For ages 6+. Annie can't believe her eyes! The 'Santa' in the mall looks so much like her grandfather's friend, Simon. A Jewish Santa! Annie lines up to get a closer look - and ends up 'placing an order'. Simon Greenbaum, flat broke, has taken the job at the Winter Castle to earn a few dollars between jobs, he tells her. And after all, with his long white beard, he looks just like Santa already. "Don't breathe a word to your Zaideh that you saw me here," he says. "If you don't tell him that I'm a Santa Claus, I won't tell him what you asked for. It's a deal!" When Annie's parents find out, however, that she has placed an order with Santa for a Christmas tree, they are disappointed and tell Annie that she must learn to be her own person and stand up for her own beliefs in order to earn the respect of others. Meanwhile, Annie wants to help Mr Greenbaum and comes up with a plan. But to carry out her plan, she must reveal his secret. What will she do? At the Chanukah meal that evening, Annie explains to her cousins that Mr Greenbaum is out of work, and the children all agree to give him their Chanukah gelt, which they have just received. When Annie returns to the mall with the money the next day, she finds that Simon Greenbaum has been fired from his job for not being able to name Santa's reindeer, but, in what seems to be a miracle to Simon, he is given a job in Menswear instead. He is so happy that in an exchange of Chanukah gifts, Simon gives Annie some gelt and she gives him what she has collected. This delightful picture book, illustrated beautifully by Patty Gallinger, is a story of acceptance, religious freedom and the act of giving (tzedakah). By combining the festivities of two holidays, Hartt-Snowbell teaches us a lesson in tolerance and charity which should appeal to any child six and up.