The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Secret of the Scent Map (A Saralee Siegel Book) by Elana Rubinstein, illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Early Chapter Books Reviewer: Rochelle Newman-Carrasco   Buy at Bookshop.org   The Secret of the Scent Map is narrated by protagonist Saralee Siegel, a girl with an “amazing, incredible, totally awesome ability”—a super-nose! Her extraordinary sense of smell helps her create innovative recipes for her family’s restaurant, especially during Passover. Saralee loves working alongside her beloved Zaide, but tensions rise when her Aunt Lotte refuses to help, complains about having to polish silverware, and even sneaks bites of food meant for customers. Saralee, a natural helper, is frustrated by her aunt’s laziness—especially when Lotte knocks over a bowl of painstakingly prepared horseradish, an essential ingredient for maror. Furious, Saralee has an outburst, yelling, “YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING!” The next ...

One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe by Dara Horn, illustrated by Theo Ellsworth Norton Young Readers, 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Carrus   Buy at Bookshop.org   In Dara Horn’s new graphic novel, she brings her memories of family seders to middle grade and teen readers. They will definitely be able to relate to the angst of being caught at the dinner table for many hours with elderly relatives and younger cousins and siblings. Horn creates a witty, funny story about what can happen if you never find the afikoman, the dessert without which a seder cannot end.    Bringing to life the goat from Chad Gadya, the song sung at the end of the seder about a father buying a goat for two zuzim, our protagonist is able to be the hero and find the missing matzah after six months of being stuck at the seder. The goat takes this “wise child” on a journey, meeting characters from many seders throughout history, from the recent past (the USSR in the 1980s, the Wars...

Roadside Seder by Anna Levine, illustrated by Naama Lahav Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker   Buy at Bookshop.org   Roadside Seder is a lively, joyful story about improvising a seder and making it meaningful for all different kinds of Jewish celebrants. Benjy and his family are on the way to their seder in Jerusalem, but they soon realize the traffic jam they’re in is no ordinary one. A giant palm tree has fallen and blocked the road. Benjy’s family is not alone in having their seder plans upended. After all the stopped cars pour out their many kids and adults, the throng tries to move the immovable tree. Even Benjy’s dog, Matzah, pitches in--but to no avail. As the sun is setting, the families wonder how they can celebrate the holiday. Benjy, outfitted as Moses, raises his cane, and announces his grand idea: use the tree trunk as a table, and have everyone contribute whatever seder ritual objects and fo...

A Purr-fect Passover by Jenna Waldman, illustrated by Erica J. Chen Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Susan Tarcov   Buy at Bookshop.org Three kittens—each different, each adorable—prepare for and host a Passover seder. They go through all the steps, from searching the house for leavened foods at the beginning of the book to cleaning up after the meal at the end. The story is told with wit (the Four Questions begin with “Meow-nishtanah”) and in impressively “purr-fect” rhythm and rhyme: It's afikoman searching time, where can that matzah be? High and low, the kitties go, but who will find it? “Me!” Although all the seder guests are cats, at the end even the mouse in the house gets a taste of matzah. The illustrations have clever little touches: each flower painted by the kittens is clearly a single pawprint. The kitties are of various breeds - tabby, Siamese, and tortoiseshell. They wear no markers of Judaism (no kippot or ...

Passover on Everest by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Craig Orback Intergalactic Afikoman, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld   Buy at Bookshop.org This nonfiction picture book introduces us to Nikki Bart, a young Jewish climber. Together with her mother, she scaled mountains of all sizes, beginning with Masada in Israel when Nikki was just a girl. When Nikki moved into teen-hood, she and her mother set an ambitious goal: to climb the highest mountains on each continent, beginning with their native Australia. They carried out this plan, from Denali to Kilimanjaro. The only one remaining was Everest.  Nikki and her family were also Jews who observed Passover, with a beloved seder where Nikki would share her adventures with those in attendance. It turned out that Nikki and her mother's trip to Mount Everest would coincide with Passover. They formed a relationship with their Buddhist sherpa, who was intrigued by the holiday. To their shock, the sherpas arrange...

Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis Crown Books for Young Readers in partnership with PJ Library, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock   Buy at Bookshop.org   Next Year in the White House starts off by telling the reader that while Christmas and Easter had long been observed at the White House, 2009 marked the first time that Passover was celebrated. This book recounts the interesting, true story of how that came to be. The first scene opens with Malia, Sasha, and their dog Bo in the formal dining room as the staff prepares a traditional Passover dinner. The table is set beautifully with a Seder plate at the center. At this point, we reach the title page. Aha! So this is where the real story starts. Flashback to a year earlier when three young staffers—Eric, Arun, and Herbie—were on the presidential campaign trail with then-Senator Barack Obama. They believe deeply in their candi...

The Mysterious Missing Matzoh by Alan Katz, illustrated by Adam Auerbach Harper (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org The Mysterious Missing Matzah opens with the Cohen family – parents and four children - enjoying the Passover seder at Grandpa Murray and Grandma Norma's home. It is time to hide the afikomen and Grandpa Murray wants to find a hiding place which his grandchildren won't be able to detect. However, as he's searching for the perfect spot, he hears that the matzoh ball soup is being served (it seems that this family's practice is to begin eating the meal right after hiding the afikomen). He rejoins his family back at the table, but after the meal, the kids can't find the afikomen and Grandpa Murray doesn't remember, as he got distracted by the aforementioned soup. And so, the mystery is set in motion: where is the afikomen? Pen and ink illustrations combine differe...