Mr. Katz is different from other students that eight-year-old Sarah’s father tutors for their bar and bat mitzvahs. “You’re way past thirteen,” Sarah (brown-skinned) tells the elderly man the first day he comes for a private lesson. Mr. Katz is good humored, while Sarah must work at curbing her bluntness and lack of patience. She learns Mr. Katz is 81, likes birds just like she does, and likes talking with her. When she asks why he never had a bar mitzvah, Mr. Katz explains that when he was growing up in Russia, it was too dangerous to have one because they were forbidden by the government. By the time Sarah attends his bar mitzvah, she feels proud to be Mr. Katz’s friend. “Mr. Katz keeps coming to our house once a week … But he doesn’t sing with my father, he sings with me.” The intergenerational friendship at the center of this tender story features two strong, distinct personalities that shine. The warm, welcoming illustrations incorporate recurring bird imagery.