As a newbie to the field of children’s book writing and publishing, it was a thrill to meet award-winning author Linda Leopold Strauss at a local SCBWI workshop and listen to stories about her long and successful career. She shared wonderful stories as well as provided advice about the craft of writing and the business of publishing a newbie like myself will always cherish.

One of Linda’s books that comes to mind during this Passover is The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale. The story is about two very close Jewish families, the Lippas and Galinskys. The families are so close that Rachel Galinsky and David Lippa want to get married, but their parents get into a feud. The neighbors and town rabbi intervene and come up with a plan to bring the two families together to celebrate Passover.

In addition to an engaging story, the woodcut illustrations by Alexi Natchev help the person being read to, or the reader, to imagine the old country back then located somewhere around Poland and or Russia. ”Alexi Natchev’s beautifully colored block prints evoke an Old World feel but also are playful and filled with expressive detail and movement.” – Arizona Jewish Post, 3/20/2012.

Blogger Planet Smarty Pants recommendations.

By Linda Leopold Strauss Holiday House (February 20, 2012)