PJ Library’s award-winning original podcast series Beyond the Bookcase returns to the PJ Library Presents podcast network with new episodes this August. The four-episode special is produced in collaboration with Jewtina y Co., a vibrant global community dedicated to celebrating, elevating, and expanding Latin-Jewish community while strengthening identity, leadership, and connection to Jewish people worldwide.
Listeners will meet new characters such as Luna, an alebrije (a Mexican folk art spirit creature), who leads fan favorites Blue and Jacob on a tour through El Reino de lo Místico, a new area in the magical realm of Mashal.
Starting mid-August, listeners can catch the exciting adventures of Luna, Blue, and Jacob on their favorite podcast platforms, the Yoto player app, or at pjlibrary.org/podcast. Then later this fall, PJ Library Presents will feature a special playlist including all four episodes.
PJ Library sat down with Jewtina y Co.’s program coordinator, Sofia Peirano-Friedman, and Violeta Castro Stoplen, director of operations, to discuss how this collaboration came about and to learn more about their great organization.
How did this collaboration with PJ Library come about?
It all started last November, when Alli Thresher from PJ Library reached out to us about collaborating on standalone episodes for the Beyond the Bookcase podcast. From that first conversation with Alli and the examples the team shared of previous episodes, it was clear that the PJ Library team was committed to highlighting diverse, nuanced voices and experiences of youth in authentic and meaningful ways. It felt like a dream, having the freedom and the platform to craft these stories alongside PJ Library. What began as a brainstorm became a four-episode arc more beautiful than any of us could have imagined. We hoped it would serve as a meaningful vehicle for celebrating, elevating, and expanding Latin-Jewish community, and strengthening identity, leadership, and connection to Jewish people worldwide in a fun, engaging, and child-friendly way.
What has the process been like for you?
Collaborative and fun from day one, and that’s true even though the process has been almost entirely asynchronous, taking place across time zones and states. The focus, energy, and enthusiasm everyone brought to such a big project has been thrilling, and we can’t wait to share what we’ve all built together.
We traded story seeds, PJ Library’s team turned them into treatments, and then it became a real back-and-forth of notes, brainstorms, and a lot of care taken with even the smallest details. One of my favorite examples is the naming of a hall in Episode 3. The conversation around it captures the spirit of the whole collaboration. Rather than landing on a name and moving on, we took the time to ask whether we could be even more specific, even more celebratory. The result was La Sala de Orgullo Latino y Judío — a name that explicitly honors both cultures and the pride at the center of this project. That is what this partnership has felt like throughout: thoughtful, patient, and deeply respectful of the nuance in our stories.
What do you hope listeners feel when they first hear the series?
Recognition and belonging (and humor!). We want kids, as well as the adults listening alongside them, to hear their own traditions reflected back at them in a way many have never experienced before. Our friends travel across Latin America throughout the series, encountering different customs and traditions, and we hope listeners feel swept into those worlds and come away with a real sense of the diversity within both Jewish and Latin American culture. Jewish cultural moments woven together with Latin American folklore is not something most of our community grew up hearing, especially on a podcast for kids. We hope it feels like being seen and like an invitation to hold multiple identities with pride.
What’s next for Jewtina, and where can families find out more about programming?
The episodes are set to air between August and October of this year, and we’re already dreaming about supplemental content, including a web resource that dives deeper into the Latin-Jewish leaders and figures featured throughout the series. Beyond the podcast, Jewtina runs in-person programming for Latin Jews of all ages in New York City, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Denver, and other cities across the country. The best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for our newsletter at jewtina.org and follow us on social media @jewtinayco.
What inspired the team to create Luna?
Luna is an alebrije, a Mexican folk art spirit creature, who leads Blue and Jacob through a series of magical adventures. The idea drew inspiration from Gabriel García Márquez’s novels that introduced the concept of magical realism, blending the fantastical with the everyday in a way that feels deeply rooted in Latin American storytelling. The voice actor cast for Luna brought real authenticity and vibrancy to the role. Luna’s character became one of the most exciting ways for us to weave Latin folklore and Jewish storytelling together for young listeners.
Any favorite lines/moments/sounds?
We each have a favorite. Sofía’s is in Episode 3, as the team bounds through the Sala de Orgullo and discovers the worlds of Latin-Jewish legends. The sound effects transport you to a tennis court, a writing table, a kitchen, a science lab, and other locales. The world-building is extraordinary, and there’s something thrilling about traveling auditorily and imaginatively through these different moments in Latin-Jewish history. Violeta’s favorite scene is in Episode 2, when the character Mari Posa explains her internal navigation system and connects it to Teshuvah. It’s a concept we’ve been working through at Jewtina — the way monarch butterflies reflect our internal and communal journeys — and hearing it spoken aloud, woven into her story, brought such deep emotion for our team. May we all find our way back to our best selves.
Why is this collaboration important/meaningful?
It connects directly to one of our core values at Jewtina y Co.: CO-NTINUAR, or L’Dor V’Dor – ensuring future generations of Latin-Jews have histories and traditions they can access, carry forward, and share proudly. Representation is easy to take for granted until you experience its absence. These stories are for the kids who never saw this blend of identity reflected anywhere and for the inner child in the adults who grew up the same way. PJ Library’s intentionality and inclusivity in platforming diverse stories made this collaboration feel like exactly the right home for these characters and this world.
