The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

We Celebrate the Light by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Jieting Chen RISE x Penguin Workshop (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rinat Hadad Siegel Buy at Bookshop.org The concept of light, with its many facets, has long fascinated humanity. It's a theme that resonates across cultures and is at the heart of numerous traditions and celebrations worldwide. In this universal and uplifting book, We Celebrate The Light , we glimpse some of these light celebrations worldwide. The story moves from one light celebration to another, starting with Diwali and continuing with the Winter Solstice, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and Bodhi Day, and ending with the Lunar New Year. Each holiday is defined very briefly on the story pages, plus there is a more detailed glossary for each holiday at the end of the book. The words describing each celebration form a lyrical poem of hope, unity, and togetherness. Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple h...

I Like Your Chutzpah, and Other Yiddish Words You'll Like written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman Rise+Penguin Workshop, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Eva Weiss Buy at Bookshop.org This pleasingly illustrated board book offers a playful way to introduce young children to twelve beloved and familiar words in Yiddish. Each Yiddish word, from punim to bubbeleh, is highlighted in transliterated English, with adept translations on every page. The colorful and whimsical images do justice in bringing a thousand-year-old language to life for twenty-first century families. The well-chosen words are pronounceable, though a few may require introducing new phonemes. In nearly all cases the words reflect the situations in which they would naturally be used in the life of a toddler. From mishpocha and seychel to mishogas and schpilkes, the words are illustrated with humor and whimsy in universal contexts. On her website, the author describes herself as a born storyteller, illustrator, pr...

Camp Mah Tovu (American Horse Tales) by Yael Mermelstein Penguin Workshop (imprint of Penguin Random House) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judith S. Greenblatt   Buy at Bookshop.org   Our heroine, Lila is ADHD, and even as she tried to stop herself from talking too much and exaggerating, she exaggerates to the point of lying. Soon, the other girls in the bunk dislike her so much they leave her out of the raid to the boys’ side of camp. But – that’s when she meets her horse. One of the American Horse Tales series, an important part of the story is the relationship between Lila and her horse, Lonny, who is also a loner. With the help of an understanding counselor, Lila succeeds in riding Lonny. Lonny and the rest of her pack of wild horses live at the edge of Camp Mah Tovu and are in danger from ranchers who use harsh tactics as they prepare to move the herd off the property. Lila uses her skill at reading to trade favors with struggling reader bunkmate Sarah, and together...

Who Was Levi Strauss? by Ellen Labrecque Penguin Workshop (imprint of Penguin Random House) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Ellen Labrecque’s Who Was Levi Strauss? is a new title in the extensive WHO HQ series. The book is a cradle-to-grave biography of 19th century immigrant entrepreneur Loeb Strauss, who would later change his name to Levi Strauss and build the blue jeans empire that still dominates the fashion industry today. Labrecque’s book follows the formula of the series, laying out Strauss’s humble beginnings in Bavaria as the youngest child of door-to-door sewing supply salesman Hirsch Strauss and his second wife, Rebecca. A few years after two of the Strauss brothers immigrate to America and open a successful sewing supply store in New York City, Loeb, along with his mother and other siblings, follows. Labrecque does not shy away from explaining the Strauss family’s reason for wanting to leave Bavaria. Life for Jews in the German state a...

THe New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sylvie Shaffer Adam Eli packs an incredible number of powerful ideas and questions into a pocket-sized package. His central argument, that all Queer folks ( and their allies) are responsible for all LGBTQIAA+ folks, is a reframing of the Talmudic idea that all Jews are commanded to have each others’ backs: “Kol yisrael arevim zeh baZeh” (all of the people of Israel are responsible for each other.) His language is clear, compelling, and accessible, with a tone that lands halfway between “chat over a latte” and “high school debate club” - but in the best possible way. Eli shares personal reflections on his own identify formation, privilege, and activism as a white, queer Jew speaks to teen readers however they self-identify. The book is a strong contender for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. It would also be an unconventional selection: the winning books in the Teen or Older Rea...