I got an email a few weeks ago from Jewish Lights Publishing on a new book they just put out. Jewish Lights is a company that puts out books of Jewish content targeted for people of any background - Jewish or not, observant, religious or unaffiliated. The new book is called What Makes Someone a Jew?, and is geared for ages 3 to 6 years old. The book, by Lauren Seidman, looks at the different things that make us all one people, and how alike and different we are at the same time. The pictures are great - very multiracial. It makes a great starting point to talk to kids who are adopted about their background, and how they are part of the same heritage no matter what they look like.

Is being Jewish a matter of how you look, or how you live? Using everyday examples that children can relate to, this colorful book helps all young Jewish readers understand what it really means to be a Jew.
A vibrant and fun way for children to develop a broader knowledge of Judaism and the Jewish People, this book gently guides children down their own path of Jewish spiritual discovery … and reminds us all that being Jewish is about our deeds, thoughts, and heart.

This is something that I've been thinking more and more about as Anna starts to ask specific questions about why she looks different than the other kids in her class and how she responds to things that they say to her. I've wondered recently, as we approach Passover, how she will feel about holidays - and heritage. Will she feel like she is part of the historic Jewish People - the ones who were redeemed from Egypt? Will she feel connected to our relatives who survived the Holocaust? Or will she find it difficult to identify with them because she is adopted? Will she find it harder because she is black?

I'm hoping things like this book (which can be ordered here) will help us help her as we work through this stage together.