The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Banned Books, Crop Tops, and Other Bad Influences by Brigit Young Roaring Brook Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy at Bookshop.org Rose has grown up in this small town all her life like her father before her, among a handful of Jewish families. Rose and Charlotte (who is not Jewish) have stuck together as best friends since grammar school. Now in middle school they continue to stand apart from the crowd, eating lunch together, volunteering at the animal shelter, and spending afternoons together. Then Tali arrives at school, from New York City. She stands out in the way she dresses, the way she speaks out and is loud. She is willing to challenge authority. Rose is intrigued. Rose is surprised to find out Tali is also Jewish, when she spots her in synagogue during Yom Kippur services. Slowly Rose and Tali forge a common bond both because they are Jewish but also because Tali opens her eyes to some new ideas. Tali offers Rose a book to read about the Holo...

A Taste of Home by Richard Ho, illustrated by Sibu T.P. Roaring Brook Press, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Claire Freeland Buy at Bookshop.org In this ode to the variety of cultures you can find in a vibrant city, a young boy’s mother asks him to “bring back a taste of home.” The city, though not named, is New York City (there is a street map). The boy, though never stated, is Jewish (he is wearing a kippah). The boy’s mother wants food from her unnamed homeland (Israel), referred to as a land of milk and honey. So, you ask, why the veiled references? Maybe it’s because the author, Richard Ho, wants the reader to place this child of an Israeli immigrant in the context of the many other children of immigrants who can find the foods of their parents’ countries of origin in this colorful city, rich with diversity. He introduces the notion that home, for the children of immigrants, are the sights, sounds, and tastes of their everyday lives, while home, for their parents and grandp...

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel, illustrated by Sammy Savos Roaring Brook Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Lisa Trank Buy at Bookshop.org “I’m not going to be here forever. Someday there will no longer be any Holocaust survivors still living. We will be gone. I want you, the young people, the next generation, to carry our stories on and someday tell your own children that, yes, you know a Holocaust survivor. She was real. It really happened.” - Estelle Nadel   The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival is a poignant graphic novel recounting the story of Estelle Nadel, born Enia Feld in 1934 Poland. The youngest of five, Enia is depicted as a joyful child who loves singing. However, her life drastically changes when the Holocaust disrupts her peaceful existence in Borek. The graphic novel, with concise language and compelling illustrations, follows Enia as she survives with the aid of non-Jewish neighbors who r...

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan Publishers), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Cheryl Fox Strausberg Buy at Bookshop.org The best way to get what you want in the fantastical land of Enderlain is to win the Illinir - a magical horse race that is as dangerous as it is prestigious. Win this race and anything you want, you shall have - even a boon from the King, himself. With such rewards on the line, it’s hard to resist putting your life on the line to win. Enter the team of outcasts - Mikira (the rider), Arielle (the magician), and Damien (the mastermind) who know that they can win because they have huge things to lose and a lot riding on victory. For Mikira, winning the Illinir will not only bring her the fame and fortune to keep her family’s farm, but will give her the ability to free her father from forced indentured servitude. For Arielle, a Kinnish refugee, winning means having the ability to earn an honest living as a licensed encha...

Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Germany by Steve Sheinkin Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Emily Roth Buy at Bookshop.org When Rudi Vrba decides to escape from Auschwitz in 1944, the 19 year old has already defied death many times, so he figures, why not try again? In the two years that he has been imprisoned at Auschwitz, Rudi has not only survived daily unspeakable horrors, he has also gleaned crucial information about how the camp operates. By befriending Filip Müller, another prisoner who works in the gas chamber, Rudi has obtained detailed notes about how Auschwitz functions--information that proves, once and for all, that the camp's purpose is to murder as many people as possible. Along with his friend Alfred Wetzler, Rudi develops an incredibly complicated plan for escape, and eventually becomes one of the first whistleblowers to alert the world to the atrocities of the Holocaust. Impossible Esca...

The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor by Amanda Panitch Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Beth L. Gallego Buy at Bookshop.org Ruby Taylor’s father is Jewish, and her mother is Catholic. To her paternal grandmother, Ruby is not really a Jew. Grandma Yvette blatantly favors Ruby’s four-months-older cousin Sarah who, in addition to being the sort of tidy, polite, and helpful girl adults adore, has a Jewish mother. Afternoons at their grandmother’s house see Sarah cozy in the kitchen, learning to cook, while Ruby is banished to the living room with her homework. There is a growing distance between the once-close cousins, and Ruby might not be all that interested in closing it. Maybe it is just time for the two of them to make new friends and pursue different activities. Then Sarah starts behaving strangely, acting out in ways that are downright dangerous. Ruby thinks she knows why, and it might be a little bit her fault. Possibly, she accidenta...

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...

  The Prettiest by Brigit Young Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org The middle school is abuzz when a list is published on social media, ranking the 50 prettiest girls in the eighth grade. Shy Eve is catapulted from obscurity to notoriety by landing in first place on this list, garnering her much unwanted attention. Popular girl Sophie is horrified that's she's been placed in spot #2. Eve's best friend Nessa doesn't make the list at all, presumably because she's not classically thin. This scenario creates a platform for a fascinating exploration of the ways people judge each other and the assumptions people make about each other, of gender dynamics and sexism, and of other prejudices such as antisemitism and racism (though these last are touched on only briefly). Chapters switch between the points of view of Eve, Nessa, and Sophie, who eventually form an alliance to find the author of the list and bring them to justice, or at least...