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| Photo by Deborah Feingold |
Ellen Weinstein is the author and illustrator of the new children's picture book Five Stories. Her other books include Recipes for Good Luck. She lives in New York City.
Q: What inspired you to create Five Stories, and how did you create the five families who live in the building?
A: A while ago, I taught an illustration workshop in Russia. On the flight home, I thought about my grandparents and great-grandparents crossing the Atlantic by boat to Ellis Island. Upon returning home, I began investigating my family history and what it was like for my grandmother to start a new life in a new place at a young age.
I have lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for almost my whole life, a neighborhood with a rich history of immigration and migration. I was curious to learn more about my neighbors and their stories, so I began interviewing friends and neighbors about their stories and the stories of their extended families.
From the start, I had the idea of using a tenement building with five families as a narrative structure. It was hard to select only five families for the book when there were many other stories to share. The first family is based on my real grandmother, Jenny Epstein. The other four families are composited of many different people I learned about.
Q: One of the themes that runs through the book is communication (through different methods) between the grandchild in the building and grandparents living far away. Why did you include that idea?
A: Most people I interviewed had relatives who lived in the places of origin. I asked how they maintained those connections, and the evolution of communication methods illustrated the passage of time—from handwritten letters that took weeks to arrive, to phone calls, and now FaceTime.
Despite these changes, the bond between families and the feeling of longing for one another remains constant.
Q: Did you work on the text first, or the illustrations first--or both simultaneously?
A: I started with the text and once I had a draft, I went back and forth revising with sketching and revising the manuscript and research to shape the story. I kept editing out anything that could be shown in the illustrations rather than a description in the text.
Q: The School Library Journal review of the book says, “This is a wonderful look at how immigrants have changed a community for the better.” What do you think of that description, and what do you hope kids (and adults) take away from the book, especially given the current focus on immigration?
A: I appreciate that description and the starred review! The Lower East Side is shaped by the layering of tastes, stories, sounds, and histories of the people who have made it their home.
Community is not something that occurs independently; it must be cultivated and nurtured. When we remove people and elements from it, the community loses its essence. Rather than tearing families and neighborhoods apart, let's celebrate what we can create together.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am working on another picture book that spans time.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: As a longtime resident, I thought I knew my neighborhood and neighbors. Researching this book, I began to look at places with a deeper appreciation of their history and the stories they contain. I discovered new things about friends and neighbors I have known for years.
Everyone and every place has a story to share if we take the time to listen.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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