Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein

Peet, Amanda; Troyer, Andrea

3.52

321 ratings by Goodreads

9780553510621: Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein

ISBN 10: 0553510622 ISBN 13: 9780553510621

Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2015

For anyone who's ever asked "Why can't we have a tree?" comes a "lighthearted" (USA Today) book about being Jewish during the Christmas season from actress Amanda Peet!

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.

Inspired by Amanda Peet's experience with her own children, Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein is sure to be a new holiday classic!

"Many Jewish kids in America can probably relate to Amanda Peet’s new children’s book." —Time.com

"It's not just for kids: Any grown-ups who remember what it's like being a Jewish kid when everyone else seems to be caroling around Christmas trees and putting out cookies for Santa will love it, too." —Bustle.com

"Packs a lesson in cultural understanding." —The Chicago Tribune

"There’s lots of humor in the text (“Dear Santa...I know that you are a fair person and will not mind that I am Jewish. After all so was Jesus, at least on his mother’s side”) and in the lively, scribbly, colorful illustrations. But the authors wisely don’t gloss over Rachel’s feelings—which can be common for anyone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas that time of year." —The Horn Book

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About the Author:

AMANDA PEET is an actress, playwright, and the author of Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein, which she co-wrote with Andrea Troyer. She has appeared in numerous films, including Please Give, Syriana, Igby Goes Down, and The Whole Nine Yards. Her TV credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and HBO's Togetherness. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.

ANDREA TROYER is the author of Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein, which she co-wrote with Amanda Peet. She grew up in Minnesota and received an MFA from the University of California, Irvine. Andrea lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

CHRISTINE DAVENIER is the illustrator of many children’s books, including Julie Andrews’s The Very Fairy Princess series and Dear Santa, Love Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet and Andrea Troyer. She lives in Paris.

From School Library Journal:

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

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