Rosh Hashanah is a hol­i­day of for­give­ness and under­stand­ing. Its mean­ing is fit­ting­ly and beau­ti­ful­ly brought forth in this sto­ry of a young girl who learns to for­give and accept her fam­i­ly mem­bers, and appre­ci­ate her rela­tion­ships with them. 

Ellie joy­ful­ly pre­pares for Rosh Hashanah along with her par­ents. They cook, bake, and antic­i­pate a fun reunion with grand­par­ents and oth­er fam­i­ly mem­bers. But Ellie also remem­bers an upset­ting issue she had with a cousin with whom she used to be close. Last time they were togeth­er, Lara bossed Ellie around and took her pos­ses­sions. Ellie fears that the same thing will hap­pen again. Instead, Lara sur­pris­es her with a card and a whole new atti­tude. She asks Ellie’s for­give­ness for past events, express­ing both her regret and her hope for a renew­al of their rela­tion­ship. Ellie under­stands, for­gives, and enjoys the hol­i­day along with her cousin and the rest of her family. 

All the ingre­di­ents of a Rosh Hashanah obser­vance and cel­e­bra­tion are found on these pages: hon­ey, apples, sho­far blasts, prayer, round chal­lah filled with raisins, and hol­i­day greet­ings. Col­or illus­tra­tions accom­pa­ny the text and enhance the book’s themes. 

A recipe for raisin chal­lah and direc­tions for mak­ing Rosh Hashanah cards are includ­ed to add hands-on engage­ment and bol­ster the story’s message.