Starting September 15, the Jewish New Year—Rosh Hashanah—begins! In celebration, we are thrilled to highlight two of our new & talented authors, Micah & Josh Siva. Join us as the partner duo shares their journeys as authors, their writing process as co-authors, and the inspiration behind their debut children’s book, 1, 2, 3 Nosh With Me. Stick around for a recipe card of Simple Challah near the end!

Tell me about your journey to becoming an author.

Micah Siva: I’ve been working as a food and recipe writer for a number of years, so it felt like a natural progression!

Josh Siva: I’ve written a book previously, and knew the only barrier to doing it again when the idea came about, was simply doing it.

What inspired you to start writing 1, 2, 3 Nosh With Me?

MS: When my sister told us that she was expecting, we were ecstatic and started looking for Jewish books to buy for our future niece. We were surprised to find that there were very few that weren’t tied to a specific holiday, and were more secular and cultural in their content - so we decided to create one!

1, 2, 3 Nosh With Me is beautifully co-written by the both of you. Share your collaborative writing process. Were there any challenges? If so, how did you remedy them?

MS: We work very well as a team - beyond being husband and wife, we tackle life’s challenges as team-mates and friends, and this was no different. We thrive on full, unabashed honesty, and know that each other is fully capable and qualified to provide input! 

JS: Micah and I thrive on solving problems together, which is why we were so eager to jump into this book idea because we both felt there was a massive need, and fundamental gap that this book didn’t exist - so we created it together, involving brainstorm sessions in the car, writing notes over the dinner table, and like everything else in our life, taking the challenge head on together and recognizing there would be moments we can co-create together and other times where we’re most effective dividing and conquering with whatever had to get done.

Buckwheat the Sheepadoodle is the only character in the picture book. What was your process for choosing a book character, and how may Buckwheat shape a child’s reading experience?

MS: Originally, our illustrator drew a little boy as the character - but we wanted readers to relate to the character. Aware that having a gendered child, or a child with a skin-color that didn’t resonate with families, we chose to use our dog, Buckwheat! We hope that it brings joy to little ones and families, with a cute, cuddly, often silly character that the whole family will love.

JS: Our dog Buckwheat only has good days, and brings joy to literally everyone he meets, which is why he was the perfect choice once we decided we didn’t want to exclude anyone from any background if we were to feature a human. Also, including buckwheat has elevated buckwheat to somewhat of a superhero status among our friends and we’re loving all the attention he’s getting from it and the extra excuse we have to celebrate him.