The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

This is Not a Cholent by Sarah Sassoon, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Eva L. Weiss Buy at Bookshop.org This cheerfully illustrated picture book is set in Australia and intended for pre-schoolers and young readers ages 4-8. The story is told from the perspective of a young girl, Amira, who, together with her grandmother, participates in a local "cholent" tasting competition. Their Iraqi recipe for t'bit, or hamin, is distinct from the standard Ashkenazic versions of this traditional Sabbath stew, prepared on Friday afternoon and slow-cooked (in accordance with Jewish law) until it is served on Sabbath morning. Amira, with her grandmother's support, succeeds in standing her ground despite the repeated claims that "This is not a cholent." Amira affirms, "It smells and tastes like other languages and other lands."    This simple, well-told tale brings to l

Ping-Pong Shabbat: The True Story of Champion Estee Ackerman by Ann Diament Koffsky, illustrated by Abigail Rajunov Little Bee Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Marcia Rosenthal Buy at Bookshop.org In this picture book biography, we learn the true story of Estee Ackerman. Estee learns how to play ping-pong at home and quickly develops a love for the game. Before long, she enters tournaments, beating opponents both younger and older than herself. Estee even wins a ping-pong match against one of the top professional tennis stars of all time: Rafael Nadal. She proves herself to be a skilled competitor, and her future holds much promise of becoming a champion in the sport. That opportunity comes sooner than one would have imagined. At just eleven years old, Estee has qualified for the championship match in the United States National Table Tennis Championship. But her excitement comes to an abrupt stop. She discovers that the match is scheduled to take place on Shabbat, thus cr

Always Anthony written and illustrated by Terri Libenson Balzer + Bray (imprint of HarperCollins), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Always Anthony is the newest addition to author/illustrator Terri Libenson’s "Emmie & Friends" series. As with the other books in the series, Libenson zeroes in on a particular aspect of adolescence that many children deal with and offers ways to handle these difficulties through the storyline. In Always Anthony , popular, athletic Anthony Randall is a whiz at science, but he struggles in language arts class. His teacher asks his classmate Leah Ruben to tutor him until he brings his grade up. Leah is reluctant to work with Anthony, as he is “TPFW” (Too Popular for Words), and she has been bullied by the popular kids in the past. As Anthony and Leah get to know one another, he shows her that you shouldn’t judge someone too hastily based on their friends, while she shows him the damage that being a bull

Max and the Not-So-Perfect Apology by Carl Harris Shuman, illustrated by Rory Walker and Michael Garton Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Greenblatt Max has a time machine – one that works! Author Carl Harris Shulman use this device, in this third title in the Torah Time Travel Series, to draw his audience in. Max takes off in it to seek solace after a fight with his best friend. He’s especially sad and angry because she has made a new friend, and won’t come with him. This trip lands him in the middle of the biblical Jacob story, which just happens to be the story his class is working on. It was this class project that started his disagreement with his special friend. The argument led each of them to say things they didn’t mean, but neither could find a way to apologize. Enter Jacob, here called Jake, a man who is estranged from his brother, but who wants to mend the relationship. As Max talks to Jacob about his struggle to

All Aboard for Noah's Ark by Elana Azose, illustrated by Monica Garofalo Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org All Aboard for Noah’s Ark takes the traditional Bible story and shifts the focus to how every creature, even the smallest, prickliest one, has a role to play and shouldn’t be underestimated. Noah dismisses the hedgehogs Lionel and Dolores’s offers to help. Instead, he asks the more stereotypically large, strong, and wise animals, but, we are told, each of them in turn, “didn’t know how to help” or was otherwise occupied. Rather than be discouraged, Lionel and Dolores take the initiative, sending out invitations to animals from around the globe and preparing meals to feed everyone on board. With a cheerful colorful palette, adorable, not-always-realistically-colored animals, and an aging Noah with white hair and purple robes, this trip on the ark feels a bit like a cruise, with

Becca and Benj (Becca the Brave, Book 1) by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Amy Jindra Reycraft Books, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org The first book of a new series for newly independent readers, Benj tells of life’s little events alongside his pal Becca. Among the highlights is celebrating Shabbat nearly every week with Becca and her family, and battling classmate “Warren the Worst.” Benj is short, chubby, and appears to be African American; taller Becca is white, Jewish, and brave “like a Maccabee”. These friends support and celebrate each other in a very genuine 1st-3rd grader way. Yiddish is sprinkled throughout as are some excellent vocabulary building words, each with definition and pronunciation worked smoothly into the text. An incident with a mildly antisemitic tone (Warren calls Shabbat “Shabbat-butt-butt”) is rectified with gentle guidance by a neighbor: “‘It’s good to invite your enemies for matzah ball soup,” Mrs. Lieberman said

My Mezuzah written and illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (Behrman House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org A young rabbit jumps up and down in an effort to touch an interior mezuzah in this board book. After several not-quite-high-enough attempts, Mommy comes to save the day by little up her little bunny, and the mezuzah is kissed at last. Uncluttered illustrations feature a palette of bright blue, yellow, and orange. An afterword depicts several designs of mezuzot and a brief explanation of what one is and how it marks a Jewish space. This is clearly a book for a Jewish audience, as a knowledge of why a child would want to kiss a mezuzah is needed; there is nothing in the text or endnote to explain why this is done. The persistence shown is fairly brief and there is no problem-solving included before the mother steps in to assist. This book has a very limited text and the majority of the explicit Jewish content is in the e