12 nights of Chanukah fun: a mega Jewish holiday picture book roundup

Before you read any further, you should know:  these aren’t exactly reviews.  They’re BETTER.

(That’s also why I want you to read this even if you don’t celebrate Chanukah.)

What could be better than reviews?

As writers, we’re at work even when we read for fun (even when we read to our kids), and that’s a serious job.  We have to examine each book not simply for whether or not we enjoyed it (like ordinary readers do), but analyzing it to figure out IF it works and HOW it works.

That’s the only way we can make our own writing better.

Working while we read (for pleasure)

When I took a children’s picture-book writing course earlier this year, I had to research “comps” – comparable books on a similar topic.  Since I was working on one of my Chanukah books, I decided to research what else was out there in the world of Chanukah books.  I chose these books almost at random, but I think it’s a good assortment of what’s out there.

Have fun reading through them, and hopefully discovering a few new favourites. 

• How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague
• Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah, by Linda Glasser, illustrated by Nancy Cote
• Esther’s Hanukkah Disaster, by Jane Sutton, illustrated by Andy Rowland
• Chanukah Lights, by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Robert Sabuda
• Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat: A Chanukah Story, written and illustrated by Naomi Howland
• The Story of Hanukkah, by David A. Adler, illustrated by Jill Weber
• Sammy Spider's First Hanukkah, by Sylvia A. Rouss, illustrated by Katherine Janus Kahn
• Biscuit's Hanukkah, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illustrated by Pat Schories
• Elmo’s Little Dreidel, by Naomi Kleinberg, illustrated by Christopher Moroney
• Light The Lights! A Story About Celebrating Hanukkah And Christmas, by Margaret Moorman
• Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap, by Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Shahar Kober
• Battle for Torah: The Message of Hanukkah, by Kay Kindall, illustrated by Neil Kindall

While you’re reading through these short blurbs, take a look at some of the different ways we – as writers –should be analyzing “comps.”

What to look for

Read More

Ezra’s Aliyah, a book review

Very pleased with this positive review of my kids’ book about moving to Israel, Ezra’s Aliyah, which appeared today on the me-ander blog.  Very widely read and covering all aspects of life in Israel, the blog is written by a fellow “olah” who’s been here for 40 years already.

Interestingly, the blogger, Batya, insisted that I send her a hard copy of the book, while every other reviewer and prospective reviewer has been happy to accept a PDF or other e-copy of the book.  Definitely cheaper to send that way, but this way, she was able to include a picture of her granddaughter actually holding the book, which is kind of sweet.  (She has a policy of not including face shots of people on her blog.)

Calling it a “fantastic children’s book,” Batya wrote, “I loved it. It's just the right length for young kids and brings up the subjects parents must speak to their children about.  Ezra's Aliyah is short enough so that young children won't get bored…”

Plus, she actually tested the book out on her grandchildren – always the best way to tell if a book really WORKS or if it’s just there to impress the parents.  Read her full review here.

You can buy Ezra’s Aliyah on Amazon.com or save the shipping cost and buy it directly from me if you're in Israel for only $9 (including mailing).  I have copies of all my books available here for anyone in Israel who’s interested.

Read More

Who do we write for? Ezra’s Aliyah feedback.

Sometimes, we write to touch many lives, and sometimes, it’s enough just to connect with a few.  When we were going through the process of moving to  Israel, I couldn’t find any books out there to help my kids with the process.  So I wrote Ezra’s Aliyah, about a boy whose family is going through the process that we ourselves were going through at the time.

Sure, we found books about kids going to Israel, like the board book, Ella’s Trip to Israel, and, for older kids, the somewhat chaotic Welcome to Israel!, but nothing that says, “You’re going to live here now” and describes the process a little bit, in a non-threatening way.

So that’s what I set out to do, and I think I did an okay job… maybe more than okay (I secretly hope so!).  I wrote most of it before we left Toronto, but waited until we were here to actually publish it.  I’m glad we did; I changed a few things, though the core of the story stayed the same.

I have to tell you, I don’t cry easily, but if I did, I would when I hear from people who are now going through the journey, who tell me how the book has helped them and their kids. 

Here’s a random message that popped up on facebook the other day.  I’ll leave out personal details, and just share the main part of the message:

I saw a blog post from someone about your book, Ezra's Aliyah, and I knew I had to buy it. …my older daughter hasn't really been happy about the prospect of moving.

I read her your book last night for the first time and she really connected with it. We paused a lot so she could relate her own experiences to Ezra, and when we were done she was really excited to move.

I think she still needs to wrap her head around some things but Ezra is really helping her out and she's excited to meet him when we get over there. (I hope I can find someone named Ezra who's her age).

Sometimes, we write our books hoping to reach lots and lots of kids… but sometimes, just one feels like enough.

Of course, it’s NOT enough, and that’s where marketing comes in, on related message boards, facebook groups, and anywhere else I can think of. 

Every summer, hundreds of people move from North America to Israel (summer is the “aliyah season,” for some reason, perhaps because it’s a natural break in the calendar), and I really hope the book can help lots more families before that happens.

Ezra’s Aliyah is available now with another of my books, Zoom!  A Trip to the Moon for a special price of $9 plus shipping.  Click here for details.  It’s also available as a Kindle e-book.

Read More

Deconstructing the story: Mini-Interview with Writer/Illustrator Rinat Hoffer

Rinat Hoffer is probably the most popular and perhaps prolific children’s-book author in Israel today. But for me and my kids, she’s something more – a friendly, fun bridge to Israeli culture and life in this strange, busy, modern country.

We first “met” her books back in Canada at our local public library. I can’t tell you how long it would take me to pick books from their Hebrew books shelf.

Before continuing, I just want to show you what MOST of the Hebrew kids’ books that I found looked like inside:

Yes, they really were this bad.  And this is one of the good ones.  I mean, the bunny and girl are kind of cute.  It’s just dated, with little sense of design and overly dense text.

The language inside (and these are kids’ books, not War and Peace!) was almost as incomprehensible to me as it is to you (unless you’re fluent, in which case, skip to the end – there’s a video). And the art… well, growing up with many of the classics of modern kidlit, something was definitely lacking.

Even back in Canada, Rinat helped change my mind completely.

Read More

Exploring nature with Israeli author/illustrator Miri Leshem-Pelly

I have to admit, I debated putting the word “Israeli” in the title of this post.  Kids are kids, writers are writers, and illustrators are illustrators.  There shouldn’t be any distinctions based on where they live.

But I’m also a happy, proud citizen of my new country, and I love both discovering and sharing the best of its culture.  So I approached a couple of well-known authors here and Miri Leshem-Pelly, reigonal advisor of SCBWI’s tiny Israel chapter (SCBWI is the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) actually agreed to “chat” with me.  I’m so honoured!

I also discovered a couple of key differences between the children’s writers’ market here and in the U.S. – including a possibly-unhealthy obsession of American publishers.  But more about that a bit later on.

Israeli author, universal themes

I’m not sure what comes to mind when I say “Israeli author,” but Miri’s work is so much more universal than whatever that phrase invokes. 

Read More