. With short and simple rhymes and age-appropriate language, this board book makes for a solid read-aloud. For some reason, a couple of the rhymes fall flat (i.e."leaves/ease") which is a tad awkward if you are trying to use the book to teach children how to rhyme. The adorable illustrations have just the right amount of detail for young eyes to want to take a closer look. The father and son depicted are not wearing kippot, and mom is wearing jeans, so the book may not appeal to Orthodox readers. For everyone else, though, it’s a worthwhile purchase. Are you interested in reviewing books f...

Hard Hat Cat! by Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh, illustrated by Maxine Lee Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous This picture book tells the story of how a stray cat, who hangs out at a construction site in Israel, comes to find his forever home. The story is told from the perspective of Ari, a young boy who notices the cat but whose mom won’t let him keep it. Children will be able to relate to Ari’s desire to keep the stray animal and they will follow along as Ari visits all of his neighbors, trying to entice them to adopt the cat. Kiffel-Alcheh’s writing is an unusual blend of poetry, prose, and sounds. While the plot will appeal to children as old as 8, the writing contains onomatopoeic words geared towards a much younger audience ("meow meow, bzz bzz!, bang bang," etc.). Some older children might be put off by that. Still, the pacing of the story is engaging, and Kiffel Alcheh incorporates Hebrew vocabulary as well as characters unique to Israel (the boreka man,...