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Update - Winner Announced! Celebrate Passover with Ana María Shua!
- Heather Macht
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
Updated: May 1
5/1 - Congrats to Liz Lazar. You are the winner of NorthSouth's giveaway. We'll be in touch soon with more details.
A special thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate Passover!
Hi readers, writers, and pet lovers of all kinds! 🐾 Today marks the start of Passover - a holiday celebrating freedom and faith. What better way to celebrate than with prolific author Ana María Shua and her newest book, The Passover Pet Surprise!
It’s Passover, and Jordanita’s family leaves their Miami apartment to visit their cousin in Argentina, whose home is full of animals - including two parrots named Tic and Toc. While hearing the Passover story, Jordanita realizes the parrots are kept in a cage. If the holiday celebrates freedom, she wonders, shouldn’t that include all creatures?
Want to know more about Ana, her sweet new book, and get a chance to win a book from her two-book giveaway? 🎁 Read on…
Q: Hi, Ana! We’re so excited to feature you and your beautiful book, The Passover Pet Surprise, for Passover! What a wonderful way to celebrate.
Can you share a little bit about yourself and your path to becoming a published children’s author?
A: I was a born writer and that means that I’ve been a passionate reader since the very moment I learned how to read. Reading is the first step to become a writer and since I read my first book I knew that was my place in this world. I was ten years old when I turned into the most famous poet…of my whole school. At 15 I won a literary contest and could publish my first book of poetry. Of course, in those days my poems were not intended for children, I modestly thought I was writing for the magnifying of universal literature. I was 29 when I published my first novel, then my first short stories book and my first microfictions book (not in the order I wrote them, but in the order the book market imposed). In those years, the 80’s, children books in Argentina began to be accepted and asked by grade schools and all big and small publishers wanted to be part of the change. My publisher knew I had three kids, she was sure that I was inventing stories for them and she was right. So she asked me to write one of those stories, they published it, it was a success and that is how I became a children book writer. Besides being an adult books writer, which I still am. Until those days, I worked as a copywriter in advertising agencies. Children’s literature allowed me to say goodbye to advertising and stick only to writing books. And this is how I wrote more than a hundred and fifty children’s books that are read around the whole Spanish-speaking world. Some of them have been translated and published in Korea, France, Albania, Portugal, Brazil and Denmark. This is my first book published in English but many of my short stories have been published in school books in the United States.
Q: In The Passover Pet Surprise, Jordanita’s family is flying to Argentina to spend the holiday with their cousin. Visiting their cousin is the best, since he not only has a giant yard—he also has a bunch of pets including two parrots called Tic and Toc! But when Jordanita hears the Passover story this year, she can’t help but notice that Tic and Toc are in a cage. If the point of Passover is to celebrate freedom, shouldn’t that apply to all creatures?
What a unique story line! What inspired you to write this story and make pets the main focus?
A: It is difficult to explain how ideas come to your mind. When I write for children, I write for the child I was. And, as a child it seemed just obvious to me that if freedom is the best thing in the world for human beings, why should it be different for animals… The first idea was how children could understand the idea of freedom and how they immediately thought of the “enslaved” pets. Once this simple and bare idea came to my mind, I began to design the rest of the story, the characters, the children, the family, the pets, the house, all the components than would dress and decorate my story, which are no minor subjects because they give the book its cheerfulness and good vibes.
Q: What does Passover mean to you?
A: Passover is my favorite festivity. It should be a happy and joyful moment for everyone in the world: the celebration of freedom.
Q: What do you hope readers of all ages and backgrounds can take away from your book - even those who might not celebrate the holiday?
You don’t have to be a Jew to enjoy and applaud freedom. It is something you have to fight for and to conquer every day all along your life, because there are so many ways in what we could lose it. We human beings are born free and we have to struggle to keep our freedom throughout our whole life.
Q: The illustrations are so gorgeous! Ángeles Ruiz did a wonderful job adding color and excitement to the book. What is your favorite spread from the story and why?
A: Oh, yes, Ángeles Ruiz is a genius! I hate choosing because it always means to get rid of something and I love and cherish every illustration in this book. But if I am forced to write about only one of them, I must say I adore the spread where children play with the hose, it is full of happiness, the children faces express pure joy, I love the colors, the plants, the different greens of the garden, the way the pets take part in the game. It is so attractive I really wish I could be one of those kids.
Q: Would you like to leave a tip or a treat for our readers?
A Treat! NorthSouth is happy to provide a free copy of the book for a giveaway–we can provide one copy in English, and another copy of the Spanish edition, La gran sorpresa de Pésaj.
Wow! Thanks to NorthSouth for such an amazing giveaway! And thanks again to you, Ana, for stopping by and sharing your book with us. It was a true treat!
Giveaway Details: Readers, to enter to win NorthSouth's book giveaway, 1) share this post on social media and 2) leave a comment below to thank Ana for stopping by. Passover-themed GIFs are welcomed, too!
Giveaway winners will be drawn and announced on or about 04/16!
Books will be shipped in the US only.
About Ana María Shua:
Ana María Shua has published more than 180 books in different genres, from novels, poetry, and essays to children’s books. She lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For more about Ana, check out the below links.
© Silvio Fabrykant
Thanks for sharing about your newest book! Would love to add to the Jewish rep in one of our district’s elementary libraries.
Thank you for stopping by and sharing with us about your book. I shared this post on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/yesreaderwriterpoetmusician/812809244877471744/celebrate-passover-with-ana-mar%C3%ADa-shua
What a lovely way to look at Passover. I celebrate every year but never once thought of the freedom that animals seek! I would love to have these books for my kids and also to read to the Spanish-speaking population that attends my local Storytimes!
Ana, I love the tradition of Passover and your book looks so lovely!
Thank you for this wonderful interview. Your book sounds fantastic and I look forward to reading it.