Mazel tov to the Sydney Taylor Book Award winners for 2024!
Not So Shy by Noa Nimrodi is a middle-grade novel about a 12-year-old Israeli girl adjusting to a new life in America. It is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the middle-grade category.
“Getting the phone call from the Sydney Taylor Award Committee, learning that Not So Shy is being honored in the Middle Grade category, was a ray of light in dark times. My deepest thanks and gratitude to the judging committee and the Association of Jewish Libraries for giving twelve-year-old Shai such an honorable place in children’s literature," says Nimrodi.
The Rabbi and his Donkey by Susan Tarcov and illustrated by Diana Renjina is a picture book for ages 3-8 about Maimonides and the donkey he rides. It is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book in the picture book category.
“Every year I look forward to the list of Sydney Taylor Award books and this year my book is on that list. A dream come true! Thank you so much," says Tarcov.
Zhen Yu and the Snake by Erica Lyons and illustrated by Renia Metallinou is a picture book for ages 4-8. It is a retelling of a Talmudic story set in long-ago China. It is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book in the picture book category.
Kar-Ben Publisher Joni Sussman has also been honored with the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award for her contribution over the last twenty years to the genre of Jewish children’s literature.