The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Miracle Seed by Martin Lemelman Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (imprint of William B. Eerdmans), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org The Miracle Seed follows the story of a Judean date seed that was germinated by two female scientists, centuries after the tree had gone extinct.  In 1963, an archeologist named Yigael Yadin did a dig with sixteen other volunteers at the top of Masada in Israel. They discovered a clay jar that held date palm seeds that were 2,000 years old. However, instead of being immediately studied, they were locked away in a drawer until 2004 when Dr. Sarah Sallon, together with Dr. Elaine Solowey, attempted to bring the date seeds back to life. They successfully planted the seeds on Tu’Bshvuat in 2005 and they eventually grew. The scientists were able to share the pollen with others and crossed with a modern date, they able to produce strong trees and dates, starting in 2011.   Written and illustrated by Martin Leme...

Hidden Hope: How A Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Amy June Bates Harry N. Abrams (imprint of Abrams Books), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org   Hidden Hope: How A Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust tells the story of the brave Jewish teenager, Judith Geller, who posed as a Christian social worker in France. Using false papers as “Jacqueline Guither”, she was able to save many people by giving them forged papers made in secret workshops. One of the ways was through a simple toy: a wooden duck. When stopped by the Nazis, who would suspect a social worker visiting her “assigned” families with a toy? As part of the French Resistance, Jacqueline and others were able to save thousands of those in need of escape from the horrors going on, many of whom were in hiding. Though the book covers a difficult topic, it never becomes too dark for young readers. Elissa Boxer’s text is simple b...

A Bear for Bimi by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org A Bear for Bimi , written by Jane Breskin Zalben and illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg, is an accessible and important picture book. It follows the story of Evie (white and presumably Jewish), who lives in America, and her new friend, Bimi (brown, and presumably Muslim), who has immigrated with his family to Evie’s neighborhood. Bimi and his family are greeted by diverse neighbors who welcome them and of course some who don’t, like Mrs. Monroe. Throughout the story, neighbors help Bimi and his parents, and Evie even gives him her teddy bear. Their neighbor Mrs. Monroe is the only one who does not take to their family, though ultimately she comes around when the children help her with her fallen groceries. The illustrations are simple, but delightful. The colors are vibrant and I particularly love...

 The Rabbi and the Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King Jr., and Their Fight against Silence by Audrey Ades, illustrated by Chiara Fedele Kar-Ben (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Book Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org The Rabbi and The Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King Jr. and Their Fight Against Silence   tells the story of two men in their fight for civil rights in the 1960’s. Readers have the pleasure of getting to know a little backstory of King and Prinz’s lives before they met, as well as their interactions together. Prinz left Germany when things began to become difficult for Jews with the Nazis’ rise, and even talked about leaving before things got worse. The picture book is filled with strong illustrations that help enhance the text. The mood varies between hopeful and somber, portraying the struggles Prinz and King encountered as they fought against silence. Overall, The Rabbi and the Reverend is a great...

37 Days at Sea: Aboard the M.S. St. Louis, 1939 by Barbara Krasner Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org 37 Days at Sea: Aboard the M.S. St. Louis, 1939 by Barbara Krasner follows the story of twelve-year-old Ruthie Arons and her family as they leave their home of Germany for a new life in Cuba and hopefully, eventually, the United States. However, when the ship arrives at Cuba, they, along with many of the other passengers, are unable to dock. Ruthie is an engaging narrator, telling her story in verse/poetry. Like readers today, she loves mysteries and trying to solve them, swimming, and spending time with friends. On the ship, Ruthie befriends a young boy named Wolfie with whom she snoops around the ship, befriends the Captain, and plays games with. Despite the situation going on in their insular world and the world around them, Ruthie and Wolfie manage to have fun. Like the real passengers of the shi...

The Trouble with Good Ideas  by Amanda Panitch Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan)  Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org Leah Nevins is going through a lot of change. She and her parents have moved to a new town, where her Zaide (her great-grandfather) lives, and she has to switch from her familiar Jewish day school (Solomon Schechter) to a public school. She’s struggling to make friends. And now she’s struggling because she overhears her parents wanting to put Zaide in an assisted living home. He’s sometimes forgetful and confused, but Leah doesn’t want to lose one more thing. With the story Zaide told her of the Prague Golem during the Holocaust, she creates one of her own in Zaide’s backyard. Named Elsa (yes, like the Disney princess), she instructs it to protect Zaide. But soon, Elsa is taking over Leah’s life and Leah must figure out how to protect herself from her creation. The book offers a strong portrayal of Judaism from Leah’s fami...

It's My Party and I Don't Want To Go by Amanda Panitch Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org Ellie Katz has a plan. Well, many plans. Her bat mitzvah is coming up and she does not want to have it. Sometimes she can’t breathe when she has to do things in front of people, like when she went up to light the candles at her sister’s bat mitzvah two years ago. She can’t imagine having to read from the Torah, say the blessings, and give a speech at her own bat mitzvah. So together with her best friend Zoe, Ellie devises ways to make sure her bat mitzvah doesn’t happen. From canceling the venue to shocking the DJ to starting a food fight to deter the caterer, Ellie’s sure her bat mitzvah won’t go through. But when her parents find out what is going on and she and Zoe get into a fight, Ellie finds a way to make sure she does her bat mitzvah...her way. This middle grade book examines the themes of the Jewish rite of passage of becoming a woman in the community...

Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus, illustrated by Bryan Langdo Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org   Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus and illustrated by Bryan Langdo is a sweet story of an interfaith household. Jewish Anna is excited when she realizes Santa will come to her house for the first time this year. Her new Christian stepbrother Michael is sure Santa will eat his homemade cookies, but Anna has other ideas. She thinks Santa would love the Jewish food her family has -- from Bubbe Sadie’s matzo ball soup to noodle kugel to tzimmes. But all of those delicious foods aren’t quite the finger food Santa needs, so she finally figures out Santa can eat latkes and not make a mess. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, and I particularly loved the images of Santa with latkes high in his bag on his sleigh. The book represents many interfaith families today, who partake in Christmas and Hanukkah. In addition, Latkes for Santa Claus ...