Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein

Amanda Peet, 1972-

Book - 2015

"A Jewish girl decides that she wants to celebrate Christmas, so she writes a letter to Santa"--

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Doubleday Books for Young Readers [2015]
©2015
Language
English
Main Author
Amanda Peet, 1972- (author)
Other Authors
Andrea Troyer (author), Christine Davenier (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 x 26 cm
ISBN
9780553510614
9780553510621
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Christmas is coming, and no one is more excited than Rachel Rosenstein. All the houses on her block are putting up lights and decorations, but her house is bare, and she can't get the rest of her family excited. They are Jewish, and they have plenty of holidays of their own to celebrate. But as much as Rachel likes hunting for the afikomen on Passover and blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, she can't help but be jealous of her neighbors when Christmastime rolls around. She writes a letter to Santa and goes to see him in the mall, but will it be enough to convince him to come to her house on Christmas morning? And if he doesn't, how can she treat Christmas as just an ordinary day? The ending is a little too tidy, but Rachel's plight will speak to kids growing up in mixed-culture communities. The bright, detailed illustrations capture Rachel's enthusiasm and her dogged efforts to capture the Christmas spirit. This will help introduce young readers to other cultures while allowing them to preserve the magic of their own.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Rachel belongs to a loving, observant Jewish family-the kind where every Shabbat, "her friends and family passed around the challah and said the same blessings that Papa Murray [her grandfather] said as a child." But when Christmas comes around, Rachel wants to be part of the celebration; she "felt like a kid in a candy store with no mouth." Actress Peet and her friend/coauthor Troyer, both newcomers to children's books, handle Rachel's obsession and her family's strong sense of religious identity with equal empathy and humor; as Rachel's mother explains, "Sometimes, no matter how badly we want something, we just have to accept what is." But the story's real inspiration is having disconsolate Rachel run into her Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindi friends all at the same Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day-a lovely and pointed reminder that America is a land of many "great holidays." Ages 3-7. Authors' agents: Joseph Veltre and Allison Cohen, Gersh Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 3-Rachel is desperate to celebrate Christmas, even though she and her family are Jewish. Feeling "like a kid in a candy store with no mouth," she secretly develops a scheme to get Santa to visit her home, complete with a letter to the North Pole, homemade decorations, and even a visit to the mall to sit on his lap. When he doesn't show, she is extremely disappointed and is almost too sad to enjoy her family's traditional dinner at a Chinese restaurant, the only place left open. There, she is surprised to find she isn't the only kid not visited by Santa when she meets other classmates who also don't celebrate the season but take pride in their own cultural holidays and traditions. Davenier's illustrations are the highlight of this title. Bright watercolors depict Rachel and her family as a loving group, surrounded by commercial trappings of the season. Unfortunately, while the story attempts to teach pride and celebration in other traditions, it is overshadowed in a final spread that reinforces the idea that Christmas is superior and that "sometimes, no matter how badly we want something, we just have to accept what is." VERDICT Attractive and well-meaning, if not entirely successful.-Brooke Sheets, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Rachel Rosenstein is bummed to be the only kid in her decorated-to-the-hilt neighborhood who doesnt celebrate Christmas. When her pleas for twinkly lights and a tree go unheeded in her Jewish household, Rachel takes matters into her own hands, festooning the living room with homemade decorations on Christmas Eve and waiting for the big guy to arrive. Theres lots of humor in the text (Dear SantaI know that you are a fair person and will not mind that I am Jewish. After all so was Jesus, at least on his mothers side) and in the lively, scribbly, colorful illustrations. But the authors wisely dont gloss over Rachels feelingswhich can be common for anyone who doesnt celebrate Christmas that time of year, a notion that steers the text toward a happy, multi-culti ending. elissa gershowitz (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Jewish Rachel is enchanted by the holiday glitter of Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the anticipated visits from Santa Claus, but her family will have none of it. Determined to take part, she writes a letter to Santa asking him to come down her chimney because she's been "really good all year" and deems Santa "a fair person [who] will not mind that [she] is Jewish." On Christmas Eve, Rachel secretly decorates her living room, leaves leftover latkes with chocolate chips hastily added, and an "I love you, Santa" note. She is angrily disappointed the next morning when there are no presents. In the Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day, Rachel sees classmates who are Chinese and Indian and learns they also do not celebrate Christmas, which helps to soothe the sting. The authors' attempt to address a child's disgruntled frustration at not participating in what seems to her to be the greatest party of the year is poorly executed, however well-intended. Even as they do an adequate job of mentioning all the jovial celebrations Jewish families enjoy throughout the calendar year ("Being Jewish was fun most of the time"), they undercut Rachel's eye-opening multicultural revelation with an unnecessary last scene: a parade of joyful children holding gifts passes Rachel, who thinks "she could still feel a tiny bit bad" about eschewing Christmas.The lovely ink-and-watercolor paintings cannot save this unfortunate effort with its missed opportunity for a wholly positive outcome. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.