Novelist Ellen Kushner's Golden Dreydl

In addition to writing exciting, thought-provoking fantasy like the World Fantasy Award nominated The Privilege of Sword, NPR personality Ellen Kushner has now become a children's author, with The Golden Dreydl, a beautiful little gem of a book. I interviewed Kushner via email in early December, she sitting in her study, "perched on the edge of my brown leather club chair, looking out the window at Riverside Park" in New York City.

 

Amazon.com: What was the spark for the Golden Dreydl, and had you done a children’s book before?

Ellen Kushner: I was living in Boston, working on my national public radio program, "Sound & Spirit," when a new album appeared on my desk. A local band called Shirim had taken Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" and (re-)arranged it as klezmer music. (Klezmer is the traditional party music of Eastern European Jews). As band leader Glenn Dickson explains: "Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite shares Russian roots with klezmer music...When we started to experiment, the results surprised us: this was not just a novelty, but a piece of music which made sense and had its own integrity and charm." You can hear samples of that album here. I loved it, and wanted to write a story to go with the music: a modern, Jewish version of the "Nutcracker." The band and I turned the story into a stage show, and then a radio special, and then an album. I was secretly hoping to turn it into a book someday, and so I was delighted when an editor from Charlesbridge came to me and suggested we do an illustrated version of The Golden Dreydl together. I'd always wanted to write a children's book, and this was the perfect way to start for me.

Amazon.com: What do you feel is unique or different about the book?

Ellen Kushner: Well, even though it's my first work for kids, it's a classic Ellen Kushner book in that it takes a bunch of traditions and turns them on their heads! In this case, it's the "Nutcracker" story: in my book, a little girl named Sara (not Clara) goes to a Chanukah party (not a Christmas party) where a mysterious aunt (not uncle) gives her a magical toy that turns into a princess instead of a prince...and Sara's subsequent fantasy adventures involve a lot of strong women figures. I've also found that, while there are many great picture books about Chanukah and Jewish subjects for little kids, there isn't much out there for young readers who are ready for chapter books. I was seven when I first read C. S. Lewis's Narnia books, and they influenced me deeply. So many contemporary fantasies come from a Christian worldview. My book is overtly Jewish, and that's pretty unusual for a fantasy adventure. I would love it if The Golden Dreydl had the same sort of effect on kids ages seven to twelve, the perfect age to follow book characters into a magic world and stay there as long as the book and your own imagination will let you.

Amazon.com: Your work often seems connected to music. How does music inspire you?
Ellen Kushner: I listen to music all the time, and it often suggests moods and images to me. So I had a great time listening to the Shirim "Klezmer Nutcracker" album and letting the tunes tell me what the plot and characters of my story would be. For instance, I knew my story needed villains, and their incredibly funny, yet weirdly sinister, take on "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy"--complete with menacing tuba!--suggested to me the Demon Army, who are simultaneously goofy and bad. I listened to that music over and over while I was writing the original stage show. When I had to expand it into the chapter book, listening again really helped me get back into the mood of the story.

Amazon.com: Finally, did the publisher match you up with an illustrator or did you suggest Winn-Lederer?

Ellen Kushner: I had never seen Ilene's work until the publisher sent me her completed drawings  for The Golden Dredyl. I was really impressed with the way she worked her deep knowledge of Jewish symbols into her line drawings for the book. When I went to her website, I realized she has a lot of experience with an adult view of the material I was trying to work into my children's story. I was really lucky to get her!