The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Hedgehog Who Said Who Cares? by Neri Aluma, illustrated by Amit Trainin Kalaniot Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cindy Rivka Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org Author Neri Aluma has transposed a teaching story from the Talmud into a vibrant picture book that is relevant to challenges in our contemporary world. Hedgehog digs a burrow, smack in the middle of a road used by other animals. Rabbit and Mouse, stymied by the large pile of dirt blocking their way, wonder who is responsible. Meanwhile Hedgehog is oblivious and cozy in his new home. When Rabbit and Mouse confront him, Hedgehog snorts “Who cares?” But the next day, when a rainstorm causes the burrow to collapse into mud, Hedgehog needs help. Rabbit and Mouse come to his aid and help him dry off and get warm. Hedgehog apologizes and admits his wrongdoing. The book ends with Hedgehog helping others to plant a garden of flowers along the road. This book was originally published in Hebrew and the translation does an admir...

An Extraordinary Dreidel: A Hanukkah Story from Israel by Devorah Omer, illustrated by Aviel Basil, translated by Shira Atik Green Bean Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rinat Hadad Siegel Buy at Bookshop.org The Extraordinary Dreidel is a fun and engaging picture book about Hanukkah for young readers.  Devorah Omer is one of the legends in the Israeli kidlit book world. I grew up reading many of her exquisite stories, and The Extraordinary Dreidel is no different. What seems to be, at first glance, straightforward language and plot turns out to be a story that provides a level of sophistication that gets children’s attention from the start and engages their curiosity and independent thinking while igniting their imagination. When Uncle Haim makes a soccer ball-sized wooden dreidel for Gil and Nurit, the excitement level rises, but when they find out that there is a secret compartment under the letter nun, the children are beyond themselves. The reader follows along a...

Just One More Thing... And Then Bedtime written and illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt, translated by Romy Ronen Green Bean Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Naomi Morse Buy at Bookshop.org Toddler Naomi is delaying her bedtime, telling her father there is just one more thing she is thankful for. Some of her examples are far fetched: she’s glad she has two legs and not three, and she’s glad the moon is in the sky, and not down on the ground.There are more conventional thanks too: various colors and sounds, the rest day of Shabbat. Her dad looks harried as he tries to put her to bed. There’s a baby sibling in the picture too, and according to the illustrations, dad is the first to fall asleep. Colored drawings show cartoon-like children and their dad at the end of the day. The color red predominates. Illustrations and text present a lighthearted look at the blessing of gratitude for the world God created. Some families and teachers may find this reminder to be thankful to be...

Seven Good Years: A Yiddish Folktale by Shoham Smith, illustrated by Eitan Eloa, translated by Ilana Kurshan Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Bookshop.org The proverb from Pirkei Avot, “Who is wealthy? One who is content with what he has,” is brought to life in this cozy portrayal of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. This is a child-friendly adaptation of a story by Isaac Peretz, first published in the early 1900’s. Poor Tuvia meets a stranger who offers him enough gold to last seven years. After he and his wife agree to accept the gift they enjoy seven bountiful years. But when the stranger returns, Tuvia and his family are still wearing their raggedy clothing and living in their ramshackle hut. The stranger asks why Tuvia hasn’t spent all the gold. Tuvia replies that they spent what they needed to educate their children but had no need for anything else. They were satisfied with meeting their simples...

But Perhaps, Just Maybe... by Tuvia Dikman Oro, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt Green Bean Books, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org From the moment we meet the main characters of Tuvia Dikman Oro's But Perhaps, Just Maybe , we can tell they have opposite personalities. Thanks to expressive illustrations by Menahem Halberstadt, we can tell Hedgehog has an optimistic disposition and that Duck is a cynic. On their way to a bike shop, they encounter three neighbors–Cat, Billy Goat, and Fox– who disturb Duck and Hedgehog's plans on this sunny afternoon. During each confrontation Duck assumes the worst of their neighbors. Hedgehog, however, suggests giving them the benefit of the doubt. When the friends reach the bike shop, they discover that Hedgehog was right, and all the animals enjoy a pleasant snack in the shade. Halberstadt’s palette combines earth tones and more vibrant ones in a quirky mix which really vibes with Oro’s text, which ...

The Melody by Oded Burla, illustrated by Assaf Benharroch, translated by Ilana Kurshan Kalaniot Books, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Kalaniot A breezy melody drifts through the air, seeking another creation to share its existence. Personified elements give a variety of excuses for rejecting the connection, Mountains give no reply, stones try but fail to join the singing, river can’t slow down, crow is afraid he will be transformed, mole prefers isolation and horse fears ridicule. Melody asks itself universal questions, “What is my purpose if no one will listen? Why am I here? Whose am I?” Finally, a mother shares the melody with her baby as a lullaby. This is a lovely parable of the midrash of many nations being offered but refusing the gift and responsibilities of the Torah, with the final acceptance by the Jewish people. It is also a parable for seeking friendship in the face of rejection, as well as transmission of heritage through the generations. T...