Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb

Many thanks to Deborah Kalb for her blog interview about my two latest books: Zevi Takes the Spotlight for middle grades.

"I wanted to write a fun book but a book that would get kids thinking about what fame really is. I started noticing that young people have gone from wanting to become scientists, or vets, or firefighters, to YouTube influencers. It seemed to me that fame had become the goal, not the result of hard work or inspiration. So, something to mull over."

More great news for Zevi Takes The Spotlight

What a wonderful review from the Association Of Jewish Libraries (AJL).

“Prolific Canadian author Carol Matas has another winner with this fun middle-grade novel that seamlessly blends elements of mystery, Jewishness, friendship, and the extraordinary…The plot is entertaining, the portrayals of family and friendships are positive and the inclusion of Jewish practices and values are few, but important, especially at the conclusion of the book, set at the family Shabbat dinner table.”—Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)

Plus: School Library Journal has included Zevi Takes the Spotlight in their Top Trends in SLJ's Starred Books/ The 2024 Stars issue!

Zevi Takes the Spotlight gets a Star!

Zevi wants to be a star so it's wonderful that he has received his first review and it comes with a star from School Library Journal!  The book will be published in early April 2004 by Orca Book Publishers and I can't wait!

⭐️ Zevi Takes the Spotlight:

“Zevi is Jewish, and this important part of his identity is skillfully woven throughout the narrative. This hi-lo title excels in the genre, packaging an accessible, dyslexia-friendly text with a compelling plot and likeable protagonist whose journey readers will happily follow." 

Highly recommended

Ready for preorder now:

 McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnpeg, Manitoba

 Barnes and Nobles 

 Amazon

25th Anniversary Edition of Daniel's Story

Just out this fall from Scholastic Canada, a special 25th anniversary edition

 This edition also includes a chronology, a timeline, and a newly added question and answer with me.

Daniel barely remembers leading a normal life before the Nazis came to power in 1933. He can still picture once being happy and safe, but memories of those days are fading as he and his family face the dangers threatening Jews in Hitler's Germany in the late 1930's. No longer able to practice their religion, vote, own property, or even work, Daniel's family is forced from their home in Frankfurt and sent on a long and dangerous journey, first to the Lodz ghetto in Poland, and then to Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp.

Though many around him lose hope in the face of such terror, Daniel, supported by his courageous family, struggles for survival. He finds hope, life and even love in the midst of despair.

I will be available to give readings of Daniel's Story and to talk to student or adult audiences about ant-Semitism, racism, and why this story is still so important today. 

Interview about Tucson Jo with Tucson Tales Publication

Tucson Tales is a children's literature publication run by undergraduate students at the University of Arizona. They  showcase new and established writers. This is the interview they did with me about my middle-grades historical novel Tucson Jo. Click here for the entire interview.

The questions were not cookie cutter questions and really made me think. Here's an excerpt from the online interview:

Q. You often write about World War II and the Holocaust. Did you find it particularly challenging or beneficial looking at some of these anti-Semitic themes through the lens of the American Southwest?

A: That’s an interesting question. It’s always challenging to write about The Holocaust and/or anti-Semitism. I suppose what is so surprising to young people is how long anti-Semitism has been with us. They often have no idea that it dates back to the early days of the Church and that it was propagated by both Church and state as a way to scapegoat a particular religion and people. But I did find it compelling to write about the true story of how Strauss’s political rival tried to use it to defeat Strauss, even though there had been no real cases of anti-Semitism in Tucson up to that point. (It didn’t work!) Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is ever present, and today we are seeing a frightening escalation in the United States and in Europe.

WHO AM I? is out! And KIrkus gives it a great review!

Waiting for that first review is so nerve-wracking! So what a relief to read the Kirkus review of Who Am I?, my new sci-fi thriller for YA and middle grades.

"Girl-power heroines confronting bad guys and the nature of the self. Hitchcock-ian fun, full of deep questions to ponder." (Click here for full Kirkus review.)

Kirkus seemed to like just about everything except the title! Since I personally came up with the title and thought it was so clever I was a little crushed but since everything else was good – I'm good too! Most importantly the reviewer saw what I was trying to do–write a book about what it means to be a human being.

Just Kidding!

Well, I really wasn't kidding. We really thought we had our new cover. But then we changed our minds.
OKAY!
This is truly the final, final cover!
And Thursday I sent the final copyedit to my editor so we are getting very close to publication. Fall for sure.

The Hunt for the Best Cover Continues

A cover is so important—so we asked lots of young people and adults which cover they liked best. A big thank you to everyone who participated in our informal survey, including students at The Alfred & Adele Davis Academy #davis5 in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Grant Park High and Laidlaw schools in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A special thank you to Bonnie Brask for her outstanding photos and artwork on our test covers.

It was a fascinating exercise even though there was no consensus. The best part was hearing what young people had to say, why they liked or disliked a particular cover, what they thought the cover was telling them. For example, we were super interested to learn that most students didn't know about the DNA helix, and didn't recognize that it was being used as a motif on several different covers. Because of that new info, I am going to add an afterword about the DNA strand and have my publisher add it as a graphic element in the novel's layout. So a huge help just in those terms for the book itself.

Below are the last six cover choices we presented to the classes. Which cover do you prefer, and why?

I will be posting our final choice any day now...

Book Covers For "Who am I?"

I am very lucky that Fictive Press has made me a partner vis a vis choosing and even helping to create the cover for my new book Who Am I? We have considered all sorts. Here are a couple:

   

But we have ended up with something else altogether. I will post it soon. It's such an important decision, but I am really happy with the one we have chosen.

Meet my second guest ever - Deborah Kalb!

So I am thrilled to add Deborah to my guest list! She kindly hosted me over at her blog, and now I'd like to return the favour!

Deborah Kalb is a freelance writer, editor, and blogger. She spent about two decades working as a journalist in Washington, D.C., for news organizations including Gannett News Service, Congressional Quarterly, U.S. News & World Report, and The Hill, mostly covering Congress and politics. She is the co-author, with her father, Marvin Kalb, of Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama (Brookings, 2011), and she’s also the co-author or co-editor of two books published by CQ Press (The Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents; and State of the Union: Presidential Rhetoric from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush). She started her blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb (found at deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com), in October 2012, and has interviewed hundreds of authors—including Carol Matas!—about their books.

Here are some questions I ask Deborah- and her answers!

Q: How do you choose your authors?

A: I look through lists of upcoming books, I read book reviews, I ask friends if they know of anyone with a book coming out soon, and I keep an eye out in general for authors and books that seem interesting. Also, authors and their publicists often get in touch with me to ask if I’d like to interview them/their author. It’s a real pleasure to learn about so many great books before they’re published!

Introducing My First Ever Guest- Barbara Krasner

Barbara Krasner has been kind enough to host me on her blog, https://thewholemegillah.wordpress.com and I'd like to host her here so I'm diving in!

First a little bit about Barbara. When I say a little I mean- wow- she's amazing!

Barbara Krasner, http://www.barbarakrasner.com is a writer and historian. She is the author of two picture books and more than 200 articles for adults and young readers. Her literary work has appeared or is forthcoming in Nimrod, Paterson Literary Review, Jewish Women’s Literary Annual, Jewishfiction.net, Lilith, Poetica, and numerous other journals. She teaches expository and creative writing at William Paterson University. She holds a B.A. in German, M.B.A. in Marketing, M.F.A. in Writing for Children, and is now pursuing an M.A. in public history. She often writes about women and on Holocaust themes. She has most recently served on Association of Jewish Libraries’ Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee and is the editor and publisher of The Whole Megillah | The Writer’s Resource for Jewish Story. 

Tucson Jo named a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist for Children's & YA Literature!

Firstly, I have to say that when the general email blast announcing the awards came through on my email I didn't even check to see if Tucson Jo had made the cut. I have never been honoured with this award, and didn't think that was about to change.

My daughter called five minutes later to ask if I had seen the news. That's when the screaming started. My publisher and best friend Morri Mostow of Fictive Press was out at an aerobics class so I had an agonizing couple of hours before I could share the news with her. And before she could share the official letter she had just received from the Board of Directors congratulating her.

For those of you who have followed my blog, you know that this book was special—although all my books are special to me—but this one in a different way. First of all it took over eight years to write— not continuously, of course, but on and off between other projects.