The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus, illustrated by Bryan Langdo Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org   Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus and illustrated by Bryan Langdo is a sweet story of an interfaith household. Jewish Anna is excited when she realizes Santa will come to her house for the first time this year. Her new Christian stepbrother Michael is sure Santa will eat his homemade cookies, but Anna has other ideas. She thinks Santa would love the Jewish food her family has -- from Bubbe Sadie’s matzo ball soup to noodle kugel to tzimmes. But all of those delicious foods aren’t quite the finger food Santa needs, so she finally figures out Santa can eat latkes and not make a mess. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, and I particularly loved the images of Santa with latkes high in his bag on his sleigh. The book represents many interfaith families today, who partake in Christmas and Hanukkah. In addition, Latkes for Santa Claus comes wit

Not Your All-American Girl by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz In 2017, Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang came out with This is Just a Test , the story of David Da Wei Horowitz, a 12-year-old, half-Jewish, half-Chinese boy, set in the 1980s. Now, in 2020, the authors have written Not Your All-American Girl , the story of David’s younger sister, Lauren. In Not Your All-American Girl , Lauren faces friendship hiccups and the thinly veiled prejudice of her school drama teacher. Lauren sings beautifully and kills her audition for the school musical, but her best friend Tara is cast as the lead. The drama teacher tells Lauren that she just doesn’t look like the all-American girl that Tara embodies. Lauren’s musical talent, along with her dark hair and culturally mixed features, land her in the ensemble. Lauren is disappointed and confused, but she ends up making friends with other ensemble members, even as her friendship wi

Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed Category: Young Adult Reviewer: A.R. Vishny This book, about two teens falling in love while working together on a local election, is a sweet, joyful read. It follows Jamie Goldberg and Maya Rehman, two soon-to-be high school seniors paired together to canvass for the Democratic candidate running in their district. Jamie, who is Jewish, is trying to shore up his public-speaking skills for his sister’s Bat Mitzvah. Maya, who is South-Asian and Muslim, is looking for a distraction from a Ramadan filled with unwelcomed changes and disappointments. An antisemitic meme making rounds in the community and a proposed law banning Hijabs force both teens to consider the best way forward to fight bigotry in their backyard. The book alternates between Maya and Jamie's points of view, with the first person narration consistently strong through out. This book’s greatest strength, however, is its cast of characters. Jamie and Maya are