"A fast-paced picture book that combines the drama foreshadowing the American Revolution, the heroic Maccabee fight for freedom, and Sephardic Hanukkah customs" --Association of Jewish Libraries

"An engag­ing sto­ry about a Jew­ish Amer­i­can past" --Jewish Book Council

Joshua Mendes misses his best friend Isaac, who has moved to Boston. Joshua’s Papa is importing chocolate beans to the American Colonies, showing café owners how to make hot chocolate now that the tea tax has made tea too expensive to drink. When Papa travels to Boston, Joshua joins him. Together, they help Isaac’s family open a chocolate house, while the people of Boston demonstrate against British tea taxation. 

Set against the backdrop of Hanukkah and the American fight for independence, this is a story of friendship, freedom, and a love of chocolate. End notes provide background about the Boston Tea Party, a brief explanation of the holiday of Hanukkah, and a description of America's first Jews, predominantly settlers from Spain and Portugal who came to escape religious persecution and to find religious freedom and economic opportunity. Includes recipes for Colonial-style hot chocolate and bunuelos.