The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

On Friday Afternoon: A Shabbat Celebration by Michal Babay, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt Charlesbridge, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org With On Friday Afternoon , author Michal Babay and illustrator Menachem Halbertstadt have given us an upbeat and cheerful portrait of a family getting ready for Shabbat—specifically, Friday night dinner. The main characters are a young girl, Leelee, and her dog Pickles. They giggle and race through the house making messes, cleaning up those messes (because Shabbat is coming) and then making still more chaos. Each encounter leads fluidly into the next: when they discover change under the couch, that leads to making a tzedkah box; finding a trombone while cleaning the bedroom leads them to marching in a musical parade. The structure reminded me of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series-- in the best of ways. Halbertstadt’s illustrations are exuberant and joyful. Leelee’s slightly rumpled hair gives off oodl

Hanukkah Upside Down by Elissa Brent Weissman, illustrated by Omer Hoffmann Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky   Buy at Bookshop.org From their homes in New York and New Zealand, cousins Noah and Nora celebrate Hanukkah. But which one's got it right side up, and which upside down? They have an eight-night competition to decide which side of the world celebrates it best. Is Hanukkah better in New York’s winter or New Zealand’s summer? Does it go best with snowballs or surfboards? As the competition goes on, readers get to see how each cousin celebrates the holiday differently, and also what they have in common. While they each do things differently from different sides of the world, they BOTH light the chanukiah, spin a sivivon, and enjoy latkes and sufganiot. The story is upbeat and cheerful throughout, with the competition never getting anything beyond friendly. The arc of the story—one new activity of difference, and one in comm

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

Two New Years by Richard Ho, illustrated by Lynn Scurfield Chronicle Books, 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org In Two New Years , a family that is both Chinese and Jewish celebrates Rosh Hashanah in the Fall and the Lunar Year in the Spring. Both holidays are shown as parallel in their meanings and symbolism, and each spread displays Jewish customs alongside the Chinese ones. The rich backmatter gives a full and complete description of each of the practices from both traditions. I was particularly struck by how effectively Ho finds universal meaning and values across the two holidays. For example, the text shares how, “We prepare foods that symbolize togetherness and the heartfelt sharing of good wishes.” The illustrations accompanying the words show the traditional Jewish Rosh Hashanah foods on one side, like apples and honey, and a Chinese traditional sectioned platter, with nuts and fruits on the other. Beautiful! The illustrations are exuberan

Dream Big, Laugh Often, and More Great Advice from the Bible by Hanoch Piven and Shira Hecht-Koller, illustrated by Hanoch Piven Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Ann Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org Dream Big, Laugh Often explains its mission on its first page, saying that, “even though the stories of the Bible are very old, there is still a lot that we can learn from each of these characters." With that premise set up, the book describes fourteen biblical characters. Each one has an illustration and a brief text. The headers include the character’s name, followed by the lesson to be learned. (For example: Noah: Be Good. Abraham: Trust the Journey.) The text references the traditional bible stories, but does not retell them. Instead, it uses them as jumping off points, highlighting the “advice’. So for example, In the profile of Jonah there is no mention of Nineveh. It instead focuses on Jonah needing a time out (inside the fish!). Most times, this appro

Under-the-Sea Seder written & illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lisa Trank Buy at Bookshop.org In Under-the-Sea Seder , Miri is crunching the matzoh too loud, she’s slurping the grape juice, and doing just about anything she can do to fight off her Passover seder boredom. Her parents beg her to be quiet and sit still, but Miri simply can’t, so she escapes underneath the seder table and to an imaginary Under-the-Sea Seder, accompanied by Abby the cat, complete with submarines, underwater caves, and sea monsters. After a truly original and hilarious version of the four questions, Miri’s parents call her back in time for seder songs, which she can sing at the top of her lungs.  This is a book that every Jewish family will connect to and laugh out loud with. The illustrations are colorful, charming, and add to the overall fun and humor of the entire story, as well as make the reader want to turn the

  Puppy for Hanukkah by Nancy Parent, illustrated by the Disney Storybook Art Team Little Golden Books (imprint of Random House Disney), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ann D. Koffsky Buy at Bookshop.org Building on Daveed Digg’s video that went viral last year, Puppy for Hanukkah by Nancy Parent follows a young boy through the eight days of Hanukkah as he enjoys lighting candles, playing dreidel, eating latkes, and tearing open presents. But what he REALLY wants for Hanukkah is a puppy. Will he get one? (Spoiler alert: he does!) The book’s text feels like it has two authors. Excerpts from Digg’s original rap are set in italics, while Parent’s words are set alongside them in roman type. Digg’s words are rhythmic and rappy, while Parent’s words do the heavy lifting of explaining the holiday to the uninitiated: that it’s eight days long, there’s a miracle, and you can eat your latkes with sour cream. What’s most remarkable -even revolutionary- about this deceptively simple Disne

What's in Tuli's Box? by Ann D. Koffsky Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock Buy at Bookshop.org In What's in Tuli's Box? the reader meets a cute, curious kitten and his wise, nurturing mama. Tuli discovers a tzedakah box and finds out that it's not a toy, but a tool to collect money and help people. Author/illustrator Ann D. Koffsky has created a book that is perfectly suited for the youngest readers. The adorable cover will attract a child's interest and the title will pique their curiosity right along with Tuli's. Using sparse text, Koffsky has managed to tell an entertaining story while presenting a gentle introduction to the important concept of tzedakah—charitable giving. She also seamlessly integrates a lesson about opposites (light/heavy, empty/full) into the story. Some spreads are laid out vertically, requiring the book to be rotated; this may serve to keep young readers engaged.

Yitzy Aims High by Ann D. Koffsky, illustrated by Margeaux Lucas Category: Early Chapter Book Reviewer: Chava Pinchuck Buy at Menucha Yitzy is waiting in the lobby of the synagogue while his father prays in the sanctuary. But it is taking a very long time. Yitzy has been entertaining himself by playing with his toy dragon and barrel of monkeys, but is bored and decides to kiss the mezuzah on the doorpost of the shul. It is up pretty high, and his attempts at jumping to reach it are not working. His toys start talking to him, with the monkeys forming a chain to help him, and the dragon trying to fly Yitzy to the mezuzah, but still, no success. Then Mr. Gertz arrives in a wheelchair and asks Yitzy to hold the door open so he can go in. To return the favor, Mr. Gertz tells Yitzy to climb onto his lap. Yitzy puts his feet on the arms of the wheelchair, and he can reach the mezuzah and kiss it. Yitzy realizes Mr. Gertz can't reach the mezuzah, so he gets him a siddur to tap it. Yitzy

Kayla and Kugel's Happy Hanukkah written and illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judith S. Greenblatt Buy at Apples & Honey Kayla and Kugel’s Happy Hanukkah is Ann D. Koffsky’s third Kayla and Kugel book, joining Kayla and Kugel , and Kayla and Kugel’s Almost Perfect Passover , Kayla’s puppy Kugel gets into only a small amount of trouble as he helps her get ready for Hanukkah. Together, after first examining the Purim box, they find the box of hanukkiot (a word not used) and dreidels, and Kayla explains the Hanukkah story to Kugel. The illustrations are very appealing, including those parts of the story that are age appropriate. The retelling of the story of Hanukkah is nicely set off by the use of a color palette different from that of Kayla and Kugel’s story. Full color is used for child and dog; the Hanukkah story is shown in burnished gold with details in browns and grey. Kayla and Kugel’s Happy Hanukkah meets the Sydney Taylor criteria of hav