The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Beni's Tiny Tales: Around the Year in Jewish Holidays written and illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben Christy Ottaviano Books (imprint of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), 2023 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker Buy at Bookshop.org It’s clear from the Author’s Note that writing this latest Beni book during the pandemic was a labor of love for Jane Breskin Zalben. The first book in this series about a family of anthropomorphic Jewish bears was published 35 years ago and the last 25 years ago.  The book is not a picture book as we think of picture books today. It is reminiscent of the ‘treasuries’ that were popular a couple of generations ago, and is similar in that regard to Zalben’s Beni’s Family Treasury , a compilation of five Beni classic holiday books. This new treasury is 140 pages long, chock full of short stories (one for each of the ten included holidays), crafts, holiday music, recipes, etc. An explanation of each holiday precedes the “tiny tale.” Th

A Bear for Bimi by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon Buy at Bookshop.org A Bear for Bimi , written by Jane Breskin Zalben and illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg, is an accessible and important picture book. It follows the story of Evie (white and presumably Jewish), who lives in America, and her new friend, Bimi (brown, and presumably Muslim), who has immigrated with his family to Evie’s neighborhood. Bimi and his family are greeted by diverse neighbors who welcome them and of course some who don’t, like Mrs. Monroe. Throughout the story, neighbors help Bimi and his parents, and Evie even gives him her teddy bear. Their neighbor Mrs. Monroe is the only one who does not take to their family, though ultimately she comes around when the children help her with her fallen groceries. The illustrations are simple, but delightful. The colors are vibrant and I particularly love