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Rebecca's Journey Home
When Mr. and Mrs. Stein and their young sons Gabe and Jacob adopt a baby girl from Vietnam, the family reflects on their eagerness for her to become an addition to their family, as well as a blessed part of the Jewish people.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Brynn Olenberg Sugarman
3 books17 followersWith books and me, it was love at first sight. I remember standing on a stool to reach the counter in the local library. I was four and proud that I could sign my name, and get my very own library card, a passport to all of those great books on the shelf.
For seventh grade English, I wrote about 13-year-old twins who go back in time and meet their mother as a kid. I guess that writing assignment was at the root of Midnight at the Taj Mahal. Thank you Mrs. Unschuld of I.S. 181 in The Bronx!
I later graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a BA in Creative Writing and from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with an MA in English Literature.
I love to travel and have been to many places, including Vietnam, where I adopted my daughter Rachele. My first book, Sydney Taylor Award-winning "Rebecca’s Journey Home," is based on that exciting adventure.
I love old buildings which have survived the past – and ancient ruins, with stories sealed in their silent walls. I now live in Israel, a land oozing history. If only stones could talk!
So, why the Taj Mahal? Well, when I visited India, saw the stunning Taj Mahal, and heard the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, I knew: it doesn’t get better than this!
"Midnight at the Taj Mahal" is the first book in "The Out-of-School Adventures" series. Stay tuned for the next adventure as the Copperman family continues their year abroad. Next stop: Jerusalem!
For seventh grade English, I wrote about 13-year-old twins who go back in time and meet their mother as a kid. I guess that writing assignment was at the root of Midnight at the Taj Mahal. Thank you Mrs. Unschuld of I.S. 181 in The Bronx!
I later graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a BA in Creative Writing and from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with an MA in English Literature.
I love to travel and have been to many places, including Vietnam, where I adopted my daughter Rachele. My first book, Sydney Taylor Award-winning "Rebecca’s Journey Home," is based on that exciting adventure.
I love old buildings which have survived the past – and ancient ruins, with stories sealed in their silent walls. I now live in Israel, a land oozing history. If only stones could talk!
So, why the Taj Mahal? Well, when I visited India, saw the stunning Taj Mahal, and heard the story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, I knew: it doesn’t get better than this!
"Midnight at the Taj Mahal" is the first book in "The Out-of-School Adventures" series. Stay tuned for the next adventure as the Copperman family continues their year abroad. Next stop: Jerusalem!
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 8, 2025
This is a picture book about an Ashkenazi Jewish family in the US who adopts a baby girl from Vietnam. I had so many thoughts. I think about how the people in Vietnam are depicted. I thought it was strange that they referred to the baby as a "gift." I think it's cool that they committed to raising here in a Jewish home with day school but also teaching her about Vietnam and planning to go visit there some day. I think I also wonder why she needed an American name in addition to the Hebrew name and Vietnamese name, but also, I have never had a kid or adopted a kid so I don't really know how it goes. I did really like how much the family made her feel so much like she was just as much part of the family! I love that the brothers wanted to play with her! :) I wonder what practices would be different today???
February 8, 2017
Rebecca’s Journey Home tells the story of the Stein family, who are adopting a baby from Vietnam. It relates to my family text set as a representation of overseas adoption. It also relates to my religion text set because the Stein’s are Jewish, and the story goes over some of their religious practices. Rebecca’s Journey Home is realistic fiction, appropriate for elementary aged children, and written by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman. Sugarman adopted her own little girl from Vietnam into a Jewish American family, so I would say that Rebecca’s Journey Home is written from an insider’s perspective.
I think that the story will appeal to young children, as they follow Mrs. Stein on her journey to Vietnam and Rebecca. There are many opportunities for discussion and questioning related to the story. I do not think that there is a clear problem and resolution to the story. The characters are fairly realistic, and children might connect to the humor and dialogue between the family members throughout the story.
The illustrations are accurate, although I think it would be beneficial for children if Vietnam was labelled on the globe image. It seemed a bit strange that the country being travelled to wasn’t labelled at all for reference. The illustrations go with the story rather well, and will hold children’s attention for the most part. Some of the illustrations were rather plain and were paired with longer paragraphs, which may cause young minds to wander.
This book brings up aspects of Judaism in an easily comprehendible way. Jewish customs are integrated throughout the story and fit in well. Nothing seems like it was just tossed in regardless of its relevance. There were no ‘bad’ characters, and the ‘good’ characters were primarily in the Stein family. The home life of the Steins and the adoption process in general was pretty simplified. I think it would be a great book to introduce concepts of adoption and Judaism to younger children, but older children might benefit from more exploration of the topics. Instead of drawing the eyes, most of the Vietnamese characters except Rebecca were illustrated with slits. This feels slightly stereotypical and may cause mockery of those with varying eye shapes. In the book, Rebecca is described as having three names: her Vietnamese, English, and Hebrew names. I think this showcases that people are diverse and can belong to multiple cultural, ethnic, and religious groups.
I think that the story will appeal to young children, as they follow Mrs. Stein on her journey to Vietnam and Rebecca. There are many opportunities for discussion and questioning related to the story. I do not think that there is a clear problem and resolution to the story. The characters are fairly realistic, and children might connect to the humor and dialogue between the family members throughout the story.
The illustrations are accurate, although I think it would be beneficial for children if Vietnam was labelled on the globe image. It seemed a bit strange that the country being travelled to wasn’t labelled at all for reference. The illustrations go with the story rather well, and will hold children’s attention for the most part. Some of the illustrations were rather plain and were paired with longer paragraphs, which may cause young minds to wander.
This book brings up aspects of Judaism in an easily comprehendible way. Jewish customs are integrated throughout the story and fit in well. Nothing seems like it was just tossed in regardless of its relevance. There were no ‘bad’ characters, and the ‘good’ characters were primarily in the Stein family. The home life of the Steins and the adoption process in general was pretty simplified. I think it would be a great book to introduce concepts of adoption and Judaism to younger children, but older children might benefit from more exploration of the topics. Instead of drawing the eyes, most of the Vietnamese characters except Rebecca were illustrated with slits. This feels slightly stereotypical and may cause mockery of those with varying eye shapes. In the book, Rebecca is described as having three names: her Vietnamese, English, and Hebrew names. I think this showcases that people are diverse and can belong to multiple cultural, ethnic, and religious groups.
September 20, 2016
The Stein family, who are Jewish Americans, are looking forward to the arrival of their newest family member- an adopted baby girl from Vietnam.
The book touches on many themes multicultural themes i.e. being Jewish, American, and Vietnamese and being adopted. The author, Brynn Olenberg Sugarman, makes sure to include specific details about each individual culture while addressing how they can intertwine to shape a person's identity. The book does seem to rely of the 5 F's of culture (food, fashion, famous people, festivals, and flags) to introduce both Jewish and Vietnamese cultures to readers. However with a target audience consisting of elementary aged children, this book serves its purpose of exposing kids to multiculturalism and diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.
On another note, I think a really cool part about this book is that Sugarman is writing from an insider perspective being that her daughter was adopted from Vietnam into her Jewish American family.
Given that the story highlights multicultural themes and is written from an insider perspective, I think this book is a culturally accurate piece of literature and should be recommended to students of all backgrounds (ages 4 to 8)! This book could provide a good mirror, but given the specificity (i.e. Jewish Vietnamese American children or adopted children) I think this book would be a much better window for children to look into the lives of other children who are experiencing different cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles.
The book touches on many themes multicultural themes i.e. being Jewish, American, and Vietnamese and being adopted. The author, Brynn Olenberg Sugarman, makes sure to include specific details about each individual culture while addressing how they can intertwine to shape a person's identity. The book does seem to rely of the 5 F's of culture (food, fashion, famous people, festivals, and flags) to introduce both Jewish and Vietnamese cultures to readers. However with a target audience consisting of elementary aged children, this book serves its purpose of exposing kids to multiculturalism and diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.
On another note, I think a really cool part about this book is that Sugarman is writing from an insider perspective being that her daughter was adopted from Vietnam into her Jewish American family.
Given that the story highlights multicultural themes and is written from an insider perspective, I think this book is a culturally accurate piece of literature and should be recommended to students of all backgrounds (ages 4 to 8)! This book could provide a good mirror, but given the specificity (i.e. Jewish Vietnamese American children or adopted children) I think this book would be a much better window for children to look into the lives of other children who are experiencing different cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles.
November 1, 2018
Rebecca's Journey Home by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman was such a learning experience for myself, so I know that children will learn how there are different types of families in the world. In short, this book tells the story of an American Jewish family of a mother, father, and their 2 sons, adopting a Vietnamese baby girl. It explains to children that there are many ways for people to be family, like adoption. It expresses how this process works but in a way that is appropriate for children to understand what is being represented. The illustrations are very colorful and correlated with the text. When the mother is in Vietnam waiting for the baby, it illustrated Vietnamese culture like the golden statue of Buddha, the busy streets with all the bikes, and their traditional outfits.
Diversity is also represented throughout the text and its illustrations because it emphasizes the Jewish culture. It uses Hebrew terms like Shabbat, the mikvah (a ritual bath), and it explains how their newest addition to the family will be diverse herself: Vietnamese, American, and Jewish. It's important to explain to children that in many families a variety of cultural backgrounds are represented whether its through adoption, interracial marriages, religious differences, etc. At the end of the day, a family is what you make it.
Diversity is also represented throughout the text and its illustrations because it emphasizes the Jewish culture. It uses Hebrew terms like Shabbat, the mikvah (a ritual bath), and it explains how their newest addition to the family will be diverse herself: Vietnamese, American, and Jewish. It's important to explain to children that in many families a variety of cultural backgrounds are represented whether its through adoption, interracial marriages, religious differences, etc. At the end of the day, a family is what you make it.
April 26, 2013
There aren't that many books for children that deal with a Jewish family adopting. In this case, the family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Stein and their sons Jacob and Gabriel; the little girl being adopted is from Vietnam. Mrs. Stein journeys alone to Vietnam to pick up the baby girl (one nitpick here is that the globe pictured in the book is labeled with Russia, Asia, India, China, and Australia, but not Vietnam!). The book honors the girl's Vietnamese heritage, while also stressing that she will soon be Rebecca and a part of the Jewish people. Mrs. Stein packs tiny candlesticks and candles for her trip in order to be able to celebrate Shabbat with Rebecca. When they get back to the States, the parents fill out paperwork to make Rebecca an American citizen and talk to their rabbi to arrange her conversion to Judaism. The book says "Now the baby had three names. She had a Vietnamese Name: Le Thi Hong. She had an English name: Rebecca Rose. And she had a Hebrew name: Rivka Shoshanah." The book does a nice job of showing an adoptive family who values their new daughter as a unique individual, a person from Vietnam, and a Jew.
March 13, 2015
Brynn Kleinberg Sugarman told the story of baby Rebecca beautifully from an obvious insider perspective. She kept the story rich in Jewish culture through the Hebrew language she used when describing certain things, such as the synagogue. She also incorporated adoption and Vietnamese culture. This was interesting to me because this was the first book I have read that involved adoption. I liked the way the author put the process in kid-friendly language. The only hesitation I came across was when Sugarman said she will have “eyes the shape of almonds.” This language could be taken as somewhat stereotypical.
This book is realistic fiction, because it is based on the author's actual experience with adopting her own little girl. I think this book is great to expose elementary-age students to a variety of cultures and the adoption process. It also shows children that they can be many things, whether it be their race, culture, job when they are older, etc. and one does not have to define them as a whole.
This book is realistic fiction, because it is based on the author's actual experience with adopting her own little girl. I think this book is great to expose elementary-age students to a variety of cultures and the adoption process. It also shows children that they can be many things, whether it be their race, culture, job when they are older, etc. and one does not have to define them as a whole.
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March 23, 2017The story can be interesting to read, but it isn't the most interesting story in the world. It is age appropriate (k-3), but probably cannot be read alone by a child (language is wordy and can be difficult). There is a plot, but the story does not include an interesting problem and solution.
The illustrations are accurate in terms of characters and plot, but the characters (even the asian characters) seem white- washed. The illustrations are interesting to look at, however, and they do correspond with the story.
The characters are from a variety of cultural and religious groups (Asian, Jewish, etc.), and the readers are exposed to many different perspectives through the story. I do like that there are many different languages spoken in this book.
This book is super easy to read and follow, even for younger children. It covers the topics of both religion and adoption. Rebecca's Journey Home gives positive examples of a welcoming community that surrounds adoption and the different names a child can accumulate. I definitely recommend and love!
The illustrations are accurate in terms of characters and plot, but the characters (even the asian characters) seem white- washed. The illustrations are interesting to look at, however, and they do correspond with the story.
The characters are from a variety of cultural and religious groups (Asian, Jewish, etc.), and the readers are exposed to many different perspectives through the story. I do like that there are many different languages spoken in this book.
This book is super easy to read and follow, even for younger children. It covers the topics of both religion and adoption. Rebecca's Journey Home gives positive examples of a welcoming community that surrounds adoption and the different names a child can accumulate. I definitely recommend and love!
July 31, 2010
SYDNEY TAYLOR HONOR BOOK (2007)
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
Protagonist: Stein family
Brief Summary: This book tells the story of a Jewish family who adopts a baby girl from Vietnam. It's a sweet story about family and adoption. It also shows a Jewish family in a contemporary setting without having a major focus on religion. Unfortunately, I was disappointed that the deptictions of Vietnam were filled with stereotypical images of people with slanted eyes who all look the same. Aside from those four pages, the rest of the book was quite enjoyable.
Format: Picture book
Age level: Elementary
Protagonist: Stein family
Brief Summary: This book tells the story of a Jewish family who adopts a baby girl from Vietnam. It's a sweet story about family and adoption. It also shows a Jewish family in a contemporary setting without having a major focus on religion. Unfortunately, I was disappointed that the deptictions of Vietnam were filled with stereotypical images of people with slanted eyes who all look the same. Aside from those four pages, the rest of the book was quite enjoyable.
November 18, 2023
Ugh.
It is super important to write, forthright, about adoption and tell children's stories. On the other hand, I really don't need parents' stories about how righteous they are for bringing a baby from another country to their USA home to be given a new name and converted to their religion.
She mentions the Buddha images all over Vietnam, then drops them like a hotpotato to convert the baby to Judaism.
Also, the "be a mother" as label/profession is a sexist double standard if "be a father" is not also a label/profession.
Ugh.
It is super important to write, forthright, about adoption and tell children's stories. On the other hand, I really don't need parents' stories about how righteous they are for bringing a baby from another country to their USA home to be given a new name and converted to their religion.
She mentions the Buddha images all over Vietnam, then drops them like a hotpotato to convert the baby to Judaism.
Also, the "be a mother" as label/profession is a sexist double standard if "be a father" is not also a label/profession.
Ugh.
October 7, 2012
This book is one of my favorites becuase it teaches a lot within this one story. It talks about a multicultural family, the Jewish religion and integrating their new addition into their current way of life. This book would be great for students that are waiting on an adopted sibling or just as a lesson opener when preparing to teach about different types of families. The characters represent a wide variety of cultural groups and is interesting to the students.
March 29, 2018
This book tells the story of a Jewish American family who is adopting a baby girl from Vietnam. The author does a good job of intertwining all of the different cultural aspects of this book. It is a great book to read to younger audiences and brings mixed culture families to the forefront conversations. I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations but I think that's because they're just not something I'm used to.
May 6, 2018
This was a great Jewish book about adoption because it doesn’t perpetuate the myth that a child is Jewish and has no other parts to their identity. This myth is a impossibility for Jewish transracial adoptees because there’s no way for them to avoid the other parts of their identity, nor should they have to. And if they’re being raised by white families this always amounts to being racist and harmful.
April 30, 2008
A Jewish couple adopting! Exciting! I love the discussion in the book about the new baby's identity- she'll be both Vietnamese, American and Jewish. I think this would be a great book for anyone with varying identities, not just adopted children.
October 16, 2012
A frun story about adoption, and what it's like to have a new brother or sister, from both the older brothers, and the new baby in the family. Another great story looking at different family relationships, and adoption.
November 21, 2007
A great new addtion to the recent trend in books about adoption, it is based on the author and her family's story JD
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December 17, 2007Hear an interview with author Brynn Olenberg Sugarman on The Book of Life podcast's September 2007 episode at www.bookoflifepodcast.com!
February 18, 2010
Another book best for children who are about to have an adopted sibling. Did like how the author discuss how the family will integrate being Jewish, adopting a Vietnamese baby and living in the U.S.
September 29, 2010
A Jewish family adopts a new sister from Vietnam. Good detail of family religious rituals, sweet story. And good message - sister can be whatever she wants when she grows up
December 2, 2015
This important story is beautifully written and illustrated. This is a perfect book for families with an adopted child, or for any family.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews