The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

A Zombie Vacation by Lisa Rose, illustrated by Ángeles Ruiz Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz Buy at Bookshop.org Everyone needs a break from their daily routine now and then, especially when you are not yourself. That’s why you might go on a vacation. But sometimes it is hard to know where to go to rejuvenate yourself. In A Zombie Vacation by Lisa Rose, the undead Israeli narrator takes readers on a tour throughout Israel to find the perfect place to relax. The zombie visits tourist destinations in Israel such as the Sea of Galilee, the Israel Museum and Luna Park in Tel Aviv. But they are all too beautiful or joyful for the Zombie to relax. Then, the undead traveler sees an advertisement for the Dead Sea in a tourist magazine, and eureka, the perfect vacation destination has been found. Upon arriving at the Dead Sea, the zombie delights in the decay of his temporary dwelling when he describes, “The hotel was crumbling into a sinkhole. Roaches roamed the lobby. My bed was

Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus, illustrated by Bryan Langdo Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Rachel Simon   Buy at Bookshop.org   Latkes for Santa Claus by Janie Emaus and illustrated by Bryan Langdo is a sweet story of an interfaith household. Jewish Anna is excited when she realizes Santa will come to her house for the first time this year. Her new Christian stepbrother Michael is sure Santa will eat his homemade cookies, but Anna has other ideas. She thinks Santa would love the Jewish food her family has -- from Bubbe Sadie’s matzo ball soup to noodle kugel to tzimmes. But all of those delicious foods aren’t quite the finger food Santa needs, so she finally figures out Santa can eat latkes and not make a mess. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, and I particularly loved the images of Santa with latkes high in his bag on his sleigh. The book represents many interfaith families today, who partake in Christmas and Hanukkah. In addition, Latkes for Santa Claus comes wit

The Book of Secrets by Mat Tonti Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Gigi Pagliarulo Buy at Bookshop.org Author and illustrator Mat Tonti takes readers on a wild and unexpected ride in this fresh graphic novel take on traditional Jewish stories, embedding Jewish tales and folklore from a wide range of sources within a thoroughly modern narrative. Jewish siblings Ben and Rose are pulled into a dangerous mystery when they receive a mystical message from their missing Bubbe. As they discover the mysterious Book of Secrets, they become deeply immersed in its chapters -- a series of stories that will lead them along the path to rescuing their grandparents and preserving the history of their people -- if the Book’s characters themselves don’t take over first! The cryptic and powerful Doughlem, a Golem-like creature with the Hebrew word אמת baked into a crust atop his forehead, is a crucial throughline in this genre-traversing book, which weaves in tales from the Mishnah, the Midrash, Chasidim,

The Peddler and the Baker by Yael Molchadsky, illustrated by Liora Grossman Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sandy Wasserman Buy at Bookshop.org Beautiful book with a powerful message, with the text and illustrations flowing along like instruments in a concert, each enhancing the other. 'The best things in life are free,' words often said, though in this book this message leaps out to both the poor skinny peddler and the stout baker. The message comes through clearly to the reader as it does to the children who peer and eavesdrop from the staircase in the wise rabbi's house as he gives his decree on the situation presented to him: Do we need to pay for what our senses offer up to us in this world, including the wafting aroma of freshly baking bread? A book to read over and over to remind us of all that we can enjoy in life that is free in the world. The illustrations in this book take us a journey all on their own, with glorious endpapers of baking tools. A tale of simple

Night Lights: A Sukkot Story by Barbara Diamond Goldin, illustrated by Amberin Huq Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org Night Lights was originally published in 1995 by Harcourt Brace with illustrations by Louise August. This new edition, published by Apples & Honey Press, has been heavily edited, and has been reillustrated by Amberin Huq. The basic storyline remains the same: Daniel is nervous about spending a night in the dark in the family sukkah, even with big sister Naomi for company. After being spooked by noises and shadows, he almost heads inside, but Naomi points out the "night lights" in the sky, the same stars and moon that were seen by their ancestors when they slept in similar huts. The revised text is much tighter than the original. It's been slightly simplified and streamlined in a way that will make it more accessible to young readers. It's also been made more egalitarian: mom helps build the sukkah and dad helps p

Does Your Dog Speak Hebrew? A Book of Animal Sounds by Ellen Bari, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Sandy Wasserman Buy at Bookshop.org A delightful very beginner picture book, of five Hebrew words for the youngest set! How humorous it is, that words for animal sounds differ among languages. Preschoolers love to imitate animals and how clever they will feel as they learn to speak the Hebrew of these five animals. Artful illustrations set the scene for the both the American and Israeli locations where the animals reside; one is never to young to learn a bit of geography and know some famous American and Israeli pastimes and locales! Child and parent both will meet a dog, a rooster, a frog, a bird, and of course a cow. And how convenient for all that a cow says 'moo' in every language. The illustrations very subtly and creatively are a child's first glimpse into the American landscape and Israel's, too! We see the dog at the Capitol, a

  The Prettiest by Brigit Young Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Heidi Rabinowitz Buy at Bookshop.org The middle school is abuzz when a list is published on social media, ranking the 50 prettiest girls in the eighth grade. Shy Eve is catapulted from obscurity to notoriety by landing in first place on this list, garnering her much unwanted attention. Popular girl Sophie is horrified that's she's been placed in spot #2. Eve's best friend Nessa doesn't make the list at all, presumably because she's not classically thin. This scenario creates a platform for a fascinating exploration of the ways people judge each other and the assumptions people make about each other, of gender dynamics and sexism, and of other prejudices such as antisemitism and racism (though these last are touched on only briefly). Chapters switch between the points of view of Eve, Nessa, and Sophie, who eventually form an alliance to find the author of the list and bring them to justice, or at least