The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Afikomen by Tziporah Cohen, illustrated by Yaara Eshet Groundwood Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org As author Tziporah Cohen writes in the back matter of this wordless picture book, when each Jew celebrates the Passover seder, they should see themselves “as if we, not just our ancestors, were the ones to escape Egypt.” In this graphic novel for the youngest readers, Cohen and illustrator Yaarah Eshet guide the reader into the Passover story, along with the three young children and their dog, on a time traveling voyage to help bring baby Moses safely down the Nile to Pharoah’s daughter. The children begin their illustrated adventure at a multi-ethnic intergenerational seder as they follow their tradition of stealing the afikomen, the last bit of matzah eaten at the seder meal, from the leader of the seder. When the dog steals the afikomen from the children and dives underneath the expansive blue tablecloth, the children follow him. They soon fin...

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer   Buy at Bookshop.org No Vacancy is the story of eleven-year-old Miriam Brockman whose family moves to upstate New York to run a motel. Unfortunately, they learn pretty quickly that the previous owners had overvalued the hotel's income potential. The book is set against a backdrop of religious identity and acceptance. Miriam and her family are Jewish and have some religious practices, such as not eating pork and celebrating Shabbat with Friday night dinner, and her uncle who comes to visit is shomer shabbat . However, the area of New York they have moved to has seen few Jews. When Miriam and her new friend, Kate, find an image at the run-down drive in movie theater that looks like the Virgin Mary, the town is suddenly in the midst of miracle mania. When this leads to antisemitic vandalism on the hotel, the predominantly Christian town has to stand together with their new Jewish neighbors. I think this book s...