The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz   Buy at Bookshop.org The Keeper of Stories recalls the 1966 fire at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary library. After the fire was extinguished, the entire community, Jews and gentiles, came together in Operation Booklift to try to save the swollen, waterlogged books. After a number of failed attempts to dry the books, a volunteer proposed the method that worked: layering paper towels between the soaked pages. But this extraordinary book is about more than that incident. It’s about how libraries and people both function as guardians of our stories. Pritchard uses poetic language and lovely, metaphorical imagery to emphasize the idea that while the library and the community’s many hands saved the books, it is the Jewish people who keep our stories alive. Though many books were “consumed” by the fire, ...

  Shabbat Shalom, Let's Rest and Reset written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Ann Koffsky   Buy at Bookshop.org In Shabbat Shalom, Let’s Rest and Reset, author and illustrator Suzy Ultman speaks directly to the youngest readers and distills the concept of Shabbat for them. Using kid friendly language, she helps them to connect to the idea of a Sabbath rest in ways that they can understand. This is a challenge, as Shabbat is usually described as a day that we refrain from work. But…three-year-olds don’t usually have 9-5 to five jobs! So how to put it in terms that connect to them and their lives? Ultman brilliantly does so by saying that Shabbat is different. All the others day of the week are for DOING, while Shabbat is for BEING. She also recognizes how different personalities will best each enjoy the Shabbat their own way—some will enjoy with family, while others will enjoy just being alone. But at its core, Shab...

Yes, We'll Do It! by Dafna Strum, illustrated by Shahar Kober, translated by Ilana Kurshan Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2025 Category: Picture Books  Reviewer: Julie Ditton   Buy at Bookshop.org Dafna Strum's amusing story follows a parade of people who each step in to help the other, resulting in some silly situations. When people help friends who find themselves short-handed, they need to rely on someone else to take over their own job. Although the replacements will cause the readers to laugh, the story demonstrates how important it is to lend a helping hand. Translator Ilana Kurshan has brought this cute story to English speaking readers using clever rhymes. Shahar Kober's colorful illustrations with predominant shades of pink and olive set a whimsical tone. In the afterward, the author states "According to ancient Jewish teachings, 'All the people of Israel are responsible for one another'” (Sifra, Bechukotai 7:5). And of cou...

  Same Page by Elly Swartz Delacorte Press, 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer   Buy at Bookshop.org When Bess Stein is elected class president, she is determined to make a positive impact on her school. Her first initiative is to install a book vending machine filled with diverse stories that reflect all the students in her community. However, the machine quickly sparks controversy when some parents label certain books as "dangerous." Leading the charge against it is the mother of a girl Bess once considered a friend. As Bess fights to keep the books accessible, she realizes that changing minds is far more challenging than she expected. Elly Swartz powerfully captures the harsh reality of book bans happening in schools across the country. The most heartbreaking part of reading this novel is knowing that, in many places, a story like this one could be banned itself. Like many other Jewish kids, being Jewish is infused in Bess's character. She wears a Jewi...

The Truth About the Tooth Fairy (Miriam's Magical Creature Files series) by Leah Cypess, illustrated by Sarah Lynne Reul Amulet Books (imprint of Harry N. Abrams), 2025 Category: Early Chapter Book Reviewer: Dena Bach   Buy at Bookshop.org Six-year-old Miriam, the youngest in her family, thinks that her older siblings and her parents are telling her the most ridiculous things. The most ridiculous of all is about the tooth fairy. Funny, clever, irreverent Miriam does not believe that the tooth fairy is real, and she’s determined to prove it. Once her first loose tooth begins to wiggle, Miriam makes a plan. She will stay up all night and catch the tooth fairy in action. But when her tooth finally falls out on Shabbat, Miriam must put her plan on hold. She wonders what the tooth fairy will do, especially, if as she suspects, it’s really her father. He can’t put money under her pillow on Shabbat. After Shabbat is over, Miriam continues her quest. Yet at the end of the narrative, both t...

Shabbat Shalom, the Trucks Come Home by Sherri Mandell, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Julie Ditton   Buy at Bookshop.org   Welcome Shabbat with your little one with this adorable picture book. Lots of little kids love their toy trucks and Sherri Mandell has created a cute story with construction trucks celebrating the sabbath. Mandell lists several different trucks along with Shabbat elements. Each truck contributes to the celebration and soon we have a Shabbat dinner complete with grape juice, candles, chicken, challah, soup, and dessert. Her catchy rhymes are brought to life with cute colorful illustrations. This book is perfect for a Jewish child's home library. As the author's note points out, Shabbat is that much more special when everyone helps out. As a bonus the book even has a "Meet the Trucks" section in the back. Although it is aimed specifically at Jewish children, ...