The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Where Is Poppy? by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Dana Wulfkotte Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld Buy at Bookshop.org A young girl attends the first Passover seder after the death of her beloved Poppy. So much is familiar -- "the same chasing cousins, the same squishy seats" -- but her Poppy has clearly passed away. It's hard for the young heroine emotionally, not to have this man leading the seder and influencing her life, with everything from his secret ingredient for pumping up the chicken soup to his pithy life advice when the girl would sit on his lap. Finally, though, as the adults tell her that Poppy is here, the heroine understands that Poppy lives in in their singing, Passover traditions like an orange on the seder plate, and the over-enthusiastic singing of Dayenu. Pritchard has crafted a touching story, with simple, appropriate, and equally touching art from Wulfkotte. I especially like

Gitty and Kvetch by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Ariel Landy Atheneum (imprint of Simon & Schuster) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Gitty, an ebullient little girl with unruly curls and overalls, gets her name from Gittel, Yiddish for “good.” Kvetch, which means to complain, isn’t usually a name. But it perfectly suits Gitty’s bird pal, who wears an old man’s hat and has a band-aid on his beak, and finds the cloud behind Gitty’s every silver lining. The contrast between the two provides the backbone of Gitty and Kvetch, a picture book about friendship and framing experience. What makes this book Jewish is Kvetch’s use of Yiddish words, defined in an appended glossary. (Other than one “oy vey,” Gitty speaks entirely in English).   The story opens with Gitty producing a swooping, splattering painting. Declaring the picture perfect for her “perfect, purple tree house,” she races off to find Kvetch, who warns that it might not