The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Beth Gallego On an April morning in 1986, Valentina Kaplan and Oksana Savchenko wake up in Pripyat, Ukraine, to a red sky full of blue smoke. Neither of their fathers have come home from the overnight shift at the nearby V. I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, better known as Chernobyl. Within a few days, the twelve-year-old girls are evacuated to Leningrad. Oksana is angry and afraid, not least because her father has always told her that Jews are liars and thieves, and Valentina’s family is Jewish. Valentina is resentful that her mother is sending her away to a grandmother she has never met, with a girl who has bullied her for years as company. On an August morning in 1941, Rifka Friedman flees her Kiev home with only an older cousin and the few things they can carry, racing to escape the invading German forces. Her mother and three little brothers remain behind, and she can only hope that she will see them agai

No Steps Behind: Beate Sirota Gordon's Battle for Women's Rights in Japan by Jeff Gottesfeld, illustrated by Shiella Witanto  Category: Picture Books Reviewer:  Meg Wiviott How does a 22-year-old Jewish woman come to write articles for the Japanese post-war constitution in 1946 that guarantee rights for women? No Steps Behind tells the amazing story of Beate Sirota Gordon. Born in Austria, reared in Japan, and educated in the United States, Beate ended up as the only “the only woman in [the] room.” Her gift for languages and her love of her adopted country, along with perseverance, persuasiveness, and stubbornness gave her the opportunity to change the lives of women in Japan. And why is it you’ve never heard this story before? Perhaps because the US government deemed Beate’s role “a security secret”. It was not until the 1990s that Beate was able to discuss her role. The history contained this beautiful picture book is complex and vast. Jeff Gottesfeld touches on a

The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Stacy Mozer In The Light in Hidden Places, sixteen-year-old Stefania has to decide whether to risk her life and the life of her six-year-old sister Helena to hide a group of Jewish people when the Germans invade her town. Based on a true story, Stefania, who had been living and working with a Jewish family before the war, knows that the way the Jews in her town are being treated is not right. So when the son of her former boss shows up broken at her door after jumping off a moving train, Stefania knows that she has to help any way she can. She never expected that would lead her and her sister to hide thirteen Jews during her town's occupation, but even when things are at their worst, she never regrets her choice. The Light in Hidden Places is a story of heroism and hope when people and life is at its worst. It's about standing up for what you believe is right. I love how the author uses small

Alligator Seder by Jessica Hickman, illustrated by Elissambura Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz This board book by first-time author and native Floridian, Jessica Hikman, chronicles a family of alligators as they prepare-for and celebrate Passover. The book incorporates an A, B, C, B end rhyming pattern. For example: A Every year in Florida, B Our favorite sunshine state, C A very special family B takes out its Seder plate. The book also includes information about alligators such as their habitat and their physical features. It states,“. . . Her cooking is the best in the entire Everglade. . . Their many extra teeth make for an even louder crunch. The meal is being served now, and the gators start to chomp. The delicious smells of dinner go drifting through the swamp”. The illustrator used layers of vibrant color and texture to create cartoon alligators and their swampy environment. The simple, yet playful illustrations depict alligators c

Asteroid Goldberg: Passover in Outer Space by Brianna Caplan Sayres, illustrated by Merrill Rainey Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Fern Richardson Asteroid Goldberg is a rhyming picture book about a young girl’s celebration of Passover in outer space. The main character, Asteroid, finds herself unexpectedly celebrating Passover in her family’s space ship. The quick thinking girl sets off on an adventure to find creative alternatives to the usual Passover fare. She uses the big dipper as a ladle to scoop up Jupiter’s moons, which Asteroid envisions as matzo balls. Saturn’s rings become matzo, while Jupiter’s red spot fills in for horseradish. The rest of the story is a good-humored explanation of how a seder might look in a zero gravity situation. Brianna Caplan Sayres manages to fit a lot of Passover information into fun story over 15 spreads. Some of the humor, children will get; some only parents will enjoy. For example, the Jupiter moon matzo balls float right out of the

A Persian Princess by Barbara Diamond Goldin, illustrated by Steliyana Doneva Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jane Kohuth In this book, Raya, a contemporary young Persian American Jewish girl, celebrates Purim with her family and friends from her neighborhood. Raya bakes koloocheh, traditional Persian Purim cookies with her stylish grandmother Maman joon, who recounts eating the crunchy cookies shaped like little “Hamans,” (the Purim villain) when she was a child in Hamadan, Iran. Raya is disappointed that she is not old enough to be in the Religious School Purim play like her brother Nati, who is playing the important role of Mordecai, Queen Esther’s cousin. Raya wants to be a sparkly princess for Purim, so, to cheer her up, Maman joon takes her up to her bedroom, which is decorated with colorful Persian items, perhaps brought from Iran. Maman joon wraps Raya in layers of colorful scarves and strands of gold coins to create a Persian princess costume. Raya is delighted

Sweet Tamales for Purim by Barbara Bietz, illustrated by John Kanzler Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Kathy Bloomfield This charming story is set in the American Southwest during the late 1800s and was inspired by a Purim Ball hosted by the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society of Tucson, AZ. The whole town is invited to the Purim Ball. Rebecca plans to attend in her Esther costume, while her best friend, Luis, decides to go as a vaquero, (Spanish for cowboy). Rebecca explains Purim to Luis, including drawing out the story of Esther and describing how graggers are used to blot out Hamen’s name. When they discover that their wayward goat, Kitzel, has eaten all the hamantaschen, Mama sadly says there will be no cookies this year – all the flour, butter and apricot jam are gone. Unfortunately, Luis’ mama does not any of the ingredients either. Fortunately, she does have masa (corn flour) and raisins, enough to make sweet tamales for Purim. The story is told in clear, engaging lan