The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Real Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced on January 27, 2025. Below are the real winners, honors, and notable books for 2025. We've linked to the Shmooze reviews, but you'll notice that there are a few books we didn't review. We try to cover all the Jewish books published each year but sometimes we miss a few.  Listen to a podcast interview with awards chair Aviva Rosenberg on The Book of Life about this year's winners! Picture Book Winner: An Etrog from Across the Sea by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Stacey Dressen McQueen, published by Kar-Ben Picture Book Honors Joyful Song by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal, published by Levine Querido Rising by Sidura Ludwig, illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy, published by Candlewick Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan's Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants by Norman H. Finklestein, illustrated by Vesper Stamper, published by Holiday House The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust S...

We are pleased to announce our fourth year of Mock Sydney Taylor Book Awards! The top Jewish juvenile books published in 2023 were chosen from our shortlist by popular vote. Thank you to the many people who helped us select these titles! Links to more information below. PICTURE BOOKS MOCK WINNER  Two New Years   by   Richard Ho , ill.   Lynn Scurfield Chronicle published 8/8/23 ISBN 978-1797212814 Review:   Sydney Taylor Shmooze   MOCK HONOR Hanukkah Upside Down   by   Elissa Brent Weissman , ill.   Omer Hoffman Abrams published 9/19/23 ISBN 978-1419762963 Review:   Sydney Taylor Shmooze   MOCK NOTABLE Rivka's Presents   by   Laurie Wallmark , ill.   Adelina Lirius Random House Studio published 7/11/23 ISBN 978-0593482070 Review:   Sydney Taylor Shmooze   MIDDLE GRADE MOCK WINNER  Two Tribes   by   Emily Bowen Cohen Heartdrum published 8/15/23 ISBN 978-00629...

The Real Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced on January 30, 2023! Below are the real winners, honors, and notable books for 2023! We've linked to the Shmooze reviews, but you'll notice that there is one book we didn't review. We try to cover all the Jewish books published each year but sometimes we miss a few.  Listen to a podcast interview with awards chair Martha Seif Simpson on The Book of Life about this year's winners! The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana, illustrations by Susan Gal. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2022. ISBN: 9781338225891. Thirty-five years after Nazis destroyed her beloved shtetl of Eishyshok, Poland, Yaffe Eliach recovered thousands of precious photographs preserved by relatives and survivors to recreate her community at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Susan Gal’s expressive illustrations bring to life this true story of love and rem...

We are pleased to announce our third year of Mock Sydney Taylor Book Awards! The top Jewish juvenile books published in 2022 were chosen from our shortlist by popular vote. Thank you to the many people who helped us select these titles! Click on the links to read the reviews.   PICTURE BOOKS Mock Winner: Alone Together on Dan Street by Erica Cohen  Lyons Mock Honor: The Tower of Life by Chana Stiefel Mock Notable: The Very Best Sukkah by Shoshana Nambi MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS Mock Winner: Aviva vs. the Dybbuk by Mari Lowe Mock Honor: Honey and Me by Meira Drazin Mock Notable: Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternack YOUNG ADULTS BOOKS Mock Winner: The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum Mock Honor: Some Kind of Hate by Sarah Darer Littman Mock Notable: When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb The Real Sydney Taylor Book Awards will be announced on Monday, January 30, 2023 at the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards event. Tune in li...

The Real Sydney Taylor Book Awards were announced on January 25, 2021! Here is the press release , and below are the real winners, honors, and notable books for 2021! Listen to a podcast interview with awards chair Rebecca Levitan on The Book of Life .   Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal. Published by Charlesbridge. This warmly illustrated, poetic book parallels the experiences of a young boy at a Passover seder and a small white kitten outdoors. When the boy opens the door to welcome the prophet Elijah, he finds a furry friend instead. Simple text, diverse characters, and a timeless feel make this a story to be treasured.   I Am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book by Mychal Copeland, illustrated by André Ceolin. Published by Apples and Honey Press, an imprint of Behrman House. Clear instructions on how to do different yoga poses are complemented by brief, boldly illustrated stories from the Bible. Back matte...

    As we are sure you remember, The Sydney Taylor Shmooze is a mock award blog created to encourage discussion of books eligible for the Sydney Taylor Book Award. The purpose is to grow awareness of the genre and of the criteria for the Award, and to help readers critically consider Jewish literature for youth. Well, now we've experienced almost a full year of Jewish kidlit together and it's time to think about handing out some mock awards! Here's what you can expect in the upcoming months: We will continue posting book reviews for eligible 2020 titles through the end of the December, 2020. Monday-Friday January 4-8, 2021 Voting Round 1 . Anyone may vote (except for current members of AJL's Sydney Taylor Book Award committee). Voters may select one favorite title in each of three categories (Picture Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult). Every book reviewed on the blog this year will be on the ballot. Monday-Friday January 11-15, 2021 Voting Round 2 . The top books th...