Welcoming Elijah

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Welcoming Elijah

Stray cat teaches kids kindness at Passover.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In Lesléa Newman’s new children’s book, Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, the essence of hospitality extends beyond the holiday as expressed with poetic contrasts.

Revered Passover traditions take place in a home setting at a time when pandemic isolation is not required and allow a new direct relationship to be established as shown through illustrations by Susan Gal.

The book features two Elijahs — one Books of the Year List (2019). known throughout Jewish history as project“Welcoming Elijah is short, which I think ing a time of peace and another in the form lends itself well to Zoom seders,” Newman of a cat transitioning from unrest into peace- said. “I think it lends itself to be read out ful times after finding a home through the loud and have the pictures shown. People in door opened for the symbolic figure. different locations can all have a copy and

“I would love readers to see the joy of read it together. coming together for Passover,” “There’s not a lot of explanation of the said Newman, recognized for holiday, but there is the feeling of the holthis project with a National iday — of togetherness, of celebration, of Jewish Book Award, Sydney lovingkindness. That’s what the holiday is Taylor Book Award presented all about.” by the Association of Jewish Newman’s career has been all about writLesléa Libraries and Northern Dawn ing. Newman Religious/Spiritual Children’s “I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was Book Award. 8 years old,” she explained. “I was an avid

“There are all kinds of people [in the reader, and I wrote poetry from a very young story] and a willingness to be open-hearted age. When I was a teenager, I noticed that to bring a stranger — the kitten represents Seventeen magazine published poetry, so I a stranger — into a home with kind and sent them poems, and they accepted some. loving arms. Young readers learn about the “I met with the editor, Hilary Cosell, beautiful rituals that encompass the holiday.” daughter of the famous sportscaster Howard

Newman, who writes for varying age Cosell. That was the beginning, and I never groups from children to adults, has been looked back. I took creative writing in high a guest speaker at Temple Israel in West school and went to the Jack Kerouac School Bloomfield. Her earlier children’s books with of Disembodied Poetics in Colorado; it Jewish themes, counted with some 30 books, was part of Naropa Institute, now Naropa include A Sweet Passover, Hanukkah Delight! University.” and Matzo Ball Moon. Among recent adult books are two ded-

Among her multiple writing awards icated to her late parents, one for her mom are Bank Street College Best Books of the (I Carry My Mother) and one for her dad (I Year (2020), Wall Street Journal Top Ten Wish My Father). In poetry, they chronicle Children’s Book of the Year (2019) and New the last five years of their lives as she cared York Children’s Library Best Ten Children’s for them.

WRITING FOR KIDS

“The way I got into children’s books was quite accidental,” she recalled. “A lesbian mom told me she didn’t have any books that showed a family like hers to read to her daughter.

“When she said that to me, it resonated, and I wrote Heather Has Two Mommies. I thought about that because I grew up in the 1950s and never read a book about a Jewish family.

“After that, I realized that poetry and children’s books are very similar. They both use very little text and have literary devices (rhyme, repetition, rhythm). I just fell in love with the form of picture books, so I kept at it.”

Newman, raised in Brooklyn and living in Massachusetts, spells her first name Lesléa to combine her English and Hebrew names and reflect her religious commitments, which include membership in Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, Mass. She loves crossword puzzles and is thrilled to have appeared in one published by the New York Times.

“This new book brings together several passions of mine — my love of Judaism, my love of Passover and my love of cats,” said Newman, planning this year’s seder only with her spouse. “The artist was kind enough to use my cat as the model for her illustrations.”