The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meira Drazin A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan is about sixth-graders Sara and Elizabeth who bridge their outward differences to team up for cooking club and ultimately for friendship. Sara has just joined the large local Poplar Springs Middle School after having gone to a small mosque school her whole life. Looking to earn extra money and supplement her Pakistani cuisine catering business, Sara’s mom Mrs. Hameed becomes the new after-school cooking club teacher, specializing in Southeast Asian food. Elizabeth, enamored by food as well as the practical aspects of cooking for her family when her British mother’s expertise is opening a tin and buying microwavable hot pockets, excitedly takes the after-school club with her best friend Maddy, who promptly ditches her for a new cool best friend. Prickly Sara, who has to sit in the class anyway as she waits for her mom, agrees to be

The Littlest Candle: A Hanukkah Story by Rabbis Kerry and Jesse Olitzky, illustrated by Jen Kostman Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org A group of animate candles living in a kitchen drawer are excited about Hanukkah's approach. They enter into a lively debate about who should be lit on the first night of the holiday; the various Hanukkah candles, and oddly, the Shabbat candles, and even the Havdalah candle argue for their own suitability for this role. Only Little Flicker, the smallest candle, hangs back, instead supporting others and providing useful information. At last the rest of the candles realize that modest Little Flicker is so helpful that he should be the shamash, the helper candle. "He smiled brightly because he knew he was there to help. And that was the most important way to bring more light to Hanukkah." The logic of anthropomorphic candles who apparently survive repeated lightings is a bit shaky, and the text i

Nicanor's Gate by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Alida Massari Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Kamin Buy at Bookshop.org Nicanor’s Gate by Eric Kimmel was first published by The Jewish Publication Society in 1979 with illustrations by Jerry Joyner (1938-2019). The undersized 7x7 inch trim had lengthy, dense text in a small font on the right side of each page along with a framed two color black and blue, difficult-to-decipher illustration on the right. It’s no wonder the book hasn’t circulated from my synagogue library since 1990! Fortunately, Eric Kimmel has penned a new, more accessible version of this wonderful, ancient Talmudic tale with lush, radiant full-color, full spread illustrations in earth tones, blues, and pinks by Alida Massari (Under the Sabbath Lamp , 2017). The simple, clear, and concise text tells the story of the wealthy merchant from Alexandria who volunteers to commission new gates for the ruined Temple in Jerusalem. But when the ship carrying N

It's Challah Time: by Latifa Berry Kropf, photography by Moshe Shai Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Kamin Buy at Bookshop.org A preschool class demonstrates how to make challah for Shabbat. Simple text and bright, full color photographs illustrate each step from adding the flour, yeast, honey, oil, and eggs to mixing, kneading, and waiting for the dough to rise. The children also braid the dough and prepare the classroom and table for Shabbat. The book ends with the entire class lighting the candles, reciting the blessings, drinking the juice, and of course, enjoying the warm, freshly baked challah. A recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Challah and the blessings for the candles, grape juice/wine, and challah (in Hebrew, transliteration and English) are appended. This 20th Anniversary Edition features a larger 10x10 trim size, updated photos, a slightly altered text, and a more diverse preschool class. A welcome addition to all Jewish preschool classrooms and li

 The Association of Jewish Libraries (the parent organization of The Sydney Taylor Shmooze) is building a storefront at Bookshop.org. Shoppers will be able to easily find and purchase books that have won an award or been recommended by AJL. As an affiliate, AJL will make a small profit from books sold, and local independent bookstores will make a larger profit.  The Sydney Taylor Shmooze will begin adding Bookshop links to our reviews to make it easy for readers to purchase any titles that strike their fancy. These affiliate links will benefit the Association of Jewish Libraries. Learn more about how Bookshop works Shop at AJL's Bookshop storefront

 

The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illustrated by Lisa Anchin Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Kathy Bloomfield The world has been fighting polio for centuries. Back in the 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk worked tirelessly to create a vaccine that would one day eradicate the polio virus from the world. Even today, the World Health Organization just announced that Africa is now free from the wild polio virus. This interesting and well-researched book describes Dr. Salk from his boyhood in an immigrant Jewish family to his becoming a doctor and inventing the polio vaccine. With detailed, clear writing and charming pictures, the story is one of focused effort and lasting success. There are many lessons to be learned here about the current COVID-19 pandemic the world is facing, and the search for a vaccine to eliminate it. This is an excellent book that has all the trappings of an award winner: a great story based in Jewish values-educat