Elizabeth Suneby Discusses Her Newest Books

Author Interview Reviews
Say Shalom All Day Long Giveaway

Elizabeth Suneby has 2 new books. Say Shalom All Day Long is an adorable board book that was just published by PJ Library on October 1, and on January 1, they will be releasing her new picture book, Challaballoo. I am thrilled to feature an interview with Elizabeth who has taken time to answer a few questions about her writing career the new books.

She is also providing a GIVEAWAY of Say Shalom All Day Long to one lucky reader.

Make sure you enter the Giveaway at the end of the post!

Interview with Author

I just read Elizabeth Suneby’s two new children’s books, and I am happy to share her thoughts about her recent books with my readers. Welcome Elizabeth.

Q. You have a thriving career in marketing. How did you end up venturing into writing children’s books?

A. Like most of my books, my first book was sparked by something in my life.

When my daughter was eight years old, she participated in her first gymnastics competition and froze like a deer in the headlights at the start of her floor routine—she had forgotten her entire routine. Hours later, when the competition was over and we got in the car, she started sobbing. The only words she could get out were, “If I can’t be an Olympic gymnast when I grow up, what can I be?” 

Wow. I was floored.  She had many professional women in her life:  her mom, teacher, doctor, and rabbi. So, I looked for a book about careers written for tweens and came out empty-handed. 

That’s when I decided I needed to write a book that shows girls how they could someday connect what they love to ways to earn a living. American Girl published my book: SEE WHAT YOU CAN BE: Explore Careers That Could Be For You. The book sold about 50,000 copies and received a Children’s Choice award. That experience encouraged me to use my experiences as a springboard to write more books.

P.S.  Fast forward 20 years, and my daughter is now earning her Ph.D. in molecular/cell biology–she has found her calling as a research scientist.

Q. Your latest book, SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG, was released on October 1. What was your inspiration for this book?

A. I was honored that PJ Library invited me to join 19 other kid lit authors on a trip to Israel in May 2023. On the trip, we visited the Hand in Hand school, a bilingual, multicultural  Arab and Jewish school, and I was inspired by the families and faculty who chose peace/shalom as the path forward. Just as I have written books about Mitzvot for children of different ages, I also decided to write books about Shalom for children of various ages.  SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG is my first. It is a board book for wee ones.  Just imagine how wonderful the world would be if shalom were one of the first words children learned. 

Q. I love how you tied the concept into a young child’s schedule, having her say “Shalom” to a time of her day. Turning around and using the English to say hello to one time period, goodbye to the one before and peace to something that relates to it is so clever. Did you come up with a long list with several examples? How long did it take you to choose which ones to use and arrive at a final draft?

A. Thank you.  And yes, I had come up with several others, but a board book can only be so long. I included the highlights of a child’s day: waking up, snack time, play time, bath time, bedtime, and enjoying Shabbat.

Q. Was there a message that you wanted to send to your young readers?

A. Without any preaching, I hope children embrace finding and spreading shalom—peace and wholeness—and learn to be grateful for the simple joys of life. These are important concepts for children of all faiths.

Q. Challahbaloo! will be published on January 1. What inspired Challahbaloo? Was it based on personal experiences? Did your family make challah together and did it cause quite a hullabaloo? How about the Challahbaloo chant? Where did that come from?

A. True confession: The first and only time I made challah was in Israel during the PJ Library trip. However, I have eaten my fair share of challahs.

As for the refrain, “Challah for me; challah for you; challah, challah, challahbaloo,” I looked for a simple and fun verse that children would love saying over again as the book is read to them.  (One of my mitzvah books includes the refrain, “It’s a.. It’s a… It’s a Mitzvah,” that children love to sing out.)

Q. The illustrations for both of these books are adorable. How many illustration notes did your original manuscripts contain, if any? Did you specify much about the visual stories?

A. I agree that the illustrations in both books are adorable. They draw children in. Elke Boschinger’s charming and detailed illustrations in SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG provide new items for children to discover on each read. And Adriana Hernandez Bergstrom’s vibrant illustrations infuse CHALLAHBALOO with contagious energy.

I didn’t include many, if any, illustration notes. I trusted the illustrators to bring the books to life.

Q. The illustrations in the two books show the diversity within the Jewish community.

Elke Boschinger provides adorable pictures in Say Shalom All Day Long. The little girl and her grandmother and mom are white and represent a typical Ashkenazi background. But her playmates are Black and the father in the final illustration has medium skin tones.

Challahballoo! could have taken place anywhere. But it is obvious from the flora and fauna in the pictures that the story is set in a tropical land.

Were these choices in the art notes or were they a surprise?

A. We asked the illustrators to feature diversity within and outside the Jewish community.

In SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG, the dad is not of Ashkenazic descent, while the mom is. In fact, the family might be interfaith. The little girl’s playmates are Black children. They could be Jewish or not. 

CHALLAHBALOO takes place in South America to showcase Jewish diversity. The family enjoys Shabbat outdoors, and it’s fun to see capybaras, monkeys, and toucans surrounding them as they enjoy their challah!

Q. Once you saw the illustrations, did you approve of them right away, or did you need to ask the publishers to have the artist “go back to the drawing board” so to speak? Did you need to change any of the text in either book to match the pictures?

A. It’s common to ask illustrators to revise their work during the sketch phase, just as the editors ask the authors to revise text in their early drafts

Q. Do you have any other books in the pipeline that readers can look forward to reading?

A. Cross your fingers!

Q. I definitely will. Thank you for taking time to answer a few questions. I can wait to read your next story.

A. Thank you for including me in your blog.

About Elizabeth Suneby

Elizabeth Suneby loves to play with words!
Writing helps her generate new ideas, learn new things, understand her feelings and express them to others.

Writing is also how she earns a living. She writes for organizations big and small, magazine articles, and books for children and teens that help them find their voice in a hopeful world.

Her latest book is SAY SHALOM ALL DAY LONG. Heartfelt hellos, warm goodbyes, and wishes for peace–all with one Hebrew word. Just imagine how wonderful the world would be if shalom were one of the first words children of all faiths learned. (Keep an eye out for her next board book, CHALLAHBALOO!, on January 1, 2026. You don’t need to be Jewish to love challah or to find yourself singing the refrain: “Challah for me, challah for you, challah, challah, challabaloo!)

Learn More about Author

Find out more about Author and her books at elizabethsuneby.com
You can learn about her books and buy them at major retail cites through the links on her book page.

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Review:
Say Hello to Two Adorable New Books

Say Shalom All Day Long
by Elizabeth Suneby, Elke Boschinger (Illustrator)

Shalom is one word that means three things –
Hello, goodbye, and peace.
Elizabeth Suneby teaches this concept to children by example. In this sweet picture book a young girl says shalom to different times of her day, then she says hello, goodbye and peace to that time. For example: “Say shalom to morning! Hello light. Goodbye night. Peace to a new day.” This young child and spends her day saying shalom to snack time, play time, bath time and night. The bright colorful illustrations by Elke Boschinger bring Suneby’s text to life. No matter what your religion or where you live, This sweet picture book will have your kids saying shalom..

Challahbaloo!
Elizabeth Suneby, Adriana Hernández Bergstrom (Illustrator)

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this colorful rhyming book that celebrates this yummy bread. The whole family loves to get in on the act helping to make the challah. They make a big hullabaloo about it, or in this case, a Challahbaloo! Elizabeth Suneby’s catchy rhyme will have kids chanting the refrain on every page: “Challah, challah, challahbaloo!” The vivid bright colors in the illustrations by Adriana Hernández Bergstrom show a Sephardic family celebrating in a tropical setting. Little ones will love pointing out the different animals.

Read my reviews of the author’s books at Goodreads on my Children’s Books shelf.

About the books

A young child learns the meaning of the word shalom by saying hello, goodbye, and peace to the world through the transitions of the day.

Board Book
Publisher ‏ : ‎ PJ Library
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2025
Print length: ‏ 14pages

You don’t have to be Jewish to love challah!
Join a family and their animal friends in South America as they make and enjoy this delicious bread. “Challahbaloo” may soon be a new word in your family’s vocabulary.

Board Book
Setting – South America
Publisher ‏ : ‎  PJ Library
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2026
Print length: ‏16 pages

GIVEAWAY!

Hard Cover edition of the the book.

The giveaway ends November 8.
Enter Now.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
Leave a comment on this post.

For bonus entries you can let me know if you do any of the following: