South Africa is the only country on the African continent with a PJ Library program. Its presence there is thanks to a partnership between King David School in Johannesburg, Herzlia School in Cape Town, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and generous donors. Approximately 2,500 children aged 18 months through 8 years are enrolled.
That makes for a mighty statistic: An estimated 80 percent of eligible Jewish children in the country receive eight PJ Library books a year, building their Jewish literacy through invaluable stories and tools that extend far beyond the books.
The program, mainly run through local day schools, aims to strengthen the home-school relationship and infuse a love of Judaism in the home. (Jewish children who are not in a Jewish day school can also enroll in PJ Library and collect their books for use at home.) Each month in the school-based program, teachers read and discuss a book with their class and engage in an activity that brings the book to life. Then the kids take a copy of the book home to read with their family, potentially doubling the impact of the books.
But PJ Library Cape Town Coordinator Andi Hendler knew there were more opportunities for connection and Jewish engagement through books and stories for children beyond the second grade. With a lot of planning and a little bit of chutzpah (spunk), she piloted two new opportunities for students in Cape Town to lean into their Jewish identity.
A Mirror for Middle Grade Readers
“Having taught in the Jewish Day School system (Grades 3-6) for over fifteen years, I felt that one thing was lacking: chapter books and class readers that told a Jewish story or portrayed a Jewish protagonist,” explains Andi. “When I came across the vast selection of PJ Our Way books, I was gobsmacked. I had to get these magnificent books into the schools!”
PJ Our Way (PJOW) is a continuation of PJ Library for pre-teens ages 9-12 in the US and Canada. Every month, the program allows tweens to pick a middle-grade book to receive, as a way of bolstering choice and sustaining engagement in the formative pre-b’nai mitzvah years. Andi knew it wouldn’t be possible to bring the PJOW program to South Africa, but she ordered a load of PJOW books to Cape Town and distributed them amongst the two Herzlia primary schools in the city. The teachers worked to build the books into the English curriculum across grades 3-6. Each class was given two to four titles to read in the course of the school year, with enough copies so that each child had their own. Ultimately, the books would be returned to the school library for future use.
“Exposing preteens to positive Jewish literary characters is important for building a healthy, strong identity,” says Andi. “The books serve as a reminder of the PJ Library framework of 'Mirrors and Windows,' allowing children to see themselves and other Jewish characters and experiences within the stories, values, and themes.”
Whether the class read the book out loud together, in small groups, or individually, the positive Jewish representation of the characters and the stories helped the students connect to the stories and remain engaged.
L’Dor v’dor – from Generation to Generation
Bringing the PJOW books was just one of the innovations Andi brought to the community. In 2025, PJ Library created a Grandparent Keepsake booklet, which asks grandparents about their lives as a way to honor and treasure their stories. As part of the Herzlia school’s grade three curriculum exploring the theme of stories, grandparents were invited to the weekly Shabbat assembly. There, the booklet project was introduced. A few months later, the grandparents were invited back to school with their completed keepsake books to surprise their grandchildren with treasured family stories and memories.
“The school reported this was one of the most impactful projects ever undertaken by families,” Andi says. “The schools have made the Generation to Generation book part of their grade 3 curriculum, so they will definitely be doing the project again this year. I am not sure who enjoyed it more: the grandparents or the children!”
Now, more than ever, it is imperative that Jewish children see themselves reflected in Jewish stories — and see Jewish stories reflected back to them. Whether as they’re presenting a storybook hero or the complex realities of their grandparents’ histories, the innovative PJ Library projects in Cape Town are becoming an essential local tool for cultivating Jewish pride and joy.
