The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Some Kind of Hate by Sarah Darer Littman Scholastic, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Heather J. Matthews Buy at Bookshop.org This is a tough book to read. Author Sarah Darer Littman acknowledges as much in a note before the narration begins. I will admit, I read the statement and I did not take it at face value – as a grizzled YA lit reader, I tend to believe that I’ve seen it all, so to speak. But, this book represents the very first YA book about online radicalization I’ve ever read, and true to its warning. I am left rattled. Some Kind of Hate is a dual-perspective narrative of two friends, Jake and Declan. The story begins when both boys are 15 years old, follows both of their lives for about a year and a half, and then the narrative skips two years, ending when the boys are around 18 years old. Readers meet Declan first, a baseball pitcher with great potential. The next chapter is narrated by Jake, Declan’s best friend and baseball teammate. The boys are different in two dis

We are pleased to introduce The Sydney Taylor Shmooze's new Illustration Editor, Dena Bach. Dena  studied Illustration at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has an MA/MFA in Children’s Literature and Writing for Children from Simmons University. She has worked as a fine artist, illustrator, writer, bookkeeper, bookseller, and a teacher of children from ages 2 to14. Dena has been a reviewer for The Sydney Taylor Shmooze since 2021. Starting in November 2022, Dena will be adding her perspective to selected Shmooze reviews of illustrated books. You can see Dena's art at denabach.com .

Heroines, Rescuers, Rabbis, Spies: Unsung Women of the Holocaust by Sarah Silberstein Swartz, illustrated by Liz Parkes Second Story Press, 2022 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Jeanette Brod Buy at Bookshop.org Sarah Silberstein Swartz brings a unique set of professional credentials and personal experiences to the researching and writing of Heroines, Rescuers, Rabbis, Spies: Unsung Women of the Holocaust . As a daughter of survivors, she fulfills her objective of providing role models and inspiration for a new generation. She gives the reader an opportunity to engage with many aspects of the Holocaust in many European countries from an avowedly feminist perspective. This is an eclectic assemblage of biographies that follows nine women from childhood through the Holocaust and postwar rebuilding of the rest of their lives. A few of the women reflect that their most difficult times came after the war with the realization of the loss of family and the despair of not knowing where to go. It

Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson Delacorte Press (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Annabella Ballinkay is a 13-year-old girl with the ability to -- with a single touch -- see deaths which have been witnessed by others. Each member of her family has their own magical ability. She lives at her family's inn, Ravenfall, which sits at a spot in Oregon where the Shield guarding the "normal" world from the Otherworld is thin enough for magic and magical beings to spill over. Shortly before Samhain, 14-year-old Colin Pierce shows up at Ravenfall. He's been on the run from the murderers of his parents for weeks. Since he's been separated from his older brother, Liam, Colin follows the directions he'd received for such an eventuality: go to Ravenfall and wait for Liam to arrive. Newly introduced to the world of magic, Colin soon learns that he's a Raven, a guardian of the Shield. Anna and her fa

Alte Zachen / Old Things by Ziggy Hanaor, illustrated by Benjamin Phillips Cicada Books, 2022 Category: Middle Grade  Reviewer: Dina Herbert Buy at Bookshop.org At first, Alte Zachen seems like a story of a stereotypical Bubbe shopping for Shabbat with her grandson, Benji. Bubbe, living in New York City, constantly reprimands Benji for living in the now: bringing reusable shopping bags, not understanding what it means to be Jewish. Benji takes this all in stride; it seems Bubbe is getting forgetful and rude in her old age. She expects time to stand still in 1950s New York City. Bubbe cannot accept that things have changed in the world and keeps throwing in Yiddishisms and stereotypical Jewish ideas. When Bubbe calls the butcher a ganef (thief) after being told brisket is $20 a pound, Benji reminds her that’s what things cost these days. He apologizes to the butcher and everyone else Bubbe is rude to that day. By the end, it is a warm story between a modern grandson and his aging Bubbe

A Whale of a Tale: A Sabbath Summer Solstice Story by Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, illustrated by Krystyna Nowak Relevant Publishers, 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Laurie Adler Buy at Bookshop.org When Tova travels to Alaska with her mother during the summer solstice, she wonders how they will know when the Sabbath ends in a land where the sun never sets. She asks native Alaskan animals one by one for a solution but none can help. Finally, a wise orca explains how the position of the sun tells us when the day is over, and reminds Tova of the magic of the Sabbath day. The illustrations are vividly colored and mostly realistic, but are sometimes blurry and unformed. Preschoolers will enjoy hearing Tova consult each native animal, but those same young readers may find the explanation of the sun's positioning and the summer solstice confusing. A Whale of a Tale would be a fine supplement to a Jewish school or synagogue library paired with another nonfiction book that expla

Professor Buber and His Cats by Susan Tarcov, illustrated by Fotini Tikkou Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Arlene Schenker Buy at Bookshop.org A whimsical fictional story based on the real life of philosopher Martin Buber, this picture book will delight all readers, from the children hearing it to the adults reading it. The illustrations of the cats are so expressive that it seems perfectly reasonable when seven street cats start talking to Ketem, the cat protagonist of the story. Ketem is looking for a new home with lots of books. Her home in a book store was perfect, but the store is closing. Professor Buber’s house on Hovevei Zion street with its thousands of books would be ideal, but the street cats tell Ketem that the professor doesn’t want any cats in his house. He loves animals, but he cannot be distracted by their conversation when a person comes to him for advice; he needs to concentrate on that person’s problem.