(4) K-3 Illustrated by Amanda Quartey. Anti-Black racism limited Althea Gibson’s professional tennis career in the United States, and antisemitism held back Angela Buxton in the UK. The two befriended each other during a tournament in Asia, and they eventually became doubles partners, winning Wimbledon and what is now known as the French Open in 1956. Dubbin uses child-friendly language to explain the discrimination both women faced. Cartoon-like illustrations accompany the straightforward prose. An author’s note and photographs of the women are appended.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton

(2) PS Illustrated by Ana Zurita. "MARCH like a Maccabee -- stomping your feet! / SHAKE like the jelly in a doughnut treat." This board book dances through the details of Hanukkah, urging young listeners to spin like a dreidel and jump like a latke in a pan. Bold illustrations feature a diverse group of kids (and one mischievous cat) hippity-hopping their holiday hearts out amid Hanukkah treats, decorations, and spinning dreidels. A jaunty introduction to Hanukkah activities for the toddler set.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) 4-6 In this novel set in 1973, all seventh grader Melanie wants is to be one of the popular Shimmers. As her best friend, Vicky, seems to be having more success achieving that goal than Melanie is, the sudden appearance of a new friend is welcome. New classmate Dorit was born in Israel and has moved from place to place, and she and Melanie discover they have a lot in common. In fact, each has a parent with symptoms of what the author's note identifies as PTSD -- Melanie's mother from a car accident and Dorit's father from fighting in the Six-Day War. The Shimmers are less than compassionate, and in an attempt to impress them, Melanie crosses a line in what she shares about Dorit and her family. The start of the Yom Kippur War believably heightens emotions, while Melanie's growing understanding of the Watergate scandal mirrors issues of trust among Melanie and her peers in this tale of friendship dynamics that doesn't reach for easy resolutions or immediate forgiveness.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) PS Illustrated by Nia Gould. It's Hanukkah, and Charley Chipmunk has pledged to bring the menorah to his celebration with his friend Seymour Squirrel, along with...something that starts with C. Carrots, a cantaloupe, and chocolate gelt all make their way into his bag. Young readers and listeners will enjoy the silliness, and possibly the knowledge that they have better memories or deduction skills than Charley. The solution Seymour suggests (don't try this at home) is reminiscent of the Hanukkah legend of the oil miracle. Illustrations in a muted palette lend a cozy feel as the friends observe the holiday and tell the story of the Maccabees.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Smart. This book opens at a suspenseful point in its subject's story: "Even with war raging around them [in 1995], the people of Sarajevo were worrying about a book." The text then flashes back and gives the history of a hand-painted, hand-lettered Haggadah (guide for the Passover seder) given as a wedding gift in Spain around 1350 and passed from generation to generation and place to place. It survived the Spanish Inquisition...and scribbles and wine spills...before being sold to the National Museum in Sarajevo in 1894. Strauss spotlights the ways the rare Haggadah became "everybody's treasure"; e.g., a Muslim curator and a Catholic museum director each had a hand in protecting it from the Nazis. Her accessible text clearly explains key moments in the book's sweeping history. Smart's illustrations portray these moments with varied compositions and perspectives, keeping pages turning. In addition to depictions of the Haggadah itself, occasional borders nod at its intricate design. Source notes or other more extensive back matter (beyond the brief author's note) would have enhanced this title, but it serves as an engaging introduction to a volume with a remarkable history.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Maria Mola. Danielito is visiting his Bobe for Janucá. He doesn’t have a trompo to play with the neighborhood kids, but Bobe supplies a dreidel. A chase through town after both types of spinning tops provides shared glee, followed by shared buñuelos and latkes. Illustrations with varied compositions spotlight Bobe’s neighborhood in this relatable story about wanting to fit in and embracing individuality. An appended note provides background about the holiday and the Jewish community in Mexico, including some linguistic context (e.g., Bobe is a Spanish transliteration of the Yiddish Bubbe).

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carlos Vélez Aguilera. A Maryland family spends Hanukkah with their Nonna and Nonno (the Ladino names for grandparents) in Miami's Little Havana. The lighthearted text takes them through their sun-kissed holiday: they run on the beach, spin a dreidel "on cool patio tiles," and enjoy mouthwateringly described buñuelos alongside their latkes. Vividly colored illustrations add to the sense that this welcome Sephardic celebration is both a loving family visit and an ­exciting vacation. Back matter includes a glossary and an author's note about Blank's childhood memories of Ladino-speaking Cuban Jews from her visits to Miami. A handful of minor errors appear, including a dreidel with letters out of order.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Martina Peluso. Rena "Rusty" Glickman Kanokogi (1935–2009) grew up in a cramped and noisy Coney Island apartment where "not even Shabbat brought quiet." Brash and strong, she was considered "unladylike" and a judo class was the first place she felt she fit in. As her skills developed, however, she faced barriers as a woman: e.g., she won a YMCA championship while disguised as a man but had her medal rescinded when an official saw through the ruse. The straightforward text focuses on her obsession with the sport (she practiced on subway platforms and took down "unsuspecting trash cans") and on her persistence and advocacy, including being the first woman to study at Japan's Kodokan and helping to establish women's judo as an Olympic event. Illustration layouts vary, with many of the more dynamic ones being vignettes of Glickman practicing judo moves. An author's note gives a bit more background, especially about Glickman's later life. A welcome addition to the growing canon of picture-book biographies amplifying lesser-known women, with added sports appeal.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) PS "1 light. / Special night. / 2 lights. / Happy nights." A soothingly simple text guides young listeners through the nights and lights of Hanukkah in this counting board book. The main attraction here is the striking art: against a black background, each added flame is shown in a different radiant color, with white lines filling in a few more details. A final spread explains briefly how to create the varying types of marks used for the flames: "drip: Use an eyedropper to drip paint"; "crisscross: Use pencils, crayons, or chalk to make fine lines." A bright little gift for budding young artists.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Noa Kelner. This book is an expansion of a passage from the Talmud about Rabbi Hanina's experience getting caught in the rain. It reads very much like a folktale and focuses on the old man's interaction with animals, nature, and the Divine, and on the ultimate lesson of finding contentment and fitting in with the natural world. The text highlights Rabbi Hanina's one-sided conversation with the heavens while also providing details about the animals he sees and his internal emotional experience. While the illustrations in general are bright and whimsical, Hanina (and his long gray beard) comes across as serious.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(2) PS Illustrated by Feronia Parker-Thomas. Optimal latke preparation and dipping sauce are often the subject of friendly debate. Here, the debaters are the latkes themselves, shown in the cheerful colored-pencil illustrations with simple faces, limbs, and even accessories. Are red, yellow, or gold potatoes best? What's the superior ­frying substance? (Yellow Potato's answer, chicken schmaltz, combined with its dunk into the sour cream might raise questions for kosher-keeping readers about mixing meat and dairy.) The cat is a qualified judge, and luckily (for the feline!) the latkes seem unbothered by being test subjects. An appealingly silly holiday side dish--just don't get too attached to the potato-based protagonists. A latke recipe with lots of options is appended, but it doesn't settle the debate, either.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sofia Moore. Like her friends Jane Addams and Susan B. Anthony, Solomon didn't let the rigid social mores for women in the early 1900s keep her from advocating for immigrants, the poor, and women. This accessible picture-book biography introduces a lesser-known social reformer who founded the National Council of Jewish Women, which "worked to help people around the country." Moore's stylish illustrations evoke the era and reflect Solomon's energy and purpose. End notes offer more about "Chicago's most important Jewish leader of her generation" and Addams's Hull House. A timeline is appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) PS An eight-night holiday lends itself to counting books, and this one adds in colors as well as Hanukkah activities. Badger plays dreidel and lights two orange Hanukkah candles; reads the story of the Maccabees and lights five blue candles; and so forth. The reassuringly predictable text provides an introduction to the holiday, and the cut-paper illustrations have just enough details to keep young viewers engaged: varied textures, carefully ­lettered dreidels, even tributes to Badger's bird companion. A just-right board book for the youngest ­Hanukkah celebrants.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Isabel Muñoz. The opening scene in this account of a remarkable friendship puts the ugliness of segregation front and center. In 1937 in Princeton, New Jersey, African American contralto Marian Anderson was welcomed by an all-white audience (including Albert Einstein) but was refused hotel accommodations after her performance. Einstein invited Anderson to stay at his house, thus offering author Rose the opportunity to provide insight into the Jewish physicist (who fled Nazi Germany) and his commitment to racial equality. Muñoz's cartoonlike illustrations effectively convey emotion. An author's note provides more information about both subjects.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg. Evie's newest neighbors have just arrived from another country, "in such a rush." At her parents' encouragement, Evie introduces herself to young Bimi while her family helps his family move in. Their neighbor, Mrs. Monroe, casts judgmental looks out her window--Mrs. Monroe immigrated, too, Evie's parents reveal, so why can't she be more sympathetic? Stylized, collage-like illustrations pair images of Evie and Bimi in everyday scenes--like dining with their families, waving from bedroom windows, and sharing treasured toys. When Evie's family brings over spare furniture, a diverse chain of welcoming neighbors follows suit; the resulting impromptu dinner party is enough to crack Mrs. Monroe's shell. This warm slice-of-life story is a gentle lesson in empathy.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. "She made applesauce sweet / for a Hanukkah treat. / She made latkes yummy / and filled up her tummy." A rabbi celebrates the eight nights of Hanukkah with her family in this cumulative rhyming tale. Torah reading, brisket, the dreidel game, menorah lighting, and chocolate gelt are also part of the family's observance. Slightly exaggerated cartoon illustrations emphasize fun, faith, and tradition. This book will appeal most to those already familiar with holiday, which, "as we all know," helps us "...remember a miracle / from a long time ago." An appended paragraph provides some history.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mélanie Florian. Marcy's excited to be the question-asker at her Passover seder, since "she knew a lot about questions. She asked them all the time." But her four questions--e.g., "Are worms kosher for Passover?"--aren't what her family expected. It's a gentle misunderstanding with a satisfying resolution; cartoonlike, emotive illustrations capture Marcy's enthusiasm. The actual Four Questions (and their answers) are included.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown. Each night of Hanukkah, our pet-desiring narrator receives a gift that makes little sense on its own: "a hard metal lamp," "a squeezy-squirty spray bottle." It all adds up to a (living) surprise, while the family members' gifts to Grandma add up to another surprise that gives the former its name. Increasingly creative latke varieties each night add some eight-nights-is-a-lot humor. Pastel-toned illustrations create a sense of happy family celebration.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elisa Vavouri. During the Great Depression, Pavel, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, plants trees with the Civilian Conservation Corps and gets to know other Americans from different cultures; some are more welcoming than others. This historical-fiction picture book’s text provides an accessible entry point to this element of history and to themes of assimilation; colorful, textured illustrations are eye-catching, if slightly uneven.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) PS Illustrated by Monica Gutierrez. "On the first night of Hanukkah, / what did Barnyard Bubbe see? / One sack of meal. / 'Oh, my. Who has left this for me?'" A hoof in the illustration and a neigh hint at the answer; on the next night, two cups of oil are left with an oink. Illustrations give way to the cheerful reveal: the whole menagerie enjoying Bubbe's latkes. The pattern in this counting board book invites noisy participation.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019