The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Saliman and the Memory Stone by Erica Lyons, illustrated by Yinon Ptahia Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karen Shakman Buy at Bookshop.org Saliman and the Memory Stone joins a growing collection of recent books for children that paint a  diverse picture of Israeli Jews. In 1841, a young boy travels from his home in Yemen to resettle in Jerusalem as part of the First Aliyah. Young Saliman is sad to leave, afraid he will not remember his home and his village. Before he goes, he tells the goats he will always remember them and pockets a loose stone from his house and calls it his memory stone. Thus begins a journey to retain his past while heading toward his future. Lyon’s language is lyrical, capturing both the difficulty of the journey and a palpable sense of a loving family and tight-knit community, even as they must endure a long and arduous journey (which is helpfully illustrated in a map at the end of the book). Throughout

Zevi Takes the Spotlight by Carol Matas Orca Currents (imprint of Orca Book Publishers), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacey Rattner Buy at Bookshop.org Do you ever think you would like to see into the future? Zevi has that unique gift. He’s a psychic. And not only that, he can also read people’s minds and thoughts. Therefore, he’s not your typical seventh grader. Zevi, who fantasizes about being a famous actor one day, gets closer to this dream when the actor Robert Lemon comes to Zevis’ home town of Vancouver to shoot his first role in a major drama film. Robert Lemon is known for his action films, not dramas. Could he really be that bad of an actor when he switches genres? Maybe. It gets even more exciting when the producers choose Zevi’s unusual home for the set. Is this the break Zevi’s looking for? What if Robert Lemon offers him a job in his next movie? But when Zevi has to use his psychic powers to save Robert and figure out who's trying to hurt him, be becomes too

Shabbat Shalom, Grover! by Joni Kibort Sussman, illustrated by Tom Leigh Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Julie Ditton Buy at Bookshop.org Shabbat Shalom, Grover is the perfect first Shabbat book for a Jewish toddler. Kar-ben has published a whole series of board books based on the Shalom Sesame TV show, which was an English version of the Israeli Sesame Street. Each book in the series includes the key elements for a Jewish holiday that are important to the little ones. This sturdy board book shows Grover and his mom preparing for and celebrating Shabbat with friends.  First there are pictures of the preparations: they clean the house, bake challah, and then set the table. We then have pictures of them celebrating Shabbat. These colorful illustrations include lighting the candles and saying the Kiddush and Hamotzi before sitting down to a Shabbat dinner. The text is short and sweet, perfect for a board book. Children will

Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal Levine Querido, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org In this sweet story, Zachary walks to synagogue with his two moms (one light skinned and one dark skinned) for a very special occasion: to name his baby sister. Along the way, he meets up with an assortment of multi-ethnic neighbors, who ask him what she is called. But since she hasn’t been named yet, Zachary and his moms instead suggest some delightful, (and some very Jewish!) nicknames for her in the interim: Little Babka, Shayna Maideleh, and Snuggle Bunny. Finally, they arrive at the synagogue. The naming ceremony begins, and we get to learn the baby’s real name: “Aliza Shira”, the Hebrew whose meaning echoes the title of the book, “joyful song”. The illustrations by Susan Gal have rich details and vibrant colors throughout the story that seem to echo the stained-glass windows of the synagogue. The emotions Gal captures—especi

Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Rebecca Greer Buy at Bookshop.org This sequel to Today Tonight Tomorrow takes place as new couple Rowan Roth and Neil McNair head off to college: unfortunately, different colleges, with Rowan going to Emerson in Boston and Neil at NYU. This leaves the pair to navigate a long-distance relationship as they experience living away from home for the first time. While they enjoy their respective cities, they suffer self-doubt as they embark on surprising journeys of self-discovery. Life-long romance fiction aficionado Rowan worries she can no longer write romance now that she’s in love. Rowan has an absentee roommate she was hoping to befriend and is left wondering if she did something wrong. Neil instantly bonds with his roommate Skyler, something he’s surprised about since Skyler is popular and confident while Neil is a self-described “nerd”. Neil’s issues with his

Space Torah: Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman’s Cosmic Mitzvah by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Craig Orback Intergalactic Afikomen, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Space Torah tells the story of astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, who flew into space five times between 1985 and 1996. In its opening pages, this beautiful picture book brings readers back to Hoffman’s childhood and adolescence, when his dreams of going into space begin in earnest. When he is finally able to join a space mission, he feels profound peace and gratitude in the vastness of the cosmos and thinks about God being up there with him. He even brings Jewish items with him on his missions- a siddur, a dreidel, a mezuzah. On his flight on the space shuttle Columbia, he brings a miniature Torah scroll and as he floats in zero gravity, he performs the mitzvah of reading from the Torah. Space Torah ’s strength comes from the way it shows the deep connection that Hoffman feels between himself a

The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler Carolrhoda Books (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org Rosie is on strike. Until now her life has been all about music. As a 12-yr old violin prodigy she has played Carnegie Hall, but all she wants is a normal life. Born with synesthesia, she senses music not just as sound, but also as colors, smells, tastes, and textures. It’s hard for her to figure out who she is without music, so, against her parent’s wishes, she’s taking a break from playing. Usually, her summers are spent at a prestigious summer music camp, but with nothing else to do, Rosie ends up spending the summer at her grandparents’ home with her mother.  The summer ahead does not feel promising to Rosie. She has just lost her best Julianne because of her music. She doesn’t know her grandparents very well - Grandpa Jack rarely talks, and ailing Grandma Florence has advanced Alzheimer’s. Rosie has no idea what to do wi