The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Mendel's Hanukkah Mess Up by Chana and Larry Stiefel, illustrated by Daphna Awadish Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman   Buy at Bookshop.org Mendel has “messed up” so many Hanukkahs with hysterical thoughtless mistakes that he is shocked when his rabbi gives him the most important task of all. This year he will drive the Mitzvah Mobile through the town to share the miracle of Hanukkah. All goes well until he drives under a low overpass, “crumpling the car like used gift wrap”. A new holiday miracle occurs: in the wreckage, the menorah’s candles are still lit! All ends well when the local news covers the event, allowing Mendel to broadcast the message, “we each have a spark to light up the world.” Digital artwork adds to the fun, creating opportunities for discussion while keeping young readers excited about turning the pages. Backmatter including a brief history of the holiday, dreidel playing instructi

The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Siefel, illustrated by Susan Gal Scholastic Press, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeannette Brod Buy at Bookshop.org In The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs , Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal have created a fitting tribute to the creator of the Tower of Life (or Tower of Faces) at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Professor Yaffa Eliach spent much of her professional life gathering photos, diaries, and stories from the village of Eishyshok that her family fled as the Nazis invaded. When charged with creating a Holocaust memorial for the Museum, she traveled across continents and into the homes of Holocaust survivors to gather nearly 6,000 photographs from inhabitants of her town. She hoped to create a memorial that would capture the dignity and humanity of the townspeople who lived ordinary lives in unsuspecting innocence