Meet Ann Koffsky, author of Noah’s Swim-A-Thon! Our thanks to Ann who sat down to answer some of our questions.
ChallahCrumbs: Tell us a bit about your book.
Ann Koffsky: “Noah’s Swim-A-Thon” (URJ Books & Music) is about a boy who learns to swim just in time for the Camp Swim-a-thon.
I work as a lifeguard in my kids’ day camp every summer, and a lot of the kids I teach are hesitant to swim…but then they find their courage and JUST DO IT! It’s a wonderful transformation to watch. Those kids were my inspiration for the book.
CC: How did you get started as a writer?
I really started as an illustrator. But then I wanted to be a part of the entire story making process, so I began to write.
AK: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
Well, I’m a Mom of young kids so my writing schedule is really their schedule, with writing fit in around it. It’s kind of like this: carpool, write, grocery shop, write, pick up extra binders at Staples because kids original one fell apart, write, carpool, dinner, homework, bedtime, write. I’m sure this sounds very familiar to many of your readers!
CC: What are some of your favorite children’s books?
AK: “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is my all time favorite because the pictures are so beautifully integrated as part of the story.
CC: What book would you want on a deserted island?
AK: Harry Potter, book 7 where JK wraps everything up beautifully with a big bow on top. I know it’s almost cliché to say so, but I just loved that whole series.
CC: What are you reading now?
AK: Last night I read “The Princesss and the Ziz” by Jaqueline Jules to my daughter. It’s a legend about King Shlomo’s daughter, and anything with a princess makes my daughter happy! For myself, “To Heal a Fractured World” by Rabbi Sacks, the chief Rabbi of England. It’s going to take me a while to process the whole thing, but every time I read it I am spiritually and intellectually inspired.
CC: Tell us what you are working on now.
AK: I am working on three different stories at the same time: a board book, a picture book, and a chapter book so I am really experimenting with reaching a bunch of different age groups.
Thanks so much, Challah Crumbs!
Leave A Comment