I Dissent: Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner {Interview}

I am so excited to bring you this post as a part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Book Tour sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries, and the official Sydney Taylor Book Awards. The full blog tour schedule will be posted on their website. 

Elizabeth Baddeley (l) and Debbie Levy (r)

I had the honor of interviewing both the author and illustrator of I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leaves Her Mark. Both Debbie Levy (author) and Elizabeth Baddeley (illustrator) were so gracious and kind to answer my questions, and I was excited because they'd never been interviewed together. I've read a lot of author/illustrator interviews, and I usually try to find something new to ask beyond the usual "what inspired you to write this book." I think that you'll find this interview as interesting as I did!

My little reader (target audience, too)

The book is a telling of the life story of one of my own heroes, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I love the tagline of the book: "disagreeing does not make you disagreeable." It's gorgeous to look at, engaging to read, and really wonderful for kids and adults alike. Yael gave it two thumbs up, and I know she learned a lot because she asked questions and showed me some of the pictures as she was reading. It is noted for readers in grades 3-5, and I would agree with that - she really "got" some of the big ideas in a way that Solly (kindergarten) didn't.

Here's the interview:

The illustrations and the words flow so beautifully together. Was the whole book a collaboration? How did you come together to create the whole that is the book?

Debbie: We worked separately for most of the project, and that is par for the course in the picture book world. I wrote the words. Elizabeth created the art—including the bold and impactful hand lettering of important words like DISSENT, DISAGREE, PROTEST, OBJECT, RESIST, PERSIST, and so on. When you have excellent editors and art directors, as we did, this approach to book-making tends to work out nicely!

Elizabeth: I agree with what Debbie said. Many thanks to our art director, Chloe Foglia and editor, Kristin Ostby.

Isn't this gorgeous?

Have you met Justice Ginsburg? (Has she read the book?) What do you want to say to her? What do you hope she says to you?

Debbie: Yes, I have met her. But, you know, even if you don’t have the opportunity to meet Justice Ginsburg in person, there is an abundance of excellent video and audio for anyone to enjoy. I like this interview she gave to Katie Couric in 2016 (and not only because she talks about I Dissent at around minute 25:00!). Anyone can go to the Supreme Court website and hear audio of her questioning lawyers in oral arguments before the Court. Here is the 2013 Voting Rights Act case of Shelby County v. Holder, for example. I also really like this C-SPAN video of her visiting her Brooklyn elementary school in 1994, soon after she became the 107th Supreme Court justice.

Yes, she has read the book! She read the manuscript before we went to print and gave me some helpful notes on it. And, after the book was published, she read it aloud to a gathering of Jewish book lovers last fall, prefacing her reading by telling girls, and all of us, to “be brave . . . and not be put down.” Here is the video of that event, courtesy of PJ Library. I wasn’t present at that event, nor did I know a thing about it—so you can imagine my delight when it came to my attention!

Elizabeth: I have not been lucky enough to meet Justice Ginsburg but I did receive a really nice note from her (Debbie is just now learning this)! I sent her an original piece of art from the book—from the page where is arguing with her friend Justice Scalia. She immediately sent me a very kind note. She told me she was sending it down to the court carpenter shop to have it framed. I would have never guessed they have a court carpenter shop!

What was the hardest thing about writing/illustrating this book?

Debbie: The hardest thing was writing about law and court cases, and the work of judges and justices, in a manner that is accessible to young children and doesn’t bog down the story of Justice Ginsburg's life. This type of discussion arises in the second half of the book—once she is a lawyer, and then a judge, then a justice. I’ll just say that the manuscript went through many revisions!

Elizabeth: A difficult aspect of illustrating this book was capturing Ruth as a young girl. There are many photos of her as she is now and even when she was a young woman, but I only had one photo of her as a child—and she was only about 2 years old in that one! I gathered many photos of children I thought might look like her, looked at photos of her in her late teens and sort of pieced her look together from there.

How did you choose which parts of Justice Ginsburg's life to tell and which parts to leave out?

Debbie: That was probably the second hardest thing about writing this book. I had drafts of the manuscript that included details about the Jewish summer camp she attended, riding horseback and paddling canoes (and, when she was an older camper, leading services). Then there were these delectable little facts: Ruth played a princess in a school play called “The King’s Cream Puffs.” In high school, she was a member of the pep club for sports teams, the Go-Getters. And, going back to her very young life: Ruth Bader was actually born Joan Ruth Bader, but when her mother, Celia, registered her for kindergarten and found that there were two other Joan Ruths in the class—she decided that this Joan Ruth henceforth would be “Ruth.” (Also, she had the nickname Kiki as a girl!) And then, zooming ahead to her tenure as a justice, there’s the fact that Bubbe Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first justice ever to host a Supreme Court party with peanut-butter-and-jelly on the menu—for her granddaughter’s third birthday.

Great facts, aren’t they? But a picture book narrative is more than a collection of fun facts. Reluctantly, I had to let these and other tidbits go to construct a book that told the story of her life through the lens of her many disagreements, that did not have too many tangents (or too many words), and that focused on facts and events from her childhood that I considered most important in shaping the woman she became.

My favorite part was the way that you explained and illustrated Justice Ginsburg's friendship with Justice Scalia. What is your favorite part of the book?

Debbie: I favor that part of the book, too.

I also particularly like the page spread that has Ruth as a young lawyer considering the demeaning way the Supreme Court had treated women in its decisions, with two especially obnoxious quotes from Justice Joseph Bradley (“The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life”) and Justice David Brewer (“Woman has always been dependent upon man”) blown up in Elizabeth’s wonderful hand lettering, and on the opposite page a strong-looking RBG and more strong hand lettering: “Ruth really really DISAGREED with this!”

Elizabeth: The Scalia friendship is also one of my favorites, but I really love the spread of her in elementary school when she “protested” against having to write with her right hand. I am also a leftie and though I was very lucky to never have been forced with my right hand, I often experienced a wrist covered in chalk dust--a detail I’m guessing only other fellow lefties may have picked up on.

What was your favorite book as a child? What are you reading right now (for grownups or kids)?

Debbie: The All-of-a-Kind Family books by Sydney Taylor. Truly. I took them out over and over again from the Silver Spring, Maryland library when I was a girl. So to be a winner of the Sydney Taylor Award is more meaningful to me than I can say.

Right now, I just finished Zadie Smith’s Swing Time and am about to start Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am.

Elizabeth: Oh wow, too favorite childhood books to name! Picture books were a very large part of my childhood. I had a mother who took us to the library weekly and both parents read to us on a nightly basis. All of the Steven Kellogg books were in high rotation on our book shelves as well as the Berenstein Bears books (I’m clearly a child of the 80’s) I probably memorized every detail of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Pippi Longstocking, The Little House on the Prairie series and Harriet The Spy were often read aloud with the latter being one of my all time favorite books!

I think I Dissent must have kicked off a non-fiction streak in my current reading. I’m reading At Home by Bill Bryson and recently read River of Doubt by Candice Millard which is so rich in imagery, the books the littered with dog ears of pages I’d love to illustrate some day. I also listen to a lot of audiobooks while I work and have just started The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Thank you, Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley, and to the Association of Jewish Libraries for extending me this great opportunity!

*The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) since 1968, the Award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers, and Teen Readers. Honor Books are awarded silver medals, and Notable Books are named in each category. Here is the list of all 2017 Award, Honor, and Notable Books.

Interview with Susan Campbell Bartolleti, Author

I am so excited to bring you this interview with Susan Campbell Bartolleti, as a part of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Book Tour sponsored by www.jewishlibraries.org/blog, and the official Sydney Taylor Book Awards. The full blog tour schedule will be posted at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog - go see which of my friends are participating and meet some new folks!
Her book, Naamah and the Ark at Night, is a sweet lyrical poem combined with gorgeous illustrations. As I told Susan when I sent her my interview questions, Sam and Yael really liked the book - which might trump any award, right? 


Will you share a little bit about yourself and your journey towards becoming a writer?

Thank you for inviting me to participate in this interview.  I’m really excited about this blog tour.  I’m grateful to the Sydney Taylor award committee for Naamah’s honor.

My journey to becoming a writer was a bit slower than some writers I know. I wasn’t one of those writers who knew she wanted to become a writer as child.

I’ve always loved to read. I’ve always loved stories of all kinds, good and bad. But I didn’t begin to write seriously until I became an eighth-grade English teacher.

My students wrote poems, short stories, and essays. They researched, wrote, and illustrated their own nonfiction picture books and other work. They held poetry readings. They kept writing journals. They published their work to the school’s award-winning literary magazine, which I co-advised.

It felt good to see my students grow as writers. They inspired me to practice what I preached. As they wrote poems and stories and essays, I did, too. Our classroom became one large writing group. They brought their work to class; sometimes I brought mine. Together, we would figure out what makes a good story and how to make a story better.

The first big discovery that a writer makes is her voice and audience. My students helped me discover that I wanted to write for young readers.

I sold my first story to Highlights for Children in 1989. By 1997, I had published short stories, two picture books, and a nonfiction book. I had a novel and another nonfiction book under contract.

The time had come for a difficult decision.

For eighteen years, I had a career that I loved – teaching. Was it time for another? Could I make it as a full-time writer?

“Leap and the net will appear,” a friend told me. (That friend was Laurie Halse Anderson.)

And I did.

And it did.

I’m lucky to work that my hands, my head, and my heart love.

What inspired you to write the story of Naamah?

A very old wooden ark that sits on a shelf in my dining room.

Susan sent me this photo of her old wooden ark.

As a little girl, when I visited my grandmother – my father’s mother – I played with the ark.

I lined up the animals, two by two, and boarded them safely. I imagined the falling rain. The rising floodwaters. The ark tossing and turning on the churning sea.

The ark now sits on a shelf in my dining room. One day, several years ago, I found that my imagination turned to Noah’s wife. In the book of Genesis, we’re told that Noah was a just man, full of grace, who pleased God. But who was Noah’s wife and what kind of a person was she?

I began to imagine this woman who spent more than a year on an ark filled with animals. I began to ask: what did she think when Noah told her his plan? How did she feel packing her house? When the rain began to fall? Surely the neighbors must have noticed. What did they think as Noah hammered and sawed away? When Noah gathered the animals? What did her sons and her daughters-in-law think? How did it feel when the floodwaters rose? What did it feel like to leave all those terrified people behind? What was life like on the ark?

The answers to these questions led me to write different versions of the story. None of those versions “worked,” and so I tucked the story away. It sat in my drawer for many years. Every so often, I’d return to the story and try again.

Then one day, I realized that I wasn’t asking the right question: What was Noah’s wife’s name?

Many people have suggested various names over the years.  In 1941, an American scholar named Francis Utley listed 103  different names for Noah’s wife.

From my research, I learned that some rabbinical legends tell us that Noah’s wife was called Naamah because her deeds were pleasant. (These legends also tell of another Naamah whose name meant “great singer.”)

I liked that, and the interpretations of the name Naamah helped me imagine her personality and her talents. They helped me imagine how a woman might have inspired and comforted her husband and their three sons and their wives, the animals, and herself during all those days and nights afloat.

Perhaps Naamah sang.

You explain at the end of the book that you chose the ancient poetic form of the ghazal for this book. What inspired you to do so? Why did that format fit in with the story of Naamah for you?

A few years ago, I heard my friend and colleague Molly Peacock read a poem that she termed a “sonnet-ghazal.” Molly’s hauntingly beautiful poem gave me goosebumps.

I knew what a sonnet was, but I didn’t know what a ghazal was. As I read more ghazals and learned more about them, I felt drawn to the form for Naamah’s story. Once the story had a form and Naamah had a name, the words poured out in the first draft, with little revision and very few changes after that.

Strictly speaking, a ghazal (pronounced “guzzle”) comes to us from the Middle East.  It’s an Arabic word that means, “talking to women” and the subject of a ghazal is usually longing and loss. (How perfect is that meaning for Naamah’s story?)

The traditional ghazal is so beautiful! You can find examples by conducting an internet search online.

Many Western poets take liberties with the traditional form, as did I.

What is your own favorite children's book or books? Do you read and find inspiration in other authors' work?

I continue to read and to write a lot of poetry. I always try to read the most recent Best American Poetry Series.

I don’t have a favorite children’s book. I love so many! I’m presently reading Jack Gantos’s Dead End In Norvelt. (I’ve already laughed out loud twice!) Another book I loved from last year was Gary Schmidt’s Okay for Now.

There's a great deal of variety in the subjects of your books - a lot of historical fiction but also some sillier subjects like some of your picture books.

I am equal parts silly and serious.

How do you come up with new and different ideas for your work?

One of my grad-school professors once remarked that I have a “lively intellect,” and I suppose that’s true. I’m curious. I ask a lot of questions (which can be annoying). I have a passionate desire to learn more and to puzzle things out.  I enjoy the intellectual process and the physical process. I like fitting the pieces together, thinking in new ways – and this always leads to new ideas.

How did Naamah fit into the other books you've written?

For me, Naamah story’s was the perfect emotional arc to They Called Themselves the K.K.K.

I often write about tragic and dark times in history. In my other work, I’ve explore the lives of the disenfranchised, the exploited, the victimized, and the silenced -- from the pain of child labor in Growing Up in Coal Country and Kids on Strike!, to the trauma of famine of Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, to the horrors of the Third Reich in Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow and The Boy Who Dared, to racial violence in They Called Themselves the K.K.K. is a continuation of this interest.

Authors often say that their books are like children to them, and they’re right. As I researched and wrote about these things, the subject matter kept me up at night, made me cry and made me angry, made me worry, and made me frustrated, and yet my research inspired me and filled me with wonder and awe at the courage of the human spirit.

And yet, I wonder: How do people survive dark times? Perhaps by holding on to hope and faith and trust through the night, just as Naamah must have done.

Holly’s art is awesome, in the true sense of the word. I love how she depicts Naamah moving through the night, carrying that candle.  That’s the answer, isn’t it? To shine a light on the darkness and to keep moving.

The illustrations are truly gorgeous.

How do you find that you best create a balance for yourself in your family life and writing?

[Insert maniacal laughter here.]

It’s hard.

Writing is pretty all-consuming.

I believe we make the time to do the things we really want to do. I want to write books, and so I make the time to write. I want to spend time with my family, and so I make that time, too.

Sometimes the balance needs an adjustment. I’m on a tight deadline right now, and the other day, my very grownup daughter and mother of three under three  said, You know, Mom.  I really hate it when your characters see you more than I do.

I’ve got her and the grandbabies penciled in.



A huge thank you to Susan for participating in this blog book tour, and mazel tov on your award! Please don't forget to visit the rest of the STBA Blog Book Tour at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog.

*The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) since 1968, the Award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers, and Teen Readers. Honor Books are awarded silver medals, and Notable Books are named in each category. Thirty-three outstanding books were selected from among the over one hundred and twenty titles evaluated by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee during 2011. The Committee recommends them for library, classroom, and home use. List of all 2012 Award, Honor, and Notable Books.

One is Not a Lonely Number {Interview}

I am so excited to bring you this interview with Evelyn Krieger, author of One is Not a Lonely Number, Sydney Taylor Honor Award* win in the older readers category. This book tour is brought to you by the Association of Jewish Libraries (blog at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog), and the official Sydney Taylor Book Awards. The full blog tour schedule will be posted at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog - go see which of my friends are participating and meet some new folks!

Will you share a little bit about  yourself and your journey towards becoming a writer?

     I've been writing all my life.  I always viewed the world in stories and enjoyed telling them. I still have diaries I kept as a teenager. I began writing professionally after starting my teaching career.  My first sale was an article to Learning Magazine.  First graders give you a lot of material!  Initially, I focused on classroom experiences and the teaching of reading, but I couldn't let go of my first love--writing fiction.  I continued to write short stories and hone my skills for a long time. Eventually, I had some small successes.  Writing a novel remained a life-long ambition.  I  made two attempts, but didn't finish.

What inspired you to write this story? I see from your biography that you are one of six kids, what brought you to a story about an only child?

When you are the oldest of six kids, its only natural to occasionally wonder what it's like to be an only child.As part of my preparation for the book, I interviewed only children--both kids and adults.  I remember a first grader who wanted a sibling so badly that he invented his mother's pregnancy for show and tell. And I fell for it! I was also inspired to include the theme of Jewish hospitality in my story.  This is something I've witnessed first hand. Some people really take the mitzvah to heart and open their home, not just to friends, but to strangers from all over the world who need a place to stay or a shabbat meal.   I've had a few readers ask me if there really are people like the Schumachers.  I tell them, absolutely!

Do you see numbers in the way that Talia does? What brought you to write a story with such a mathematical story line?   I don't see numbers in the way that Talia does, but I am fascinated by people who do. I would say I've developed a later-life interest in math.  My work as a learning specialist and tutor made me think a lot about why kids struggle with math, or at least, say they don't like it.   I wanted to have a female character who is not only good at math, but who thinks about numbers in a very unique way.  My young readers have enjoyed this element of the story. The One Is Not A Lonely Number bookmark says, "What color is your favorite number?" I plan to ask that at my book signings and writing workshops.  

What is your own favorite children's  book or books?  Charlotte's Web and Horton Hears a Who are two books I never tired of reading to my children.  The first Jewish children's book I read was Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-kind Family which my mother bought me at a book fair when I was eight years old. So that adds a special touch to winning this award!

Do you read and find inspiration in other authors' work? Definitely.  I seem to always read with a third eye, noticing the author's slight of hand, admiring the language. I strive to learn from the masters.   I especially enjoy good memoirs like The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and Devotion by Dani Shapiro.

I see that you're a homeschooling mom as well as a writer. How do you best create a balance for yourself with your writing and your family life?  This has been an ongoing challenge since I became a mother.  My three kids are teenagers now, so in some ways it has gotten easier to find time to write.   Planning ahead for writing time makes me feel less anxious about all those unfinished projects.  I write at Starbucks every Sunday afternoon. Getting out of the house to write is important for my concentration. Even though I have a comfortable home, I get too distracted. I also write while my homeschooled daughter is involved with activities and classes.  When I have a writing deadline, my family knows that I'll get very cranky if I can't finish on time. They are all very patient and supportive,  Shabbat is a regular part of our family life, so that helps give us time to be together without my laptop in sight.  

Evelyn, thanks so much for participating in the book tour!

Mazel tov on your award! May you continue to write and share your stories with the world!

One is Not a Lonely Number was a great read. I couldn't put it down! I especially enjoyed the little touches of math that made Talia such a smart character. I love a good "smart girl" book - so important to create those kinds of role models! I recommend this book for any of the "older readers" (probably 4th grade and up) in your life, only children or those with siblings.

Follow the rest of the STBA Blog Book Tour at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog!

Evelyn, thanks so much for participating in the book tour!
Mazel tov on your award! May you continue to write and share your stories with the world!


One is Not a Lonely Number was a great read. I couldn't put it down! I especially enjoyed the little touches of math that made Talia such a smart character. I love a good "smart girl" book - so important to create those kinds of role models! I recommend this book for any of the "older readers" (probably 4th grade and up) in your life, only children or those with siblings. 

Follow the rest of the STBA Blog Book Tour at www.jewishlibraries.org/blog!

*The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) since 1968, the Award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers, and Teen Readers. Honor Books are awarded silver medals, and Notable Books are named in each category. Thirty-three outstanding books were selected from among the over one hundred and twenty titles evaluated by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee during 2010. The Committee recommends them for library, classroom, and home use. List of all 2011 Award, Honor, and Notable Books.