09 Apr Amalia Hoffman talks about AFIKOTECTIVE! Plus a GIVEAWAY!

Happy Spring!  I’m thrilled to welcome author/illustrator, Amalia Hoffman back to the blog. Her adorable new book, AFIKOTECTIVE released in  January but is perfect for the upcoming Passover holiday.  In AFIKOTECTIVE, an adorable little bear decides to become a detective and prepares his afiko-sniffer ( a toy elephant) to sniff out the afikoman. Traditionally, children search for the afikomen ( a hidden piece of matzah), and the winner receives some sort of prize. As the main character searches, he finds other foods needed for the seder, and with a cute twist, eventually finds the afikoman. This is a wonderful way of teaching children about what is involved in the seder without making it feel like a lesson. Hoffman’s bright illustrations and sparse text make this a wonderful book for young children.

EL: Welcome, Amalia!  Before we get too much into the book, please tell us a little about yourself and what you do when you’re not writing or illustrating. 

AH: I live in Larchmont, NY. Besides writing and illustrating children’s books, I present my stories to kids and families in schools, libraries, bookstores, and community centers. I make puppets that look like characters in my books and dress up in costumes.

I love taking long walks, mostly to our park by the Long Island sound. I often find myself sketching ideas for new stories while I sit on a rock by the water. I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren who range in age from newborn to 18 years old and entertaining friends and family. 

EL: That sounds wonderful. I am in awe of author-illustrators since I can’t draw a straight line! I am including a few interior shots from AFIKOTECTIVE so everyone can see the cute illustrations. And speaking of illustrations, when I read AFIKOTECTIVE, I noticed that the illustrations look different from the ones in some of your other books. Will you talk about that?

AH: Yes, I often change my illustration style to fit what I feel would be the best look for a particular book. For AFIKOTECTIVE I chose a very colorful style that I used in the past for my board book, DREIDLE DAY (Kar Ben Publishing) and MASHA MUNCHING (Yeehoo Press.)

I was always in love with anything pop-up, like pop-up books and cards. But producing a pop-up book is very expensive so I decided to produce books where elements look like they pop up off the page. I started by cutting elements out of paper and positioning them on boards. In the beginning, I created white pop-ups. Later, I added color to my figures and the background. I started using lighting to see how the shadow would play a role in the final photograph. Then, I incorporated other elements such as string, yarn etc. For the cover of AFIKOTECTIVE, I painted a faux matzah.

EL This is so interesting! Do you have a writing/illustration routine? If so, will you share it? Which do you do first, the writing or the illustration?

AH: For me, the writing and illustrating go hand in hand. When I start an idea for a new book, I use a plastic folder where I can insert pages. I scribble my ideas and loose illustrations on the pages and start thinking about the words and images at the same time. I prefer conceiving my ideas on insert pages rather than working on a story board because I can see the page turns the way they would appear in an actual book. I also prefer the folder to a story board because I can sketch images that are bigger than thumb nails.

EL: What a great idea!  Please talk about your road to publication.

AH: I started my wiring and illustrating career late in life, after working as a visual merchandising and store window designer for many years. When I created window displays for NY city stores such as Tiffany and Fortunoff I noticed that the children walking in the street, would stare through the glass window and be amazed by the visual “stories” I created with props and decorations. That gave me the idea to write and illustrate my own stories.

The idea for AFIKOTECTIVE stemmed from my childhood. When I grew up in Jerusalem, we used to attend the seder at a family’s relative. The hosts used to hide the afikomen (The piece of matzah that is hidden during the Passover seder) in the most obscure places, and it was really challenging to find it. But I was determined because finding the afikomen was rewarded with a small amount of money. At one seder, I stood up and announced: “I’m the afikomen detective!” I guess that this is what gave me the idea for the story.

Originally, I thought of creating a Passover picture book about kids who seek the help of a detective to find the afikomen. But as I developed the story, I decided to eliminate the adult detective and turn the little kid himself into a detective. Originally, Afikotective was a bunny but then I realized that Passover comes around the same time as Easter.

I revised the story many times to figure out how to create engaging visuals that will stream the story along. I also worked with my editor, the incredible Joni Sussman from Kar Ben / Lerner Publishing who suggested certain revisions.

EL: I know another of your wonderful books will be out soon. I am looking forward to FIRST FRUITS: A SHAVUOT STORY which releases in May. Can you tell us what it’s about? 

AH: Yes. As the Jewish holiday of Shavuot approaches, it’s time to decorate a beautiful basket. Watch how little hands fill the basket with pomegranates, grapes, figs, dates olives, barley, and wheat to share with friends. Also, it was just selected as one of the best seven Jewish Holiday Books for Spring, 2024 by the AJL

EL: Congratulations! Do you have anything else in the pipeline you can talk about?

AH: I am working on a picture book about peace and one about another Jewish theme. I am also experimenting in a different illustration style, using paper tissue collage.

EL: This is all fascinating! Thank you so much for joining us today, Amalia! Make sure to check out Amalia’s website at https://amaliahoffman.com/

And now it’s time for

Amalia is giving away a copy of AFIKOTECTIVE. All you need to do to get into the running is leave a comment on this post. Make sure you let me know if you are a subscriber or if you shared the post to get an extra chance at winning. 

Until next time,

Ellen