The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

It's time to meet your Sydney Taylor Shmooze admins! Three friends run this blog: Susan Kusel (whose brainchild it was) and her partners in crime, Chava Pinchuck and Heidi Rabinowitz. You can read a bit about us in the About section but we thought you might like to get to know each of us a little better. Today it's Heidi's turn. Heidi Rabinowitz 1. Describe a day in your professional life. Purim puppet show Things I hear every day: "Miss Heidi, what are we reading about today?" "Another book, please!"  "I'm going to Disney World tomorrow!" "I have a dog!" "The! End!" "I love you, Miss Heidi." Things I say every day: "Everybody say 'Hi, Miss Heidi!'" "Do you hear the rhyming in this book?" "You get what you get and you don't get upset." "Take your finger out of your nose." "What a good question!" "I love you too." Things...

Hi, I'm Heidi Rabinowitz, one of your editors at The Shmooze. I'm also the host of The Book of Life Podcast , where I've been interviewing Real Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee chairs for many years. I'd like to share with you the last three years of "big reveal" podcast episodes, in which that year's chair announces and discusses the winning Sydney Taylor Book Award titles.Getting familiar with past winners may help you in your quest to figure out what will win this year!

Marjorie Ingall (second from the left) wrote an effervescent piece about her experience as a Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee Member visiting the ALA Midwinter Meeting for the awards announcement. You can read it on AJL's blog here - go do it now, it's lots of fun and there are more pictures! It's called "ALA Midwinter: A Goat's Eye View." You'll understand what's with the goats once you read it....

Anya and the Dragon by Sofia Pasternack (Middle Grade Honor Book) is a historical magical fantasy set in 10th century Russia. Dissenter on the Bench by Victoria Ortiz (YA Honor Book) is a biography of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Both have strong female leads who care passionately about justice. What 2020 books about strong girls or women are you looking forward to? Leave us a comment. Anya and the Dragon at From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors Dissenter on the Bench at Jewish Books for Kids And the traditional Blog Tour finale, a virtual roundtable with the whole gang: Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour February 9-13, 2020 Click here for full blog tour schedule 

Two out-of-the-box books are featured on the blog tour today. Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz (YA Honor Book) is a romance with two Jewish leads, a disability #ownvoices story, a sicklit book in which nobody dies - all unusual traits. Games of Deception by Andrew Maraniss tells the unexpected true story of the invention of basketball and its intersections with Jewish history. Are there any 2020 Jewish kids' books coming out that you think break the mold? Tell us about them in the comments. Today's Blog Tour stops: Sick Kids in Love at Good Reads with Ronna Games of Deception at A Fuse #8 Production at School Library Journal The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour February 9-13, 2020 Click here for full blog tour schedule

Lesléa Newman and Amy June Bates received a Sydney Taylor Honor in the Picture Book category for Gittel's Journey . They are both past Sydney Taylor Book Award winners, having received the gold medal in 2016 for Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed . Lesléa also has quite a few Notable Books to her name:  Here Is the World in 2015, A Sweet Passover in 2013, Runaway Dreidel in 2002, and Fat Chance in 1994. Even more special, Lesléa was named a Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award winner this year for her overall contributions to the genre of Jewish children's literature. You can see past Body-of-Work Award winners here . Who else do you think would make a good Body-of-Work Award recipient? Today on the blog tour: Gittel's Journey on Mr. Schu Reads All the Authors and Illustrators on The Children's Book Podcast The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour February 9-13, 2020 Click here for full blog tour schedule

One more gold medalist is interviewed today on the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, and then we move on to silver medalists. These two books have interesting settings: Shanghai for Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin (the YA gold medalist), and Bosnia for The Key From Spain by Debbie Levy (an Honor picture book). What benefits or hurdles do you think might accrue to an author if they are not from the place where their book is set? Leave your thoughts in the comments. Someday We Will Fly at Out of the Box at The Horn Book The Key from Spain at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour February 9-13, 2020 Click here for full blog tour schedule