Library talk spotlights author and illustrator of ‘The Passover Guest’

MILLERTON — Children and community members looking for a heartfelt story of kindness this winter season were invited to tune in for the NorthEast-Millerton Library’s Virtual Children’s Author Visit featuring author Susan Kusel, illustrator Sean Rubin and their new children’s book, “The Passover Guest.”

Sponsored by Oblong Books & Music, the virtual visit was held via Zoom at 4 p.m. and welcomed readers of all ages.

Speaking from her experience as a librarian, a bookseller and now an author, Kusel shared her love of Oblong Books & Music and her appreciation for the library for organizing her and Rubin’s first library event. 

In sharing  how she came to write “The Passover Guest,” Kusel traced its origins to another book she loved from childhood that her mother read to her, “The Magician,” by Uri Shulevitz. After rediscovering “The Magician” and her love for the story as an adult, she said she wanted to change it and decided to rewrite it.

Speaking as illustrator for “The Passover Guest,” Rubin said he became an illustrator because he always liked drawing pictures for books. As a child, he said he liked to draw characters from books he read — such as the “Redwall” series and “The Lord of the Rings” series — and that he was very lucky “because I got to keep doing it.”

Set in the spring of 1933 in Washington, D.C., “The Passover Guest” tells the tale of a young girl who believes her family, who has been struggling during The Great Depression, is too poor to hold a Passover Seder. Picking up a copy of the book, Rubin read aloud the story of how a simple act of kindness in an encounter between the girl and a mysterious magician leads to a holiday miracle.

As Kusel and Rubin opened the virtual visit up to questions from their audience, Kusel explained what a Passover Seder is about and the various traditions involved that were featured in her story, including the ceremonial cup of wine that’s left out for the prophet Elijah. Kusel dove headfirst into talking about the process of bringing “The Passover Guest” to life, which started 10 years ago and involved finding the right editor.

One part of the process that Kusel said was unusual was that the author and illustrator don’t usually talk to each other at all as their work typically goes to their editor. If they should meet in-person, she said, it might be while on a book tour for the finished book.

“That wasn’t the case here,” Kusel said. “We met at the very beginning before Sean started making the art, so that was really a little different.”

Rubin spoke of how Kusel’s work as a librarian, and on different features of Washington, D.C., such as the awnings of houses and the White House police, featured in the book. Rubin sent Kusel a text message to ask if she knew what the White House police were wearing in 1933, and Kusel was able to find a picture in three minutes.

“That stuff was really fun and we also walked around Washington together,” Kusel said, highlighting the landmarks they visited and their discussions on formatting the book.

Kusel added that she also walked around Washington, D.C., with their editor six months before she went walking with Rubin, and it was during their visit that she convinced their editor that the story should be set there. As she went over the places they visited with Rubin, Kusel invited their audience to take a trip to the Capitol, to explore the sites that Rubin had captured in his artwork. Both author and illustrator encouraged those watching the talk to pursue their crafts, whether that be writing or drawing or something else creative.

Reflecting on her experience in writing her first children’s book, Kusel said, “I’m really glad to have written one about Passover and there are not a lot about books about other Jewish holidays, so I would love to write more.”

Community members and library patrons tuned in for the Virtual Children’s Author Visit on Friday, Feb. 5, featuring Susan Kusel and Sean Rubin, the author and illustrator of “The Passover Guest.” Photo courtesy of Holiday House  Publishing, Inc.