I am thrilled to be part of The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, celebrating with picture book honor winner, The Christmas Mitzvah, written by Jeff Gottesfeld, and illustrated by Michelle Laurentia Agatha. I interview Jeff and Michelle below!
The Christmas Mitzvah by Jeff Gottesfeld, and illustrated by Michelle Laurentia Agatha
Al Rosen is a mensch, a good person, who decides to do a mitzvah, a good deed, for his Christian neighbors during the holidays so they can spend more time with their families. I love this interfaith message about kindness and generosity during the holiday season. It shows us how religions have similar values about being a good neighbor. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Q1: What was your inspiration behind The Christmas Mizvah?
Jeff: There is more than one. First of all, the amazing story of the real Al Rosen, which I encountered in a newspaper story back in the late 1990s, when I was doing a youth theater project in Milwaukee. The idea hung around and hung around for me, but I was writing YA and for television at the time, so I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. It was only after I shifted to picture books — I still consider myself a relative neophyte at that form, as my first one pubbed in 2016 — that I had the right medium to tell it. Second, I share with Al that I am fiercely Jewish, but also love Christmas and Christianity. It is not my faith, but it has been in general a great blessing to the world, and today, to the Jewish people. That Al could spark a movement where people of various faiths support each other on their holy days, that’s something. Finally, there’s the most important thing about Al’s mitzvot. He was a modest person himself — a door-to-door salesman. He didn’t sit in for company presidents, and he never sought fame for what he did. He never would have had an Instagram. Instead, he just did the jobs of “all the folks easy to dismiss in a world that mistakes wealth for worth.” That’s the most important line in the book, and why Al was so special.
Michelle: To be quite honest, I had not heard about Al Rosen before I received “The Christmas Mitzvah” manuscript from Marissa Moss (Creston Books). After reading the story, I immediately fell in love with the idea of a Christmas Mitzvah and I really want to realize this book so we can share this deed with others. Growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia, I lived in a very diverse environment. I’ve encountered people who grew up with different cultures and religions. Because of this background, I believe “The Christmas Mitzvah” is an amazing story that teaches us to work together and help each other despite our differences. Through the illustration, I want to show how diverse our community is and how they support each other through the Mitzvahs.
Q2: Did you get to interact at all during the creation of The Christmas Mizvah?
Jeff: Michelle and I have checked in on this, and we don’t think so, not directly. There were clearly some questions that arose on her end, which went to our remarkable editor and publisher Marissa Moss at Creston, who passed them on to me. Once the art was done for a first pass, I did something wise, which was to run it past some sensitivity readers, which is something I also did with the text, no matter that the book is #ownvoices. You can’t catch everything. My boyhood chum Rev. Dabble Garner, my Nashville friend Rev. Joel Emerson and my Jewish kidlit colleague (and teacher, and critic) Aliza Werner were stunningly helpful in making suggestions to improve the art. Especially Aliza. She had a genius eye. We took just about all of them, and the results speak for themselves.
Michelle: During the creation of the book, I mainly work with Marissa and Simon from Creston. They have been such amazing support in giving me feedback to improve my illustration. “The Christmas Mitzvah” is my first published children’s book, so I have a lot to learn. After the illustration was finalized, Marissa connected me with Jeff — which is such a big honor and pleasure! It was great to get as much feedback as possible because as an illustrator, I want to make sure I show correct representations in the illustration.
Q3: What mitzvah or mitzvahs did you do this past year?
Jeff: So for me, it’s a bit of a split. I’m fairly religious, which means there are mitzvot in the sense of fulfilling religious commandments (that still make me happy, but which may not be fun), and then there are mitzvot in the sense of deeds that embody Leviticus 19:18, loving your neighbor as yourself. One example of a religious mitzvah that I fulfilled this last year is that I have been following the Jewish mourning rituals after the death of my dad last Memorial Day. (He loved THE CHRISTMAS MITZVAH, by the way, which he saw in page proofs, but maybe not as much as he loved TWENTY-ONE STEPS). For example, I pray with a minyan daily and recite the Kaddish in his memory. Another is our family observance of Shabbat. We really do try to shut down in our household and make the day different and holy. In terms of mitzvot like Al Rosen did, one example is that absolutely all the speaking I did about TWENTY-ONE STEPS, I donated out of respect for the selfless service of our military. Another big one of the last year was the ongoing mentorship of a young writer. Funny-sad: As I look back at the year, I didn’t do nearly enough.
Michelle: I did a reflection of what I did last year and I think I could have done more. I thought about ministering at church, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to do so because of work. A lot of things happened in my life last year and it encouraged me to reconnect with God. Something that God told me is to take a little bit of time and reach out to people. I realized that I get too focused on myself that I tend to forget other people have their own struggles as well. Especially my family. Since I lived in the States for 5 years and I rarely see my extended family, I took last year to tend to them. I spent more time with my grandparents and taking them out for dinners. I also took the time in the morning to help my mom with her bakery work. It’s really fun to learn new things!
Q4: How did you celebrate winning the Sydney Taylor Honor Picture Book?
Jeff: Once I got over the shock of the phone call from the chair of the committee? It was such a banner year in Jewish kidlit picture books, with titles like Sigal Samuels’ OSNAT AND THE DOVE, Chana Stiefel’s LET LIBERTY RISE, a beautiful Orthodox Jewish book I reviewed for the Sydney Taylor Schmooze blog, Chaya Baron’s I LOVE YOU, MY DEAR, Lee Wind’s RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE, plus the two fantastic titles from Nancy Churnin, not to mention the winning THE PASSOVER GUEST from Susan Kusel, that I figured there was no way. My consolation was to be that the book caught on, and sold out its first press run. So, the celebration was as all celebrations should be: I called my beloved Beth, I called my mother, and I called my agent. I wish I could have called my dad, too.
Michelle: It was such a huge surprise because I never would have thought to receive such awards for my first published book! When I received the email from the committee, I almost dropped my phone because I was just so elated. I immediately told my mom, dad, and sister. They are my main support system throughout my life because they are the ones who encouraged me to pursue my dream as an artist. The award ceremony started at 9 PM Jakarta time, so I stayed up watching the Livestream in my bedroom — it’s still surreal to me! My dad took us to get sushi for dinner the next day to celebrate. 🙂
Q5: What’s next for you?
Jeff: Well…Michelle and I are going to do another book together for Creston. It’s called FOOD FOR HOPE, and it’s the incredibly unlikely riches-to-rags (yes, riches-to-rags) story of one John van Hengel, the creator of the world food bank movement, who found God’s calling for his life while on a soup kitchen line in Phoenix, Arizona. (If you think I am attracted to faith-centered stories, well, it’s true). And then, I’ve got a couple more in the works for Candlewick, with an official announcement coming soon. American military-centered, as well, but unexpected in theme, I hope.
Michelle: Echoing what Jeff said, I’m super excited to illustrate for him again! I’ve read the manuscript and it is as heartwarming as “The Christmas Mitzvah”. As a religious person, I always love hearing stories about people who heard their calling and took action. John van Hengel is an unsung hero, just like Al Rosen, and it is a huge honor to tell their stories to the world.
The 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour
The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be showcasing its 2022 gold and silver medalists with a Blog Tour, February 7-11, 2022! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. Interviews will appear on the dates below and will remain available to read at your own convenience.
Below is the schedule for the 2022 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour dates, and be sure to leave them plenty of comments! FYI, the interviews will also be posted on ALJ’s social media.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2022
Susan Kusel and Sean Rubin, author and illustrator of The Passover Guest
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Picture Book Category
at Out of the Box at The Horn Book
Veera Hiranandani, author of How to Find What You’re Not Looking For
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Middle Grade Category
at Mr. Schu Reads
Aden Polydoros, author of The City Beautiful
Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Young Adult Category
at Paper Brigade Daily at The Jewish Book Council
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022
Nancy Churnin and Bethany Stancliffe, author and illustrator of Dear Mr. Dickens
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Picture Book Category
at Good Reads with Ronna
Gordon Korman, author of Linked
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Middle Grade Category
at 100 Scope Notes at School Library Journal
E. Lockhart, author of Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Young Adult Category
at A Fuse #8 Production at School Library Journal
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022
Eugene Yelchin, author of The Genius Under the Table
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Middle Grade Category
at Jewish Books for Kids
Jeff Gottesfeld and Michelle Laurentia Agatha, author and illustrator of The Christmas Mitzvah
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Picture Book Category
at Pragmatic Mom
Hannah Reynolds, author of The Summer of Lost Letters
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Young Adult Category
at Bookishly Jewish
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Peter Sís, author of Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Picture Book Category
at Vivian Kirkfeld’s Blog
Leah Scheier, author of The Last Words We Said
Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Young Adult Category
at Kayla Reads and Reviews
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2022
Podcast Interview at The Book of Life
Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah
p.s. Related posts:
Contemporary #OwnVoices Jewish Children’s Books
10 Jewish Folktale-Inspired Books
10 Award Winning Jewish Books for Kids and Kid Lit Blog Hop
Top 10: Best Interfaith Jewish Children’s Books (ages 3- 16)
Young Adult Post WWII Jewish War Story: What I Saw and How I Lied
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My books:
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
I loved Sydney Taylor’s books as a kid, and this book looks lovely.