![]() When deciding whether to offer a book a second or third time, we carefully review the kid feedback and ratings on the website for that book. ![]() It since has become a Junior Library Guild selection, and we are excited to be offering it as a PJ Our Way selection in May 2017. When we were considering the manuscript of The Six Day Hero by Tammar Stein, we ran it through a group of six tweens who shared important feedback with Tammar she took their comments very seriously and made changes to the plot accordingly. They will often raise an issue with a book that we may have overlooked, and we will raise those issues with the publishers and change actual text when possible. TWM: How are you integrating kids’ feedback?ĬF: In all ways! After going through our book selection process, every book we offer in PJ Our Way is first vetted by kid reviewers from all over the country. We get a lot of submissions with Holocaust themes, and for this age group we don’t consider books set in the camps or ghettoes our Holocaust content needs to have a hopeful message. Great books for this age seem to be in short supply, and our book selection rates show that boys tend to choose books with male characters while girls tend to be more flexible in their book selections. Currently we are looking for more books with boy protagonists, written for a younger audience (ages 8-10). TWM: What kinds of books are you looking for?ĬF: Page turners! Since PJ Our Way subscribers choose their books each month, the subject doesn’t matter as much as the pace and having stories and plots that kids can relate to, whether historical fiction or contemporary. Knowing that we can’t predict exactly how many kids will choose a specific book, we print many of our titles on demand (POD) once the orders have been received. TWM: How is the distribution of books different from books for younger readers?ĬF: Unlike PJ Library where a specific book arrives automatically each month, kids in PJ Our Way get to choose their monthly books via our website, Everything in the program is designed with the idea of putting kids in the driver’s seat-they need to be active in order to be engaged. Now kids can sign up starting at age eight-and-a-half, and there are almost 20,000 kids around the country enjoying the program! In October 2016, the program became available nationally to all eligible kids. So Harold Grinspoon (the founder and major funder of PJ Library and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation) saw an opportunity to continue to reach and engage families with great books by expanding PJ Library through age 11.Īs a result of his vision, PJ Our Way started as a pilot program in 10 communities in October 2014. Many of our families and community partners felt that this positive experience shouldn’t end at age 8. Here are the books we’ve offered in the program so far.ĬF: PJ Library is such a wonderful and effective book program that engages the whole family in Jewish life. With PJ Our Way chapter books and graphic novels, kids can read about contemporary Jewish life, Israeli history, Jewish history, and Jewish ideas in a way that brings them into the larger conversation. Its mission is to engage independent readers with high-quality books that have positive Jewish content. It’s designed to meet the developmental needs of older kids by letting them choose their own books each month, and by creating a platform to express themselves by encouraging them to post book reviews, ratings, and blog comments on the PJ Our Way website. ![]() The Whole Megillah (TWM): What is PJ Our Way? What is its mission?Ĭatriella Freedman (CF): PJ Our Way is the next chapter of our free Jewish children’s book program, PJ Library, for kids ages 9-11.
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