Interview conducted by Mae Renner, Borders.com Children's Editor

I recently chatted with author and illustrator, Jane Breskin Zalben, about her new book, To Every Season: A Holiday Family Cookbook, her childhood, and her two sons. The following is a summary of our conversation.

Jane Breskin Zalben now makes her home on Long Island, but her earliest memories are of getting up early on Saturdays and spending the morning taking classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Each class was dedicated to working with a big brush and poster paint in hopes of creating a masterpiece. During lunch -- a hamburger, a kosher dill pickle, a glass of water, and a French cruller -- there was always time to sit around the indoor reflecting pool of the museum's cafeteria or to throw a penny into the fountain and make a wish. Since she was young, her mother (a retired children's librarian) and father have happily supported Zalben's artistic endeavors. In fact, her father used to call the paintings she brought home "love pictures."

Her father might not have been far off in his characterization, as Zalben now captivates many readers, young and old alike, with her illustrations' warm colors, soft edges and friendly characters. She has gone on to write, illustrate, and design over 40 books, including the Beni series about a family of bears and the Pearl series about a family of sheep. Out of all of her children's book characters, Zalben notes that she most identifies with Pearl and cousin Sophie, painting Pearl with Zalben's own familiar leggings and ballerina slippers.

We discussed how she has always has taken great care to include a wide range of research in her books, as for example, in the case of Pearl's Marigolds for Grandpa, where she details the funeral traditions of different cultures. To Every Season similarly required much new research and, like a cook who throws in "a little bit of this and a little bit of that," Zalben experimented with various recipes and traditions. Upon a quick glimpse of the book, you'll notice that there are recipes for all American holidays - be it Rosh Hashanah or Ramadan. With further inspection, however, you'll notice the depth of her research, and some of the holidays' history may even surprise you. For instance, did you know that Halloween can be traced back to the Celts or that a carpenter named Peter J. McGuire suggested the idea of Labor Day?

Unsurprisingly, Zalben has lovingly drawn each of the illustrations found in To Every Season. Some may recognize the sheep or the bears, but a few characters, like the adorable, Fourth of July guinea pigs, are entirely new (often created as a result of discussions with children in schools). I suggested to Zalben that maybe someday, she could include ferrets in her books, and she responded by spinning out a scenario of Italian ferrets adorned with tall chefs' hats, cooking with long noodles. As she talked, I could almost see them before me.

Zalben's love of food and art, plus her talent for spinning out animal stories, all come together in her favorite room in the house: the kitchen. She spends most of her time there as it allows her to dabble in cooking, writing, or illustrating as the need arises. Most days, her house-trained, lop-eared rabbit, Zoe, keeps her company as Zalben's two sons are now grown. Freedom is definitely hers in the newly-quiet house, providing her with the chance to work on a chapter book, a novel, or one or two more cookbooks.

What impresses me most about Zalben is her desire to be involved with all aspects of bookmaking. From design to writing to illustration to research and bookbinding, this woman does it all. She even has her own website (www.janebreskinzalben.com) which her son, Alexander, created for her, while her other son, Jonathan, added Klezmer music to the Beni page and Ragtime to the Pearl page. Even though the Internet has enabled her to send off manuscripts quickly and to interact with her audience in a more timely fashion, she hopes it will never replace parents and teachers opening up a book and reading to children. Perhaps the Internet will provide exposure, she mused, and taking a virtual tour of a museum online will prompt people to actually visit the museum as she once did as a child. On a recent visit back to the Metropolitan Museum, Zalben told me she stopped by her once-favorite Egyptian room, where she realized, "Maybe the pyramids weren't quite as large as I remembered."

When I asked which of her own books is her favorite, she was not able to single out one, explaining, "It would be like saying which child I loved more." Instead, she is thankful for the many memories each book has given her. Jabberwocky, for example, reminds her of being pregnant with her first son and drawing pictures of Humpty Dumpty (as that is what she admits to have felt like). The Beni books remind her of her young sons and the times they've shared.

She describes feeling thankful for the chance to get to put on paper all of the ideas she has swimming in her head. In an upcoming collaboration with her husband, she will head in a different direction, going back to her college days and mixing media, including photography and collage, and possibly experimenting with typeface and fonts. I, personally, am looking forward to the result of "a little bit of this and a little bit of that," for some of the best food I've eaten has been prepared that way. It certainly seems to be a recipe for success for this incredible one-woman show.

Celebrate the season with family and friends by enjoying the following recipe from Zalben's To Every Season:

5-6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup water
3 cups unbleached flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
Extra flour
Raisins, Red Hots for decoration

1. In a bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg, and molasses with an electric mixer. Gradually add water until smooth.

2. In a separate large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and spices. Gradually add to the butter mixture.

3. Dust fingers with flour and divide cookie dough into two balls. Roll out dough with rolling pin on floured surface to about 3/16-inch thickness. Press cookie cutters into sheet of dough. Save excess dough and reuse to form another ball. Repeat this process until all dough is used.

4. Preheat oven to 350° while decorating cookies.

5. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, or use greased or nonstick pans. Decorate cookies with raisins, Red Hots, or leave plain. Bake 8 minutes (and no more!) until doubled in thickness. Cool on rack.

6. Icing: Make a paste of 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon water, lemon juice to taste, and a pinch of cinnamon. Decorate cookies with a small paintbrush after cookies have cooled.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen (depending on size and shape of form).

Editor's Note: This recipe (as are all recipes in To Every Season) is halal and kosher.

 
Photographs courtesy of Jane Breskn Zalben

Interview with Jane Breskin Zalben copyright © 1999 by Borders Online, Inc. All rights reserved.

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