The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Starlight Soup: A Sukkot Story by Elana Rubinstein, illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar Apples & Honey Press (imprint of Behrman House) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org A girl with a super-sniffer nose, her loving Jewish family who own a restaurant, and her friend whose family own a rival restaurant -- this magical Sukkot tale is pure delight!   Saralee's family has built a wonderful sukkah entwined with leaves and vines and flowers, and they are ready to celebrate the holiday by welcoming diners to their restaurant for joyful feasting. But young Saralee is a bit tired of the usual traditional foods. Standing in the sukkah one evening, under the stars, she decides to use her incredible gift, her super-powerful sense of smell, to capture the scent and taste of starlight and infuse it into a magical soup. When anyone tastes this Starlight Soup, that person instantly experiences their favorite flavor. It's wonderful! It's miracul

Something New for Rosh Hashanah by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Christine Battuz Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Bridget Hodder Buy at Bookshop.org Author Jane Yolen delivers again, this time in a charming picture book that sets up a sing-song rhythm as it encourages kids to start the new year right on Rosh Hashanah. Big, vibrant images of the red-haired main character Rebecca and her feline sidekick will capture the attention of little ones.   Rebecca, like many pre-schoolers, has a problem with trying anything new. In fact, her taste is so limited that she refuses to eat anything green or anything that seems like meat. Kids will identify with Rebecca's choosiness, which brings to mind Russell Hoban's classic "Bread and Jam for Frances." (In fact, this book may be a great choice for reading with kids on the autism spectrum who have limited food choices due to sensory issues.)   By example, Rebecca'

Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler Wednesday Books (imprint of St. Martins/Macmillian) Category: Young Adult Reviewer: A.R.Vishny Buy at Bookshop.org Cool for the Summer follows Larissa “Lara” Bogdan, a high-school senior poised to at last date the boy she’s always had a crush on, only to find that she can’t stop thinking about the summer she spent with Jasmine Killary…who is now enrolled in her high school. Alternating between the present and flashbacks, we follow Lara as she reconsiders everything she had once thought so certain about who she is, and who she wants.  Adler builds a compelling, developed voice for Lara, and a world peppered with enough details to drop the reader straight into a summer in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. From cafes to parties to diners and long summer nights, the book offers a rich, immersive read that balances the lightness of a summer romance with the difficulties of questioning one’s sexuality, on top of all the other anxieties that high s

Not So Fast, Max: A Rosh Hashanah Visit with Grandma by Annette Schottenfeld, illustrated by Jennifer Kirkham Kalaniot Books (imprint of Endless Mountain) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Gigi Perlman Pagliarulo Buy at Bookshop.org Family, Jewish traditions, and joyfully celebrating the holiday of Rosh Hashanah center this familiar-seeming tale. Max and his sister Emily are spending the day with Savta, their grandmother visiting from Israel. With the promise of making caramel apples to welcome in a sweet new year, hasty Max is impatient to get started, but Savta has a day of apple picking and orchard frolicking planned as well. Grumpy Max needs to be coaxed into enjoyment, but as the trio picks apples, plays, and tells stories together, he finally comes around to having fun, and even helps create a new Rosh Hashanah family tradition—caramel apples on the first day of the holiday, and apple cake on the second.    The writing and illustration styles are straightforward and a

Rosh Hashanah with Uncle Max written & illustrated by Varda Livney Kar-Ben (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Lila Spitz Buy at Bookshop.org Rosh Hashanah with Uncle Max written and illustrated by Varda Livney is perfect for children in PreK. The board book includes relevant Hebrew vocabulary and dollops of humor to tell the story of a mixed-race family gathering on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Illustrations depict the family of color reciting blessings over candles and wine, eating traditional foods (dates, pomegranates, honey, apples), listening to the sound of the shofar at temple, and celebrating the birthday of the world with songs and sweets.     To draw attention to Uncle Max throughout the story, the illustrator dresses him in an eye-catching flowered shirt which contrasts well with the plain pastel shirts of his family members. The juxtaposition of color and the use of pattern in the illustrations is developmentally appro

 The Papercutter by Cindy Rizzo Bella Books Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Dena Bach   Buy at Bookshop.org   The Papercutter , by Golden Crown Award winner Cindy Rizzo, is a gripping, topical, near-future dystopia, that shows a possible future world resulting from red/blue divide in America today. The narrative is told from the alternating points of view of three brave teens who must navigate increasingly difficult lives for Jews and others outside the norm after “The Split” of the United States into two separate countries: the GFS, the majority white, conservative “God Fearing States of America” and the UPR, the majority non-white, liberal “United Progressive Regions of America. In this absorbing first book in a trilogy, Dani, living in the UPR, and Jeffrey, in the GFS, become friends after joining a pen-pal program connecting Jewish teens in the two countries. As anti-Semitism rises in the GFS, tensions rise for Jeffrey and his friend Judith, an artist who expresses herself through

Happy 'Roo Year: It's Rosh Hashanah by Jessica Hickman, illustrated by Elissambura Kar-Ben (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group) Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Susan Kusel Buy at Bookshop.org A family of Australian kangaroos celebrates Rosh Hashanah in this board book, with rhyming text that is appropriate for very young listeners. Children who are familiar with the holiday will recognize the shofar, apples and honey, round challah, and more. While most of the holiday foods mentioned are Ashkenazi (brisket, fish, honey cake), the addition of dates to the menu adds a Sephardic touch. The kangaroos are brown, purple, and pink, which can be seen as symbolizing a mixed-race family. Some (including pink 'roos) wear kippot but are not explicitly identified by gender. The brown, kippah-wearing Dad prepares dinner, in a nice disruption of gender expectations. An inclusive atmosphere is displayed in the synagogue, where "Koalas, wombats, wallabies--here everyone belongs."