Local woman's new book holds water

The old adage goes, write what you know. West Hempstead resident Ann Koffsky did just that and recently published her first picture book.

“Noah’s Swim-a-Thon,” the story of a boy raising money for a good cause, takes place at a Jewish summer camp and revolves around the camp pool — a place Koffsky knows well, having worked as a lifeguard at Ruach Day Camp in Uniondale since 2001.

“I used that experience to write this new book,” Koffsky, 38, told the Herald in an interview, noting that it tells the story of children learning to swim in time for their camp’s charity swim-a-thon. She dedicated the book, which hit the shelves earlier this month, to all the swimmers at camp Ruach and to her three children, from who she often draws inspiration. Koffsky even names some characters in the book after her kids, her mother and even her editor. “I always try to get them in somehow,” she said.

The picture book, for kids ages 4 to 7, is Koffsky’s first attempt at doing both the illustrations and the story writing for one final product. She has illustrated and authored more than 20 books for children, including “Eight Lights for Eight Nights” and “My Cousin Tamar Lives in Israel,” but it was always either illustrating or writing. In this case, Koffsky decided to take charge of the whole creative process and do both.

“Sometime back in kindergarten I realized I wanted to an artist,” Koffsky wrote in her bio on her website, annkoffsky.com. “I know this for a fact all through high school. But in college, I realized how very impractical that was.”

Koffsky said she explored other potential career paths — law, teaching, advertising and more — but finally acknowledged in her junior year at Stern College in Manhattan that her passion lay elsewhere. “I just couldn’t escape art,” she said.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in art, Koffsky went on to intern at DC Comics — creators of hundreds of comic-book characters, including Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — and later to work for Scholastic Books, the makers of the “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Goosebumps” series. “That combo of Superman and Clifford gave me a great start in learning how to make things look fun and interesting for kids,” Koffsky said.

But it was a tough rough to move from the editing side of the industry to the creating side. Koffsky left her post at Scholastic, printed a business card saying she was an illustrator and started cold calling, walking trade shows and submitting work. “[I got] lots and lots and lots and lots of rejections,” Koffsky said. “But for every 20 rejections, I would get a small job from somebody. Someone would take a chance on me and it slowly, slowly grew.”

In addition to the books she illustrates or authors, and now her new book, Koffsky also creates and designs other products, including — everything from toys to calendars. Her work has been featured by a number of greeting card companies, including Hallmark, Papyrus and Great Arrow Graphics.

Koffksy also holds book discussions for children. “I do a lot of speaking at a lot of different schools,” she said, “and that’s actually one of my favorite parts.”

Among schools she has visited are the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County and St. Thomas the Apostle School, both of which are in West Hempstead. Koffsky’s next speaking engagement is scheduled for April 6 at the Robert W. Carbonaro School in Valley Stream, and she’s excited. “I get to actually see kids reacting to my book,” Koffsky said. “When you’re a musician, you give a concert and everybody responds to your music. But when you’re an illustrator and an author, you’re kind of in your house, in your little room, making your art. But when you get out there, and you go into the schools, and you actually get to interact with your audience, it’s really a pleasure.”

“Noah’s Swin-a-Thon” is available on Amazon.com and at Long Island Judaica in West Hempstead. It will soon become available at Barnes & Noble and at the West Hempstead Public Library. Visit Koffsky’s website, annkoffsky.com, for more information.