The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Call Across the Sea by Kathy Kacer Annick Press Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Sandy Wasserman Buy at Bookshop.org I was blown away by this book; I can’t say it any other way. While there’s the need for and interest in Holocaust books for children, so many teachers and parents are not comfortable with the negativity in so many of them, because of the fear of frightening children with graphic images of starvation and worse. This book, on the other hand, is totally positive in numerous ways! Uplifting! We meet the protagonist, a teen, a positive force! On the first page, we feel her love for Denmark, her understanding of her entire community including the Jewish people in it, her neighbors. We see her strength and character and desire to be part of a youth resistance movement when Hitler comes to power and the Nazis, the Gestapo, show up in growing numbers in Denmark. The reader is introduced into Henny’s school life, her entry into the Danish resistance, even the people wh...

Thank You, Dr. Salk! The Scientist Who Beat Polio and Healed the World by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Mike Dutton Farrar Straus Giroux Books For Young Readers (imprint of Macmillan) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock Buy at Bookshop.org Thank You, Dr. Salk introduces us to Jonas Salk as a child, an unlikely hero who figures out that there is more than one way to be brave. Inspired by his desire to heal the world, and specifically to eliminate polio, he demonstrates determination and a strong work ethic to realize his dream. The author relates Dr. Salk's life of study and scientific research in an uncomplicated and easily understandable way. Jonas Salk is a warm and relatable hero who will capture children's interest. The bright and engaging illustrations enhance the text and reinforce how important Dr. Salk and polio research was to the community. Dutton creates appealing and detailed urban neighborhoods of an earlier era filled with people of diverse backgrounds...

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros Inkyard Press Category: Young Adult Reviewer: A.R. Vishny Buy at Bookshop.org The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros is a YA historical fantasy set during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Alter is a young typesetter and recent immigrant to the United States, who is trying to save enough money to send for his mother and sister, who are still waiting back in Romania. His life is upended when his roommate, Yakov, is found dead on the premises of the World’s Fair and Alter becomes possessed by Yakov’s restless spirit as a dybbuk during tahara, the preparations for his burial. To free himself from the dybbuk and stop the steady stream of murders and disappearances of young Jewish men around the Fair, Alter must team up with the pickpocket ring-leader Frankie and the budding anarchist journalist Raizel to solve the murder mystery. This book is an impressive feat of YA Jewish historical fantasy. Polydoros builds a rich world for his characters to inhabit...

Alma Presses Play by Tina Cane Make Me a World (imprint of Penguin Random House) Category: Young Adult Reviewer: A.R. Vishny Buy at Bookshop.org Alma Presses Play by Tina Crane is a historical novel in verse, set in New York City’s East Village in the 1980s. Alma Rosen, who is Jewish and Chinese, loves music, her neighborhood, and her parents, who are inching closer to divorce by the day. As their marriage comes apart and as Alma matures, she must decide where she belongs.    This is a gorgeous verse novel, that renders Alma’s world in rich, effortless detail. Alma’s struggles with getting older, managing her friendships as they reach various cross-roads, and navigating complicated family dynamics make for a quiet and yet immersive read. Readers who tend to find that parents are typically footnotes in YA will appreciate the way this book portrays Alma’s family. Her mother’s evasiveness and her father’s frustrated dreams emerge in the text in interesting, nuanced way...

Recipe for Disaster by Aimee Lucido Versify Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org Recipe for Disaster by Aimee Lucio is not just tasty but also filling. Rebelling by embracing tradition, Hannah embarks on secret bat mitzvah lessons, given by her mother’s estranged rabbi sister. Hannah explores what being Jewish means to her as she compares herself to - and unwittingly judges - her friends and relatives of varying Jewish commitment, observance, and background. An antisemitic incident makes her further examine her Jewish identity. Using the framework of recipes - for friendship, for Judaism - for Hannah, who loves to bake, is effective.   Recipe for Disaster is a clear contender for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Its portrayal of a daughter of an interfaith marriage, struggling with her Jewish identity, obviously meets the requirement for authentic portrayal of Jewish life. With its beautiful writing and authentic understanding of this ag...

You're My Little Latke Written and illustrated by Natalie Marshall Silver Dolphin Books (imprint of Printers Row) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Mirele Kessous   Buy at Bookshop.org You’re My Little Latke is a Chanukah board book appropriate for children ages 0-3. Each page has a pair of Chanukah-related objects (menorahs, dreidels, latkes, etc.) depicted as parent and child. The narrator of the story, presumably the parent, is professing his/her love for their kinderlach . Endearing, bright pictures of baby menorahs and baby latkes are a crowd-pleaser, and toddlers who know something about the holiday will be excited to see their favorite parts of the holiday come alive. Although the text is age-appropriate, it is pretty generic and lacks the creativity present in the illustrations. In this reviewer's opinion, the author missed the opportunity to incorporate Hebrew words (for example, jelly donut is used instead of sufganiya). Nevertheless, if you are looking for a cute gi...

Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom by Callie Metler, Shirin Rahman, and Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Kate Talbot Clear Fork Publishing Category: Picture Book Reviewer: Cynthia Levinson Buy at Bookshop.org Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom by Callie Metler, Shirin Rahman, and Melissa Stoller tells the interlocking stories of three girls—Molly, who is Catholic, Savera, who is Muslim, and Hannah, who is Jewish. The girls are neighbors and elementary school classmates. Anxious on the first day of school, each child is fortunate to have a grownup who provides comfort through words and a necklace—a cross for Molly, a prayer for Savera, and a Mogen David for Hannah—which they notice on each other as soon as they meet. Their teacher shows them how to plant seeds. When the girls’ efforts are not immediately successful, they help each other replant. Through the winter, the colorful illustrations show the girls’ friendship blossoming as they play at each other’s homes. In ...