The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Benjy's Messy Room by Barbara Diamond Goldin, illustrated by Rita Tan Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Benjy is a pack rat and his bedroom is littered with toys. This is not a good combination the day before Passover. His big sister, Naomi, warns him that their parents expect a clean room before the Passover hunt for breadcrumbs that night. Hoping for the fun of last year, when he was allowed to lead the hametz hunt with a candle, Benjy decides to tackle the big job of cleaning his room. When his little sister, Shira, interrupts his resolve with a plea to play, Benjy comes up with a game to practice for the hametz hunt. He hides balls of paper around his room for Shira to find. In the process, big brother and little sister clean up a messy bedroom just before dark. With colorful, expressive illustrations, Benjy’s Messy Room is a joyous story of preparing for Passover. Benjy teaches his

Remembering Rosalind Franklin: Rosalind Franklin and the Discovery of the Double Helix Structure of DNA by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Gretchen Ellen Powers Christy Ottaviano Books (imprint of Little Brown), 2024 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Remembering Rosalind Franklin begins with an author’s note warning that this story does not have a happy ending. The preface goes on to explain that sometimes people can do extraordinary things and “never even find out they made a difference.” With this preparation, the reader is ready to understand that those who do the groundwork for important scientific achievements deserve to be remembered, too.  Rosalind Franklin was born in 1920 into a large Jewish family living in London, England. She enjoyed beach holidays at her grandparents’ country home where she first saw a darkroom and learned how photographs were developed. Though she lived in a time when most girls were not encouraged to pursue academics

The Circlemaker by Maxine Rose Schur, cover art by Polina Solomodenko Lawley Publishing, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Mendel loves to wake up early and meet his best friend Zalman at the riverbank. They play with toy boats until they must run to arrive at school on time. He is a happy boy in spite of the poverty imposed by antisemitic restrictions in Ukraine in 1852 and a bully named Dovid who calls him K’vatsh, the Yiddish word for coward. Everything changes when the Czar’s soldiers come to his village to kidnap boys for the military. To avoid twenty-five years of conscription, Mendel cuts his earlocks and flees his village with only a vague plan to reach his Aunt Bella in America. His journey through Ukraine to reach the Hungarian border is a fast-paced adventure. Mendel doesn’t know who to trust and one hurdle follows another. When he finds smugglers, he learns that his nemesis, also on the run from the Czar’s soldiers, is being helped b

The Gray by Chris Baron Feiwel & Friends, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Sasha’s summer plans are abruptly changed when his doctor suggests a break from technology. Instead of playing marathon games of Earthforge with his friend Daniel, Sasha is headed to a rural town in upstate New York to stay with his Aunt Ruthie. Cell service is so spotty there, Sasha can’t even use his phone on a reliable basis. He is wary of a device-free summer. How can being away from everything he enjoys help him manage his anxiety? Aunt Ruthie is a supportive ally, sharing the story of Rabbi Akiva who learned that “change happens little by little” after examining the power of water to slowly erode stone. Sasha employs a grounding technique to help him handle what he calls the “Gray,” those times when he feels so overwhelmed, “it feels like I go to a different place.” And Aunt Ruthie wisely advises, “When things feel big, take them just one step at a time.”  Thi

Moses and the Runaway Lamb by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Eleanor Rees Howell Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Suzanne Grossman Buy at Bookshop.org In this version of the midrashic tale found in Shemot Rabbah 2:2, Moses is developing the characteristics that lead G-d to select him to later lead the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. Refreshingly represented as a dark-skinned young man, Moses goes in search of one little lamb that has wandered off. Not giving up until he has reunited the lamb with its mother, Moses realizes that even though he has many other lambs, each one is valuable. Observing this event, G-d chooses Moses to later lead His people because of his compassion and commitment to every living creature. Flowing artwork with a light palette brings the reader into the desert atmosphere of wide open spaces and wilderness, adding to the appeal of the story.  The Jewish content is prevalent throughout with the f

The Porridge-Pot Goblin by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Hector Borlasca Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Leah Cypess Buy at Bookshop.org The Porridge-Pot Goblin is a charming picture book in which an invisible goblin disrupts the Shabbat preparations of two village children. After several mishaps and some chaos, the children outsmart the goblin and save the Shabbat meal (and their mother’s nap). The story focuses on Shabbat preparations, and the chaos of the goblin’s mischief is contrasted to the peace and happiness of the Friday night meal, in a way that makes the atmosphere of Shabbat feel almost tangible. The well-written text and delightful illustrations work together to bring this fun, humorous story to life. It should be a strong contender for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. Illustration Editor  Dena Bach  adds: The illustrator sets the story in a shtetl-like village with lively, off-kilter images reminiscent of an

My Name Is Hamburger by Jacqueline Jules Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Naomi Morse Buy at Bookshop.org My Name is Hamburger tells the historically accurate experiences of a lone Jewish child in a small Southern town in the 1960’s. Children were expected to be quiet about being Jewish in 1960’s, as Jews and foreigners were not welcomed in many small towns. Fourth grader Trudie Hamburger is the only Jewish child in her small town school. The class bully teases her hatefully about her foreign sounding Jewish name, while her teachers look the other way. She is quiet while her classmates sing Christmas Carols, and is sent to the library, where she helps shelve books and talks to the librarian. She doesn’t return to music class until long after the Christmas season. Trudie excels in spelling and reading, and wins a trophy with her name, Trudie Hamburger, engraved on the base. She finds a way to quiet the bully and to feel proud

Honey and Me by Meira Drazin Scholastic, 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org We meet eleven-year-old Milla on a Saturday morning as she follows Honey through the men’s section of their Orthodox synagogue. The two girls are long-time friends and neighbors. Milla loves spending time at Honey’s house with her large bustling family and easy-going mother. Even though they are only a few months apart in age, Milla looks up to Honey, admiring her social skills, even with adults. In the opening scene, Milla reflects that she would never have the chutzpah to ask an adult for what she wants the way Honey does. Later in the story, Milla compares her own outlook to Honey’s: “where I see roadblocks, she see different routes, or that a roadblock might really only be those orange traffic cones that can simply be picked up and moved away.” Milla’s reluctance to assert herself is an important part of this friendship story. Milla worries that she is like the willow

Maybe It Happened This Way: Bible Stories Reimagined by Rabbi Leah Rachel Berkowitz and Erica Wovsaniker, illustrated by Katherine Messenger  Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules   Buy at Bookshop.org Did Noah procrastinate when building the ark, hoping that the people would change their ways and there would be no need for a flood? Did Abram and Sarai break idols together? Was Moses ultimately relieved to hand over his leadership duties to Joshua? In Maybe It Happened This Way , authors Rabbi Leah Rachel Berkowitz and Erica Wovsaniker offer readers an opportunity to imagine themselves inside Biblical stories, experiencing the events. The text is poetic. When Eve bites into the forbidden apple, “the taste burst onto her tongue.” Many stories are told in first person, respecting a middle school reader’s ability to understand events through the eyes of an adult. Shifra, one of the midwives who risked her life to save

The Prince of Steel Pier by Stacy Nockowitz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Thirteen-year-old Joey Goodman spends every August in Atlantic City. His grandparents and Uncle Sol own the St. Bonaventure, an aging hotel on the Boardwalk which caters to elderly Jews. Every summer, at least one hotel guest passes away. And that is how The Prince of Steel Pier begins, with a line guaranteed to grab attention: “It’s nine o’clock on Friday morning and Mrs. Goldberg is definitely dead.” After seeing Mrs. Goldberg, Joey vomits and the rest of the family comments on his sensitive nature. Joey is tired of being called “squirt” by his two older brothers. He wants to prove himself as being brave and capable. But when he accidentally gets involved with Atlantic City mobsters, he finds that the support of family is exactly what he needs. This novel, which takes place in the 1970’s, just as the casinos w

Shoshi's Shabbat by Caryn Yacowitz, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes Candlewick Press, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Six days a week, Shoshi, a little ox, helps Farmer Simon plows his fields. On the Sabbath, she enjoys relaxing and playing with Simon’s grandchildren. Life is pleasant until Farmer Simon feels “the weight of his years” and sells Shoshi to his neighbor, Yohanan. When Shoshi’s new owner expects her to work seven days a week, she plants “her four feet on the ground” and firmly refuses. Yohanan is mystified until he considers how his neighbor Simon enjoys a day of rest with his family each week. Does the little ox understand the importance of Shabbat? Is she trying to teach him something? Shoshi’s Shabbat celebrates the beauty of observing the Sabbath with lyrical language and delightful illustrations. Young readers will fall in love with this adorable little ox who defies her new owner with humorous facial expressions. An author’

The Generous Fish by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Frances Tyrrell Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Ruth Horowitz When Reuven follows his father’s advice to cast his bread on the waters, he ends up feeding a fish, who repays him with one of his golden scales. Reuven’s needy neighbors see the golden scale and for scales of their own. The fish gives and gives, until he has only one scale left, and is barely alive. Finally, Reuven tells his neighbors they have taken too much. The neighbors restore the fish to health with soup and honey, and thank Reuven for reminding them that all creatures are important. The message here – not to take too much from nature – is a welcome alternative to The Giving Tree. And it’s great to see this message presented to a general audience in the context of Jewish values. Jules’ writing is lively, engaging, and age-appropriate. Although Tyrell’s figures are sometimes stiff, the art is a feast for the eyes, especially the inset mini-illustrations