About the author:
Cathy Goldberg Fishman was born in Mesa, Arizona, but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She has taught elementary school, sold encyclopedias from door to door, and directed a day care center. When she moved to Augusta Georgia, she opened a children's bookstore in her house called Eeyore's Tale from late 1978 to 1981. At the bookstore, Cathy organized birthday parties, cooking classes for children, and many arts and crafts events. Cathy is married to Steven Fishman and has two grown children. Her son Xan (married to Katie Cassling) lives and works in Washington, DC, and her daughter Brittany lives and works in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Cathy now teaches full time at Georgia Military College in Augusta, GA.
Tell us about the genre of your work.
My first book was a Jewish Holiday picture book called On Passover published by Simon & Schuster. That book was quickly followed by four other holiday books: On Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur, On Hanukkah, On Purim, and On Shabbat. They were all beautifully illustrated by Melanie Hall. I have also written two Rookie Readers: Soup, dedicated to my daughter Brittany because she gave me the idea - and Car Wash Kid, dedicated to my son, Xan and godson, Matthew.
My newest book is When Jackie and Hank Met, a duo biography of Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg, published by Marshall Cavendish and illustrated by Mark Elliot.
Why did you choose this genre?
I started out writing about the Jewish holidays because my two children were little and I was teaching them about the holidays. It seemed to come naturally. I got the idea for When Jackie and Hank Met when my synagogue showed the documentary film The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg by Aviva Kempner.
What are some of your books, stories that have been published?
So far I have 11 children’s picture books published.
When Jackie and Hank Met
On Passover
On Purim
On Shabbat
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
On Sukkot and Simchat Torah
On Hanukkah
Passover (On My Own Holiday Book)
Hanukkah (On My Own Holiday Book)
Soup
Car Wash Kid
What ages do you direct your books?
Most of my books are picture books for ages 8 – 12, but Soup and Car Wash Kids are for a beginning reader.
Can you tell us more about your books and how to find them?
*(newest book)When Jackie and Hank Met
Marshall Cavendish
2012
Jackie and Hank were born eight years and one thousand miles apart. Nobody knew these babies would grow up and play baseball. Nobody knew Jackie and Hank would meet and become heroes. Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg were two very different people. But they both became Major League Baseball players, and they both faced a lot of the same challenges in their lives and careers. For Jackie, it was because of his skin color. For Hank, it was because of his religion. On May 17, 1947 these two men met for the first time colliding at first base in a close play. While the crowd urged them to fight, Jackie and Hank chose a different path. This is the story of two men who went on to break the barriers of race and religion in American sports and became baseball legends in the process. Beautiful text by Cathy Goldberg Fishman is paired with sumptuous paintings by Mark Elliott. Generous back matter material includes a photo and prose biography of each man, timelines, quotes, resources to learn more, and a selected bibliography.
ISBN-13: 978-0761461401
Kirkus Review:
Two baseball heroes who battled hatred and prejudice met for the first time in an on-field collision. Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg were both determined to play baseball, and they both served in the armed forces in World War II. But dealing with racial and religious bigotry was the true common thread that wove through their lives. They faced restrictions on their freedom to live in certain neighborhoods, stay in hotels or join clubs. They heard threatening epithets and had objects thrown at them. When they collided at first base, the crowd shouted for them to fight, but they just got on with the game, and Greenberg had some words of sympathetic encouragement for Robinson. In their retirement years, they remained friendly, and both worked for equal rights in and out of baseball. Employing a matter-of-fact, conversational tone, Fishman tells the stories of their lives in tandem, stating the physical distances that separated them while emphasizing the similarities of their parallel struggles. History is contextualized in language and syntax that is accessible and straightforward. Elliott’s acrylics, softly tinted and framed in white, variously depict the two lives separately or in a split-screen format that complements not only the action, but the spirit of the work.
A gentle and loving reminder that baseball mirrors society and can also transcend it. (biographical information, websites, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)
· On Sukkot and Simchat Torah ISBN-13: 978-1580131650
Kar-Ben
Introduces the harvest holiday of Sukkot and Simchat Torah and how they are celebrated.
Passover
On My Own Holiday
Millbrook Press/Minneapolis
2006
978-1-57505-656-2
Introduces the holiday of Passover relating the story behind the holiday and how it is celebrated.
Hanukkah
On My Own Holiday
Carolrhoda Books/Minneapolis
2004
1-57505-195-8
Card catalog description
Introduces the Jewish Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, relating the story behind the holiday and how it is celebrated.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-3-The first two-thirds of this book presents a simple history of the holiday, giving beginning readers a feeling for the events that took place. The last third of the text explores some of the ways Hanukkah is celebrated today and includes instructions on how to play dreidel. Sketchy watercolor illustrations show a multigenerational family enjoying various activities. Filling a need for material written at an easy reading level, Hanukkah does an adequate job of introducing children to the history and traditions surrounding the holiday.-M. A.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Cathy Goldberg Fishman
Car Wash Kid
2003
0-516-22858-7
Rookie Reader
A boy and his father have fun washing the car together.
Soup
Children's Press
2002
0-516-22536-7
Each member of a family has a special job when they work together to make soup for dinner.
On Shabbat
Atheneum Books
2001
From School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Fishman follows an observant family through their preparation for the holiday as they put away schoolbooks and briefcases and make ready to welcome the Shabbat Queen. The origins of a variety of rituals are explained through questions the children ask during the course of the celebration. The narrative reads more like nonfiction than a story, but the writing is clear and straightforward. The illustrations are the highlight of this book. The blues and purples of evening juxtaposed with the white and gold of candlelight truly invoke the joy of Shabbat. The expressionistic works are reminiscent of Marc Chagall's work, with central human figures against a tapestry of shapes and Hebrew letters. A good choice for holiday collections.
On Purim
Atheneum Books
2000
0-689-82392-4
From Kirkus Reviews
This is a sprightly overview from Fishman (On Passover, 1997), who uses a young girl's preparations as the vehicle for a recounting of the Purim story. The full cast of characters is presentQueen Esther and King Ahasuerus, Mordecai and Hamanfor a lesson in how Mordecai and Esther's acts of courage turned the wastrel Ahasuerus into a decent king and saved the Jews from Haman's wrath. Fishman smoothly includes a handful of Hebrew words in the texthamantashen, shalach manot, and tzedakahand makes Haman emerge in all his evilness, with prompts for stomping, hooting, and yelling at the mention of his name. In the end, Fishman explains how God's presence can be detected in the mettle of Mordecai and Esther, in their willingness to do the right thing at a potentially dire cost. Their example also universalizes the tale, providing transcendent acts of personal courage. Hall's pastel-pretty illustrations beguilingly serve to transmit the story and give it a suitably cozy atmosphere. (Picture book. 5-9)
On Hanukkah
Atheneum Books
1998
0-689-80643-4
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?A cheerful original tale. The story opens with a family (previously introduced in Fishman's earlier titles) preparing to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Each night, a young girl kindles the candles and says Hanukkah blessings. Her family members gather and each one contributes to the celebration by sharing history, food, gifts, games, and/or music. The author cleverly weaves in bits of information about the traditional observance without ever disrupting the narrative flow. Hall's light yet dynamic illustrations, done in collagraph and mixed media, portray almost constant motion, a frenzy of happiness, with swirling edges and, on several pages, blazes of gold color. A fine companion to Fishman's other holiday titles.?MMH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.-
On Passover
Atheneum Books
1997
From Kirkus Reviews
In an impressive debut, Fishman captures the emotion of the Passover celebration through the observations of a young narrator who recounts her family's annual preparations for the holiday. Childlike, fluid prose evokes sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and rituals, as the girl helps her mother take out the special dishes, pots, and pans, and the objects used before the holiday to remove all traces of leavened bread from the house: ``That night we light the candle and carry it around the darkened house. The flame sends shadow people dancing on the walls as the feather sweeps forgotten bits of leavened bread into the spoon.'' Scratchy mixed-media illustrations are a worthy counterpart to the text, combining images of the preparations and the symbols of the holiday in a swirl of textures and line. In soft pinks, greens, and gold, figures glide in and out of borders, furniture tilts and floats, vegetables dance over the cooking pot, and visions of other times and events long past fill the pages. A welcome addition to the holiday shelf. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-10) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Atheneum Books
1997
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3. This companion volume to the author and illustrator's On Passover (Atheneum, 1997) offers a basic, but solid introduction to the customs and symbols of the Jewish New Year and Day of Repentance that can be understood by both Jewish and non-Jewish children. The young narrator describes her family's preparation for each holiday, succinctly explaining the meaning and use of each symbol in both home and synagogue. Italicized Hebrew words are identified in a one-page glossary. Hall's skillfully blended, autumn-toned, mixed-media illustrations show the young girl interacting with her family as they celebrate the two special days. Layers of paint and oil pastel or crayon add texture and depth, sometimes producing a scratchboard effect. Lace and woven materials are either printed or used as an underlay to the paint. The illustrations are tied together through the inclusion of small cards bearing traditional New Year's greetings. A clear, interesting, attractively illustrated introduction to these holidays.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Do your books have a teaching objective? If so, what is it?
My Jewish books do teach about the holidays, but Jackie and Hank did not start out with a “teaching objective”. I wrote that book because I saw a really great story. However, like all good books it shows something about the way we lived, explains a segment of history, and teaches about strength of character.
How do you come up with the names of places and characters in your books?
Some of my books are in first person and are loosely based on me and my family.
Is your book illustrated? If so, would you tell us by whom, and if you worked with an illustrator, can you discuss that experience?
My books are illustrated. Melanie Hall worked on most of my books. We never met although we did speak on the phone once or twice. Her pictures remind me of a Chagall window and I would love to work with her again.
I have never met or spoken with Mark Elliot the illustrator for When Jackie and Hank Met, but I am also happy with his illustrations.
How is writing in the genre you write, different than other genre?
Although picture books seem like they are easy to write, they are not. I think it is harder to write a good picture book than a longer work.
Are there any problems in getting children’s’ books published?
It took me seven years to get my first book published, but I stuck with it. I was very lucky to have the support of a good writer’s group who cheered me on and wouldn’t let me give up.
Why and when did you begin writing?
I began writing because I loved reading so much. The more I read, the more I felt that I, too, could write something worthy of being published.
What is your writing schedule?
When I was getting my Masters in Writing at Vermont College, I had a great writing schedule. I wrote every day for several hours. But since I have graduated, and started teaching at Georgia Military College, I do not have a schedule – although I do try to write for at least five minutes every day. And sometimes that means just thinking about writing.
What kind of advice or tips to you have for someone who wants to write and get published?
Read as many “how to” books on writing as you can and attend some writer’s conferences. The more you read, the better your skills will be. Also you will make some good connections at the conferences.
What do you do when you are not writing?
I teach full time at Georgia Military College. I also teach Hebrew at my synagogue.
Tell us where we can find out more about you and your books.
Cathy Goldberg Fishman
**Note from Sylvia: You can visit my other blog at: http://love-faith-and-guts.blogspot.com/that features a preview to my new book, Traveling a Rocky Road with Love, Faith and Guts. Translates into 50 different languages.
