The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

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

The Book of Elsie by Joanne Levy Orca Currents (imprint of Orca Book Publishers), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer Buy at Bookshop.org When Elsie’s synagogue threatens to close due to financial problems - and therefore cancel the Purim party that Elsie has been so looking forward to - she comes up with a plan to save the shul. Elsie's two dads, already sensitive to discrimination as gay men, are concerned about her plan to invite the wider, non-Jewish community to the party, but she wins them over and her plan is a go. But when antisemitic vandalism threatens the party a second time just hours before the event is set to begin, the community must rally together even more. This is a sweet story which addresses both antisemitism and homophobia and empowers readers to fight such discrimination. The book was specifically designed to appeal to reluctant readers and those with learning differences, including dyslexia, by using a dyslexia-friendly font and larger t

Sitting Shiva by Erin Silver, illustrated by Michelle Theodore Orca, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Dena Bach Buy at Bookshop.org Talking about death and grief with the youngest of children is a tough task. When it is a parent who dies, it is all the more difficult. In the first-person narrative of a young girl named Jenny who is dealing with the loss of her mother, Sitting Shiva presents a way to begin the conversation. By tackling this topic through the lens of Jewish mourning rituals, Erin Silver’s sensitive, age appropriate book can be helpful even to those outside the Jewish world in its emphasis on the importance of community. The narrative begins as Jenny describes how she and her father cover mirrors, tear garments, sit on low chairs, and light a yahrzeit candle. She explains how each action serves to express and symbolize their grief. But Jenny is not interested in the shiva ritual of people coming to their home sit with them. She wants to be alone with her memories o

Sorry for Your Loss by Joanne Levy Orca Book Publishers Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org   Evie Waldman's family runs a Jewish funeral home, and Evie is eager to help in the family business. When a car accident kills both of Oren's parents, Evie is given the assignment of keeping the boy company during the summer. Still pained by the earlier loss of a friend, Evie has sworn off friendship to avoid the hurt, but mourning, injured, silent Oren turns out to be good company. Evie learns that everyone grieves at their own pace, and finally accepts that loss and life are inextricably intertwined.    Jewish funeral and mourning customs are demystified in a matter-of-fact, respectful manner, as Evie learns new information or shares her knowledge with Oren. Other Jewish practices, such as Shabbat observance, are woven naturally into the narrative. Evie attends a Jewish day school, and it is clear that the Waldman family is active within the Jew

 The Sun Will Come Out by Joanne Levy Orca Book Publishers Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Shirley Reva Vernick Buy at Bookshop.org Painfully shy twelve-year-old Bea Gelman can’t wait to attend her first sleepaway summer camp—that is, until her BFF backs out and Bea has to go to Camp Shalom alone. Bea’s social anxiety manifests itself in unsightly hives, which embarrass her in front of her crush and elicit merciless bullying from two mean girls in her cabin. When Bea sprains her ankle and then apparently gets betrayed by her one new friend, she decides to spend the summer in the infirmary. There, she meets Harry, the camp directors’ 13-year-old son, who has the terminal condition progeria. Harry’s strength and positivity inspire Bea to face her own challenges and even to participate in the camp musical production of Annie (hence, the book’s title).    Both humorous and heartwarming, The Sun Will Come Out offers a tightly plotted arc that authentically portrays the emotiona

Fish Out of Water by Joanne Levy Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meg Wiviott Buy at Bookshop.org Fishel “Fish” Rosen is not a typical twelve-year-old boy. He does not like “typical” boy activities like sports—playing or even watching with his zaida. He doesn’t want to take the water polo class his mom and stepfather sign him up for and really doesn’t want to help his best friend collect used hockey equipment for his mitzvah project. Instead, Fish comes up with his own plan for his mitzvah project. But for his project, Fish must learn how to knit and his bubby won’t teach him, saying “knitting isn’t for boys.” After he joins the school’s Knitting Club, Fish’s friends shut him out and his best friend calls him “weird” and “girly.” After he sneaks into the Seniors' Zumba class at the JCC rather than going to water polo, his stepfather yells at him and then informs him, “Boys don’t cry.” With support from his rabbi and knitting teacher, Fish learns to stand up for himself. Fish’s refu