The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Midnight Mitzvah by Ruth Horowitz, illustrated by Jenny Meilihove Barefoot Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org Ruth Horowitz has done a beautiful job of sharing the idea of giving tzedakah, charity, with embarrassing the recipient. The Midnight Mitzvah follows Hanina Chipmunk, who loves to share the nuts she gathers with friends. The only one who doesn’t like accepting her generous gifts is Mathilda Squirrel. Mathilda, we are told, used to be a champion nut gatherer herself. But now that she’s too elderly to continue, she’s embarrassed to accept help. Kind hearted Hanina solves this problem by deciding to share her nuts with Mathilda secretly, at night. She has to journey out into the dark and face an intimidating owl—but ultimately is successful in her mission. Mathilda receives her nuts and will be hungry no more—all without embarrassment. The illustrations are vivid and evocative. The nighttime pictures especially are beautiful combi

In the Market of Zakrobat by Ori Elon, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt Green Bean Books, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org The plot of In the Market of Zakrobat will likely be familiar to many Jewish readers. It’s based on a the much-told story of Yosef Moker Shabbos, which itself is based on a tale from the Talmud. The author’s name might also be familiar. Ori Elon co-created the popular Israeli TV show/Netflix series Shtisel , and he brings the same winning combination of deep Jewish rootedness and up-to-date storytelling sensibility to this delightful picture book.    Stingy Baltosar lives alone, hoarding his chests of gold coins. His impoverished neighbor Yosef so cherishes Shabbat that he spends his few pennies purchasing the finest foods to welcome the Sabbath. When Baltosar dreams that his coins are running away to Yosef’s hut, he trades them all for a single diamond, which he sews into the lining of his hat. The hat falls

Red and Green and Blue and White by Lee Wind, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky Levine Querido Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org In 1993, in Billings, Montana, a rock shattered a window displaying a menorah decoration. The community, overwhelmingly non-Jewish, responded by displaying 10,000 menorah decorations in windows around town. RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE turns these events into a picture book that is gracefully written, gorgeously illustrated, appropriate for young readers, and inspiring to all.   Lee Wind centers his story on two real children, neighbors and best friends Isaac and Teresa. The two have a lot in common, including loving each other’s holiday lights– Isaac’s the only blue-and-white display in a sea of red and green. One night, “shadows” approach Isaac’s house, and a stone shatters his window. After the police come and the glass is replaced, Isaac’s frightened family considers keeping their display down. But erring on

We Go to Shul by Douglas Florian, illustrated by Hannal Tolson Candlewick Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org On Shabbat morning, two little girls wake up in a bright bedroom filled with toys and books. They get dressed and walk with their mother and father past a bakery and a fruit seller, to shul. When they arrive, the doors there are open and people are outside greeting each other. Inside, the girls and their mother sit upstairs with the other women and watch the Torah being read downstairs. Then the Torah is held up, outspread, while everyone sings and feels proud. Then the family walks back home and has lunch. Like so many stories for the youngest readers, this board book simply depicts an event from everyday life in short, rhyming couplets. What makes We Go To Shul out of the ordinary is that it shows a Jewish family observing a traditional Shabbat. What makes it extraordinary is that it’s published by Candlewick, a mainstream press. Jewi

Gitty and Kvetch by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Ariel Landy Atheneum (imprint of Simon & Schuster) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Gitty, an ebullient little girl with unruly curls and overalls, gets her name from Gittel, Yiddish for “good.” Kvetch, which means to complain, isn’t usually a name. But it perfectly suits Gitty’s bird pal, who wears an old man’s hat and has a band-aid on his beak, and finds the cloud behind Gitty’s every silver lining. The contrast between the two provides the backbone of Gitty and Kvetch, a picture book about friendship and framing experience. What makes this book Jewish is Kvetch’s use of Yiddish words, defined in an appended glossary. (Other than one “oy vey,” Gitty speaks entirely in English).   The story opens with Gitty producing a swooping, splattering painting. Declaring the picture perfect for her “perfect, purple tree house,” she races off to find Kvetch, who warns that it might not

 Nathan's Song by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Maya Ish-Shalom Dial Books for Young Readers (imprint of Penguin Young Readers) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Nathan’s Song is a charming, well-told tale about creative drive, family love, immigrant pluck, and the benevolence of good luck. Growing up in a Russian shtetl, Nathan loves to sing, and longs to study opera. His family scrimps and saves, and when Nathan is sixteen, they send him to Italy to pursue his ambition, vowing to join him when he’s famous. When Nathan accidentally boards a ship bound for New York, it seems that all is lost. But Nathan sings on the boat to earn his passage, sings on the streets to make a start in New York, where he finds a music teacher, a singing career and a wife. His dreams are not complete, however, until he is able to send for his family and greet them on Ellis Island with a celebration of song. Maya Ish-Shalom’s folkloric illustrations are blocky and brig

Esther Didn't Dream of Being Queen  by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Valentina Belloni Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Allison Ofanansky gives the familiar story of Esther a not-a-fairy-tale twist. Narrated by Esther, it begins with “Once upon a time,” and goes on to frame the story in the context of Cinderella. Like Cinderella, Esther is an orphan who becomes a queen. But there the similarities end. Esther is happy to live quietly with her cousin Mordecai, gardening and giggling with her friends. She disapproves of the king’s “rowdy parties,” and when word goes out that all pretty young women are to report to the palace for a beauty contest, Esther tries to avoid the order. The king, she states, is not her idea of “prince charming.” When she is eventually forced to appear at the palace, she follows Mordecai’s warning not to reveal her background, but notes that it feels “strange” to hide wh

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Will Levine, a.k.a. Turtle Boy, has a thing about turtles. He’s facing surgery to correct a medical problem that’s making his chin recede, and has inspired his humiliating nickname. When life gets tough, he hides inside a psychological shell. On a more positive note, he’s fascinated by actual turtles – but he collects them illegally from the Back 40, a beloved wild area. Will Will summon the courage to undergo surgery? Will he learn to face life’s difficulties? What will happen to his turtles? Will developers destroy the Back 40? Enter Rabbi Harris. Will needs to perform a community service for his upcoming bar mitzvah, and the rabbi arranges visits to RJ, a wise-cracking, punk-rock drummer teen who’s dying at a local hospital. Can fulfilling the mitzvah of visiting the sick make Will a better, stronger person? Short, snappy chapters and a lively first-person narrator keep this multiple-thread stor

The Generous Fish by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Frances Tyrrell Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz When Reuven follows his father’s advice to cast his bread on the waters, he ends up feeding a fish, who repays him with one of his golden scales. Reuven’s needy neighbors see the golden scale and for scales of their own. The fish gives and gives, until he has only one scale left, and is barely alive. Finally, Reuven tells his neighbors they have taken too much. The neighbors restore the fish to health with soup and honey, and thank Reuven for reminding them that all creatures are important. The message here – not to take too much from nature – is a welcome alternative to The Giving Tree. And it’s great to see this message presented to a general audience in the context of Jewish values. Jules’ writing is lively, engaging, and age-appropriate. Although Tyrell’s figures are sometimes stiff, the art is a feast for the eyes, especially the inset mini-illustrations