Jewish children’s book author Bracha Goetz is a Harvard graduate who originally planned on becoming a doctor. However, she only completed one year of medical school, and that profession’s loss is the Jewish literary world’s gain. Bracha has written 12 children’s books, with her latest offering called “Remarkable Park.” In this interview, Bracha talks about her inspiration, and her love of writing for children.
Scribblers on the Roof: Where did the inspiration for your book Remarkable Park come from and what do you hope children learn from reading it?
Bracha Goetz: I love nature so much. And I loved having time to freely explore nature as a child. This book shares my sense of wonder about nature and life in general. It clearly shows how the whole world is a truly remarkable park – with lots to tell us!
SOTR: You’ve written a dozen children’s books. What are some of your other books about?
BG: I enjoy expressing deep concepts in a simple way. I think that’s my essence and the essence of my children’s books. The Happiness Box demonstrates how to develop happiness skills – by going inside of a cardboard happiness box to practice thinking happy thoughts – until one gets accustomed to using one’s happiness box in the brain like that.
In The Invisible Book, a little boy ponders the existence of many invisible things in the world – like feelings, the wind, and gravity. Then when he discovers all the invisible things that he already believes in, it’s suddenly not such a stretch to believe in an invisible God.
SOTR: Do you find that you address the same themes/issues in all your books?
BG: The one theme that all my books have in common is that this world is a wondrous place.
SOTR: You’ve been writing for many years. Do you find you have to write differently for 21st century children as opposed to 20th century children?
BG: I wrote a bunch of books when my children were little. I got ideas from reading to them. Many years later, when I started reading to my grandchildren, I started writing children’s books again. Reading to the children inspires my imagination.
I don’t think I’m writing differently than before because I feel that my children’s books have a timeless quality. They are about very deep concepts explained in a simple way, and these concepts are forever.
SOTR: What is your Jewish background and how does it influence your writing?
BG: I grew up in a Conservative Jewish home, went to a Reconstructionist camp, and wanted to be a Reform rabbi when I was growing up. I graduated from Harvard University and studied in medical school for one year before I went to Israel for the summer. I studied and tried on several different religions, before the summer when I went to Israel and began studying Judaism in depth. I became Orthodox during that summer, and my writing for both adults and children ever since comes out of all my own inner struggles to understand God, life, my soul, and our guidelines for living, more and more deeply.
SOTR: How would you describe your writing process?
BG: Often I’m blessed with ideas while I’m doing housework. I try to jot them down as soon as I can, and then I play with them when I have some time available.
SOTR: What is your favourite Jewish holiday and why?
BG: Maybe Sukkot because I met my husband in a sukkah, and our amazing journey together has been so much about building trust, just like it was for the Jewish people wandering in the desert. A sukkah is also a recovery house. It’s a place to go out of our comfort zone and grow in our connection to others and to God. We stretch ourselves to rebuild after at-one-ment. And, to return full circle to your first question, I love being out in nature and feeling God’s presence in our Remarkable Park!
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