The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II (Operation Kinderspion series) by Adam Gidwitz Dutton Books for Young Readers (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel Aronowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Twelve year old Max is sent away from his loving parents and his home in Germany to England, along with thousands of other Jewish children, as part of the kindertransport, but he doesn't want to go. Max is a brilliant and resilient child and he will do whatever it takes to get back to his parents. As a kindertransport refugee, he is placed with a wealthy Jewish foster family in London who happen to have connections to British Naval Intelligence. Right away, Max has the idea that if he can somehow become a spy for the British, he can be reunited with his parents in Germany. It's also worth noting that Max is walking around with two supernatural creatures; a dybbuk named Stein and a kobold named Berg, living on his shoulders, who act as a bit of

Heroes with Chutzpah: 101 True Tales of Jewish Trailblazers, Changemakers, and Rebels by Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Bodin Cohen Ben Yehuda Press, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Amy Blaine Buy at Bookshop.org Collected biographies for young people are hot right now, and Heroes with Chutzpah is a unique and timely addition to options for middle grade and young adult readers. The biographies, covering people who have lived within the last 125 years, are not organized alphabetically or chronologically; instead, they cleverly lead into one another with a short sentence linking one personality to the next. From the book’s first profile of comedian Sarah Silverman to a later look at student activist for gun control Naomi Wadler, this collection contains a great mix of knowns and unknowns and includes Jews of differing practices, ages, races, genders, abilities, and identities. The digital illustrations, manipulations of the subject’s image, provide a clean, bold, colorful, and engaging

Bird Brain by Joanne Levy Orca, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Sarah Aronson Buy at Bookshop.org If you love smart kids with unusual pets, you are going to rip through Joanne Levy’s Bird Brain . This middle grade novel is about bullying, science and scientific research, and a really great family. When the book begins, Arden Sachs wants a dog or a cat. She wants to make the STEM team, win the competition, and go to STEM camp with her best friend, Cabbage. Standing in her way is mean Marni Olsen, who has never been kind to Arden. When her cool, popular boyfriend compliments Arden and gets interested in auditioning for the STEM team, the bullying gets worse. Levy deals with bullying and the actions kids, families, and schools must take when bullying takes place. And she does this in an honest voice—without sacrificing humor and heart. Throughout the novel, the reader wants Arden to stand up to Marni. We understand and groan when she messes up on purpose at the STEM team tryouts, to

On All Other Nights: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories edited by Chris Baron, Joshua S. Levy, & Naomi Milliner Amulet Books (imprint of Abrams), 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Lisa Trank Buy at Bookshop.org On All Other Nights: A Celebration of Passover in 14 Stories is exactly that - celebration of the many ways we celebrate, challenge, question, and find humor and deeper meanings in our shared traditions. The stories are organized as if we are sitting around the same Passover table (if only!), with each story representing a step of the seder and offering a brief lesson, as well as asking thought-provoking questions. I can imagine families supplementing (or even replacing) their Haggadot with this special collection. I know our family will. Written by a remarkable line-up of contemporary Jewish children's literature luminaries, each story presents a unique aspect about Passover. The entries are diverse, surprising, and universal. To name only a few of the gems - Mar

A Boy from Baghdad by Miriam Halahmy Green Bean Books, 2024 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Sarah Sassoon Buy from Bookshop.org A Boy from Baghdad is a heartwarming, authentic story about an Iraqi Jewish boy, Salman Shasha, who is suddenly uprooted with his family and the entire Iraqi Jewish community when they move from Baghdad to Israel. Not only does Salman’s family lose everything with the move to the refugee tent camps in Israel (home, language, identity), but Salman also loses his dream to be an Olympic gold swimmer for Iraq. The Iraqi Jewish world is little known and Halahmy paints a vibrant, colorful picture of the smells and sounds of the souq, the beautiful, wide Tigris River which is Salman’s swimming haunt, and the close-knit family and communal everyday life and traditions, such as the lighting of seven homemade wicks in sesame oil for Shabbat. She also captures the tensions for the Jews with the rising antisemitism and anti-Zionism which culminated in more than 120,000

Rebecca Reznik Reboots the Universe by Samara Shanker Atheneum Books for Young Readers (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Rebecca Reznik Reboots the Universe is a sequel to Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World . It follows Becca Reznick, a supporting character in Book One. While the plot focuses again on fantasy elements from Jewish legend and folklore, the focus of this book is the significance of becoming “a spiritual adult” after one reaches bar or bat mitzvah. Early on in the book, Rabbi Levinson visits the kids' post-b’nai mitzvah class at Hebrew school. He suggests that having reached their teenage years, the members of their class are developing the ability to see morality with greater nuance and subtlety. Becca struggles with this as a young person on the autism spectrum. Despite her age, she tends to see issues as black and white. Does this mean that she’s doomed to remain immature? Since the events of

Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship by Barbara Krasner Calkins Creek (imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy at Bookshop.org Facing the Enemy is a book written in verse about a time in American history that should not be forgotten. Written in an easily readable poetic style, Krasner tells the story of two friends who are growing up near Newark, NJ during the rise in power of Adolf Hitler in Germany. It is the summer of 1937. Benjy is turning 14 this summer and looking forward to spending it with his best friend Thomas before they enter high school in the fall. Benjy is from a loving Jewish family, living with his mother and father. His father is a member of the Newark Minutemen, a group of former prize fighters who are working to dismantle the Nazi Bund growing around New Jersey. Thomas lives with his timid mother and his frustrated father, who misses Germany and the life he left behind

Yosef Medelevich: Leader of Soviet Jewry by Leah Sokol Menucha Publishers, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy from Menucha This is a fabulous book written for middle school readers, but also terrific for adults who are looking to learn about the life of Yosef Mendelevich and more about Soviet Jewry. It's the story of the first Refusenik who helped educate the world about the plight of the Jewish people in Russia. He lived his life as a religious Jew and survived many Russian prisons to finally realize his dream to live in Israel. This book is written in a simple style that explains the life of Yosef Mendelevich, from his childhood growing up in a Jewish home in the Soviet Union. In 1968 Yosef read Leon Uris’, Exodus and found a deep tie to Judaism and the Jewish state. His goal became to leave the Soviet Union and fly to Israel. He was part of the “Operation Wedding,” a wild scheme that he and ten other Jewish activists created to commandeer a small Russi

Run and Hide: How Jewish Youth Escaped the Holocaust written and illustrated by Don Brown Clarion Books (imprint of HarperCollins), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein Buy at Bookshop.org Employing his signature angular, thin-line style and a subdued palette of grays and browns with effective pops of red, orange, and yellow, Don Brown presents the rise of the Nazis and the devastation they brought to the world, succinctly and powerfully. Beginning with the end of WWI and the economic woes of post-war Germany, he traces Hitler’s rise to power with a rhetoric of blame that is eagerly accepted by Germans. Moving through restrictions on Jewish life and employment, Kristallnacht, and roundups of adults, Brown keeps his focus on the lives of children: those sent on Kindertransports; those who were hidden; and those who survived by their own wits. While concentration camps are mentioned, this is not a book about those children sent to the camps. The work of resistance groups

The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe Levine Querido, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org Shaindy Goodman isn’t special. She’s not at the top of her class academically, she’s not a gifted athlete, she’s not the most popular. She’s not an outcast either. She’s just… forgettable. So when Gayil, the most popular girl in Shaindy’s class suddenly pays attention to her, Shaindy is predictably flattered. What she doesn’t realize - at first - is that Gayil’s attention is not because she suddenly likes Shaindy. Rather, it’s because she needs an accomplice… and maybe someone to blame. As Shaindy helps Gayil play pranks on their fellow Bais Yaacov classmates, Shaindy begins to awaken to the fact that these “harmless” pranks are not so harmless after all… and that she deserves true friendship. With Yom Kippur approaching, she also reckons with her own complicity.   Author Mari Lowe takes readers into the fairly sequestered world of the strictly

The Stars by Jacques Goldstyn Aldana Libros (imprint of Greystone Kids), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Eva L. Weiss   Buy at Bookshop.org The story of young Yakov's fascination with astronomy is told in the first-person, in a straightforward and authentic voice, smoothly translated from the original French. Yakov, who seems to be about age 10-11, has three younger sisters and they are children of a Hassidic family whose father owns a grocery store. Yakov stumbles upon a Muslim girl in the playground, and their instant friendship and shared passion for astronomy is conveyed simply and naturally. The illustrations of this graphic novel are charming and lighthearted, with feathery strokes and eye-pleasing colors. Expressive faces and clever close-ups add to the fun. The plot thickens when Yakov and Aicha discover that they are soulmates as well as neighbors. Their stern-hearted fathers go as far as building a wall between their homes to separate them. The story is plotted lik

Harboring Hope: The True Story of How Henny Sinding Helped Denmark's Jews Escape the Nazis by Susan Hood HarperCollins, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meira Drazin Buy at Bookshop.org Toward the end of Harboring Hope there is a quote attributed to the Israeli-Danish journalist Herbert Pundik: “About 99 percent of the Jews in Denmark survived while 98 percent of Poland’s three million Jews perished.” Harboring Hope is the story of how the Danish people saved the Jews of their country. The nonfiction middle grade book written in free verse is anchored by the story of 22-year-old Henny Sinding, who with the crew of the small but intrepid Gerda III, successfully smuggled more than 300 Jews across the water to Sweden— ten to fifteen men, women and children at a time in the fish hold. The breadth and extent of research, including oral testimonies and other primary sources, is ambitious and expertly integrated, not only into a cohesive and riveting story, but also into free verse

Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz Delacorte Press, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Lisa Trank Buy at Bookshop.org About-to-be-sixth-graders Dani and Eric are lifelong best friends and next door neighbors. Dani looks out for Eric, who struggles with ADD and being bullied; Eric supports Dani’s dream of pitching for the all-boy baseball team. When Dani finally achieves her goal, Eric is the first one there for her with their favorite treat, donuts: glazed for him and Boston cream for Dani. On their annual summer camping trip, Eric insists on making their traditional mac and cheese, despite Dani telling him she just wants to head to bed. The next morning, when Eric is outside relieving himself, (because Dani has fallen asleep in front of the bathroom door), the almost-new camper bursts into flames. Eric risks his life and runs back inside and pulls Dani out. Dani survives, but a broken tibia and nerve damage to her pitching arm means that she won’t be on the baseball mound this season, an

Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup! (Ellie's Deli series) by Lisa Greenwald, illustrated by Galia Bernstein Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Laurie Adler Buy at Bookshop.org Veteran tween author Lisa Greenwald’s newest book is about a sympathetic eleven-year-old who is determined to save her family’s failing Jewish deli. Ellie comes from a close knit Jewish family and has supportive friends at home and at school. Her small town's dwindling Jewish community, however, and her bubby’s declining health means that her family will likely have to sell their beloved fourth-generation kosher deli. Ellie’s ambitious plans to save the deli form the backbone to this gentle and upbeat book, and though there are some heavier subplots, such as anxiety, loss, and gentrification, all topics are addressed with a light hand. With the help of her community, Ellie’s plans to save the deli are successful and all problems, big and small, are neatly resolved by the last page. E

Shira & Esther's Double Dream Debut by Anna E. Jordan Chronicle Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacey Rattner Buy at Bookshop.org Are you looking for a book filled with wholesome fun, mystery, vaudeville and a side of Yiddish? Then this Freaky Friday meets G-rated Mrs. Maisel is the one! Many years ago, before cell phones and the Internet, in the town of Idylldale, New York, there was a synagogue led by Rabbi Epstein, Scheinfeld’s Resort and Cottages (not unlike Grossingers), a deli man, a trolley, the Heights theater (on the verge of becoming a parking lot) and more of what you would imagine in an idyllic Catskills town. Esther Epstein is about to become Bat Mitzvah in two weeks, yet performing is more her passion than Torah. Shira lives with her performer mother, Red Hot Fanny, in the Heights. At odds with her mother, Shira wishes she could spend time studying with the rabbi. As different as these girls are on the inside, they are pretty much physically identica

Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton Tundra Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Merle Eisman Carrus Buy at Bookshop.org When someone mentions vampires, the first thing that comes to mind is a scary vision of the undead drinking a person’s blood by sinking their fangs into the neck. We have learned that from watching movies. Don’t Want to Be Your Monster brings the reader a very different version of vampires. Victor and Adam are brothers but not because they were born to the same parents. They are brothers who are vampires living with their vampire mothers, and another vampire sibling, Sung. Mom is a nurse, working the night shift, in a hospital which gives her access to blood to bring home to share with her family. Mama is an astronomer at the local university. When a rash of murders start to happen in the small town where the Rossi vampire family lives, Adam and Victor both become involved in finding the serial killer. Victor seems to be interested in young murd

  She's a Mensch! Ten Amazing Jewish Women by Anne Dublin, illustrated by Ashley Wong Second Story Press, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judith S. Greenblatt Buy at Bookshop.org Anne Dublin, author of a biography of swimmer Bobbie Rosenfeld, among many other titles, has brought us 6 to 9 page biographies of 10 outstanding Jewish women. Part of the “Do you Know My Name” series for middle-grade readers, the book follows the series criteria for inclusion. The women are thus from around the world, born in the 20th century, and are or were activists. And, with the exception of one woman, I did not know any of their names. This is in contrast to another recent book about menschy women by Rachelle Burk and Alana Barouch, aimed at 5 to 10  year old readers, which includes household names such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Judy Blume, as well as unknowns like judo champion Rusty Kanokogi. Dublin is an experienced writer for this age group, and the vocabulary and format are perfectly su

Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit Henry Holt Books, 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Karen Shakman Buy at Bookshop.org Second Chance Summer tells the story of two former best friends, Chloe and Maddie, and the summer they spend orbiting one another at a sleep-away performing arts camp. The two middle schoolers were friends back home, until an unfortunate incident involving a performance of The Music Man goes viral and heralds the end of the girls’ friendship. Maddie resents Chloe for the part she played in Maddie’s very public embarrassment and, while Chloe is sorry, she doesn’t quite understand what she did that was so wrong. Where Maddie is slightly awkward and a little insecure, Chloe is at home in the spotlight. Maddie has always been in her shadow, a shadow that she admits is exciting and fun, but a shadow all the same, and she has grown tired of it. At the sleep-away camp, neither girl is happy to be there with the other, and they end up in a battle of revenge that ultima