Barbara Kimmel just published her second children’s book, Purim Possibilites. She recently answered a few interview questions about her writing career and her new Purim board book.
Barbara Kimmel Interview
Purim Possibilites
What sparked the idea for Purim Possibilities?
Purim Possibilities actually began as a Halloween story. When I was brand new to writing for children, I entered lots of KidLit contests to hone my skills, and one of them had a Halloween theme. Around that time, I was shopping and spotted a girl wearing a frilly tutu with bright rain boots (on a perfectly sunny day). I loved that she had clearly chosen her own outfit and how confident she was in her mix-and-match style.It inspired me to write about self-expression and how kids don’t have to pick one label. They can be outgoing and shy, creative and brave, and so much more. When I later revisited the idea, Purim felt like the perfect fit since it is a holiday with costumes and a fun, playful spirit.
Different costumes reflect different aspects of the personality. I love how the character combines them in the end. Was it your idea to extend the story by including reusable stickers?
I adore the stickers and credit PJ for that brilliant addition! Early in the writing process, one of my critique partners mentioned that the story seemed perfect for some kind of tactile or interactive element, and I had even toyed with the idea of adding paper doll activity sheets to my website. But I never imagined a publisher would include something like that in a board book. When PJ suggested reusable stickers, I was over the moon. I knew they would do an amazing job, which they absolutely did. The stickers that illustrator Irina Avgustinovich designed are amazing.
What challenges did you have in creating this story?
Rhyming was the biggest challenge! One of the first revisions I received from PJ was to add opening stanzas about Purim. Since I was fairly new to writing in rhyme, that felt especially daunting. Finding rhymes for words like Purim, Megillah, Esther, Haman, or Ahasuerus is no small task. It took experimenting, but I was relieved and excited when it finally clicked.
Exploring Her Writing Possibilities
How did you get started writing?
When my children were young, I used to make books for them with flaps, photos, and interactive elements to make learning fun. Decades later, after I’d become an empty nester, I started taking classes at a local continuing education center to try new things. I tried everything from watercolor to yoga. I signed up for a memoir class, partly because my daughter encouraged me to write down some of the stories I used to tell my kids about growing up Jewish in the South. Although I’d always kept diaries, I never thought of myself as a writer. Memoir felt like journaling and turned out to be therapy for me as a way to process past experiences.
Tell me about your plays.
My husband is a wonderful playwright, so I’ve been around theatre for years, but I never imagined I’d write plays myself. He thought some of the stories that I wrote in the memoir class felt like monologues and encouraged me to submit one to a festival. He was and is incredibly supportive and helped me get it into stage-ready form. I was shocked when the piece was selected for a festival in New York and even more thrilled when it was voted the audience favorite. Since then, I’ve written several other short plays. Most of my pieces are comedies about women struggling to make their voices heard. I’m especially excited that my play “Reconstruction”, which had been workshopped but never produced, will have its first full production this spring at Theatre Three’s 27th Annual One-Act Festival on Long Island. It’s a deeply personal piece about my journey with breast cancer and, believe it or not, it’s a comedy.
When did you switch from plays to children’s stories?
In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, I wanted to branch out and work on something lighter and more joyful, so I returned to my first love, children’s books.
What inspires you?
Children, especially toddlers. I love their joy, energy, and curiosity. I wasn’t much of a reader as a child, and neither were my three kids, so I’m especially passionate about turning learning into play. I don’t want toddlers sitting passively listening to my stories. I want them moving, laughing, turning the book upside down, opening flaps, and interacting with the story.
Both of your books provide Jewish Joy for little ones. My family loved your debut book, Hanukkah Hippity-Hop which was published in 2024 by Kar-Ben Publishing. Tell me about it.
I’m so glad you asked about Hanukkah Hippity-Hop. It was my first children’s book and holds a special place in my heart. It’s a rhyming board book that’s very active, inviting kids to march like Maccabees and spin like dreidels (or as one child called it, “dreideling.”) During December, I did 17 Hanukkah events at bookstores, community centers, and libraries (alongside my husband, who becomes “Hanukkah Hank” during the season). It was so rewarding to see children giggling and interacting with the story. I hope it continues to be part of families’ holiday celebrations for many years
It will be a part of ours for a few years and so will Purim Possibilities. Lastly, your website mentions that there are more books on the way. What else do you have in the pipeline?
As far as future projects… I recently sold a short story to Highlights magazine and a Hanukkah piece to High Five magazine. I’m continuing work on more Jewish holiday board books, though nothing to announce yet.
I will look forward to seeing them when they are published. Thank you for writing such cute interactive Jewish holiday books and thank you for answering a few of my questions.
About Barbara Kimmel
Barbara Kimmel is an award-winning children’s book author and playwright who creates playful, interactive board books and picture books designed to spark a love of reading from the earliest age.Her debut children’s book, Hanukkah Hippity-Hop from Kar-Ben Publishing, was named a Best Jewish Holiday Children’s Book by the Association of Jewish Libraries. Her new book, Purim Possibilities from PJ Publishing, is a PJ Library selection, received a 2026 Grinspoon Jewish Story Award, and was named an AJL Holiday Highlights title for Spring 2026. She also writes short fiction for children’s magazines, including Highlights and High Five and is a playwright as well.
Learn More about Author
Find out more about Author and her books at barbarakimmelwrites.com
You can learn about her books and buy them direct or at major retail cites through the links on her book page.
Storybook Lady
Review
It’s a Book, It’s a Toy,
It’s Purim Possibilities
Barbara Kimmel, the author of the adorable Hanukkah Hippity-Hop, has given us another delightful holiday treasure that explores possibility and creativity. The first couple pages have a rhyme about Purim fun and the colorful illustration by Irina Avgustiavich shows a diverse group of family and friends who celebrate the holiday with costumes, lots of groggers and a megillah scroll as well. In this story, a young girl can’t decide what costume to wear for the Purim masquerade. There are so many possibilities. Kimmel’s rhyme shows a girl who uses her creativity to come up with her own unique costume. Kids will love the story and giggle at the pictures that show the dog gets into the act while she tries on different outfits. But the best part of the book is that at the end of the story the fun has just begun. There are four pages of reusable costume stickers that kids can use to dress up the girl. Just like the main character, kids can try different outfits and combinations. There is even a page with a closet for all her costumes! Little kids love playing dress up and they love stickers, making this interactive board book a great Purim surprise. My 4 year old grandson received this book and loved it.
About Purim Possibilities
Board book
Jewish Holiday
Publisher : PJ Publishing
Publication date : February 1, 2026
Print length:18 pages
You can follow Julie on
You can Read more reviews of Purim books on my dedicated Goodreads Purim shelf. Then check out Bubbe’s Bookshelf for reviews on other Jewish Children’s books, and the Picture Books and Children’s Books shelves. I have almost two thousand reviews on Goodreads. With shelves for several genres and interests, I can help you find the story on your next read.
I adore Barbara’s books! She’s super creative and her books spark so much joy! Hooray!
Doreen, they do bring lots of joy. We have been playing with Purim Possibilities every day since we got it.