The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Worse and Worse on Noah's Ark by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Vivian Mineker Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer There is no more perfect Biblical story for these times than that of Noah’s Ark. Leslie Kimmelman’s take on it, Worse and Worse on Noah’s Ark , is perfect for sharing with stir-crazy kids who won’t stop arguing and kvetching, just like the creatures (human and otherwise) aboard the ark. Its message is not subtle - working together and taking care of each other can improve even the worst situation - but Kimmelman delivers it with charm. Kimmelman also sneaks another lesson about Jewish values into Worse and Worse . When the colorful scarlet macaws and peacocks make fun of the merely dichromatic penguins and zebras, Noah gently points out that, “We’re all God’s creatures… we’re all equally beautiful in God’s eyes.” Kimmelman also brings out the aspect of predators and prey being stuck together on board the ark, something I, at least, had neve...

Peter's War: A Boy's True Story of Survival in World War II Europe by Deborah Durland DeSaix and Karen Gray Ruelle, illustrated by Deborah Durland DeSaix  Category: Picture Books Reviewer:  Rachel J Fremmer Peter’s War: A Boy’s True Story of Survival in World War II Europe relates the true story of Peter Feigl, a highly assimilated German Jew who celebrated Christmas. As the Nazi danger grew, his parents even had Peter baptized. Nonetheless, he and his family were, like so many others, eventually forced to flee his home as the Nazis rose to power. First with, and later separated from, his parents, Peter makes his way around Europe as his successive hiding places each become too dangerous, ultimately sneaking across the border to safety in Switzerland in 1944. The workmanlike prose of Peter’s War is overshadowed by the scrapbook-style art, a combination of actual photographs, watercolor paintings, fragments of Peter’s diary, and a map of Europe with a line denoting...