*The editors of this anthology are Chris Baron, Joshua Levy, and Naomi Milliner
Kathie: Hi Chris, Josh and Naomi! Thanks for joining me today and chatting about your upcoming anthology, ON ALL OTHER NIGHTS: A Passover Celebration in 14 Stories, which comes out on March 26th from Amulet Books. How did the three of you collaborate to bring the idea for this book to life?
Chris/Josh/Naomi: First, thanks so much for having us! We’re so happy to be chatting with you, and so excited for the anthology! The three of us first became friends in advance of our 2019 debut year and have been talking stories ever since. At some point during the height of the pandemic, the three of us began discussing a potential Passover-related collaboration, which eventually became this anthology. Passover has always meant a great deal to us–its rituals and stories and family-orientation. And we feel very privileged to be a part of a project that captures so much of the holiday’s many facets in a single middle grade book.
Kathie: Your book is set up so that the Seder (a special meal) is broken down into its stages, and each section has a brief explanation, a related story, and four questions that the reader can think about that help them connect to the theme. Whose idea was it to include these questions (which, by the way, were brilliant), and how did you come up with them?
Chris/Josh/Naomi: Honestly, it’s hard to say for sure. This whole project has been so collaborative from the start. (WE HAVE SENT SO MANY JOINT EMAILS!) The specific origins of this idea may have been Josh’s; but the execution has been by all three of us, together. We poured a lot of care into the intros and these questions; really glad they resonated.
Kathie: I love seeing more Jewish authors and their stories in the middle-grade book world, and I’ve thought about how I’d love to see an imprint from one of the major publishers that focuses on books with Jewish representation. What’s something you would like to see in the future of publishing?
Chris/Josh/Naomi: We certainly wouldn’t say no to a major Jewish-focused kidlit imprint! But for now, we hope to see Jewish stories from across the very diverse spectrum of our community continue to find homes at both smaller and larger publishers.
Kathie: I know the dates of Passover change from year to year; what determines when it occurs?
Yeah, this is definitely a “Josh” question, and careful what you wish for! Here goes (I’ll try to keep it short!): The Gregorian calendar is (obviously) 365 days long, except for leap years like these when we add a day. That calendar is generally “solar,” meaning, one year equals about the amount of time it takes the Earth to move around the Sun. And because it’s solar, it’s seasonal. February is always in the winter. August is always in the summer. But the Jewish calendar is (half) lunar. It’s a collection of twelve 29 or 30-day months built around the cycle of the moon. Problem is, 12 lunar months equals just 354 days, and every Jewish year falls about 11 days behind the solar calendar. (Kind of like if Christmas one year was on December 25, then December 14, then the 3rd!)
So…in order to have the lunar calendar keep up with the Sun (and make sure holidays like Hanukkah are linked to the winter and holidays like Passover are linked to the spring), every few years is a Jewish leap year. In fact, this year is a Jewish leap year! And instead of adding a day to the calendar, we add a thirteenth month. So yeah, Passover and other Jewish holidays roam backwards in the calendar every year, then are pushed forward again every leap year. It can certainly get a bit confusing. But I’m available to liven up any parties with long-winded discussions of calendar mechanics!
Kathie: What’s something I haven’t asked you about your book that you’d like our readers to know?
Naomi is taking this one: We tried our best to include not only everyone, but everything – from soup to nuts (or, kosher for Passover soup nuts). Speaking of food… we have recipes in the back from five fantastic chefs, created exclusively for the anthology! (Can you tell I’m excited about this?) Another uniquely Passover feature at the end of the book was loosely basing our acknowledgments on the song “Who Knows One?” It was a lot of fun.
Kathie: One of the things I thought set this book apart from other anthologies was how welcoming it was to non-Jewish readers. I felt like you invited us to join you and learn from your traditions, and I gained SO much interesting knowledge. Why was it important to you to write it that way?
Chris here: Thank you! We’re so glad you found this as welcoming as you did. We absolutely aspired for this. There are so many wonderful traditions, like Passover, across religions and cultures that bring families and communities together. Our hope is that kids and their families across a wide range of traditions can find these connections in a powerful way. In today’s kidlit world, so many of us are trying to support stories that reflect folks from all different backgrounds–stories that can help kids from within those communities see themselves and that can help kids from outside those communities understand and empathize with others unlike themselves. Mirrors and windows. We think of Jewish stories in the same terms. As we say in our introduction to the book: “We hope you find something here that reminds you of yourself. We also hope you find something that doesn’t.”
Kathie: Can you take a minute to tell us about the books that you individually have coming out this year and where we can go to learn more about each of you and your writing?
We’ll take this one by one!
Chris: My next Middle Grade novel in verse will be out in 2025! The tentative title (speaking of titles it might be fun to look at this article I wrote for MG BOOKVILLAGE a ”They Changed the Title of Your Book!” ) sorry-the tentative title is FOREST HEART, and it follows the adventures of some of the favorite characters I’ve ever written, Finn and Rabbit, two nature loving kids who live in a small mountain town that experiences a devastating wildfire-and how they have to redefine their lives and rediscover who they are. I leave most of my heart in this book. You can learn more at www.chris-baron.com and always on twitter @baronchrisbaron and IG @Christhebearbaron
Josh: Certainly! On May 14, I’ve got FINN AND EZRA’S BAR MITZVAH TIME LOOP from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books (here’s some info) about two kids trapped in…a bar mitzvah time loop! It’s about family and community and appreciating what you have, and is also absolutely bonkers. I’m really proud of it and so excited for it to be out SO SOON! Otherwise, you can find me on the Internets at www.joshuasimonlevy.com and on Twitter/IG @JoshuaSLevy
Naomi: Thank you for asking – and, again, for this interview, Kathie. My next book is coming out NEXT year; I hope that still counts! 🙂 It’s called THE TROUBLE WITH SECRETS and will be published by Quill Tree. The heroine is a rabbi’s daughter who – in her mind – is forced to go behind her parents’ back to audition for All-County band. When she discovers that her older sister is also keeping a secret, they agree to cover for each other, leading to tragic results. I can be found on both Facebook and Twitter under Naomi Milliner, and at my website is: naomimilliner.wordpress.com/
Kathie: Thank you so much for answering my questions and creating an enjoyable book. I wish you lots of success with its release.
Thank you, Kathie! Really appreciate it!
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