The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Kayla and Kugel's Silly Sukkot written & illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lisa Trank Buy at Bookshop.org Kayla and her parents are preparing for the holiday of Sukkot. Mom and Dad are building the sukkah, and Kayla, joined by her playful pup Kugel, join in the action, gathering items for the roof and making decorations. Woven in between the sukkah-building and Kugel’s silly antics are important mini-lessons about Sukkot, told with love and humor. For example, when Kugel offers a baseball bat he dug out from behind a bush for the sukkah roof, Kayla teaches him with gentleness that we only use things that grow. The affectionate tone grows along with the story, as when Kayla tells Kugel about her ancestors building and living in huts, and that we build a sukkah to remind us to be grateful for our homes. Kayla is a compassionate main character who models patience and compassion. Koffsky’s cente

Eve and Adam and Their Very First Day by Leslie Kimmelman, illustrated by Irina Augustinovich Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Linda Elovitz Marshall Buy at Bookshop.org On her very first day in the Garden of Eden, Eve (who is strong and inquisitive and not afraid of anything), meets Adam, who was made first and has a beautiful smile. Together, they wander the Garden giving names to things. Adam gives simple names. Eve prefers more imaginative ones. However, Day doesn’t last forever. The sun goes down. Night comes. Eve and Adam are nervous. It’s dark. They are new and have never seen night before. But they have faith and, together, they make it through. Kimmelman’s beautiful, lyrical language combines with Irina Augustinovich’s spectacularly sensitive illustrations to give readers a creative telling of Eve and Adam’s first day. The two have golden skin and wavy black hair, which can be interpreted as white, Asian, or Latinx. Ev

Tzimmes for Tzipporah by Megan Hoyt, illustrated by Christine Battuz Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Claire Freeland   Buy at Bookshop.org It's the first year that Tzipporah is old enough to help with the early fall harvest on her family's farm. Three days before the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, she rides on the tractor driven by her father, and they turn the soil. Tzipporah learns that the tractor has uncovered various root vegetables. Two days before Rosh Hashanah, our little main character helps gather the rutabagas, yams, turnips, potatoes, and carrots. She and her friends scrub off all the dirt. The day before Rosh Hashanah, Tzipporah and her folks ready the tzimmes, using an old family recipe. And on Rosh Hashanah they enjoy the tzimmes with friends and family after synagogue. A recipe and an author's note round out this sweet farm-to-table Rosh Hashanah story. The illustrations, which are bri

Counting on Shabbat by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Petronela Dostalova Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock Buy at Bookshop.org Shabbat is coming and everyone is getting ready to celebrate. It appears that a senior will be observing the holiday alone (albeit with his well-loved cats). But a family joins him, bringing food and smiles to everyone’s faces as they gather around the Shabbat table. The story, told in gentle rhyme, also introduces the youngest reader to the concept of counting. In fact, counting does double duty in this delightful board book. A toddler can practice counting from one to ten, but will also learn that we count on each other for kindness. This year has seen the release of several Jewish-themed board books and that is a good thing. In general, we need more Jewish board books, and specifically, more like this one. Somehow, the author has managed to combine the concept of counting, a positive

She's a Mensch! Jewish Women Who Rocked the World by Rachelle Burk and Alana Barouch, illustrated by Arielle Trenk Intergalactic Afikomen, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz Buy at Intergalactic Afikomen In this collection of short biographical sketches, authors Rachelle Burk and Alana Barouch (a mother and daughter team) tell readers about twenty Jewish women of extraordinary achievement. Yes, the book includes Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a few other well-known luminaries, but She’s a Mensch also offers readers a glimpse into the lives of women whose stories are not often told. Some of the stars of the book are people readers have probably never even heard of, such as Australian mountaineers Cheryl and Nikki Bart, a mother-daughter team who climbed the highest peaks of all seven continents. Activist April N. Baskin and scientist Nalini Nadkarni are examples of Jews of color discussed. Each of the nineteen, two-page spreads includes a four-line poem, a paragraph of

Beni's Tiny Tales: Around the Year in Jewish Holidays written and illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben Christy Ottaviano Books (imprint of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker Buy at Bookshop.org It’s clear from the Author’s Note that writing this latest Beni book during the pandemic was a labor of love for Jane Breskin Zalben. The first book in this series about a family of anthropomorphic Jewish bears was published 35 years ago and the last 25 years ago.  The book is not a picture book as we think of picture books today. It is reminiscent of the ‘treasuries’ that were popular a couple of generations ago, and is similar in that regard to Zalben’s Beni’s Family Treasury , a compilation of five Beni classic holiday books. This new treasury is 140 pages long, chock full of short stories (one for each of the ten included holidays), crafts, holiday music, recipes, etc. An explanation of each holiday precedes the “tiny tale.” Th