Chatting with Author Charlotte Offsay

In which we talk about picture books, Jewish joy, and all things writing craft

Today, I’m so excited to share my conversation with picture book author Charlotte Offsay! I love Charlotte’s work, and I particularly love her new book Challah Day! which as the title suggests, is about making challah for Shabbat. It’s a sweet, kind, delight of a story, Jewish-themed and inspired by her children (more on that in a bit!), and I had fallen in love with an advance copy when I was still working at the bookstore.  So when, serendipitously, we were connected with each other, of course I asked if she would be the first guest on this new Substack venture! I can report that Charlotte is as much of a delight as her books. So before you run off to order everything she’s written (which of course you need to!), here’s our chat.

Me: You’ve said that Challah Day! is the first picture book manuscript that you ever

wrote! I know this was inspired by making challah with your own children, but I’m

curious as to any other inspirations. Were you specifically looking to write a Jewishly-

connected book? Or did that just come organically from something you love? Or maybe

it was a combination?

Charlotte: To be honest I wasn’t even looking to write a picture book when I wrote Challah Day! I had dreams of one day writing books but had never taken any concrete steps toward

actually doing so. I simply adore the messy delicious sweetness of baking challah with

my children and sat down one evening to celebrate our weekly tradition on paper, just

for our family. In writing that first early version, I fell in love with crafting stories and

decided to take my first writing class. I always say that I tend to write about the things

that take up the most space in my heart. For me that usually centers around my children

– what is consuming them, what is inspiring them, what is bringing them/me/us the

most joy. As a Jewish mother, sometimes that centers around specifically Jewish themes

and sometimes it does not.

Me: I love that phrase, ‘messy delicious sweetness.’ It describes the challah baking so well! Although the end notes explain challah’s connection to Shabbat and other Jewish

holidays and celebrations, I loved the playfulness of using the phrase ‘Challah Day’ both

as the title and in the text, which is evokes such a fun sensory experience for children

both reading and helping make this special bread. Was that always the title? And to

expand a bit here—did your editorial process focus (including with the title) on making

the book universal as well as specifically Jewish?

Charlotte: Challah Day! It’s challah day! was a line in the book from the very beginning. On Fridays I would announce to my children that it was Challah Day! as a way to tell them we would

get to bake challah together, so it organically became the start of the manuscript. When

I wrote my kids that very first early version of the book though I called it Challah – Made

with Love. The title changed over time, and “made with love” became an ending line in

the book.

In terms of my editorial process, the book for me was always about a family baking

together in preparation for their Shabbat family meal. I heavily edited it in terms of the

rhyming couplets over the years, learning all that goes into writing a rhyming book and

making it actually rhyme, but the structure and story itself never worked for me in any

other form. It was always intended to be a celebration of our Jewish joy and a timeless

family tradition.

Me:  Yes! Jewish joy! That’s what I’m aiming for in my Jewish-themed picture books as well. I love that Challah Day! is about those ordinary, every-day moments of happiness that while universal, are also specifically Jewish.

Now a somewhat related question: I’ve been reading various other interviews with

you for you other books, and it’s clear that you are an incredibly thoughtful, joyful, and

meticulous picture book writer, which comes across in all your books and also in one of

your interviews about the process of writing The Quiet Forest. Does that process differ

with each book? How was your Challah Day! process different (especially as your first

book) than your Quiet Forest process?

Charlotte: Oh wow, thank you for your kind words! I often joke that with every manuscript I write I have to relearn how to write a picture book. Of course, that isn’t entirely true, as the

foundations and skills I have learned travel with me from manuscript to manuscript. But

in a large way it is true in that I don’t have a set process and each book requires its own

journey.

When I sat down to write Challah Day! I hadn’t studied picture books yet. Sure, I had

read countless picture books to my children, but I hadn’t learned how to write a book

that leaves room for an illustrator, or that there are guidelines on vocabulary, word

count, character arcs etc. In order to write Challah Day! I took an introduction to rhyme

course through the Lyrical Language Lab and picked up and put down that manuscript

over a number of years.

Writing The Quiet Forest was very different process. I had been writing for a number of

years and already published a couple of picture books when I sat down to write it. I set

out specifically to challenge myself to write a cumulative structure picture book, which

has a number of parameters that my other books didn’t require. In some ways that

made it easier than the open possibilities of my other books, and in some ways made it

more challenging in terms of fitting the very specific set of guidelines that I had set out

for myself. The Quiet Forest ended up being quite the brainteaser at times! I also

worked on it obsessively for a condensed period of time.

The common theme throughout the process of writing all of my books though is staying

true to my “why”. I always write my “why” or what the manuscript means to me, in the

form of a pitch early on in a project. This allows me to refer back to what I want to write

and make sure that it stays true to the heart of the manuscript, which for me is

important when creating my best work.

Me:  The ‘why is so crucial, right? My agent often teaches a workshop at various conferences that she calls “So What?” Because that’s part of the ‘why’, too. Why do the things that happen in the story matter for the characters and the story itself?  That’s what makes a book work for the reader.

And speaking of books that work, I noticed on your picture book Insta that you love the Hanukkah book Hanukkah Hamster, which is one of my absolute favorites! Any other favorite

Jewish holiday books to recommend here? And generally speaking, what are three of

your newer favorite picture books and one ‘classic’ or childhood favorite of your own

that you think everyone should read?

Charlotte: Yes! I love Hanukkah Hamster; it is wonderfully heartfelt, warm, adorably illustrated

book.

Jewish holiday books I love…

- The Passover Mouse by Joy Nelkin Wieder and Shahar Kober – one little mouse

upsets an entire village’s Passover and illustrates community, kindness and the true

meaning of the holiday in the process.

- Awe-Some Days Poems about the Jewish Holidays by Marilyn Singer and Dana

Wulfekotte – Poems for a full year of Jewish Holidays with information about each

holiday detailed along the way.

- Sharkbot Shalom by Jenna Waldman and Sharon Davey – a lovely story of

unplugging on Shabbat as told through a robot shark preparing for their undersea

Shabbat.

Three favorite newer picture books…

- Kaboom by Jessica Kulekjian and Zoe Si – A brilliant read aloud that details a

volcanos eruption told from the point of view of the volcano!

- The Boo-Boos of Bluebell Elementary by Chelsea Lin Wallace and Alison Farrell – it

comes out in November and is a brilliant hilarious ode to school nurses.

- Too Much!: An Overwhelming Day by Jolene Gutiérrez and Angel Chang – kids have

so much on their plates these days and this fantastic new book shows how to turn a

too much day into a just right one.

One classic childhood favorite…

- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray

Cruz – a hilariously relatable depiction of getting up on the wrong side of the bed.

My husband and I still joke about moving to Australia, like Alexander wants to in the

book, when one of us is having a bad day.

Me: Thanks for these recommendations. I’m also a fan of the Kaboom! as well as one you don’t mention here but is on your Instagram, called Squash the Cat, which is just so funny and kind! And yes, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day is a long-time favorite in our house! We too often comfort each other by saying “Some days are like that, even in Australia.”

Thanks for such a great conversation, Charlotte Offsay!

For more on Charlotte and her books, you can head to her website 

And to see more of her picture book recommendations, check out her Instagram