The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Salt & Honey: Jewish Teens on Feminism, Creativity, & Tradition Anthology edited by Elizabeth Mandel with JGirls Magazine, illustrations contributed by teen artists and photographers Behrman House & JGirls Magazine, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Eva L. Weiss   Buy at Bookshop.org This kaleidoscopic anthology brings to life authentic voices of American teens (ages 13-19) who explore their lives, emotions and coming of age through the prism of their identity as Jews. They express themselves through essays, poetry, illustrations and photographs. If the thematic division of the six chapters is a bit blurry, the overarching motif is unmistakable. This collection is a jubilant anthem to diversity and inclusion, written by "self-identifying Jewish girls, young women and nonbinary teens." Teens are also editors of their contributions, drawn from JGirls magazine. A teen with cerebral palsy matter-of-factly shares the accommodations needed to celebrate her bat mitzv

A Synagogue Just Like Home by Alice Blumenthal McGinty, illustrated by Laurel Molk Candlewick, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Cynthia Levinson Buy at Bookshop.org Rabbi Ruben, a tousle-haired young man who wears sneakers and is accompanied everywhere by his adoring dog (who really wishes someone would play ball with him!), loves his cheery synagogue. However, the kitchen sink leaks. The floors creak. And the windows are so drafty, wind blows out the Shabbat candles. No problem! Rabbi Ruben can take care of everything to make the synagogue feel the way it should--like a happy home. But, alas, he can't do it all by himself, and he makes matters even worse when he tries to fix everything alone. Fortunately, the choir director, the Weinstein girls, and other members of the congregation pitch in, literally mopping up after Rabbi Ruben and repairing the leaks, creaks, and drafts. By the end, everyone realizes that a synagogue can indeed feel like a home--because a home is about h

Shoshi's Shabbat by Caryn Yacowitz, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes Candlewick Press, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Jacqueline Jules Buy at Bookshop.org Six days a week, Shoshi, a little ox, helps Farmer Simon plows his fields. On the Sabbath, she enjoys relaxing and playing with Simon’s grandchildren. Life is pleasant until Farmer Simon feels “the weight of his years” and sells Shoshi to his neighbor, Yohanan. When Shoshi’s new owner expects her to work seven days a week, she plants “her four feet on the ground” and firmly refuses. Yohanan is mystified until he considers how his neighbor Simon enjoys a day of rest with his family each week. Does the little ox understand the importance of Shabbat? Is she trying to teach him something? Shoshi’s Shabbat celebrates the beauty of observing the Sabbath with lyrical language and delightful illustrations. Young readers will fall in love with this adorable little ox who defies her new owner with humorous facial expressions. An author’

Those Summer Nights by Laura Silverman Margaret K. McElderry Books (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Sarah Blattner Buy at Bookshop.org It’s the summer before her senior year, and Hannah Klein has just returned from a year at Mountain Bliss Academy, a boarding school in the north Georgia mountains for troubled teens. Last summer Hannah lost everything that mattered to her: the ability to play soccer due to an injury, her bubbie to cancer, her best friend Brie Bradley, and her parents’ trust. Hannah turned to self-destructive behaviors: she took partying too far one night and almost got behind the wheel of her car while intoxicated. Her bestie Brie took her keys, drove her home, and notified Hannah’s parents. But now Hannah is back in Atlanta, and she must prove herself to her family, her friends, and most of all, to herself. A main theme in the novel is taking ownership for your actions by repairing harm. While working with her brother Joey at Bona

A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Emily Roth Buy at Bookshop.org A Million Quiet Revolutions is a stunning novel in verse that tells a profound love story. At the beginning of their senior year of high school, Oliver and Aaron are realizing that their relationship is deeper than a lifelong friendship, and they are both beginning the process of coming out as trans. After history buff Oliver discovers a story of two Revolutionary War soldiers who may have been trans and may have lived together after the war, he and Aaron choose to pay tribute to the soldiers by adopting their names. Oliver, who is white and Jewish, finds that his parents immediately support him and affirm his identity, while Aaron’s more conservative Puerto Rican and Catholic parents have a hard time using the correct pronouns and often deadname him. Although it would be easy to view Aaron’s parents as the villains of this story, Glow succeeds at cre

Berliners by Vesper Stamper Knopf (imprint of Random House), 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Ronda Einbinder   Buy at Bookshop.org In WWII Berlin, fifteen-year-old Rudolf is given the Hitler Jugend uniform and told to be on the lookout for Jews in critically-acclaimed author-illustrator Vesper Stamper’s latest novel Berliners . Rudolf doesn’t give it much thought until he discovers his crush is Jewish and turns her in. Later when Rudolf meets scared teen Ilse, he realizes he must do what he can to save her. She will be his redemption. When unfaithful Ilse discovers she is pregnant, they reluctantly decide to wed. This page-turning story fast-forwards the reader to 1961 when twins Rudi and Peter are fifteen and follow the mantra "twins against the world." Peter is a creative thinker, popular and smart. Rudi is jealous of his twin and believes in the words of the socialist party. When the parents split up, Rudolph escapes to West Berlin just before the Berlin Wall is bui

Shabbat Sabotage by Emma Carlson Berne Yellow Jacket (imprint of Little Bee  Books), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Sandy Wasserman Buy at Bookshop.org This is one of the most uplifting Jewish camp books I've ever read! Camp Shalom, where it takes place, is a girls' camp but the object lessons in the plot are universal. The 11 year olds arriving on Day One do not know each other, some do not want to be there, and there's a bit of edgy unfriendliness as they size each other up upon arrival at their cabin. But what they don't know is that some of the girls have secrets, and so a mystery develops. Someone can't swim, and someone steals a kiddush cup and candlesticks for a very unusual reason, and someone is way more homesick than anyone else. There is just enough of a hint along the way to surmise the identity of the thief, but the story keeps the reader guessing. In the end, the girls solve the mystery and help each other overcome their personal problems and fe