The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Challah! written & illustrated by Varda Livney PJ Publishing, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Louis, a toddler bunny rabbit, utters his first word ever at Shabbat dinner. It's "challah," of course! Throughout the rest of the week, Louis proudly uses his new word to describe puffy objects from clouds to trees to sheep. When Shabbat comes around again, he surprises and delights his parents by taking one look at the challah and saying his second new word: "Shabbat!" Young children will enjoy chiming in with the "challah" refrain and identifying the various puffy objects. The reinforcement of the days of the week (Jewishly listed from one Friday to the next) is another point of educational interest for the preschool set. Gentle line drawings in pastel colors show a cheerful anthropomorphic family of blue, pink, and green rabbits. Notes on the back cover of the board book provide more information about Shabbat and challah, inclu...

Hanukkah at Monica's  written & illustrated by Varda Livney PJ Publishing, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rinat Hadad Siegel We have all attended Hanukkah parties, but parties with an octopus, a jellyfish, and a pirate as guests are quite rare. Varda Livney has so much fun in this clever and imaginative picture book. The story begins with child-friendly illustrations where we see a cheerful dark-skinned girl, Monica, pushing a shopping cart filled with russet potatoes (the ones recommended for latkes, by the way…). We learn that Monica is having a party for Hanukkah, but not with typical guests. Each guest is a clever twist on a Hanukkah custom. The octopus and its eight arms brings the Menorah. The pirate brings in gold coins, and the jellyfish carries in jelly donuts. Livney uses repetition, allowing young readers to guess who the next guest will be, offering a hint with an illustration of the guest's shadow on the door. The climax of the story relates to the Hanu...

How to Get to Savta's for Shabbat written and illustrated by Varda Livney PJ Publishing, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock It's Erev Shabbat and time for the little boy in this story to get up and prepare for Shabbat at Savta's. Who wakes him up? His penguin friend! So the reader immediately knows this story will be fanciful. Next, the boy packs his backpack with things that help make Shabbat special, like candles, challah, and  grape juice. Fred, the blue elephant, picks them up and off they go on their fun adventure. They travel through the jungle and then the boy and the penguin board a rocket ship to the moon, float on a cloud, and ride a flying bus to reach their destination. Along the way, the boy stops to buy flowers for Savta. Happily, they arrive at Savta's just in time for Shabbat. The final scene shows Savta, the boy, his parents (who look like the bus driver and flower seller), the penguin, and the elephant happily sitting at the Shabbat t...

Rosh Hashanah with Uncle Max written & illustrated by Varda Livney Kar-Ben (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz Buy at Bookshop.org Rosh Hashanah with Uncle Max written and illustrated by Varda Livney is perfect for children in PreK. The board book includes relevant Hebrew vocabulary and dollops of humor to tell the story of a mixed-race family gathering on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Illustrations depict the family of color reciting blessings over candles and wine, eating traditional foods (dates, pomegranates, honey, apples), listening to the sound of the shofar at temple, and celebrating the birthday of the world with songs and sweets.     To draw attention to Uncle Max throughout the story, the illustrator dresses him in an eye-catching flowered shirt which contrasts well with the plain pastel shirts of his family members. The juxtaposition of color and the use of pattern in the illustrations is developmental...