Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein

Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein written by Amanda Peet and Andrea Troyer and illustrated by Christine Davenier (2015)

Rachel Rosenstein does not celebrate Christmas, even though she would really like to get lots and lots of presents from Santa. So she makes a secret plan and writes him a letter. On Christmas Eve she decorates her house with paper stars and strings of popcorn. She even puts chocolate chips in the latkes so they’ll look like cookies. But the next morning, Rachel is disappointed to see that Santa did not come. That night, her family goes to the Chinese restaurant and Rachel is surprised to see many of her classmates there. Lucy Deng celebrated Chinese New Year and Amina Singh celebrates Diwali. This makes Rachel feel better on missing out on Christmas, but she still feels a tiny bit bad.

What holidays does your family celebrate? What are your special family traditions? Children can appreciate their own cultural differences while still respecting others. Any time of the year is a good time to learn about the reasons behind your own celebrations and those of other children around the world.

One symbol that many religions and cultures use in their celebrations is the candle. Find a way to share your light in a dark world.