This week, PJ Our Way, the continuation of PJ Library for middle grade readers aged 9-12, is marking a huge milestone: Two Million PJ Our Way books have been mailed since the program’s inception!
One lucky subscriber in Philadelphia will receive the two millionth book – a copy of Pickled Watermelon by Esty Schachter.
This milestone marks a moment of celebration at PJ Library – one that lifts up the incredible impact that PJ Our Way has had on the tens of thousands of children who have been subscribers since the program’s inception – and of the PJ Our Way team’s efforts to build this engaging, kid-led book initiative.
For the first near-decade of PJ Library’s existence, children aged out of receiving free, monthly books when they turned nine years old. But families wanted more, so in 2013, Harold Grinspoon and the PJ Library team held a brainstorming summit to determine the next phase in the PJ Library experience. What they discussed shaped the future of the beloved program.
“We realized what works for a 4-year-old does not work for a 10-year-old,” shared Jamie Light, Deputy Director, PJ Library. “We needed to offer book choices for these engaged, older readers, and a website where they could not only choose the books but also interact even further. Our brainstorming summit prompted us to think about expanding the options for Jewish middle grade books, as there weren’t very many available at the time.”
The team came up with the name “PJ Our Way” (PJOW) to highlight middle graders’ active role in the program. “That pre-B’nai Mitzvah age range is such a crucial time to engage with Jewish identity,” Light said. “We created PJOW to help empower this age group and enable them to be active participants in their reading experience.”
After a pilot in 2014, the program became available to all 9-11 year-olds in the U.S. and Canada in October 2016 and expanded to all 12-year-olds in 2019. PJOW has continued to evolve. Today, subscribers not only get to select their books, which include fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels, but can also review them, read and watch book-related content, and earn badges on the website.
“PJ Our Way readers can engage with our website in several ways, including leaving moderated reviews, taking polls, and answering trivia questions,” explained Rachel Goodman, Chair of the PJ Our Way Book Selection Committee. “Additionally, there is a rotating group of kids who read and provide feedback on all the books PJ Our Way is considering for the program. Their feedback drives books selection, website content, and program development.”
These principles of autonomy and self-direction have remained central to PJ Our Way since it began. A select group of PJOW kid volunteers reviews all PJOW books. In addition to sending out free books, the program offers parents online guides with resources about each book and conversation starters for discussing relevant Jewish themes with their children.
“Because PJ Our Way kids choose their own books, the Book Selection Committee aims to include a variety of titles that appeal to many different readers, both throughout the year and within each month’s four options,” said Goodman. “With our middle-grade audience in mind, we often focus on stories featuring tween protagonists who are exploring what it means to form their identities, similar to what our readers may be experiencing themselves.”
As PJ Our Way has matured, PJ Our Way and PJ Publishing have also been able to provide an increased number of high-quality Jewish middle-grade books to readers, and the breadth of books available has grown since launch in 2014.
Some notable PJOW selections include Newbery Honor winner The Inquisitor's Tale by 2023 Author Israel Adventure attendee Adam Gidwitz; Becoming Brianna and Always Anthony from Terri Libenson’s bestselling Emmie and Friends series; Pura Belpré Award winner Lucky Broken Girl by Sephardic Stories Initiative author and Newberry Honor winner Ruth Behar; and PJ Publishing titles Detour Ahead by Pamela Ehrenberg and Tracy López and Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz by Diana Harmon Asher.
“It’s incredible to think about 2 million Jewish middle-grade books in homes across the U.S. and Canada,” said Light. “I am thrilled that we have been able to engage so many middle graders through PJ Our Way.”