A Note on Spelling

The Sydney Taylor Shmooze could have been spelled in a completely different way. It could have been "The Sidney Tailor Schmooze." Why is it spelled the way it's spelled?

When Sarah Brenner grew up, she changed her named to Sydney (with two Y's) and married Ralph Taylor (with a Y), becoming Sydney Taylor. SIdney is considered the male variant of the name, while SYdney is the feminine form.

Shmooze is a translation from a Yiddish word for chitchat, meaning there are multiple ways to spell it in English. Some spell it schmooze. Some spell it shmues. We are sure there are many, many more variations. We have decided to use the spelling shmooze for this blog, just to try to keep things simple.

You'll notice that the name Sydney Taylor is full of Y's but, unlike Sidney Tailor, has no I's. That fits in very well with the purpose of The Sydney Taylor Shmooze. This blog is not about "I" or any one individual; it's a joint project created among friends, and we invite you to help us build a community around it. This is a blog that will be full of  Y's or "Why's?" as we ponder and discuss and evaluate the year's Jewish kidlit.

So nu? Now you know. And we hope this will help you remember that we are THE SYDNEY TAYLOR SHMOOZE.