Back of Book:
Rachel Rosenstein is determined to celebrate Christmas this year—and the fact that her family is Jewish is not going to stop her. In a series of hilarious and heartwarming mishaps, Rachel writes a letter to Santa explaining her cause, pays him a visit at the mall, and covertly decorates her house on Christmas Eve (right down to latkes for Santa and his reindeer). And while Rachel may wrestle with her culture, customs, and love of sparkly Christmas ornaments, she also comes away with a brighter understanding of her own identity and of the gift of friends and family.
My Review:
This is a unique story in that it discusses how children may feel left out during the Christmas season if they celebrate Hanukkah. Children who want to celebrate Christmas if they are Jewish can relate to Rachel. All Rachel wants is to be normal like everyone else. She doesn’t understand why she and her family cannot celebrate Christmas. I love reading this book in my classroom because it shows my students that not everyone celebrates the same way and that’s okay. I can see this being an excellent resource for parents to use to share with their children about the importance of celebrating their culture. My personal favorite part of this story is in Rachel goes to the Chinese Restaurant on Christmas and finds that she is not the only one who celebrates differently. The illustrations are sweet drawings that are terrific for a children’s picture book.
Ages 5 and up
40 Pages
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