Rachel Friedman Is Not the Queen

by Sarah Kapit, Genevieve Kote (Illustrator)

Overview

In this heartwarming chapter book, Rachel celebrates Purim—and learns the joy of sharing the stage.

Rachel is so excited about Purim, and she's especially excited to star in her Hebrew school's Purim spiel! She'll get to dress up like a queen and put on a play in front of everyone.

But when her teacher announces the cast, Rachel doesn't get the leading role of Queen Esther—her best friend Maya does! Rachel has to learn how to step aside and let someone else be the star of the show in this laugh-out-loud story about friendship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250881113
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	02/11/2025
Series:	Rachel Friedman , #3
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	30 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Sarah Kapit lives in Seattle with her husband and their goofy orange cat. She is the author of Get A Grip, Vivy Cohen!, The Many Mysteries of the Finkel Family, Second Chance Summer and the Rachel Friedman series. She’s always happy to talk about the history of women, medicine, and any other history geek topic. She also serves as chairperson of the Association for Autistic Community.

Genevieve Kote is a French Canadian illustrator and comic book artist based in Montreal. She loves bringing characters' and animals' adventures to life. In her free time she can be found reading, baking or exploring. She shares her studio with her cat, Clara, and many plants.

Sarah Kapit is the author of numerous books for young readers. Her novel GET A GRIP, VIVY COHEN! was a Schneider Family Honor title and received the Washington State Book Award. In 2024, Sarah launched the Rachel Friedman series, beginning with RACHEL FRIEDMAN BREAKS THE RULES. The Rachel Friedman books, a Ramona Quimby-inspired series with Jewish themes, are illustrated by Genevieve Kote. Sarah lives in Bellevue, WA with her partner and their twin cats. In her previous life, Sarah earned a PhD in History from UCLA.
Genevieve Kote is a French Canadian illustrator and comic book artist based in Montreal. She loves drawing characters and animals and bringing their adventures to life. Kote's work includes the Animal Rescue Friends series, the Agents of H.E.A.R.T. series and Hike on Haunted Hill. In her free time she can be found reading novels, baking or exploring the city and other parts of the world. She shares her studio with her cat Clara and many plants.

Editorial Reviews

"Features pitch-perfect friendship dilemmas and wonderful models for working through big feelings in a diverse setting...Recommended for all first chapter book collections."—School Library Journal

"Big, relatable emotions take center stage in this festive friendship tale."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2025-07-19
In her third outing, the headstrong Rachel looks forward to celebrating Purim.

Her heart’s set on being the lead in the synagogue play about Queen Esther, who saves the Jews of Persia from the evil Haman’s heinous plot. So when Rachel’s Hebrew school teacher casts her BFF, Maya, as Esther instead, jealous Rachel fails to support her friend. As in the previous books, Rachel is a sympathetic protagonist who sometimes struggles with listening and doing the right thing. Her ADHD and her Jewish practice are woven into a busy life that includes gymnastics practice and play rehearsals, as well as the drama of navigating school lunches and car pooling as her relationship with Maya becomes tense. While many readers will connect with Rachel, who must balance being a good friend with getting what she wants, some might wish that Kapit had paid a little more attention to Maya’s position. Maya is a Black Jew, and, as she points out, many people dismiss her religious identity due to her race. Their rift resolves easily once Rachel apologizes, and the book never delves further into Maya’s specific challenges, though Rachel learns a valuable lesson: “Purim is about all of us, together.” The text is punctuated by Kote’s grayscale illustrations; Rachel and her family are cued white.

Big, relatable emotions take center stage in this festive friendship tale.(Fiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews