Next Year in the White House
Barack Obama's First Presidential Seder
Random House Children's Books · Print & ebook · March 4, 2025
The true story of how a small Seder dinner on the campaign trail inspired Barack Obama to bring the tradition into the White House and host the first ever Presidential Passover celebration.
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- Who it’s for
- Picture-book readers interested in Passover and presidential history
- Themes
- Passover tradition, Community connections, Presidential history
- Genres
- Passover, Presidents & First Families for Kids, Judaism for Kids
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For older readers: The Obamas, Passover Haggadah, A Promised Land
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The true story of how a small Seder dinner on the campaign trail inspired Barack Obama to bring the tradition into the White House and host the first ever Presidential Passover celebration. In 1800, President John Adams held the first formal Christmas dinner at the newly built White House. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes observed Easter with a public “Egg Roll." But it wasn’t until 2009 that a US president officially celebrated Passover.
Continue reading
A year earlier, on the campaign trail, three staffers had to get creative in order to host a Seder dinner. They gathered in a hotel basement, joined by candidate Barack Obama. They made the most of their surroundings and modest dinner, shared the stories and rituals of the holiday, and found connections between their communities. They made a toast and a promise to a future, grander celebration: next year in the White House. For the first time, this story is told for picture book readers by award-winning author Richard Michelson and lauded illustrator EB Lewis in this special partnership with PJ Library.
Where it sits
| Passover | 91% |
|---|---|
| Presidents & First Families for Kids | 66% |
| Judaism for Kids | 46% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- 21st Century U.S. History
- Passover
- Civics & Government
- Authors
- Richard Michelson
- Publisher
- Random House Children's Books
- Published
- March 4, 2025
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Passover tradition · Community connections · Presidential history
- Reading lane
- 21st Century U.S. History