The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Afikoman, Where'd You Go? A Passover Hide-and-Seek Adventure by Rebecca Gardyn Levington, illustrated by Noa Kelner Rocky Pond Books (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org Beginning at the point in the seder in which children search for the afikoman, this story takes young readers along with a diverse cast of cousins as they go through every room in the house and outdoors in an attempt to find the runaway afikoman. I appreciated that even though the target audience is young, the author's rhyming upbeat verses use an advanced vocabulary (determined, dismantle, investigate, befuddled, and bewildered, to name just a few choice words). The illustrations are both colorful and interesting as they are drawn from different angles and perspectives. I especially enjoyed the one showing the cut-out of the whole house with the interiors of each room. Readers who have experienced a seder, or have le...

Shoham's Bangle by Sarah Sassoon, illustrated by Noa Kelner Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer   Buy at Bookshop.org What a delight it is to be invited into Shoham’s warm, multigenerational home in Iraq via the pages of Sarah Sassoon’s Shoham’s Bangle . When the family departs for Israel, the reader, too, mourns for the home and fig tree by the Tigris River that they are leaving behind. Shoham’s titular bangle is especially missed, as the Iraqi government did not allow the emigrating Jews to bring their jewelry. Shoham’s grandmother, Nana Aziza, comforts her, comparing their journey to the original Exodus, and entrusts her granddaughter with carrying the pita (instead of matzo) to eat on their arrival in Israel. When she bites into it, she finds a wonderful (and hard to chew) surprise - her hidden bangle! This book is a lovely introduction to Iraqi Jewry and its own exodus, which is handled deftly and ...

 A Rainy Day Story by Ruth Calderon, illustrated by Noa Kelner Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Kathy Bloomfield Buy at Bookshop.org This very short story is found in Talmud Taanit 24b: “Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa was traveling along a road when it began to rain. He said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is comfortable, because they needed rain, but Ḥanina is suffering, as he is getting wet. The rain ceased. When he arrived at his home, he said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is suffering that the rain stopped, and Ḥanina is comfortable? The rain began to come again.” The Talmudic Scholar and former Knesset member Ruth Calderon simply, yet eloquently expands upon it. The addition of beautiful watercolor and colored pencil illustrations by Noa Kelner provide the strong visual associations with suffering and comfort that will lead to further discussion about the appropriateness of asking Go...