The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

An Etrog From Across the Sea by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Stacey Dressen McQueen Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Bookshop.org Two children and their mother anxiously await their father’s return from his perilous journey on business from New York to Corsica in the 1700’s. Will he be home in time for Sukkot, bringing the special etrog as promised? Or will he be shipwrecked, lost at sea, or attacked by pirates? While he’s delayed, his family travels from their northern homestead amidst the Native American tribes to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with their grandfather in the city. When they must head home without their father, their grandfather gifts them a valuable etrog holder along with the gift of faith that their father will return safely in time. With a smattering of sibling rivalry and moments of worry and fear, the love of the family always shines through. As...

Heroes with Chutzpah: 101 True Tales of Jewish Trailblazers, Changemakers, and Rebels by Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Bodin Cohen Ben Yehuda Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Amy Blaine Buy at Bookshop.org Collected biographies for young people are hot right now, and Heroes with Chutzpah is a unique and timely addition to options for middle grade and young adult readers. The biographies, covering people who have lived within the last 125 years, are not organized alphabetically or chronologically; instead, they cleverly lead into one another with a short sentence linking one personality to the next. From the book’s first profile of comedian Sarah Silverman to a later look at student activist for gun control Naomi Wadler, this collection contains a great mix of knowns and unknowns and includes Jews of differing practices, ages, races, genders, abilities, and identities. The digital illustrations, manipulations of the subject’s image, provide a clean, bold, colorful, and engaging...

Miryam's Dance by Kerry Olitzky and Rachel Stock Spilker, illustrated by John Baptist Tumuhaise Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cindy Rivka Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org Miryam wakes to the sound of drums and is lured to the place where musicians and dancers are practicing. Along the way, her family and friends remind her to do tasks to prepare for Shabbat, and they sigh when she is forgetful. Clearly this is not the first time Miryam has been distracted. She is invited to perform with the dancers that evening. As Miryam twirls, skips and cartwheels, the lively prose and dynamic illustrations propel the reader from page to page, caught up in her exuberance. At first her family is hesitant about dancing, but Miryam encourages them to experience a new, joyful way to celebrate Shabbat. The Ugandan character, Miryam, echoes the Miriam in the Exodus story, with her love of drums and dance, and her role of leading her community ...

An Invitation to Passover by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky & Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Mariia Kolker Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org In An Invitation to Passover , Hannah’s family invites a diverse array of friends - and the reader! - to their seder when their relatives cannot, for unspecified reasons, attend. As Hannah and her family teach their guests about Passover, the reader learns along with them. But the teaching and learning are not one-way. Each guest brings a contribution to the seder which responds to a prompt in Hannah’s invitation and which shows how their culture celebrates the different aspects of the seder, like springtime and freedom. Backmatter includes more details about Passover and a glossary, although it would have been helpful if the glossary had included a pronunciation guide. The illustrations convey how warm and welcoming Hannah’s family is. An Invi...

A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story by Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, illustrated by Krystyna Nowak Relevant Publishers, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Laurie Adler Buy at Bookshop.org When Tova travels to Alaska with her mother during the summer solstice, she wonders how they will know when the Sabbath ends in a land where the sun never sets. She asks native Alaskan animals one by one for a solution but none can help. Finally, a wise orca explains how the position of the sun tells us when the day is over, and reminds Tova of the magic of the Sabbath day. The illustrations are vividly colored and mostly realistic, but are sometimes blurry and unformed. Preschoolers will enjoy hearing Tova consult each native animal, but those same young readers may find the explanation of the sun's positioning and the summer solstice confusing. A Whale of a Tale would be a fine supplement to a Jewish school or synagogue library paired with another nonfiction book that expla...

Strangers in Jerusalem by Kerry Olitzky & Inas Younis, illustrated by Maryana Kachmar Brandylane Publishers, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shanna Silva Buy at Bookshop.org Strangers in Jerusalem is, at its core, a book about kindness and embracing people who are different from oneself. Three girls, strangers at first, help each other locate holy sites in Jerusalem. Each has been asked to visit a house of worship that is not her own: Muslim Leila visits a church for a Christian friend, Jewish Rachel visits a mosque to give charity on behalf of a Muslim neighbor, and Muslim Asma visits the Western Wall to place a note for a Jewish friend. Differing backgrounds are no barrier to friendship here, as kindness and helpfulness bond the girls in friendship. The story shows an idealized and hopeful world of peaceful co-existence, where commonalities are more important than differences. The innocence of the children, who are naïve to the frictions between religious groups in Israel,...

The Desert Unicorn by Bonnie Grubman and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Amberin Huq Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Two siblings, Abigail and Zachary, are "every kid" characters who are part of the Exodus of the Jewish people out of Egypt. Sure there's manna to eat and miraculous springs to drink from--even their clothing doesn't wear out. But when will they finally reach Israel? Eventually, a mysterious tachash–a legendary creature here depicted as a unicorn–shows up to entertain the children during their journey and to bring them comfort and hope.    The illustrations are cheerful and vibrant, and I liked that the Jews are shown in warm hues -- these are clearly MENA (Middle East and North African) people who have spent a lot of time in the sun. I appreciated the details about leaving Egypt, the mention of Moses and Miriam's role as the Jewish people's leaders a...

Avi and Ahmed Play Football in Jerusalem's Sacher Park  by Kerry Olitzky & Inas Younis, illustrated by Leticia Saad Dixi Books Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Eva L. Weiss Buy at Dixi Books The plot of this pleasantly illustrated and simply told picture book focuses on misunderstandings between friends—nearly six-year-old Jewish Avi and his Arab friend Ahmed. The story is set in the heart of Jerusalem and the two boys enjoy playing together on the grassy lawns of Jerusalem’s largest public park, Gan Sacher. The misunderstandings are gentle: an American cousin introduces confusion about the terms football and soccer and Avi worries when his Ahmed doesn’t show up for his birthday party in another Jerusalem park. Avi calls his parents by the Hebrew terms Abba and Ima and we see a small kippa on Avi’s head. Ahmed’s culture is given a nod when it is explained that he knows the hour he is expected to go home when he hears the call to prayer from a nearby mosque. Alas, that is a...

 The Candy Man Mystery by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Christina Mattison Ebert Kalaniot (imprint of Endless Mountain Publishing) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org For many children who regularly attend services at a synagogue, the person that makes them feel most welcome is not the rabbi or cantor but is instead the time-honored “Candy Man” or “Lollipop Lady,” the regular attendee who hands out free candy to any child who approaches. Though the idea of giving candy to entice children could be problematic, in The Candy Man Mystery , Rabbi Kerry Olitsky, author of Where's the Potty on this Ark? does a good job of showing that the reward is actually in the relationships and in the community, and not in the sweets.    With the "mystery" of where the missing Candy Man went, the young reader is guided through the narrative in an age-appropriate manner, and is introduced to the people, places, and prayers that can be found and hear...

The Littlest Candle: A Hanukkah Story by Rabbis Kerry and Jesse Olitzky, illustrated by Jen Kostman Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org A group of animate candles living in a kitchen drawer are excited about Hanukkah's approach. They enter into a lively debate about who should be lit on the first night of the holiday; the various Hanukkah candles, and oddly, the Shabbat candles, and even the Havdalah candle argue for their own suitability for this role. Only Little Flicker, the smallest candle, hangs back, instead supporting others and providing useful information. At last the rest of the candles realize that modest Little Flicker is so helpful that he should be the shamash, the helper candle. "He smiled brightly because he knew he was there to help. And that was the most important way to bring more light to Hanukkah." The logic of anthropomorphic candles who apparently survive repeated lightings is a bit shaky, and the text i...