The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Anyada Buena, Shanah Tovah by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Maria Mola Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner), 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Lauren Kasiarz   Buy at Bookshop.org   With rhyming text, this Rosh Hashanah board book softly welcomes in the Jewish new year and walks young readers through Sephardic new year traditions, such as the blessing over eight symbolic foods. Readers also learn how to say happy new year in both Ladino and Hebrew with the refrain “anyada buena, shanah tovah”. The story concludes with the family coming together to celebrate the new year. For ages one to four, Anyada Buena, Shanah Tovah honors accessible Rosh Hashanah traditions that young readers can participate in such as blowing (or listening to) the shofar, eating apples dipped in honey, and having a round challah. Maria Mola’s illustrations are youthful with muted, warm tones that are reminiscent of the autumn season during which Rosh Hashanah occurs. Readers may also scan the QR cod...

It's a Mitzvah! Small Deeds with Big Heart written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Elizabeth Suneby   Buy at Bookshop.org   It's A Mitzvah: Small Deeds with Big Heart joins two previous Jewish-themed board books ( I Like Your Chutzpah and Shabbat Shalom ) that Ultman has written and illustrated. In her latest, she continues her trademark bright colors, bold graphics, and cute drawings of people and animals that appeal to little ones. She uses the kid-friendly refrain "I like when..." to introduce the concept of good deeds/mitzvot, such as telling the truth, asking questions, and even rescuing an earthworm stranded on the sidewalk! She follows each "I like" statement with "It's ..." with the Hebrew word for the good deed showcased. Last, she includes a parenthetical description of each mitzvah. (FYI, rescuing an earthworm is tikkun olam, the mitzvah of repairing the world.) While the...

Hanukkah 1-2-3!: A First Counting Book by Joy Nelkin Wieder, illustrated by Aura Lewis Abrams Appleseed (imprint of Abrams), 2025 Category: Board Book Reviewer: Ann Koffsky   Buy at Bookshop.org In Hanukkah 1-2-3!: A First Counting Book , Joy Weider has done a beautiful job distilling Hanukkah down to its core, which is just what needs to be done for a board book reader. Each page has one line of text about an element of the holiday, counting our way up page by page—6 dreidels, 7 donuts, until we reach 9 beautifully lit menorahs and 10 singers for the last page. Remarkably, Weider has also managed in this sparse text to make it follow a simple rhyme structure, which makes it a lovely read-aloud, too. Lewis’s bold and deceptively simple illustrations accompany the text beautifully, and show multi-hued children and grown-ups celebrating the holiday. The Jewish representation in this book is completely authentic and accurate including the Hebrew lettering on the dreidels and the styl...

What Shape Is Your Bagel? A First Book of Jewish Food by The Macaroons, illustraed by Shahar Kober Doubleday (imprint of Random House Children's Books), 2025 Category: Board Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz   Buy at Bookshop.org   This short rhyming book introduces various Ashkenazi Jewish foods by their shapes - a bagel is a circle, a matzah is a square, and so on. Some of the shapes may be less familiar to the preschool audience - the trapezoid shaped glass of Shabbos grape juice, for example, and the cylindrical blintzes (the only 3D shape included). Some of the foods are associated with holidays, while others just represent Jewish cuisine generally. Cozy, colorful illustrations by the talented Shahar Kober show Jewish eaters with a variety of skin and hair colors, although dietary habits imply that all of these characters are Ashkenazim. The book is a companion to a cute song of the same title by The Macaroons (Shawn Fogel, Dan Saks, and Dave Schneider), which can be play...

Lilac and the Switchback by Cordelia Jensen Holiday House, 2025 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer   Buy at Bookshop.org   This beautifully written novel in verse is a heartwarming must-read. After her mother’s death, Lilac moves in with her aunt and uncle, who have treated her with kindness, but she’s never truly felt at home. Her cousin has never welcomed her, and now, with twins on the way, Lilac feels more like an outsider than ever. As she starts middle school, things get even harder when her best friend joins the popular crowd, alongside her cousin, leaving Lilac behind. When she discovers a long-lost letter and a check from her father, Lilac realizes he may have wanted to be part of her life all along. Hoping for the sense of belonging she's always craved, she reaches out to him, wondering if he might finally be the one to offer her a real home. Judaism plays a meaningful and authentic role in Lilac’s journey as she seeks connection to her father and a deeper...

Ellie the Eggspert by Danielle Sharkan, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House), 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jodie Sadowsky   Buy at Bookshop.org Ellie is an expert at many things, especially cooking. At school, Ellie’s teacher hands out seeds for the children to grow into plants which will be used in recipes for the class cooking competition. Ellie’s friends instantly know how they’ll prepare their tomato, cucumber and garbanzo bean seeds, but Ellie is stumped with her eggplant seeds. She thought eggs came from chickens, not plants! Amelia Bedelia-style silliness ensues around her misunderstanding (which might fall flat for kids similarly unfamiliar with eggplant): Ellie builds a nest, sets up an incubator, waits for her egg(plant)s to hatch, then tries to use her eggplant in traditionally egg-based dishes, like omelet, souffle and cake. When all fails, Ellie seeks help from her friends, who arrive with their newly harvested...

And Eddie Had an Egg by Dina Leifer, illustrated by Sharon Spitz Green Bean Books, 2025 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jodie Sadowsky   Buy at Green Bean Books For Eddie, Dad’s salmon is “too fishy,” Mum’s barley soup is “yuck,” and her spinach lasagna, “[t]oo green, too cheesy.” Eggs are safe for this “fussy eater,” and the only food Eddie eats while his family enjoys special meals on Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Hanukkah and Shavuot. Admirably, Eddie’s family patiently accept his fussiness, without nagging or nudging, pushing or prodding. To their surprise, Eddie decides to try eggplant during one Shabbat dinner, and to their greater shock, Eddie likes it! When Eddie’s mom congratulates him for trying something new, Eddie realizes that the new dish only shares a name with his favorite food and is not actually an “egg plant.” Still, he feels proud for trying something new, and bravely continues trying new foods with satisfying results. By the time Passover arrives, Eddie enjoys...