Ask the Author: Bridget Hodder
Answered Questions (9)
Bridget Hodder
Juwairiya, thank you for asking! Fawzia and I are so glad you read The Button Box! Our latest co-authored book, THE PROMISE, which came out just a few months ago, also features Muslim and Sephardic Jewish main characters in Morocco. It is a picture book, but I hope you read it, because we wrote it for all ages and it's inspired by a true story. It just might bring tears to your eyes. We are working on a sequel to The Button Box that takes place in colonial America!
Fawzia lives and teaches in the UAE and I live in the USA. Since Fawzia is not on Goodreads, I'll answer your larger question from my perspective, but I promise that Fawzia is in harmony with what I say here. We speak often.
My personal history as a Sephardic Jew is intertwined with Muslim history for almost a thousand years, just like the characters in the book. My family was already settled in Toledo, Spain, in the days of El Cid in the first millennium CE. Under the rule of the caliphate established by Abd al-Rahman, we flourished until 1492, when we had to flee to the Ottoman Empire (the part that's now called "Greece"). We lived there with Muslims in a diverse setting until my grandmother and her family had to flee the Nazis during WWII. Part of this book is my "thank you" to Abd al-Rahman the First of long ago and his successors, for providing a place where my family could live and prosper for so very long, when Jews in other areas of the world were constantly suffering and being killed.
This is all to say that for the vast majority of history, Muslims and Jews have been allies and have done beautiful, useful, and significant things together. When we look at real life scenarios today, Fawzia and I hope that remembering almost a thousand years of unity and the fact that we are all People of the Book, we can take strength in the knowledge that history proves there is good reason not to give in to despair and to take hope. Even a little bit of hope can heal.
With love, shalom and salaam to your heart.
--Bridget
Fawzia lives and teaches in the UAE and I live in the USA. Since Fawzia is not on Goodreads, I'll answer your larger question from my perspective, but I promise that Fawzia is in harmony with what I say here. We speak often.
My personal history as a Sephardic Jew is intertwined with Muslim history for almost a thousand years, just like the characters in the book. My family was already settled in Toledo, Spain, in the days of El Cid in the first millennium CE. Under the rule of the caliphate established by Abd al-Rahman, we flourished until 1492, when we had to flee to the Ottoman Empire (the part that's now called "Greece"). We lived there with Muslims in a diverse setting until my grandmother and her family had to flee the Nazis during WWII. Part of this book is my "thank you" to Abd al-Rahman the First of long ago and his successors, for providing a place where my family could live and prosper for so very long, when Jews in other areas of the world were constantly suffering and being killed.
This is all to say that for the vast majority of history, Muslims and Jews have been allies and have done beautiful, useful, and significant things together. When we look at real life scenarios today, Fawzia and I hope that remembering almost a thousand years of unity and the fact that we are all People of the Book, we can take strength in the knowledge that history proves there is good reason not to give in to despair and to take hope. Even a little bit of hope can heal.
With love, shalom and salaam to your heart.
--Bridget
Bridget Hodder
Hello Juwairiya, thanks for asking! Yes, this September 2023, Fawzia and I have our first co-authored picture book coming out: THE PROMISE.
It's not just for kids, but for all ages. Based on a true story, THE PROMISE centers on two best friends, one Muslim and one Jewish, who live in a tiny village in Morocco. Together, they cultivate a glorious garden. But one day, war in Europe means the Jewish boy's family must flee. The Muslim boy promises to take care of their garden while his friend is gone. Will the friends ever be reunited?
It's not just for kids, but for all ages. Based on a true story, THE PROMISE centers on two best friends, one Muslim and one Jewish, who live in a tiny village in Morocco. Together, they cultivate a glorious garden. But one day, war in Europe means the Jewish boy's family must flee. The Muslim boy promises to take care of their garden while his friend is gone. Will the friends ever be reunited?
Bridget Hodder
It's hard being part of a group that most people don't understand. I am Sephardic, belonging to a Jewish group that is extremely rare all over the world. Most people have not even heard of us. Our culture and traditional language incorporates a great deal of Spanish and Arabic influence, and reflects many centuries of dwelling in Muslim countries. Thus, even other Jews often do not know who we are--resulting in an honest miscalculation that somehow Sephardim are "not really Jewish"-- because we don't know the culturally dominant Yiddish or Ashkenazic culture. In my heart, I have wanted so long for the Sephardim to be seen and understood, and this is why I joined with my co-author, Fawzia Gilani Williams, to write THE BUTTON BOX. Fawzia feels the same as I do, but from a Muslim perspective. Her family was forced to flee their home during Partition in India, she grew up in England, and she is an educator in the UAE. We know our faiths and cultures have often been historical allies. By telling the dual stories within THE BUTTON BOX, we hope to open hearts to the facts of history that many have forgotten.
Bridget Hodder
THE RAT PRINCE is not actually illustrated inside (it is not a book for younger children; the readership is Middle Grade on up); but it has an awesome cover! My publishing house, Macmillan/ Farrar, Straus and Giroux, has professional staff dedicated to choosing the art for their books and designing the covers. They work closely with the book's editor to find the right potential artists. The input of the book's author on the final choice varies.
I was thrilled when I saw my talented cover artist Charles Santoso's sketches for THE RAT PRINCE. They reminded me of Garth Williams' work for classics like CHARLOTTE'S WEB!
I was thrilled when I saw my talented cover artist Charles Santoso's sketches for THE RAT PRINCE. They reminded me of Garth Williams' work for classics like CHARLOTTE'S WEB!
Bridget Hodder
Hi Maryk, thanks for entering the giveaway, and I hope you got a copy! If you're a children's book illustrator who wants to be published, you couldn't start at a better place than your local SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). You'll find community, instruction and inspiration there. And here's a link to an interview where I discuss the path to publication with a traditional publishing house: http://bit.ly/1Nxf2UB
Good luck!
Good luck!
Bridget Hodder
Thanks for asking!
I've always loved fairy tales, but many of them seem to have holes in the plot big enough to drive several golden carriages through...or they have endings that were considered super happy back in the Middle Ages, but which seem questionable to us now (like marrying someone who only values you for your outward beauty).
As a child, I re-imagined these stories again and again, and now I write those notions into re-worked fairy tales for all ages. This lets readers go deeper with the characters and their challenges, have more fun with the action and relationships, and experience satisfying happy endings without the aftertaste of weird you so often get with the originals!
I've always loved fairy tales, but many of them seem to have holes in the plot big enough to drive several golden carriages through...or they have endings that were considered super happy back in the Middle Ages, but which seem questionable to us now (like marrying someone who only values you for your outward beauty).
As a child, I re-imagined these stories again and again, and now I write those notions into re-worked fairy tales for all ages. This lets readers go deeper with the characters and their challenges, have more fun with the action and relationships, and experience satisfying happy endings without the aftertaste of weird you so often get with the originals!
Bridget Hodder
THE RAT PRINCE is available now! It released from Macmillan Publishers on August 23rd, 2016!
Bridget Hodder
I believe that as long as you're writing, you're not "aspiring" to be a writer, you ARE one!
But that's not really addressing the spirit of the question.
If anyone truly wants my advice, it would have to be this: You matter. Your work matters. What you have to tell is worth the telling, so don't give up!
But that's not really addressing the spirit of the question.
If anyone truly wants my advice, it would have to be this: You matter. Your work matters. What you have to tell is worth the telling, so don't give up!
Bridget Hodder
I think the best thing about being a writer is having readers!
Every time you read something I write, you're trusting me enough to welcome me into your head for a little while, where my ideas and yours will connect and become something unique together--which I hope will ultimately find its way into your heart.
Every time you read something I write, you're trusting me enough to welcome me into your head for a little while, where my ideas and yours will connect and become something unique together--which I hope will ultimately find its way into your heart.
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