Sydney Taylor Blog Tour: Interview with Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions

I am so pleased to welcome to The Fourth Musketeer author Deborah Heiligman, the winner of this year's Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers for her riveting teen novel, Intentions.  She has kindly responded to my interview questions below.

Q:  Intentions tells the story of 15-year old Rachel, who in the beginning of the novel overhears her beloved rabbi committing adultery right in the sanctuary.  The novel develops into a powerful and poignant story of betrayal and disappointment, and a coming-of-age story of learning to accept responsibility for our actions.  It's your first YA novel.  What inspired you to come up with this particular story?

A:  I wanted to capture that moment in a teen's life when she realizes that someone she adores and even idolizes is flawed. That happened to me in a pretty spectacular way in my community growing up (though not quite as spectacularly as in the book!) and it was a truly painful time. That moment informs who you become I think--because how you deal with it can shape the rest of your life. My editor Michelle described it as the moment when the black and white of childhood becomes the gray of adulthood. Even when we are adults we are walloped when someone we admire or love does something bad... to wit, I started writing this book during the Clinton/Lewinsky debacle. I liked Clinton a lot and I was upset by what he had done, and even more than that, I was sad that my young sons were confused and were asking so many questions. Yet because of that I knew I was on to something universal.   Also around that time a rabbi in New Jersey was tried and convicted of having his wife killed.  So it all came together in that way. It did, however, take me almost two decades to finish it in a way that I was satisfied with it and ready to throw it into the wide world.

Q:  Rachel has such an authentic-sounding teenage voice.  Does she have anything in common with your teen self?  How do you channel this teen voice in your writing?

Deborah Heiligman

A:  I think people who know me personally see some of me in Rachel, but she came to me pretty much fully formed as a character. There were certain things about her that felt too much like me, and so those I changed. In the end she became someone who I hope I would have been friends with at that age--but nice friends with! In terms channeling the teen voice, I find it very easy to access my teenage self, the emotions and desires, the gusts and squalls of those years. Perhaps I have not actually grown up....?! 

Q:  Rachel's personal disappointment with the rabbi changes her whole relationship with Judaism in this novel.  Can you tell us a little about your Jewish background and the role Judaism plays in your life?

A:  I grew up as what I affectionately call an Orthodox Reform Jew. My father was actually an immigrant from a shtetl in Lithuania, and grew up dirt-poor and Orthodox in Lehighton, PA. (They had to include Jews from the next town to have a minyan. I don't know how they kept kosher except that they had their own chickens.) He married my mom late in life (her second marriage) and she was kind of High Reform, though her first husband had been Conservative. SO. The agreement was that they would belong to the Reform synagogue, go every week,  and always have a really nice Friday night dinner. So that's how I grew up. I loved my temple and I had lots of friends of all kinds, but my heart friends were mostly Jewish. As a teenager I got involved in Jewish youth groups and in college I went to Hillel (mostly to do a lot of cooking for a lot of people--challah for a hundred!, which was fun). In college I decided to concentrate (major) in religious studies. That gave my parents, especially my mother, conniption fits. She said to me on the phone when I told her: "There are two things you are not allowed to do: be a rabbi, or marry a rabbi." Wise woman, she. So of course for a whole week I was going to be a rabbi. Instead I became a writer! (My best friend became a rabbi and she and her rabbi husband read the manuscript for me a couple of times.) Back to real life: My husband agreed to bring up our kids Jewish (he is Jewish, but not religious) and so we did. We belonged to a great synagogue in New Hope, PA, that is Reconstructionist and both my sons became bar mitzvahs there. Since we moved back to NYC we don't belong to a synagogue. I miss it sometimes, but mostly I feel very happy and at home here, and we have holidays here and with my family back in Pennsylvania where I grew up. 

Q:  As an author, you have produced an extremely diverse group of books, ranging from fun rhyming picture books for preschoolers such as Fun Dog, Sun Dog, to the award-winning biography Charles and Emma and an upcoming picture book biography of mathematician Paul Erdos.  What are some of your favorite parts of writing fiction as opposed to nonfiction?

A:  You know in fiction you get to MAKE STUFF UP. I love that. But I also really love writing nonfiction. I must tell you that I always make stuff up, and usually tell my husband about it. He is a dyed-in-the-wool nonfiction writer so he doesn't quite get why when we're on a dark country road, for example, I might worry aloud about alien abduction or people by the side of the road who need our help but turn out to be shapeshifters, that kind of thing. When Intentions was accepted for publication, he said something like, "Oh good now I can tell myself you're a novelist, not crazy." 

Q:  You have said repeatedly that your all-time favorite children's book is Charlotte's Web (a favorite of mine as well--it's the first book I can remember asking for and reading myself).  What are some of your favorite children's books with Jewish themes?  And can you tell us some of the books that are currently on your nightstand?

A:  Well at least I'm consistent. Wait, Charlotte wasn't Jewish?  OK--some of my favorite books with Jewish themes (there are so many great ones!): The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz (one of my all-time favorite adult books is The Way of Man by Martin Buber, which has that tale in it as well); The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen; The Diary of Anne Frank; Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb; Darkness over Denmark by Ellen Levine; Just Enough is Plenty by Barbara Diamond Goldin.  (I wrote all those by memory, by the way--I think that's how you know your favorite books, when they just come to you POP! It means you are holding them in your heart always.) 

Deborah, thanks so much for participating in the Sydney Taylor Blog Tour!  Please check out some of the other blog tour stops listed below.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Shelf-Employed 

Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky’s Blog 

Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Linda Glaser, author of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At This Messy Life 

Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger ReadersCategory
At Here in HP 

Louise Borden, author of His Name was Raoul Wallenberg
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Randomly Reading 


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Read, Write, Repeat 

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Writing & Illustrating

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Pen and Pros 

Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Madelyn Rosenberg’s Virtual Living Room 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah 

A Big Year for Children's Historical Fiction and the Newbery

Sometimes when I tell people that I blog about children's historical fiction, they are surprised, wondering if there are still titles in that genre being published now that everything in the publishing world is vampires and werewolves.

But lo and behold, I couldn't help but notice that both the Newbery winner, Moon Over Manifest (congratulations to author Clare Vanderpool--and it's her first novel, no less!) and three of the four Newbery Honor picks this year are historical fiction (and not surprisingly, given the focus of this blog, I had read all of them, although I didn't get to Moon Over Manifest until the end of 2010 and was still trying to decide whether to review more 2010 titles or not). The three honor books, Margi Preus' Heart of a Samurai, Rita Williams' Garcia's One Crazy Summer, and Jennifer Holm's Turtle in Paradise, were all reviewed here on my blog around the time of their release (titles link to my reviews).

I was also delighted to see that A Sick Day for Amos McGee won the Caldecott; sometimes I find that the Caldecott winners, while always beautiful to look at, don't always have strong kid appeal.  Definitely not the case with Amos McGee, a great read-aloud for preschoolers and lower elementary school age kids, full of kid-pleasing zoo animal characters and a storyline that is touching and funny, but not sentimental and maudlin.

Congratulations to all the winners, and especially to all the committee members who spend so many hours in meetings and reading all the nominated titles!

The Awards Season Begins: The Scott O'Dell Award is Announced

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for this year has just been announced, and I don't think anyone will be shocked that it has gone to One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, which has been getting a lot of Newbery buzz as well.  The Scott O'Dell Award, established in 1982, is given for a distinguished work of historical fiction for young people, published by a U.S. publisher; the setting must be South, Central, or North America, and the author must be a U.S. citizen. 

I recently included One Crazy Summer on my 10 favorite books of 2010 post. 

The award was announced on Read Roger today; Roger Sutton, editor of the Horn Book, is also the chair of the Scott O'Dell committee. 

Congratulations to Rita Williams-Garcia!  I hope she will do something fun with her $5,000 in prize money, like go on that Disneyland trip that Delphine and her sisters were dreaming of!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens: My Favorites from 2010

(With apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein--when I think of my favorite things, I can't help but hear Julie Andrews and the Sound of Music in my Mind!)

With the end of the year in sight, I couldn't resist joining the other bloggers who've been posting their favorites from the past year.  I'm sticking to those books that I've reviewed on my blog this year, and I've selected my ten favorites, including everything from picture books to middle readers to young adult books.  In no particular order, here's my list of favorites for 2010, with links to my reviews:

Young Adult:
Three Rivers Rising, by Jame Richards:  Written in free verse, this mesmerizing novel by debut novelist Jame Richards is a romantic story of forbidden love set against the shocking backdrop of the Johnstown Flood of 1889, a disaster comparable to Hurricane Katrina in our time.

Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly:  A riveting genre-busting blend of realistic contemporary young adult fiction, historical fiction, and even some paranormal fiction set both in the present day and in the dangerous days of the French Revolution.

Crossing the Tracks, by Barbara Stuber:  Another debut novelist whose book I literally couldn't put down.  Set in the 1920's, it's a tender, funny, and heartbreaking novel that touches on many themes that will resonate with teens, particularly the meaning of home and family.


Middle Grade/Tween:
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia:  Set in Oakland in the turbulent summer of 1968, this likely Newbery contender revolves around three sisters who are sent from New York to visit their mother, a member of the Black Panthers, for the summer.  You can't help but love the narrator, 11-year old plain spoken Delphine, who tells it like it is.  This is essentially a family drama but is filled with humor as well.  


The Wonder of Charlie Anne, by Kimberly Newton Fusco:  I fell in love with this novel's spirited heroine as well; her story is set in a small town during the Depression, and also manages to combine humor with more serious themes such as grief, family, and racism, as Charlie Anne struggles to deal with her mother's death and her responsibilities in the family.  


The Year of Goodbyes, by Debbie Levy:  While there are many books for young people about the Holocaust, this one is unique, focusing on the experiences of the author's mother, as Jutta and her family frantically try to get visas to leave Nazi Germany for the United States in 1938.  One of the few things Jutta can bring with her is her posiealbum, a kind of scrapbook in which young people collected poems and drawings from friends and family.  Levy intersperses reproductions of actual pages from the album, along with the English translation, with free verse poetry in her mother's voice that link the entries together.  


Picture Books:  
Stand Straight, Ella Kate, by Kate Klise and Sarah Klise:  This large format picture book tells the story of a real-life giant who lived from 1872 to 1913.  Narrated by Ella herself, the book features delightful illustrations in a folk art style that evokes the 19th century setting.  The book delivers a touching message about how we should respect people's differences while incorporating many fascinating anecdotes about the real-life Ella.


She Loved Baseball:  The Effa Manley Story, by Audrey Vernick and Don Tate:  A terrific girl power story, this title profiles Effa Manley, the first--and only--woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Manley's story incorporates both women's rights issues and civil rights, as she becomes the co-owner and manager of a Negro League baseball team.  


The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham:  With Twain back on the best-seller list, this book is particularly timely, and readers can't help but be charmed by the real story of how Twain's young daughter researched and wrote her father's biography, so people would know the "real" Mark Twain.  The book includes mini-journal inserts, which include excerpts from Susy's actual text, complete with misspellings, and fabulous cartoon-style illustrations, which can practically tell the story single-handed.  


Narrative Non-Fiction
The War to End All Wars:  World War I, by Russell Freedman:  A riveting read for anyone interested in history, this must be the definitive World War I book for young people.  

More Bloggers' Best of Lists
On Persnickety Snark's blog, you can check out top 5 picks (or some of us who did top 10) for 2010 from lots of different bloggers.

And Happy New Year to all those in the blogosphere!

Versatile Blogger Award!

Thanks so much to JL at An Avid Reader's Musings for presenting me with my first blog award!

Here's how this award works:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Here are 7 interesting things about myself:

1) I learned to read on my own before school from a Dr. Seuss dictionary, according to my mother.
2) I love all kinds of movies and once went to a movie marathon where we watched movies for 24 hours straight.
3) My miniature poodle is my best-behaved child.
4) I read the first Harry Potter and Twilight books when they first came out, before most people had heard of them.
5) My bucket list includes going on a photo safari somewhere in Africa.
6) I once went to the Queen of England's public birthday celebration in London.
7) The bonobo is my new favorite animal.

Some blogs that I enjoy (in no particular order):

1) Abby the Librarian
2) Afterthoughts
3) Rebecca's Book Blog
4) The Book Maven's Haven
5) The Book Nosher
6) There's a Book
7) YA Bookmark
8) What We Read and What We Think
9) The Almost Librarian
10) Reading the Past
11) Bees Knees Reads
12) Books are a Girl's Best Friend
13) Alison Can Read
14) Bookie Woogie
15) The Heart of Dreams