The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Counting on Shabbat by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Petronela Dostalova Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock Buy at Bookshop.org Shabbat is coming and everyone is getting ready to celebrate. It appears that a senior will be observing the holiday alone (albeit with his well-loved cats). But a family joins him, bringing food and smiles to everyone’s faces as they gather around the Shabbat table. The story, told in gentle rhyme, also introduces the youngest reader to the concept of counting. In fact, counting does double duty in this delightful board book. A toddler can practice counting from one to ten, but will also learn that we count on each other for kindness. This year has seen the release of several Jewish-themed board books and that is a good thing. In general, we need more Jewish board books, and specifically, more like this one. Somehow, the author has managed to combine the concept of counting, a positive...

Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe Albert Whitman & Co. Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton Buy at Bookshop.org Dear Mr. Dickens , written by Nancy Churnin and illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe, is an engaging and inspiring tribute to the power of the written word. In the world of this picture book, which is based on a true story, 19th-century author Charles Dickens captivates readers with his stories and inspires positive social change. But his portrayal of an outlaw Jewish character has one of his readers, Eliza Davis, concerned that the depiction could aggravate the already difficult situation for Jews in England in the 1860s. Churnin poignantly shows how upsetting it can be to read such a portrayal as she describes Eliza reading Oliver Twist : “The [criminal] character’s name was Fagin, but over and over Dickens wrote the Jew, the Jew, the Jew . Each time the word hurt like a hammer on Eliza’s heart.”   Eliza wr...

 A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg Creston Books (imprint of Lerner Publishing) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Beth Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org Growing up the daughter of a Rabbi in Baltimore just after the Civil War, Henrietta Szold saw many people in need and wanted to help. She took particular inspiration from the Purim story she heard every year. Queen Esther - Hadassah in Hebrew - was her model of a brave woman standing up for her people and making a difference.   Opportunities for women to help others, though, were limited. Szold was not interested in the expected path of marriage and children. She became a teacher, opened a night school for new immigrants to learn English after work, and started the Jewish Publication Society.   After the turn of the century, she visited Jerusalem and saw children in need of food and medicine. This was a job far too big for one ...