The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Rip to the Rescue by Miriam Halahmy Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Jane Kohuth   Buy at Bookshop.org Thirteen year-old Jack Castle has been bullied for years because he us deaf in his left ear. It is 1940 and London is reeling from the Blitz. Jack’s father, a disabled veteran of World War I has been moody and angry since the war began, often reprimanding Jack and telling him how useless he is. In order to prove his worth, Jack, who is tall, has lied about his age in order to join the Messengers, teenage boys who ride their bikes through air raids to deliver critical messages. He keeps this job from his parents, who believe Jack is guiding his grandfather to a shelter and staying with him during raids. During one air raid, Jack is injured, and help comes in the form of twelve-year-old Paula, who takes him home to her father, who is a doctor. Soon Jack also finds a stray dog with a ripped ear, whom he names “Rip.” Jack’s father, like many people at the time, had Jack’s pet cats euthani

A Very Big Problem by Amy-Jill Levine & Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, illustrated by Annie Bowler Cateogry: Picture Books Reviewer: Laurie Adler   Buy at Bookshop.org An argument is piercing through the serenity of God’s garden. Each creation, from rain to earthworms to children, takes a turn to argue why it’s the most important, and refrains that “God should love me the most. It’s only fair.” At the end, God gently intercedes and explains that there is enough love for everyone; each part of nature is crucial to the whole, and “without all of you together, there would be no garden at all.” This gentle story was written to read like a midrash, an ancient Rabbinic story or parable, that expands upon the creation chapters in Genesis. It’s simplicity, alliteration, and repeating refrain will captivate preschool children, while its many ecological facts will broaden their knowledge of our world. Annie Bowler’s bold and colorful illustrations seem to spill out from the pages to perfectly captu

The Girl from Over There: The Hopeful Story of a Young Jewish Immigrant by Sharon Rechter, illustrated by Karla Gerard  Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Judith S. Greenblatt   Buy at Bookshop.org An unnamed Israeli kibbutz, post World War II, is the setting for this work of historical fiction. A tattered and terrified 11 year old girl, Miriam, has arrived from “over there.” The adults in the kibbutz welcome her, but 11 year old Michal, self described as the “class queen,” is consumed by jealousy and hatred. While Michal’s clique are initially suspicious and cruel, soon only Michal continues to play mean tricks. Not surprisingly, Miriam returns Michal’s hatred. However, Miriam, helped by Michal’s boyfriend Dan, learns to accept her new surroundings, and decides to reach out to Michal. As more new arrivals are welcomed and tell their stories of the horrors of the war. Michal gradually comes to understand how much Miriam has suffered, and after much hesitation apologizes. Written when Sh

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Stacy Mozer   Buy at Bookshop.org No Vacancy is the story of eleven-year-old Miriam Brockman whose family moves to upstate New York to run a motel. Unfortunately, they learn pretty quickly that the previous owners had overvalued the hotel's income potential. The book is set against a backdrop of religious identity and acceptance. Miriam and her family are Jewish and have some religious practices, such as not eating pork and celebrating Shabbat with Friday night dinner, and her uncle who comes to visit is shomer shabbat . However, the area of New York they have moved to has seen few Jews. When Miriam and her new friend, Kate, find an image at the run-down drive in movie theater that looks like the Virgin Mary, the town is suddenly in the midst of miracle mania. When this leads to antisemitic vandalism on the hotel, the predominantly Christian town has to stand together with their new Jewish neighbors. I think this book s

  Review: A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meg Wiviott   Buy at Bookshop.org    Loma loves taking care of her young nieces and nephews – her “littles”. More than anything else, she wants to be a Mamá with a husband and children of her own. But Loma’s grandfather, Belo, an influential advisor to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, wants her to accompany him as he travels throughout Spain helping Jews and conducting royal business. At first, Loma is thrilled; she is seven years old when Belo notices her aptitude with numbers and singles her out from all her siblings. But the years pass and Belo refuses to look for a husband for her. Loma resigns herself to having the “littles” as her only children. After the King and Queen inform Belo and his friend Don Solomon Bohor, another Royal advisor, of their plans to banish all the Jews from Spain, Belo is incapacitated by an illness. Fearing the royal couple may kidnap him and forcibly baptize him

  The Association of Jewish Libraries' Sydney Taylor Book Award committee has three open spaces coming up for the 2022 and 2023 award years. Committee members chosen will serve from January 2021 through the June 2023 AJL conference. Each year, committee members will read 120+ picture books, Middle Grade and YA of Jewish content and score them. Committee members will also attend all AJL conferences during their term, and all meetings called by the committee chair.  You do not need to be an AJL member to apply, however being a committee member is contingent upon AJL membership.  The application can be found at  https://jewishlibraries.org/STBA_committee_application .  Applications close November 20, 2020. More information about the award may be found at https://jewishlibraries.org/content.php?page=Sydney_Taylor_Book_Award .

  Letters from Cuba by Ruth Behar Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Meira Drazin Buy at Bookshop.org It is January 1938 and 12-year-old Esther leaves behind her mother, brothers and beloved sister Malka in their small town in Poland—where things are getting increasingly harder for Jews—to board a ship to Cuba. There she will join her father and help him earn enough money to (hopefully soon) bring the rest of the family. Esther promises her sister that she will write to her and tell her everything that happens and so proceeds Pura Belpré award-winning author Ruth Behar’s newest middle grade novel, Letters From Cuba . Although the Jewish community is in Havana, Esther’s father has taken up residence in a tiny village called Agramonte from which he can peddle his wares throughout the countryside, making the journey to Havana only when he needs to restock. Soon, through Esther’s resourcefulness and talents, including as a deft and creative dressmaker, they are able to earn more and more mon