I am so excited to tell the story of the legendary origin of the Bene Israel Jews of India along with Bene Israel artist Siona Benjamin. 

From Publishers Marketplace:

Erica Lyons’s ZHEN YU AND THE SNAKE, pitched as a retelling of the famous story of Rabbi Akiva’s daughter and the snake from the Talmud, set in Kaifeng, China in the 12th century, illustrated by Renia Metallinou, to Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben, for publication in fall 2023, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the author, and by Robbin Brosterman at The Bright Group for the illustrator (world).

I’m one year in since the sale of my first manuscript (Alone Together on Dan Street, Apples & Honey Press) and I have no idea what is going on sometimes.

Here are some things that I would like someone to cover:

Prologue: Send it Out to the World Not quite yet. You wrote a brilliant manuscript. Edit. Edit it some more. Show it to critique partners. When it is ready, you need to send out a standard query publishers or send it to your agent. If agented, your agent will send it out on submission to publishers when it is ready.

Introduction: Waiting It takes time to get an offer. There’s rejection and waiting. Be prepared (possibly) for a very long wait with many ups and downs.

Chapter 1: The Offer Congratulations! You did it! Almost. You need to agree on the offer (advance and royalties). Like in the querying process, when you do finally get an offer (in most cases so long as it wasn’t exclusive) you can contact other publishers that have your manuscript and let them know that you have an offer. This should help you get an answer from them fairly quickly. Footnote: There is more waiting here.

Chapter 2: The Contract Once you agree with the publisher, the contract will follow the offer. If you are unagented, this is daunting, but not impossible. I’m a lawyer (technically though I typically mention this about as much as I mention that I’m actually originally from New Jersey and not New York) and I’m married to a lawyer and this was still daunting. I had author friends talk me through this though it was also suggested that I consider joining the Authors Guild. If you do have an agent, it is still a good idea to have someone else talk you through the contract as well if you aren’t sure about something. Your agent can also help you with this too.

Footnote: SECRETS You want to shout to the world that you have a contract. Don’t! You have to wait until it is officially announced or until the publisher tells you that you can when working with smaller houses. You will see authors posting vague tweets about ‘signing something’. They are dying to tell. They want to scream it from the rooftops. They can’t. There is waiting involved.

Chapter 3: Waiting (Again) When you agree on terms, you need to wait for the final contract. When you have a contract, you wait for the signature copy. When it is signed, you wait until you can announce your new book deal. See: Secrets in Chapter 2

Chapter 4: Platform Ok. You have a book deal. You have signed. You are excited to get started on edits, but you need to wait for the editor to get back to you with them. There are things you should be thinking about especially if this is your debut. You can presumably write a book, but can you write a blog post, an instagram post, Tweet, develop a website, or do whatever people do on TicTok (it is blocked in Hong Kong)? This probably should have also been Chapter 1 because it is also how you can meet and connect with other writers who will become friends and the people you turn to for advice through all of these steps. You are now expected to be an expert in marketing, social media, and branding.

Try to find on online co-marketing group. I found the Picture Book Pals through the SCBWI blueboard after every co-marketing group I contacted on Twitter told me that they were full. This group has been incredible in terms of support and knowledge.

Chapter 5: Edits You sent your best work out and you got an offer so it must be perfect. Wrong! It is likely far from it, but the editor you are working with (through the publisher) is there to help you. This process takes however long it takes.

Chapter 6: Media Kit Apparently, this is something that I should have had prepared since my debut is out in 2 weeks. I’m going to work on it after I finish this post.

Chapter 7: Waiting Your platform has been created, your media kit is ready, your edits are done, but there is still more waiting. Hopefully your deal has been announced and you can enjoy that minute while you wait for the publication date. Be prepared for a very long wait. I’m signing contracts now (in February 2022) for books with publishing dates in the second half of 2024!

Chapter 8: Presale Finally you have a copy of your book in your hands and you still are waiting for the world to see it. This is where I am now. Waiting!

Alone Together on Dan Street is out in the world on March 1!

Public Libraries are undoubtedly the best resources. (We do have public libraries in Hong Kong, but with limited choices and also changing and complicated COVID regulations.)

So, how can I work towards meeting these reading goals?

• School library: If you have children, their school library can be a great resource for you too. In addition to asking to borrow books, I’ve even managed to get my 3rd grader to help. When I treated myself to an Amazon delivery of 4 new picture book biographies (a present to myself for signing a book contract), she then surprised me by borrowing 2 more PB bios for me to help me with my work.
• NetGalley: When it comes to the market of children’s book publishing, I’m still learning which is why I just discovered NetGalley. I’m still learning my way around it, but through requests, you can receive new releases to review for free. You need to review the books, but there is no downside. This a great resource and a way to also help other authors too.
• Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC): It is possible to receive ARCs directly from authors. How? One way is to increase your network of writer friends online. I admittedly didn’t know what an ARC was when I was given my first one to read from a Twitter friend. The expectation is that you will give some form of feedback. By joining a new release co-marketing group, you will also gain access to ARCs and have the opportunity to share your own. More on co-marketing groups in future posts because I can’t wait to talk about the incredible Picture Book Pals.
• Other libraries: Don’t overlook other libraries that you may have access to. Does your house of worship or community center have a library? Is there a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? I’ve still never seen one! A book swap? I happen to oversee my community’s JCC library and even have a very small budget to buy new books with which we have curated a wonderful collection of Jewish children’s books (adult books too).
• Bookstores: Areas with limited access to public libraries likely have limited access to bookstores, but it is still worth checking out. You can read books in the store. Many stores even have areas set up for this. The bookstore in Hong Kong (yes, that is pretty much singular) has a few good titles, but often not the ones I’m looking for, but there is also a used bookstore that is a great resource too. Hong Kong’s reBooked is dedicated entirely to children’s books!
• Prime Reads: While I appreciate the need to support independent bookstores, these aren’t always options for overseas deliveries especially during the pandemic when deliveries have slowed or stopped. If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you are entitled to read a selection of digital titles for free. Take advantage of this. Reading picture books on Kindle (especially when it is black and white), is imperfect, but it is better than not reading. You can see the cover and sample pages on the Amazon website to be able to better appreciate the artwork.
• Other resources: In my case, I’m fortunate enough to be the director of my local PJ Library. Before I distribute the PJ Library books, I read them all. Of course, if your child is eligible for PJ Library (Jewish), you can also sign-up to receive one new picture book each month. If you are part of a local SCBWI, talk to the other members. They love books too and chances are they have collections of their own.

Get creative! Think out of the box! Happy Reading!

My JCC Library

1. Rebecca’s Journey Home by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman (PB)
2. The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman (MG)

In looking at adoption in kidlit generally, it needs to acknowledged that adoption is such a complex thing. There’s so much loss and sadness that is inevitably part of it. There’s abuse, prejudice, and inequity that’s part of it sometimes too. Writing about adoption without acknowledging some of the complexities would be difficult for me to do.

There are also so many books, very good ones too, that use animals in place of humans. This is something that I would like to see change too. It’s easy to see why animals work well in children’s stories: they’re cute and entertaining, they avoid having to talk about race or gender, and they’re impossible to offend. Even so, keeping with the trend in children’s publishing of allowing children to see themselves in books, I think that we need to see more of these books with actual human kids in them. I know that my children and I would like to.

There have also been adult fiction novels that also qualify. The majority of these focus on the Shanghai Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, but the Kaifeng Jewish community is also a topic that has also been visited.

1. Chicken Soup Chicken Soup (PB) by Pamela Mayer 
2. Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas (PB) by Pamela Ehrenberg 
3. Rebecca’s Journey Home (PB) by Brynn Olenberg Sugarman
4. This Is Just a Test (MG) by Wendy Wan-Long, Madelyn Rosenberg
5. Reyna and the Jade Star (MG) by Robin K. Levinson
6. Orchards (YA) by Holly Thompson
7. Someday We Will Fly (YA) by Rachel DeWoskin
8. Chloe Leiberman (sometimes Wong) (YA) by Carrie Rosten
9. Not Your All-American Girl (MG) by Wendy Wan-Long, Madelyn Rosenberg
10. Whole Story of Half a Girl (MG) by Veera Hiranandani
11. My Basmati Bat Mitzvah (MG) by Paula J. Freedman
12. Mira in the Present Tense (MG) by Sita Brah­machari
13. Shanghai Sukkah (PB) by Heidi Smith Hyde

Additional titles for discussion on what qualifies as Jewish Asian stories: A Jewish Girl in Shanghai (GN) by Wu Lin, Mystery of the Kaifeng Scroll (MG) by Harriet Feder

Meet the Latkes, by Alan Silberberg, was an instantaneous hit in our home. Lucy Latke and her crazy potato latkes family won us all over completely (except our teen who doesn’t care). While none of us are potato latkes, we all found many similarities to our crazy human family. Grandpa Latke tells Lucy the tale of Chanukah only his version is a fantastical tale of Mega Bees stinging green alien spuds. Applesauce, the family dog, must set the record straight.

My 6-year-old was so wholly engaged that she couldn’t stop yelling out the real story to correct Grandpa Latke. The grandpa was silly in exactly a grandpa sort of way, and the family dog was nearly as smart as our cat. No animal, real or imagined could be as smart a her. The character that we all loved the best because we know him too well was Lex. Lex is the grumpy teen brother who stays in his messy room with his headphones on. His vocabulary is limited to, “I don’t care.”

After reading the story five times (day 1), I tweeted about how much we enjoyed it. I also tweeted how we were struck by the verisimilitude of Lex and our grumpy teen. They even have the same hair! The author, Alan Silberberg, responded with thanks and also made a personalized sketch for my little latkes. She, in turn, drew one for him.

Meet the Latkes is another excellent book from PJ LIbrary that is going to be a family favorite for years to come.

The drawings by Lin Wan-tsui are beautiful and it was those brightly- colored images that stuck with me more than the words. Published in Peking in 1966, it is a snapshot in time. Lines, written by Huang Ching-yun, include: “I am mending the net for our commune”, “The teachers and commune members all smile and praise me”, “We did not mind the hard work at planting time” and “We will make them into flour to send to our soldier uncles”.

I’m not sure why I was so drawn to this particular book. Perhaps it was that the experiences portrayed were so different from my own that it had the ability to transport me on an adventure to another place and time.

My copy is now worn and slightly crumpled. The cover is held together by tape. There are watermarks throughout. Together they attest to how much it was loved. Flowers in Full Bloom has somehow made its way from China to the United States, where I grew up, and back again.

I am completely gobsmacked by the sheer beauty and wisdom of Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester. The clarity of his language and the importance of his message stands on its own, but the book is further enhanced by the bold and colourful illustrations by Karen Barbour.

                                           I am a story.

                                            So are you. So is everyone.

                                          Some stories are true. Some are not.

                                           Those who say

                                          “MY RACE IS BETTER THAN YOUR RACE”

                                          Are telling a story that is not true.

Lester tells the reader that he was born on January 27, 1939. He sadly passed away on January 18, 2018. Part of his story is the fact that he converted to Judaism in 1982. He had previously learned that his maternal great-grandfather had been a German Jewish immigrant who married a freed American slave. His Jewish journey is an incredible story in its own right.

Over the course of his career, Lester authored 25 books of fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and poetry. Incidentally, I just ordered a copy of his novel And All Our Wounds Forgiven as well as his memoir, Lovesong: Becoming a Jew.

Let’s Talk About Race is a wonderful addition to every family’s library. Given the current political climate, this picture book is perhaps exceptionally apropos. It easily opens up family discussions on the significance of and the meaning of racial identity. As the mother of a multicultural family (three white children and a Chinese child), living in China, this is a topic that we do not shy away from.

Let’s Talk About Race is a powerful tool to help children understand that while race is certainly part of a person’s story, it is never the entire story.

Let’s Talk About Race

Written by Julius Lester

Illustrated by Karen Barbour

Age Range: 4-8 (listed age, but the appeal extends far beyond the suggested range)

Publisher: HarperCollins