Karen Ros­tok­er-Gru­ber’s new pic­ture book com­bines humor, fun, hol­i­day spir­it, and, most impor­tant­ly, Jew­ish val­ues. When a bear arrives at a boy’s door hop­ing to be invit­ed in to cel­e­brate Hanukkah, our young hero gra­cious­ly lets him in. But kind inten­tions notwith­stand­ing, a bear is still a bear, and he inad­ver­tent­ly wreaks hav­oc while attempt­ing to join in the fam­i­ly fun. Water is spilled, dec­o­ra­tions hang askew, and food flies all over the house. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, the bear must be sent home.

How­ev­er, wel­com­ing guests and extend­ing one­self to oth­ers are impor­tant Jew­ish val­ues, so the boy looks for an out-of-the-box solu­tion. He decides to trans­fer the hol­i­day cel­e­bra­tion to an out­door venue, Hanukkah can­dles and all. There is a firepit for cook­ing latkes, crisp white snow is every­where, and, best of all, messy but deli­cious suf­ganiy­ot are at hand — a favorite of both boys and bears that can be eat­en out­doors with great relish.

Illus­tra­tions by Car­les Arbat are col­or­ful, joy­ful, and expres­sive. An author’s note offers tips on how to make friends com­fort­able, empha­siz­ing safe­ty and appro­pri­ate host­ing behavior.