Artist Nancy Patz illustrated a newly published Jewish - holiday book. For the chapter on Passover, Nancy Patz's Illustration shows a young girl asking the Four Questions BARBARA PASH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Roses and No Thumpin, No Bumpin, No Rumpus Tonight! The Family Treasury was writ- ten by Malka Drucker, author of 15 children's books, most with Treasure Trove Cr) w LU CC w w 12 6 an.cy Patz wanted to make it authentic. It took her two years and numerous trips to the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, the Library of Congress in Wash- ington, D.C., and the British Museum in London, England. But Ms. Patz is satisfied that the illustrations she created for a new book on the Jewish holidays accomplish that goal. "I saw old Hebrew manu- scripts as the basis for the art," said Ms. Patz, a Baltimore resi- dent whose extensive research in Jewish art and history inspired her lively watercolors for the 180- page hardcover The Family Trea- sury of Jewish Holidays. Published this fall by Little, Brown and Co., the book is a de- parture for Ms. Patz, a tall, slim, stylish 60-ish who is best known as a children's author and illus- trator. An art major at Stanford Uni- versity in California, Ms. Patz married (and divorced) and has two grown daughters. She was active in the Women's Division of The Associated Jewish Commu- nity Federation of Baltimore be- fore embarking on her career. Her start was tentative. "I sent things to editors and they'd come back," remembered Ms. Patz. "And rightly so," she added, look- ing back. "They just weren't ready." But Ms. Patz learned from the rejections. She continued to work on her own and, after an intensi- fied course in writing and illus- trating kids' books that, she said, "crystallized ideas and taught me what I needed to do," she tried again. Nancy Pat is surrounded by her art "I made a list of publishers work in her studio. whose books I liked — four or five names. I figured that by some in- tangible something, if I liked their joy." Interestingly, although they books they'd like mine," she said. collaborated on the book, Ms. In the end, she called the pub- Drucker and Ms. Patz never met. lisher whose editor spelled her In fact, they never even talked to first name like one of Ms. Patz's each other. Instead, as is often the case, each dealt separately daughters. "It was beshert. She bought my with the publishing company. "Publishers try to keep authors book," said Ms. Patz of Pumper- nickel Tickle And Mean Green and illustrators on separate con- Cheese, published in 1978. All tinents because authors have spe- told, Ms. Patz is responsible for cific ideas of how their book seven children's books, including should look," Ms. Drucker ex- Moses Supposes His Toeses Are plained. PHOTO BY CRAI G TERKOWITZ Jewish themes. Originally, it was supposed to be a collection of Ms. Drucker's favorite Jewish chil- dren's stories, from K'tonton to Isaac Bashevis Singer. But as Ms. Drucker worked on the book, that idea changed. "I started writing some of the ma- terial myself, then added other elements," said Ms. Drucker, who lives in Santa Fe, N.M. The end result, continued Ms. Drucker, is an "all-inclusive book." The Family Treasury is in- tended as a resource for families to celebrate Shabbat and the hol- idays, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom HaShoah. Each chapter con- tains an explanation, a folk tale or two, holiday-related recipes and songs, and how-to instruc- tions for activities and crafts. Ms. Drucker is thrilled with the illustrations, which she thinks have depth and "a lot of