The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Claudia Said Sí!: The Story of México’s First Woman President by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Carlos Velez Aguilera Apples & Honey Press Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lauren Kasiarz   Buy at Bookshop.org This biography of the current president of Mexico starts with Claudia Sheinbaum as a young girl living in Mexico City. The winter butterfly migration occurs, signaling to Sheinbaum that it is almost time for Hanukkah. From there, the book follows Sheinbaum’s progression, or “metamorphosis”, from schoolgirl to scientist to politician. Readers follow her environmental contributions as a scientist, as the Secretary of the Environment, then as the Mayor of Mexico City. The story concludes with Claudia Sheinbaum  becoming President - the first woman, Jewish person, and scientist to lead the country of Mexico. This picture book biography captures a tremendous amount of information about Mexico’s President in chronological order, with a reading level...

Elsa's Chessboard by Jenny Andrus, illustrated by Julie Downing Neal Porter Books (imprint of Holiday House), 2025 Category: Picture Books      Reviewer: Linda Elovitz Marshall   Buy at Bookshop.org Inspired by a true-life experience, Elsa's Chessboard is the heartwarming story of Elsa, a young girl in Vienna who dreams of playing chess and, for her tenth birthday, receives a boxed chessboard with carved pieces from her family. Growing up, she meets someone who shares her love of chess. Edward and Elsa marry, have a baby, and continue to play chess. But trouble is brewing in Europe and, as Jews, they must flee. They begin a new life in San Francisco where playing chess helps them make new friends because they share a common language: the language of chess. But time passes, Edward dies and Elsa moves. In the move, the beloved chessboard somehow disappears. Elsa, now a grandmother, plays games with her grandchildren. Lots of games, but never chess. A new chessboard is...

Sweet Babe! A Jewish Grandma Kvells written and illustrated by Robin Rosenthal Tundra Books, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker   Buy at Bookshop.org This grandma is over the top in kvelling. She is the biggest kveller ever! With illustrations that jump off the page and Yiddishisms sprinkled liberally throughout, Robin Rosenthal has captured the joys of Jewish grandmahood in words and pictures. There can’t be enough smooching, cheeks-squishing, or feet-nibbling to satisfy this Bubbe.   This is a funny book and a fun read-aloud, as long as the reader is energetic and animated! I loved seeing the baby’s—and the puppy’s—reactions mirroring Bubbie’s outbursts. I applaud Robin Rosenthal for integrating so much Yiddish into the story. While not as many Bubbies use the colorful language as this Bubbe, Yiddish is having a renaissance in university language departments and elsewhere.  The story is followed by a Yiddish glossary. But Yiddish aside, I think ...

Rembrandt's Blessing by Tami Lehman-Wilzig, illustrated by Anita Barghigiani Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sarah Clarke   Buy at Bookshop.org Rembrandt's Blessing is a historical nonfiction picture book that explores Rembrandt’s friendship with Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel during their overlapping time in Amsterdam. After making some money with his art, Rembrandt bought a home in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam. He learned that many of the Jews who lived here had come from Portugal and Spain, and they looked like People of the Book to Rembrandt! When the neighborhood children caught wind of Rembrandt’s biblical costumes, they begged to come over and play with them. One youngster brought along his uncle, who turned out to be Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel! While Ben Israel offered to help Rembrandt get the small details correct in his biblical paintings, he asked for a favor to be repaid in the future. That favor turned out to be illustra...

A Ring for a King: A Tale of King Solomon by Martha Seif Simpson, illustrated by D. Yael Bernhard Wisdom Tales, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner   Buy at Bookshop.org   When King Solomon's (fictional) cup-bearer Ezra brings the king his evening wine one night, the king complains that he has two problems: "I struggle to find the right words to make a sad person hopeful or a proud person humble." Ezra decides he will help King Solomon by asking the other workers in the palace for advice. However, his quest distracts him from his job, and Ezra is sent away by the cook after he causes a tray to crash to the floor. Believing that the only way to redeem himself is to solve King Solomon's problem, he wanders around asking people "What can make a sad person hopeful and a proud person humble?" Most people have no answer. However, when Ezra helps a farmer pick up the pomagranates that have tumbled from his basket, the farmer offers him a ring wi...

Pedal Pusher: How One Woman's Bicycle Adventure Helped Change the World by Mary Boone, illustrated by Lisa Anchin Henry Holt & Co. (imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld   Buy at Bookshop.org In the late 1800's, the idea of a woman riding a bicycle around the world was preposterous. Yet that is just what petite Annie Cohen Kopchovsky did. A Latvian-Jewish immigrant to America with three little children, Annie took a bet offered by two Boston business people. Off she went, and change her unwieldy name for the ride to the name of one of her sponsoring companies, becoming known as Annie Londonderry. This book tracks her journey, illustrated with fun period art that takes Annie from New York to Egypt to Japan to Africa -- at least that's what she claimed! -- and home again, breaking all kinds of norms and setting the stage for women in sports and business that we are living today. It's an inspiring...

Noah and His Wagon by Jerry Ruff, illustrated by Katrijn Jacobs Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountain), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeanette Lazar   Buy at Bookshop.org   Several plot lines intermingle to create what becomes a meditation on kindness for the young reader. Noah and His Wagon begins with the story of Paloma, whose best friend has moved away, whose mother rushes off to work, and whose older sister pays more attention to her phone than to her charge. Enter Noah, who's new to the neighborhood but whose wagon seems to be a magnet for those in need. After introductions that include the backstories of Bucket the dog and Mitzvah the cat, we meet Mrs. Willow. Noah helps her with her groceries once a week. The expanding band of do-gooders arrive at the park. There we meet Seymour on the swing. And we find a sad Mikhail in the sandbox. Time for a cookie break for all, that dissolves as the rain begins to fall. That night, As Paloma curls up in bed with Bu...

Twist, Tumble, Triumph: The Story of Champion Gymnast Ágnes Keleti by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Martina Peluso Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel J. Fremmer   Buy at Bookshop.org   This picture book jumps (get it?) right into Ágnes Keleti’s career as a gymnast, showing her training on uneven bars, the balance beam, and the vault. But World War II is raging and Ágnes lives in Budapest, Hungary. Her career as a gymnast is cut short (it seems), when Jews are banned from the gym. But Ágnes survives the war and resumes training, finally winning gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Games, at the ages of 31 and 35, respectively. The title, while obviously referring to gymnastics moves and Ágnes’s gold medals, also has a second meaning, referring to the twists her athletic career took and the obstacles she had to overcome. This is not quite a picture book biography. The book instead ...

The See-You-Soon Spice Box by Pamela Ehrenberg, illustrated by Gabby Grant Kar-Ben (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lauren Kasiarz   Buy at Bookshop.org In this intergenerational story, Silas video calls with Great-Grandma Faye and they use sweet rhyming phrases like “See you soon, Macaroon!” to say goodbye to one another. On one such call, Great-Grandma Faye introduces Silas to Havdalah, the Jewish ceremony that concludes Shabbat on Saturday evening. She shows him a spice box that his Great-Grandpa made many years prior, and with help from his dad, Silas makes his own spice box. They celebrate Havdalah together virtually, and the story concludes with Great-Grandma Faye flying to visit Silas where they perform the Havdalah rituals together in person. The pacing is well done, switching deftly between dialogue and Silas’ inner thoughts, which brings the reader along as Silas decides to create his own spice box. Gabby Grant’s colorful pen-a...

The Secret Recipe by Ilan Stavans, illustrated by Taia Morley Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lauren Kasiarz   Buy at Bookshop.org A young boy in Mexico visits his grandmother, Abuela, to make bourekas. When she speaks to him in a language he doesn’t understand, she calls it their “secret language.” He learns that this language is Ladino, the language spoken by Jews long ago in Spain and Portugal. As he and Abuela make bourekas, she teaches him the Ladino words for the foods they are cooking. As the story progresses, the young boy resolves to learn to speak the "secret language" with his grandmother.  This quiet story brings a vibrancy to the love between an abuela and her grandchild, and the history of this endangered language, though there are a few confusing elements. The text transitions from past (“it is a language once spoken by Jews”) to present (“they cook, sing, and even dream in Ladino”) when describin...

More Than Enough by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Joe Cepeda Peachtree Publishing (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Judy Ehrenstein   Buy at Bookshop.org   Moses’s neighborhood is filled with a rainbow of brown faces, including his own, where poverty, unemployment, and homelessness are not unknown. Even Moses’s own family counts its pennies; getting brand new high tops for his birthday is a rare treat. Yet Mom says there is always enough to share with others who have even less, and months later, the man they helped is now working at the barber shop with a new lease on life. As the seasons pass, more help is extended through the neighborhood and more lives are changed. By story’s end, Moses passes on the lesson to his friend Noah: “it feels better to help than to need help. And little enough is more than enough to share.” Accessible and not preachy, this book will be of value to many, Jewish and not. Cepeda’s illustrations employ deep...

The Mitzvah Fairy by Danielle Joseph, illustrated by Christine Battuz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Claire Freeland   Buy at Bookshop.org Known only as the Mitzvah Fairy, a young boy dons his wings and crown and grabs his wand ready to perform good deeds in this sweet, concept picture book. His mom has a small role, but it is his dad who looks after the Mitzvah Fairy on this particular day, making for a lovely father-son duo who perform acts of kindness. The Mitzvah Fairy brings chicken soup to his Bubbe, assists his infirm neighbor with chores, picks up recyclables at the park, finds coins on the ground and donates them to the family tzedakah box, and rescues a ladybug from getting squashed. Finally, to end their busy day of giving and kindness, the Mitzvah Fairy hugs his dad. The illustrations add to the sweet flavor of this book. There are candy striped backgrounds and a pastel color palate. The parents and child appear to be whi...

The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Stacy Nockowitz   Buy at Bookshop.org The Keeper of Stories recalls the 1966 fire at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary library. After the fire was extinguished, the entire community, Jews and gentiles, came together in Operation Booklift to try to save the swollen, waterlogged books. After a number of failed attempts to dry the books, a volunteer proposed the method that worked: layering paper towels between the soaked pages. But this extraordinary book is about more than that incident. It’s about how libraries and people both function as guardians of our stories. Pritchard uses poetic language and lovely, metaphorical imagery to emphasize the idea that while the library and the community’s many hands saved the books, it is the Jewish people who keep our stories alive. Though many books were “consumed” by the fire, ...

Yes, We'll Do It! by Dafna Strum, illustrated by Shahar Kober, translated by Ilana Kurshan Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing), 2025 Category: Picture Books  Reviewer: Julie Ditton   Buy at Bookshop.org Dafna Strum's amusing story follows a parade of people who each step in to help the other, resulting in some silly situations. When people help friends who find themselves short-handed, they need to rely on someone else to take over their own job. Although the replacements will cause the readers to laugh, the story demonstrates how important it is to lend a helping hand. Translator Ilana Kurshan has brought this cute story to English speaking readers using clever rhymes. Shahar Kober's colorful illustrations with predominant shades of pink and olive set a whimsical tone. In the afterward, the author states "According to ancient Jewish teachings, 'All the people of Israel are responsible for one another'” (Sifra, Bechukotai 7:5). And of cou...

Zayde Babysits Before Passover by Jane Sutton, illustrated by Kate Chappell Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Amy Brook Cohen   Buy at Bookshop.org This delightful story celebrating a granddaughter's relationship with her grandfather is an absolute pleasure from beginning to end. When Zayde is tasked with babysitting Ruthie so that her mother and father can go to Zayde and Bubbe’s house to help them prepare for hosting Passover, shenanigans of all kinds ensue. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book without smiling; it made me laugh out loud several times. Even though Ruthie’s mother leaves Zayde a list of sensible activities that he should do with Ruthie while he babysits, the way the items on the list are executed by the two protagonists is pure comedy, and certainly not as Mommy had intended. When shopping for Passover items, for example, Ruthie pushes Zayde around the supermarket while he sits in the shopping cart wearing a party h...

Roadside Seder by Anna Levine, illustrated by Naama Lahav Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker   Buy at Bookshop.org   Roadside Seder is a lively, joyful story about improvising a seder and making it meaningful for all different kinds of Jewish celebrants. Benjy and his family are on the way to their seder in Jerusalem, but they soon realize the traffic jam they’re in is no ordinary one. A giant palm tree has fallen and blocked the road. Benjy’s family is not alone in having their seder plans upended. After all the stopped cars pour out their many kids and adults, the throng tries to move the immovable tree. Even Benjy’s dog, Matzah, pitches in--but to no avail. As the sun is setting, the families wonder how they can celebrate the holiday. Benjy, outfitted as Moses, raises his cane, and announces his grand idea: use the tree trunk as a table, and have everyone contribute whatever seder ritual objects and fo...

A Purr-fect Passover by Jenna Waldman, illustrated by Erica J. Chen Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Susan Tarcov   Buy at Bookshop.org Three kittens—each different, each adorable—prepare for and host a Passover seder. They go through all the steps, from searching the house for leavened foods at the beginning of the book to cleaning up after the meal at the end. The story is told with wit (the Four Questions begin with “Meow-nishtanah”) and in impressively “purr-fect” rhythm and rhyme: It's afikoman searching time, where can that matzah be? High and low, the kitties go, but who will find it? “Me!” Although all the seder guests are cats, at the end even the mouse in the house gets a taste of matzah. The illustrations have clever little touches: each flower painted by the kittens is clearly a single pawprint. The kitties are of various breeds - tabby, Siamese, and tortoiseshell. They wear no markers of Judaism (no kippot or ...

Passover on Everest by Rachelle Burk, illustrated by Craig Orback Intergalactic Afikoman, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jeff Gottesfeld   Buy at Bookshop.org This nonfiction picture book introduces us to Nikki Bart, a young Jewish climber. Together with her mother, she scaled mountains of all sizes, beginning with Masada in Israel when Nikki was just a girl. When Nikki moved into teen-hood, she and her mother set an ambitious goal: to climb the highest mountains on each continent, beginning with their native Australia. They carried out this plan, from Denali to Kilimanjaro. The only one remaining was Everest.  Nikki and her family were also Jews who observed Passover, with a beloved seder where Nikki would share her adventures with those in attendance. It turned out that Nikki and her mother's trip to Mount Everest would coincide with Passover. They formed a relationship with their Buddhist sherpa, who was intrigued by the holiday. To their shock, the sherpas arrange...

Next Year in the White House: Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis Crown Books for Young Readers in partnership with PJ Library, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Belinda Brock   Buy at Bookshop.org   Next Year in the White House starts off by telling the reader that while Christmas and Easter had long been observed at the White House, 2009 marked the first time that Passover was celebrated. This book recounts the interesting, true story of how that came to be. The first scene opens with Malia, Sasha, and their dog Bo in the formal dining room as the staff prepares a traditional Passover dinner. The table is set beautifully with a Seder plate at the center. At this point, we reach the title page. Aha! So this is where the real story starts. Flashback to a year earlier when three young staffers—Eric, Arun, and Herbie—were on the presidential campaign trail with then-Senator Barack Obama. They believe deeply in their candi...

The Mysterious Missing Matzoh by Alan Katz, illustrated by Adam Auerbach Harper (imprint of HarperCollins), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Freidele Galya Soban Biniashvili   Buy at Bookshop.org The Mysterious Missing Matzah opens with the Cohen family – parents and four children - enjoying the Passover seder at Grandpa Murray and Grandma Norma's home. It is time to hide the afikomen and Grandpa Murray wants to find a hiding place which his grandchildren won't be able to detect. However, as he's searching for the perfect spot, he hears that the matzoh ball soup is being served (it seems that this family's practice is to begin eating the meal right after hiding the afikomen). He rejoins his family back at the table, but after the meal, the kids can't find the afikomen and Grandpa Murray doesn't remember, as he got distracted by the aforementioned soup. And so, the mystery is set in motion: where is the afikomen? Pen and ink illustrations combine differe...