Rivka's First Thanksgiving

As recent Jewish immigrants from Russia, Rivka is having a hard time trying to explain the importance of Thanksgiving to her family and so turns to a group of Rabbis in the hopes that they will give their blessings and then change her father's mind.

Elsa Okon Rael has written several children's books based on her own childhood experiences growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. What Zeesie Saw on Delancy Street, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, was an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon, and a Hungry Mind Children's Book of Distinction. Its sequel, When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street, won the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award. Like the young heroine in Rivka's First Thanksgiving, Ms. Rael first learned about the holiday of Thanksgiving in public school -- and she, too, had to convince her immigrant parents to celebrate Thanksgiving at home.