24 Jul Chana Stiefel, Winner of The Margaret Wise Brown Prize! And a GIVEAWAY!

I couldn’t be happier to welcome my friend, and author extraordinaire, Chana Stiefel, to Writing Outside the Lines. Chana is the author of many books that have brought joy to thousands of people. Please check them all out! But for today, we’re focusing on the amazing, multi-award-winning THE TOWER OF LIFE. If you look closely at this picture of the book, you’ll see three stickers. Each one of these is special. But as they say, “Wait, there’s more!” Aside from those three stickers, this book has earned starred reviews from Horn Book, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Bank Street, and School Library Journal, and more. But one sticker is not on this copy yet. Along with the other well-deserved accolades,  THE TOWER OF LIFE has won the prestigious Margaret Wise Brown Award. Sticker coming! So let’s get on with this.

EL: Chana, The Tower of Life is such a spectacular book. Can you briefly tell us how you came up with the idea and what it means to you?

CS: Thank you so much, Ellen. I first learned about Yaffa Eliach and her legacy when I read her obituary in The New York Times in November 2016. I was inspired by her resilience and hope after surviving the Holocaust. Knowing that survivors like Yaffa are passing away, I felt a strong responsibility to share her story with the next generation.

Yaffa’s mission was to restore humanity to the victims of the Holocaust. She did so by traveling the world for 17 years and collecting photographs of nearly every man, woman, and child who had lived in her shtetl, the small town of Eishyshok (which is now in Lithuania but was part of Poland during World War II). Using over 1,000 photos, many of which were taken by Yaffa’s grandmother, the town photographer, Yaffa created the Tower of Faces at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Yaffa wanted people from all backgrounds to see themselves in these photographs of everyday life and appreciate our shared humanity. I hope that The Tower of Life, gorgeously illustrated by Susan Gal, continues Yaffa’s legacy, honors the victims of the Holocaust, and helps to educate and build empathy among children.

EL: What an amazing story! Will you briefly describe your journey into kidlit?

CS: Sure! When I was earning a Master’s in Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting at NYU, I interned at Scholastic, which was down the block. Once I started writing for children, I never looked back. I ended up working as an editor at Scholastic’s Science World, a bi-weekly magazine for middle schoolers for seven years. I love instilling in children a sense of wonder and sparking their imaginations through storytelling. After leaving Scholastic, I started to freelance and write books for children. At this point, I’ve published about 30 books for kids, both fiction and nonfiction.

EL: That’s amazing! But what do you do when the words won’t come?

CS: I write blog posts (JK, LOL, as my kids would say). When I get stuck, I often swim or take long walks to get my creative juices flowing. Sometimes I’ll try to analyze what’s holding me back. Often it comes down to research. We always say, “Write what you know.” At the same time, you can’t write what you don’t know. So if I’m working on a nonfiction book, this may mean doing more research online, reading more books or articles on my topic, or interviewing experts. Or I may need to delve more deeply into a character’s background, read comp texts, or just relax and know that I’ll come back to it. Some days are more productive than others. I aim to do at least one thing a day to move my own writing forward and at least one thing to help another writer. I might write a book review, boost a post, meet for coffee, or do a critique. In fact, swapping critiques with another author is a great way to get unstuck.

EL: This is quite helpful, Chana! By the way, everyone, the picture above is Chana holding up the book in Eliach’s Tower of Faces in the United States Holocaust Museum. This picture is so moving, Chana. 

Let’s talk a bit about the business of writing. What do you think is the most difficult and the best part of this business?

CS: The most difficult part for me is the waiting. Many people aren’t aware that publishing a picture book can take years. For example, The Tower of Life took six years from idea to publication. My first picture book, Daddy Depot, took eight years. Along the way, there’s a lot of rejection, revision, and also (hopefully) reward! I guess you can say those are the three r’s of publishing.

By far, the best part of this job is interacting with children. I love visiting schools and libraries to read my books to children. It’s the greatest privilege. I love seeing their eyes light up and hearing their laughter and seeing them raise their hands with questions. What a gift!

EL: Thank you so much for all this insight, Chana! I’m thrilled for all your success, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer, more generous person.  Now it’s time for a

Do you want to win a signed copy of The Tower of Life? All you have to do is comment on this post to get in the running. Let me know if you are a subscriber or if you are sharing the post to get an extra chance to win this amazing prize!

Thanks again for visiting today, Chana!

Until next time, be well, everyone,

Ellen

Please visit Chana’s website and social media pages. You’ll find a lot of fun and interesting info! Check out the links below. 

Website:  (which includes curriculum guides, activities, and more): https://chanastiefel.com/

Reach out on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chana.stiefel/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chanastiefel/

Buy Chana’s books (and kindly post reviews):

https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=chana+stiefel

On a personal note:

I’d love it if you’d visit other parts of my website to see what’s going on with me including gearing up for school visits in the fall! Thanks! 

Visits