The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Promise by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams, illustrated by Cinzia Battistel Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org Jacob and Hassan live in a small village in Morocco. The boys go to different schools, practice different faiths, and are best friends. They play together in the cool, lush garden of Jacob’s family, designed to resemble gardens of ancestral Spain. Their families share meals, conversations, and drink mint tea together in the lovely garden. Hassan’s father says, “A garden is a prayer.” And Jacob’s father says, “A garden is also a promise.” The boys agree and tend the garden together. All is well until news arrives: “Frightening things, terrible hateful things, were being done to Jews in Europe.” Fearing the spread of danger, Jacob’s family must flee Morocco. Before Jacob departs, he asks Hassan to tend the garden. Hassan promises he will. Years later, a grey-haired Jacob re

Mazal Bueno! by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Taia Morley Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org This lively board book introduces little ones to a Sephardic family and their special way of celebrating blessings in their everyday lives. The more common Jewish phrase "Mazal Tov" becomes the Sephardic Ladino "Mazal Bueno!" in this appealing tiny tale. As a Sephardic author, Aroeste is able to incorporate a casual, genuine Sephardic perspective into this sweet and postitive slice of life. The book focuses on the small achievements of a small person-- a baby learning (among other things) to walk and speak, in the loving setting of parents who rejoice in every little milestone of baby's life. The Jewish representation in MAZAL BUENO is implicit rather than explicit, with an aptly brief note on the back cover of the book explaining context. The warm brown skin tones and curly h

Repairing the World by Linda Epstein Aladdin (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org ...maybe there really was magic here, things that were beyond what she thought, beyond what she already knew about the world. Daisy and Ruby are such close friends, they might as well be sisters. And like the best of sisters, they give and take from each other's strengths. Ruby's daring spirit and magical way of seeing the world give Daisy courage and inspiration. But when Ruby is suddenly torn from Daisy's life by a car accident, Daisy loses that courage and inspiration just when she needs it the most.   All the magic seems to have gone out of the world. Daisy will never regain what she has lost. But in the spirit of tikkun olam, she discovers that healing can spring from finding community in the wider world. Working together with new friends, she rekindles the magic for others that Ruby was so good at discovering for hers

The Button Box by Bridget Hodder & Fawzia Gilani-Williams Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org When Granny Buena shows her grandchildren (Jewish Ava and her Muslim cousin Nadeem) the family button box, they have no idea that the buttons within it are magic. After they touch a special button, they travel in time and space to 8th century Morocco, where they meet their ancestors and help a Muslim prince get to safety in Spain. As Ava and Nadeem learn about daily life in medieval Morocco, including the trade in herbal remedies and spices and the meals, the reader learns about them too. Helpful back matter includes a glossary and an authors’ note explaining who Sephardic Jews are, explaining which parts of the book are true and which merely based on fact, and encouraging children to speak up against antisemitism and Islamophobia. This reviewer found the book’s focus on commonalities in the Mu

A Persian Passover by Etan Basseri, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing Company), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Kalaniot Years ago, at NerdCamp Michigan, I once had the privilege of hearing author Tracey Baptiste talk about #ownvoices representation. Her words evoked powerful images and feelings as she described her Caribbean island childhood, demonstrating how much deeper a story can go when it's told by one who has actually lived it. But why am I talking about Tracey Baptiste in a review of a book by Etan Basseri and illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh? Because I was reminded of how valid Baptiste's points were, while reading Basseri and Kheiriyeh's vibrant, immersive picture book about Mizrahi Jews. Readers can tell that the author and the illustrator have genuine cultural experience related to their subject, which is a Passover celebration in mid 20th-century Persia, now known as Iran. Every pag

Starlight Soup: A Sukkot Story by Elana Rubinstein, illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org A girl with a super-sniffer nose, her loving Jewish family who own a restaurant, and her friend whose family own a rival restaurant -- this magical Sukkot tale is pure delight!   Saralee's family has built a wonderful sukkah entwined with leaves and vines and flowers, and they are ready to celebrate the holiday by welcoming diners to their restaurant for joyful feasting. But young Saralee is a bit tired of the usual traditional foods. Standing in the sukkah one evening, under the stars, she decides to use her incredible gift, her super-powerful sense of smell, to capture the scent and taste of starlight and infuse it into a magical soup. When anyone tastes this Starlight Soup, that person instantly experiences their favorite flavor. It's wonderful! It's miracul

Something New for Rosh Hashanah by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Christine Battuz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org Author Jane Yolen delivers again, this time in a charming picture book that sets up a sing-song rhythm as it encourages kids to start the new year right on Rosh Hashanah. Big, vibrant images of the red-haired main character Rebecca and her feline sidekick will capture the attention of little ones.   Rebecca, like many pre-schoolers, has a problem with trying anything new. In fact, her taste is so limited that she refuses to eat anything green or anything that seems like meat. Kids will identify with Rebecca's choosiness, which brings to mind Russell Hoban's classic "Bread and Jam for Frances." (In fact, this book may be a great choice for reading with kids on the autism spectrum who have limited food choices due to sensory issues.)   By example, Rebecca'

I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis Scholastic Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Bridget Hodder   Buy at Bookshop.org Both the story and the excellent back matter of I SURVIVED THE NAZI INVASION 1944 by Lauren Tarshis inform young readers in an exciting, effective way about a particular facet of the Jewish Holocaust experience. The book explores, from a child's point of view, the complex interaction of Nazi invaders with the local populations (both resisters and collaborators) and the ethical and emotional struggles involved. The text is well-researched and will provide all readers, Jews and non-Jews, with a window into that troubled time. Tarshis accomplishes all this education almost invisibly, while enthralling kids with an exciting, fast-paced story. This is clearly one good reason her I SURVIVED... books are popular in many classrooms, and this book is no exception. In order to amp up the adrenaline level, the series in general does emphasize the violence of

The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel, illustrated by Sean Rubin Holiday House Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org This delightful picture book re-imagines the magical tale of the Passover Guest in the historical setting of 1930's Washington, DC. The book's delicately fantastical illustrations slip the tether on readers' imaginations and help them absorb aspects of both the history of Passover and the history of the US during the Great Depression. The result is a deeply engaging folk tale grounded in a reality that could be bleak, were it not for the enduring ties of faith and love. The love manifests in many ways, including love of family, love of community, and the open-handed love given by an impoverished Jewish family to a Passover stranger whom they welcome to their scanty holy day table. This book comes to us at a particularly relevant moment. Children all over the US and the world have recently witnessed a mob, including antisemites, dese

The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol by Arthur A. Levine, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org As we all know, spinning Hanukkah dreidels isn't just about gleeful shrieking over heaps of shiny chocolate coins. The Hebrew letters on each side of the dreidel represent the beautiful phrase, "Nais Gadol Haya Shum"-- "A great miracle happened there." And from this shining holiday thread of words, coins and miracles, author Arthur A. Levine has spun a Hanukkah tale about a magical giver of gifts with eyes bright as coins, whose name, Nate Gadol, echoes the Hanukkah phrase on our dreidels. True to his name, (in Hebrew, Nathan Gadol can loosely translate as "a great act of giving"), Nate Gadol appears in the book as a large smiling fellow with an equally large and giving heart. Nate also happens to be a heaven-sent spirit who answers people's prayers by making crucial things last as long as they are

Buen Shabat, Shabbat Shalom by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Ayesha L. Rubio Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder BUEN SHABAT, SHABBAT SHALOM is a board book. The text comprises one playful, free-rhyming couplet for each double page, setting the calm and happy scene of a loving Sephardic family celebrating Shabbat. But...how important can a board book be? Quite important, as it turns out. Since the authentic Jewish culture and Ladino language of the Sephardim are in danger of disappearing from the world, and are particularly invisible in the United States, it's important to raise awareness. It's also important to start educating our children about Sephardic culture very early. In literary terms, you can't get an earlier start than within the chunky cardboard pages of a board book. The Sephardic author, Sarah Aroeste, is also a singer-songwriter, making her a wonderful voice to "chant" the simple, sacred pleasures of her culture's