Based on the author’s real-life expe­ri­ence, Just Say Wel­come is a mod­ern-day sto­ry for chil­dren in preschool through third grade, illus­trat­ing the Jew­ish val­ue of wel­com­ing the stranger. Young Tilly and her Jew­ish-Amer­i­can fam­i­ly open up their home to an Iraqi refugee fam­i­ly while they get set­tled in the com­mu­ni­ty. Both fam­i­lies learn and expe­ri­ence kind­ness from each oth­er and the larg­er com­mu­ni­ty. Syn­a­gogue mem­bers bring over clothes, neigh­bors share food, and the Iraqi boy, Youssef, teach­es Tilly’s lit­tle broth­er soc­cer tricks. Every­one real­izes they have more in com­mon than not, and the Iraqi fam­i­ly starts to feel at home. Tilly learns that some­times, just say­ing ​“wel­come” is all it takes for strangers to become friends.