What’s the future of PJ Publishing? p. 10
Parent perspective: “Having a disability isn’t fair.” p. 8
How one family discovered its Jewish identity p. 20
Iheard myself saying it again: “Really?!”
When I joined PJ Library 18 months ago as the director of PJ Library in New York, the more I learned about PJ Library, the more amazed I was and the more wondrous the program became. Yes, I had been a PJ Library mom for nine years and twice over. But I had no idea that …
… the books that arrive in our homes are carefully curated and selected up to 10 months earlier.
… a PJ Library teammate — Naomi Shulman — writes those handy book flaps I had so often turned to over the years (see the sidebar on page 13).
… from its warehouse in Connecticut, PJ Library ships hundreds of thousands of books each month (see page 14).
… PJ Library works with more than 35 publishers worldwide to source those great stories.
… PJ Library also has its own publishing press, PJ Publishing, to introduce new and untold stories (see page 10).
… not all PJ Library books arrive by mail. Across the globe, families may get them from their school or a local pick-up location.
Go to pjlibrary.org/donate to make a gift.
The list goes on.
Unlike a magic trick that’s diminished after you learn how it’s performed, the more you learn about how PJ Library works, the more extraordinary it becomes.
And that’s because PJ Library is not magic. It is a careful, thoughtful, dedicated effort by so many — those behind the scenes here at PJ Library and those across the country and the globe making PJ Library happen in their community.
That is why I’m so thrilled to take on the role of PJ Library’s first chief philanthropy officer, a role created to ensure that the many who treasure PJ Library can join us in growing and sustaining this incredible program for all our children and for generations to come.
Read on, enjoy, and don’t be surprised if you have some “Really?!” moments of your own.
In partnership, for our children,
Rachel Bren Goldklang Chief Philanthropy Officer PJ LibraryWILL YOU HELP TO GROW PJ LIBRARY FOR ALL OUR CHILDREN?
“Unlike a magic trick that’s diminished after you learn how it’s performed, the more you learn about how PJ Library works, the more extraordinary it becomes.”Doug Zborowski is one of many behind PJ Library’s wondrous work. PHOTO BY SHANA
SURECK
Founder Harold Grinspoon
President Winnie Sandler Grinspoon
Chief Operating Officer Adrian Dion
Chief Partnerships Officer Tamar Remz
Managing Director Alex Zablotsky
Chief Philanthropy Officer
Rachel Bren Goldklang
Director of Donor Relations Ellen Frank
Managing Editor Rebecca Nordquist
Graphic Designer Allison Biggs
Senior Creative Manager Beth Honeyman
Content Lead Danny Paller
Stacey Dresner, Alisa Greenbacher, Rachel Kozupsky, Naomi Shulman, Shana Sureck, Lisa Trank, Rachel Wetter
Contributing Photographer
Shana Sureck
Jen Jackman White, Adam Komosinski
Director of Data Management
Adrianne Levine
Operations Manager Renée Zborowski
Web Marketing Manager Rory Hurlburt
Stewardship Coordinator Jessica Kaleta
Database Coordinator Sherani Weatherington
Web Operations Associate Chris Waters
PROOF subscriptions: development@hgf.org
Donation inquiries: give@hgf.org
Questions about PJ Library: pjlibrary@hgf.org
Have a story idea? proof@hgf.org
Cover credit: Shana Sureck
Image from Dream Big, Laugh Often and More Great Advice from the Bible appears with the permission of Macmillan Publishers, us.macmillan.com.
Copyright © 2022 Harold Grinspoon Foundation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior approval.
Before this exciting moment at the mailbox for 4-year-old Aviv (pictured with his mom, Ruthie Oland-Stuckey, and sister, Liora), his new PJ Library book has had quite the journey. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look.
Every year a group of kids creates content for PJ Our Way. This is how it all comes together.
‘Having a Disability Isn’t Fair.’
One mother’s experience of guiding her daughter through the challenges of dyslexia.
The in-house book publisher is fast becoming home to both big-name and emerging talent.
What’s in Your Junk Drawer?
Illustrator Hanoch Piven has turned everyday objects into art. You can too!
International Fund 101
Curious to know how PJ Library reaches Jewish children in more than 35 countries?
Gintare Rodrigues Silvestre wondered that very question. A PJ Library connection helped her discover the answer.
How PJ Library in Baltimore continues to grow — and two of the donors who help make it possible.
A quick take on what’s happening at PJ Library.
A note from Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
FELIZ 10 ANIVERSARIO TO PJ Library en Español, the PJ Library Spanish program! It is celebrating 10 years of providing Jewish children’s books to Spanish-speaking children around the globe. The program started in Mexico and now reaches more than 10 Spanish-speaking countries throughout Europe and Latin America.
In 2012, there were very few high-quality Jewish children’s books in Spanish, but a partnership with the Jewish educational system in Mexico sparked a change. PJ Library started distributing books to children ages 3 to 8 through Jewish schools, which serve approximately 90% of all Jewish children throughout Mexico. The books were first used in schools to create learning experiences before the children took them home to share with their families.
Other Spanish-speaking countries took notice, and in 2015, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Uruguay joined the PJ Library en Español family. Soon Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Andorra,
PJ Library en Español, the organization’s Spanish program, reaches more than 3,600 children globally.
COURTESY PHOTO
and Spain signed up. And Paraguay launched in September. The books are distributed to more than 3,600 Spanish-speaking subscribers through schools, Jewish institutions, and home-based programs.
By June 2022, PJ Library’s Spanish program had translated 172 titles from English and Hebrew and distributed more than 229,000 books. “PJ Library’s contribution to Jewish literacy in Spanish-speaking communities has been invaluable,” says Julie RabinovitzKershenovich, director of content and education for PJ Library in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. “Ten years ago, very few people had heard about PJ Library, and now for most young families in Latin America and Spain, PJ Library en Español is a household name.”
For more information about the PJ Library international program, go to pjlibrary.org/global
PJ Library has long known that its subscriber families are the best ambassadors to spread the word about the program and everything it has to offer. That’s why the annual Refer-a-Friend campaign asks subscribers to invite friends and family to join PJ Library. As a thankyou, families will receive a $5 Amazon gift card for every successful referral. The next Refer-a-Friend campaign is scheduled for the month of February. Keep an eye on email for more information.
PJ Library serves almost 2,000 US military families, and now they have their own Facebook group: PJ Library Military Families. Launched in September, it’s already become a safe space for more than 200 parents to connect and share resources.
There’s always plenty going on at PJ Library. Here’s a quick take on some of the latest happenings.
Over the summer, PJ Library piloted a new partnership with Honeymoon Israel, an organization that provides immersive trips to Israel for young couples who are looking to make meaningful connections to Jewish life and community. All Honeymoon Israel alumni couples who are new parents were invited to opt in to receive a free Welcome Baby experience box. PJ Library provided Israel-focused board books and branded bibs to more than 350 alumni families across the US and Canada in the first three months of the program. The hope? To connect young families to PJ Library early and strengthen the transition from being a young couple to being an active family within the Jewish community. To date, PJ Library has gained more than 75 new subscribers from the partnership and will continue to work with Honeymoon Israel on more ways to engage young families.
Kids take over the airwaves on PJ Library’s new limited series podcast: B-Mitzvah Bites. Launched in late August, this bite-size podcast gives real kids the chance to ask the hard-hitting questions about how to prepare for their b’nai mitzvah. The best part?
They receive answers and real-life examples from older kids who recently had their own ceremonies. All seven episodes are available on the Have I Got a Story for You! channel on Podbean, Spotify, and Apple.
In addition, PJ Library’s award-winning podcasts Afternoons with Mimi and Beyond the Bookcase are back with new and exciting second seasons. Go to pjlibrary.org/podcast for more information.
In 2019, Sifriyat Pijama, the PJ Library program in Israel, began a tradition of holding authors’ retreats. The hope was to generate unique Israeli children’s literature based on Jewish culture, and it’s been a success.
In the 2022–2023 book lineups, three original titles are in the spotlight. Coming out of a miniretreat that focused on Jewish holidays is A Bag of Longing (published by Yediot Sfarim). It’s written by Dr. Ruth Calderon, a former member of the Knesset, and illustrated by Tamar Lev. This is a Tu B’Shevat story based on the Sephardic tradition of Bulgaria and Turkey.
Another highlight is Grandpa Tells Without Exaggerating (Kinneret). Coauthored by Orna Landau and Nurit Cohen, it tells the story of the establishment of the State of Israel through the eyes of Grandpa Yoram. He shares with his grandson Yotam his dramatic childhood memories from Kibbutz Hanita (a communal settlement) in northern Israel. And the third book, The Reed and the Cedar Tree (Hamavoch) by Shirley Yuval, shares the Talmudic lesson on the value of being flexible in one’s approach to life. To learn more about Sifriyat Pijama, go to pjisrael.org
Did you know that PJ Library has an Amazon storefront? Readers can find family favorite books from PJ Publishing, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s in-house press. The online selection includes board books, picture books, and chapter books from award-winning authors and illustrators. The storefront also features gifts that PJ Library subscribers have received, including aprons, a dry-erase perpetual calendar, and the popular In Every Generation: A PJ Library Family Haggadah, an illustrated guide to the seder (Passover ritual meal). Visit amazon.com/pjlibrary and keep your eyes open for new and exciting books from PJ Publishing.
PJ Library baby Mikayla and her Welcome Baby box.You could call Gabi Abelson a triple threat: She’s the writer, director, and talent in several videos she has created for PJ Our Way, the PJ Library program for tweens. And this triple threat is only 10 years old.
Gabi was just one of 13 members of the 2022 PJ Our Way National Design Team, a group of children between the ages of 9 and 12, charged with creating entertaining and informative content for pjourway.org, the PJ Our Way website.
Every year a new design team is selected to spend six months producing video book reviews, blog posts, and even how-to videos for the website’s audience of tweens and parents. Selected from a pool of more than 100 impressive applicants, the 2023 design team will converge virtually in December to begin its work.
“It’s such a big part of PJ Our Way’s mission to empower kids and put them in the driver’s
Gabi Abelson and 12 other talented kids created digital content for tweens as a part of the 2022 PJ Our Way Design Team.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER ABELSONseat when it comes to making choices about books, and the design team is a great way to do just that,” says Rachel Goodman, PJ Our Way book selection coordinator and current facilitator of the design team.
The idea for this kid-generated content team came from the mind of Catriella Freedman. Freedman, now the director of author and illustrator stewardship for PJ Library, based the idea around programs that Time and Sports Illustrated ran. Concerned that children would be aging out of PJ Library at 8 years old, Freedman knew it was time to consider the program’s next step. She gathered a focus group of educators, child development experts, and tweens to hash out the details.
“In Catriella’s wisdom, she knew that more than anything kids need to be involved in whatever they are going to do or experience,” says Engagement Officer Saskia Swenson Moss,
Almost 10 years ago, the idea to give kids the keys to the PJ Our Way digital content was born — and it’s been an experiment gone right ever since.
who managed the first design teams.
From those early brainstorming sessions, PJ Our Way and the PJ Our Way National Design Team were born. This opened a new world of Jewish books for tweens, and the design team played an integral role in making the books and the new program accessible. The team, consisting of kids from around the United States, created videos for the featured books, wrote reviews, gave their advice on marketing materials, and helped create promotional videos to share with their peers, among other important tasks.
“They were our go-to experts when we needed kid feedback,” Swenson Moss says. “We needed kid voices sharing their experiences and their excitement. Kids are not so interested in what a bunch of grownups have to say about a book, but they will listen to their peers.”
And that work was — and continues to be — crucial to the program’s success. It helps that this age group has a knack for all things digital and brings lots of creativity with it.
Gabi was already a pro at using several computer programs when she joined the design team. She hit the ground running and made four videos reviewing books, including one her favorites, The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler by Karen Pokras.
Other members of the 2022 PJ Our Way National Design Team got creative too. Mila, a 10-year-old from Virginia, took the comedy route to review Chunky by Yehudi Mercado.
“In the book, Hudi [the main character]
The 2022 PJ Our Way National Design Team met monthly as a group with facilitator Rachel Goodman (top row, second from left).
is not very good at sports,” says Mila, who reenacted parts of the book for her review. “In the video, I wanted to be funny and get a laugh, just like Yehudi does in Chunky. It was so fun to make with my dad off camera throwing balls at me! I also really liked picking the clips and putting them into one hilarious video.”
Some team members, like 10-year-old Linus, chose to share do-it-yourself videos with PJ Our Way readers. In one video, the North Carolina fifth grader has fun in the kitchen making snow cream, a dessert that is half snow cone, half ice cream.
“The design team members choose what they want to work on,” says Goodman. “I try to give them as much autonomy as possible when it comes to choosing their projects and expressing their creativity. Everything they make really comes from them!”
Starting in January, keep an eye on the PJ Our Way website for a brand-new crew of kids and their creative projects. Kids who missed the application period for 2022 but still want to be involved can grab a grownup and email designteam@pjourway.org to find out how.
Growing up with dyslexia wasn’t easy for my daughter, but perseverance helped pull her through the quit-worthy moments.
BY ALISA GREENBACHER, PJ PUBLISHING AUTHORThe children’s library is sun filled and quiet. I recline in the velvety blue chair surrounded by picture books on shelves. I try to stay out of sight. My 8-year-old daughter is being tutored, and just behind the bookshelf, I can see her shifting uncomfortably in her seat, pulling and twisting her hair.
This was a common scene for my daughter and me. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at 7 years old, and we chose intense intervention, an option we knew we were fortunate to have. Starting in first grade, she sat with a tutor three to five times a week for one hour after school and during summers. In what feels impossible in retrospect, my daughter, now 17, was tutored consistently for six years.
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that affects one’s ability to interpret the phonological (sound) components of
language. In my daughter’s case, it also takes her longer to process an object or letter.
Having this learning disability made almost every aspect of school difficult: social studies, science, math — anything that required reading content. For my daughter, it also made reading out loud in front of other kids embarrassing.
“It’s not fair,” she said one day after tutoring.
“I understand,” I said. “Having a disability isn’t fair.”
I am hearing impaired, and we often talked about the parallels between our disabilities, including the self-consciousness that comes from being seen as different. As a parent, I wanted to take away the anxiety and the struggle. Not being able to fix things made me feel helpless at times. At other times, like that day, I felt my cheeks flush with anger.
Like we did so many times after a tutoring session, we went out for ice cream at our
“I was certain the same question was on both of our minds: How much longer would she have to endure this before she could read effortlessly on her own?”
favorite dairy farm. Nearby, newborn calves rested in hay.
On this day, my 8-year-old daughter’s face looked particularly defeated. Her eyes were tired and worn. I was certain the same question was on both of our minds: How much longer would she have to endure this before she could read effortlessly on her own?
“I’m so dumb,” she said.
I had long feared those words. The stigma around people with dyslexia is that they lack intellectual ability. Stigmas around any disability can eat away at one’s self-esteem. In some ways, this was going to be the real work — helping her to not internalize negative stereotypes.
I lifted her chin so she was looking right at me. “You are smart,” I said. “And you have perseverance. That is something to be proud of. Not everyone has that.”
In all those years complaining about dyslexia being hard, I never heard her say it was too hard.
I once read a study that claimed resilient kids are more likely to have heard stories about how their ancestors overcame hurdles. I took a deep breath and gave it a shot.
“You come from a long line of people with grit,” I said, unsure of whether I was headed in the right direction. I reminded her that my grandma Estelle, the inspiration for my daughter’s middle name, had escaped violence against Jews and started a new life in a foreign country. I told her about her other great-grandmother Sophie who, as a young girl, lived in a crowded tenement apartment in New York with seven other people. Her father had worked six long days per week until the family could afford to move to a better home. These are stories of perseverance, I told her, of not giving up in the face of adversity.
I could tell she was listening because she was sitting up straighter. I wanted to tell her that gevurah, or inner strength, was the underlying theme in all Jewish history, but I stopped short of saying that. I didn’t want to unload the weight of that history.
Soon we walked over to a calf and marveled at new life. Struggling to prop itself up on its skinny legs, it walked toward us. “You can do it!” my daughter yelled. The calf poked its nose through the fence and nibbled my daughter’s hand. We laughed for the first time all afternoon. As we left, she gave the calf one last encouraging scratch.
Today my daughter reads effortlessly. But disability does not go away. These days, her work is to self-advocate. She has learned to say to teachers, “I have a learning disability, and I’m going to need more time on this assignment.”
I asked her what advice she might have for other kids with dyslexia. She said, “Having dyslexia doesn’t mean you’re dumb. It just means you have to work harder. Stay positive and don’t give up. Most importantly, once you can read fluently, reading books opens a whole new world.”
Alisa Greenbacher is a freelance writer and coauthor of the PJ Publishing book Sign Language Shabbat. She also has two alumni PJ Library children.
Podcasts and audiobooks expose children to a range of new topics and subjects, encouraging positive associations with learning and storytelling. This helps reluctant readers overcome anxiety about print.
Children can listen to stories well up to two levels beyond their grade level for reading. This expands kids’ story horizons.
Audio helps children build fluency and confidence when paired with text.
PJ Our Way subscribers can access PJ Library’s audio offerings on pjourway.org/audiobooks and pjlibrary.org/podcast.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BOOKS THAT FOCUS ON PERSEVERANCE?
Go to pjlibrary.org/perseverance for a selection of books to encourage your kiddo and improve their literacy along the way.
Eight years ago, PJ Library saw an opportunity to publish engaging books for its young readers — and PJ Publishing was born. Today it’s fast becoming home to both established and emerging talent.
BY REBECCA NORDQUIST, MANAGING EDITORPJ Publishing’s board book My Hands Make the World guides young readers through the story of creation with bright, colorful illustrations. Until the Blueberries Grow, a picture book, follows a sweet relationship between a boy and his great-grandfather. And the graphic novel Onions and Garlic retells a Yiddish folktale with humor and delight.
These children’s books and many others are giving PJ Publishing, the in-house press dedicated to PJ Library, a refreshed mission. “We’ll focus on discovering new voices and emerging talent while also lighting the way for esteemed authors and illustrators to explore their craft through the lens of Jewish characters, narratives, and diverse Jewish experiences,” says Jill Shinderman, PJ Library's director of
PJ Publishing looks to publish up to 10 titles a year — up from about five a year — and build upon its already stellar lineup.
PHOTO BY ALLISON BIGGSpublishing and creative development.
PJ Publishing started in 2014 to provide more opportunities for authors and illustrators and to publish a wider array of Jewish stories for PJ Library families. Oftentimes, if there was a promising manuscript and another publisher didn’t pick it up, PJ Publishing would make an offer and publish it. “Now if the book looks like it has potential for us, we’re going to make an offer right away. That’s a huge change,” says Catriella Freedman, director of author and illustrator stewardship at PJ Library.
give@hgf.org.
Subscribers to PJ Library also receive books that have been curated from outside sources. Some are custom editions published by traditional trade publishers, some are from small to midsize publishers who have focused on titles specifically for the Jewish children’s book market, and some are licensed titles from US and international
publishers. For example, PJ Library ordered 33,000 custom editions of Dream Big, Laugh Often and Other Advice from the Bible, a book going out in May to 8-year-olds, from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (See page 12 for a Q&A with the coauthor/illustrator.) It’s the responsibility of the publisher’s sales, design, and production teams to print and deliver finished copies of the book.
While this continues to be a successful model, Shinderman and Freedman see opportunity for PJ Publishing in many areas. In eight years, it has published 41 books — everything from board books for newborns to middle-grade readers for 12-year-olds — and now the goal is to publish up to 10 books a year. But not just any books. They’re looking to tell authentic stories about Jews from different communities, family makeups, identities, and abilities. Ultimately, it’s important for children to feel seen and recognize themselves in stories and content. “We’re looking for the untold stories, both in terms of representing diverse authors in the Jewish community and emerging creators and talent,” says Freedman. “At the same time, we’re finding ways to get big-name authors to think of us as a publishing home as well.”
One way PJ Library does that is by hosting the Author Israel Adventure. The experience is designed to inspire accomplished creators to bring to life Jewish ideas and stories in children’s books. Freedman is gearing up for the third trip in 2023, thanks to generous support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
PJ Library also offers free webinars and runs picturebook retreats for established and emerging authors, including the recent Highlights PJ Library Picture Book Summer Camp, which had 116 applicants for 20 spots. PJ Publishing has also started working with art schools to identify students who are trying to break into the world of children’s book publishing. “I have a global interest in discovering new stories and talent,” says Shinderman, “stories that illuminate different perspectives, reflect different narrative styles, and present visual storytelling that explores a range of new art forms and media.”
Another big push for PJ Publishing? Audio content. The hope is for every title to have an audio component, and there are expanded plans for animated read-alouds, video book reviews, audiobooks, and podcasts.
Even during this growth moment for PJ Publishing, the focus and priority always come back to telling stories that engage Jewish children around the world and connect them to each other. “I’m excited about discovering and publishing stories that are filled with humor, heart, and hope,” says Shinderman.
And that, Shinderman adds, is PJ Publishing’s guiding star.
The Sabbath Lion First book offering by PJ Publishing in 2014
First book to receive the Kirkus Star, one of the most coveted designations in the book industry. The Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.
Onions and Garlic
First graphic novel and first collaboration with a nationally known podcast, WBUR’s Circle Round Sign Language Shabbat First creative partnership with the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut for books that reflect and represent diverse experiences
¿Dónde está Shmata? First Spanish/English dual-language book
Hanoch Piven has turned that answer into art. In his forthcoming children’s book, that means a postcard body for Abraham and a whistle nose for Esther.
BY NAOMI SHULMAN, CONTENT OFFICERHanoch Piven’s art likely looks familiar. His portraits, crafted with everyday objects — think light bulbs for noses, seashells for eyes, and matzah for beards — have been featured in the Atlantic, the New Yorker, and Esquire, among many other publications. He’s gained such fame that people often give him bags of junk for his art. “They are proud when they see things show up in my portraits,” says 59-yearold Piven.
But the Israeli international artist recently took on a project outside his wheelhouse: illustrating Bible stories. Dream Big, Laugh Often and Other Advice from the Bible, a collaboration with Torah scholar Shira Hecht-Koller, is being published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in early 2023. It’ll land in the mailboxes of 8-year-old PJ Library subscribers shortly thereafter and will be available online and in bookstores. PROOF caught up with Piven to talk about his art and how he went from portraits of Prince and Iggy Pop to bringing Eve and Elijah to life.
Naomi Shulman: When did you first become interested in creating art?
Hanoch Piven: I was the artist of the class in the Jewish school I went to in Uruguay, where I was born. At age 25, I went to New York [to the School of Visual Arts], and
Born in Uruguay and raised in Israel, artist Hanoch Piven says good ideas for portraits start when he simply moves the objects around and plays.
PHOTO BY TONI RICART
when I started drawing again, I realized I was limited technically. So I started to look for other ways of doing art. Lots of Jewish Eastern European artists, such as Saul Steinberg of the New Yorker, were doing collage. I see the collage method as a process of discovery because you’re dependent on what you find. When you react to what you see, you need to observe, be present, pay attention, look for happy accidents. And you need to accept that you don’t know what you’re doing until something happens. There are a lot of life lessons in collage.
NS: How did your partnership with your coauthor Shira come about?
HP: In Yiddish, the word is beshert A few years ago, I was invited to Camp Moshava in the Poconos [in Pennsylvania] as an artist in residence. After I gave a talk, Shira came to me and said she’d love it if I’d create a couple of illustrations of Bible characters. We met a couple weeks later, and I suggested combining some of the illustrations into a book. Shira then put me in touch with PJ Library. Two or three years later, when we were getting ready to show the book to publishers, Joy Peskin, an editor with Farrar, Straus and Giroux (now the book’s publisher), asked, “Have you ever done books for children?” It’s just like collage: If you allow yourself to be open to happy accidents, they will come.
NS: What was your relationship with these biblical characters before you started working on this book, and how has it changed?
HP: My life is very secular. But after learning about the stories for this book, I’ve come to love them so much. I’m a searcher; I move from country to country. When I read the story of Abraham, how can I not think the writer knows something about my own spirit? Shira and I understood that we needed to find one educational value to take from
each story. With Eve, it was to be curious. Ruth was about finding your people. Looking at these characters from a human point of view is a good tool for bringing these stories closer to kids. Sometimes kids may have tantrums like Jonah and might need a time-out, and what better time-out could there be than three days in a fish’s belly?
NS: I bet many children (and grownups) will be inspired to re-create your art. Where should they start?
HP: Get a basket and go around your house and look at the things in a new way. Look at everything in the junk drawer and the recycling bin as potential for creativity. If you want to do a self-portrait [see sidebar], don’t worry about creating a likeness. It’s more about telling a story about you. And then it’s about starting to combine things. You realize the marble could be a great eye, or the tape dispenser could be a wonderful nose or mouth. If it’s good, keep going! If it’s not, change direction. Allow yourself to be in this wonderful space of noncommittal exploration.
Meet Moses from Dream Big, Laugh Often and Other Advice from the Bible, Hanoch Piven’s new book with coauthor Shira Hecht-Koller. IMAGE COPYRIGHT © 2023 BY HANOCH PIVEN
Every portrait in Dream Big, Laugh Often and Other Advice from the Bible is made with everyday objects that one might find around the house. Some of those objects are clues into a character’s personality or story. Why not create a self-portrait using objects around your home?
• Small random items (buttons, beads, scraps of paper, snippets of string or fabric, seashells, twigs, magazine clippings, pieces from board games, dried beans or rice anything goes!)
• Glue (optional)
• Cardboard or heavy construction paper (optional)
• Your imagination
Hunt around your house for small random items (like the ones in the list above). Place your collection in a pile on a table, then arrange the objects into a picture that reflects how you see yourself.
If none of the objects in your portrait are things that will be needed again (check with a grownup!), consider gluing your artwork down onto a piece of cardboard or heavy construction paper.
Every month, children experience the excitement of a new story. Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at how it gets to their home for storytime.
PHOTOS AND WORDS BY SHANA SURECKIt takes multiple spreadsheets, tractor trailers, forklifts, and a philanthropic vision to complete the mammoth task of getting almost 670,000 PJ Library books a month into the hands of Jewish children around the world.
It really “takes a village,” says Renée Zborowski, operations manager at PJ Library. “And what’s awesome is it’s feel-good work.”
While Renée and the global operations team make the complicated process seem simple, there is a lot of careful planning that goes into delivering upward of 6 million books yearly to homes, schools, and organizations in more than 35 countries. Renée handles about 3 million of those books from the US, and programs in countries such as Israel, Russia, and Brazil manage the rest.
Take, for instance, the September delivery of The Cholent Brigade, the January book for 5-year-olds. After the picture book was written in Illinois by Michael Herman, illustrated by Sharon Harmer in England, published by Kar-Ben Publishing in Minnesota, and printed in China, a tractor trailer from a port in New York City delivered 31,248 copies to the PJ Library warehouse in Connecticut. Quite a journey, right? It’s not even close to over. This is where Renée and her team’s careful planning comes in handy. Follow along and see how the books go from the PJ Library warehouse to the houses of PJ Library families.
Before PJ Library books find their homes, they live at the organization’s 14,000-square-foot warehouse. On any given day, there are approximately 1 million board books, picture books, and chapter books waiting to be shipped out. Each pallet, strategically placed by warehouse support representative Doug Zborowski (yes, that’s Renée’s husband) is inventoried and labeled.
Renée is the supreme multitasker: With an often-ringing phone nearby, she keeps spreadsheets updated, negotiates with vendors, and like today, checks the quality of newly arrived books. In fact, if her Apple Watch didn’t remind her to stand up every hour, she might sit busy at her desk all day. But she has reliable colleagues at her side. In this case, Doug, her husband of 24 years.
On September 13, this tractor trailer delivered nine pallets — or 279 boxes — filled with The Cholent Brigade. The books’ previous stop? A container ship from China for about six weeks at sea. Delivery day is a common occurrence at the warehouse. Doug meets and greets approximately 25 tractor trailers a month and unloads about 250,000 books.
Doug also wears many hats. Forklift operator included. And even through the COVID-19 pandemic, he kept the forklift running. He and the operations team managed timely shipments and the distribution of books with very few glitches. Their efforts didn’t go unnoticed: Children sent in thank-you notes and said the monthly books gave them a sense of normalcy.
This is the village Renée is referring to: (from left to right, clockwise) Brian Buerkle, publisher relations manager; Adrianne Levine, director of data management; Doug Zborowski, warehouse support representative; Renée Zborowski, operations manager; Suzanne Pilet, marketing and operations coordinator; and Alicia Asarese, operations associate. This team represents the full journey of a book: from publisher to PJ Library family.
Once the books are ready for their children, they leave the PJ Library warehouse and stop by Andrews, a nearby direct-mail and marketing company. A well-orchestrated crew addresses and stuffs the envelopes and prepares them for shipment. “Mail is complex,” says Heather Strange, manager of business services at Andrews. “When you open your mailbox, you don’t think about what it takes to get that mail. It’s a lot of physical labor done by very hardworking people. It is our pleasure to partner with PJ Library by sending these wonderful books to children all over the country every month.”
While The Cholent Brigade won’t arrive at Andrews until December, Kibitzers and Fools was headed to the homes of 8-year-olds in October. It takes three humans and one machine, aka a large format inserter, to stuff approximately 1,200 envelopes an hour.
The final step of the book-stuffing process is bundling. Josué Maldonado, a machine operator, uses the blue strap machine to bundle them according to United States Postal Service requirements. In a few days, the USPS will pick up Kibitzers and Fools and the rest of the October domestic mailing — 209,307 books in total — for PJ Library subscribers ages 0–8.
The inserting machine can’t accommodate chapter books, and that’s when Kanmaly Pharattanavong (left) and Heather Strange, who’s filling in for an employee, step in. In this case, The Lost Spy and the Green Dress, a PJ Our Way selection for tweens, is getting the VIP treatment.
Andrews’ work for the October mailing is almost done. It’ll take four tractor trailers to get the 400 pallets of books to the post office in Springfield, Massachusetts, about 15 minutes away. When the USPS driver arrives, mail handler Shawn Violette (above right) is ready with the pallet jack. And then the books start the final journey to PJ Library children … at long last.
PJ Library relies on anchor support from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and local partners — both established global philanthropists and organizations — to reach families in more than 30 countries across the globe (outside of the US, Canada, and Israel). But this support still leaves a financial gap of about $1 million, and that’s where the PJ Library International Fund comes in. Funds raised are used to ensure that families — no matter where they live and how their community is funded — can enjoy the gift and connection of a PJ Library book.
It’s not just smaller programs like Chile that need additional funding to grow: Sometimes our larger regions need support too. In 2020, the head of the Jewish community in Estonia approached our Moscow team. They were eager to launch a program for the Baltic region, reaching families in Latvia and Lithuania as well. The organizational partnership, the strategy, and the Russian-language books were in place, but there was no funding. The international fund changed that, and a few months in, a partner stepped up to generously fund the majority of the now-thriving program. The program now reaches approximately 680 children a month and has plans to reach more. We also hope to organize an educational seminar for local teachers who use the books in their classrooms.
About three years ago, I received a call from Andres, our amazing partner for PJ Library in Chile. He had just opened the registration for PJ Library en Español, our Spanish-language program, and within two hours, he reached 220 children — the maximum his budget would allow. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the funding available to admit the rest of the families who wanted to sign up and was devastated at the
In the past 18 months, PJ Library has launched in five new countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Taiwan, and Paraguay. We are always looking for more opportunities to start new programs. With essential support from the international fund, we are exploring the possibility of expanding into Argentina. It is the largest Spanish market that we do not currently serve. If this happens — and that’s a big if — Argentina would double the size of PJ Library en Español.
In 2009, PJ Library sent its first book outside of the US and Canada — and the international program has been growing ever since. But how does it work? Here are the five things you need to know.
How the international fund works
How the fund is put into action
How the fund helps the international program grow
prospect of having to put them on a waiting list.
Andres isn’t alone. PJ Library programs in Colombia, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, among many others, have faced the same challenge: There was room to grow but not enough local funding in place to do so.
This dilemma got my colleagues and me thinking. What if we harbored the generosity of PJ Library funders who recognized the need in global communities? Could we clear waiting lists like the one in Chile — and even launch more programs? From those questions, the PJ Library International Fund was created in 2021, and with the generosity of the
When the war started in Ukraine, home delivery to our more than 3,200 PJ Library subscribers became impossible. But through the efforts of PJ Library communities around the world, we found ways around that. We eventually gained access to our book warehouse in Ukraine, forged a relationship with a new printer and translator to continue to produce books, and established locations where families could pick up their books across Ukraine and Israel and throughout Europe. By September, with the support of the international fund, some families displaced by the conflict once again received new Ukrainian-language PJ Library books.
Harold Grinspoon Foundation (PJ Library’s parent organization) and PJ Library donors, it now helps to support programs in more than 30 countries. And as the international fund grows, we’re able to reach new families and launch in new communities.
I’m happy to say that Chile now has 350 children in the program; in the coming years, we hope to provide enough funds to reach 500 children. This is all because of the international fund and its supporters. Curious about how it all comes together? Here’s everything you need to know about the PJ Library International Fund and its impact.
Every month, we are so proud to reach more than 36,000 Jewish children who comprise the global PJ Library community outside of the US, Canada, and Israel. The gift of a Jewish-themed children’s book in one of seven languages — English, German, Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian — would not be possible without our generous and committed partners worldwide. Today we are nearly halfway to our annual goal of $1 million for the PJ Library International Fund. We invite you to join us in our journey to connect Jewish families and communities. Email us at give@hgf.org to learn more.
When the PJ Library International Fund launched in 2021, these generous supporters donated to get the fund off the ground.
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Lynne Friedlander and Marc Goldman
Nancy and Jim Grosfeld
Edward and Mary Ellen Loebl
Theodore (z”l) and Maxine Murnick Foundation David and Janet Polak Foundation
Friends and family of Miriam Remz (z”l) Dr. Herschel Rosenzweig
Jane and Larry Sherman
Spitz/Tuchman Family Fund
Zellis Family Foundation
Etta and Raymond Zimmerman
“As the international fund grows, we’re able to reach new families and launch in new communities.”
Gintare Rodrigues Silvestre was born and raised in Lithuania, where she lived until she was 21 years old. This is the story of her journey to embrace her Jewish identity and how PJ Library fostered a deeper Jewish connection and sense of community for her and her children. She and her family have lived outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland, since 2012. The 33-year-old is the mother of three children: Oscar (14), Eliza (8), and Raphael (6).
Not too long ago, my family had an identity crisis. At least that’s what it felt like to me. I’d always questioned my Jewish identity; after all, in my home country of Lithuania, which was once run by the Soviet Union, religion of any kind was not valued — and certainly not Judaism.
I knew I was Jewish on my mother’s side and that my great-grandmother had died in the Holocaust. But for the most part, our Jewish heritage was lost. While my mother and granny
The Rodrigues Silvestre family (left to right): Gintare, Oscar, Eliza, Raphael, and João.
PHOTOS
COURTESYOF GINTARE RODRIGUES SILVESTRE
used to light the Shabbat candles, I had no Jewish education growing up. Truthfully, I never bothered to learn much about it.
But everything changed when I became pregnant with my third child, Raphael. I wanted to give him a name that had a connection to Judaism. This moment literally brought my Jewish heritage to life. It also made me realize that I was ready to dig deeper into my family’s history. My husband, João, who was raised Catholic in Portugal and is now an atheist, has fully supported this journey.
This yearning led me to Poland in 2019 to participate in the March of the Living, a program that teaches people about the tragedy of the Holocaust and the once-flourishing Jewish communities in Europe. During that trip, a rabbi asked me about my Jewish heritage. I downplayed my personal connection but mentioned that my mother was Jewish. He quickly exclaimed, “Then you’re Jewish!”
Up until that point, my family’s history was more of a history on paper. Going to Poland
brought me eye to eye with the realities; I was able to connect with the stories, the pictures, and the people. Now my great-grandmother was a real person with a real story.
While the time in Poland was difficult, it was also comforting to not feel so isolated in my own experience of being Jewish. After that trip, I fully understood how important it was that my children knew who they were.
When our family moved to Northern Ireland from Italy in 2012, I truly believed we were the only Jewish family in Belfast. When I returned from the March of Living trip, I contacted the Belfast Jewish Community, an Orthodox synagogue, and was told that the Jewish community in Belfast was tiny. Apparently, the youngest member of the synagogue was in their 20s.
But hope was sparked when a chairman from the synagogue said there was an Israeli family with four kids in our neighborhood. I instantly reached out, and our families clicked. We only wished that our children weren’t the only Jewish children in the area. We began to think, ˝Could there be more?” I was about to find out.
Earlier this year, I met a woman on a Birthright Israel trip, and she told me all about PJ Library and the potential of meeting other families through the program. I was encouraged but skeptical.
Soon after I returned, the woman contacted me and said, “You’re not going to believe this. There are many more families in Nothern Ireland. Fourteen or 15!” I was really surprised
and immediately wanted to meet them.
Together with PJ Library’s help, we all met this past Shavuot. We had cheesecakes, storytelling, and a book for each child. It was amazing to meet all these families. There were Israeli families and other Jewish families who were part of a small group in Northern Ireland called the Progressive Jewish Link, a liberal/reform, progressive Jewish community.
After the Shavuot gathering, we communicated all the time about finding more opportunities to celebrate our Jewish connection and get together, including an end-ofsummer picnic hosted by the Israeli families. And what’s truly exciting is that in September, PJ Library hosted a Rosh Hashanah event at the Belfast Jewish Community for the first time in decades. It was incredible to connect to this newfound Jewish community.
The PJ Library books have also been amazing for my children. When I started introducing Jewish traditions into our family, it was just me telling them about Judaism or cooking a traditional dish. But when my children got the books for the first time, Judaism became real. They saw themselves in the pictures, the words, and in the stories. Not just mama, right?
With so few Jewish people around, my children feel like they are part of a special club. They know all about Israel and hope to visit one day. They cannot believe that there is a country where most people are Jewish.
Throughout this incredible journey, I realized I could not live with myself if I were part of the generation where our Jewish heritage stopped. People like my great-grandmother suffered and died because of who they were — because of them, we can be who we are. We have no right to close that door.
With the help of PJ Library and our growing Jewish community, our family has turned questioning our identity into embracing our identity. Yes, I’m Lithuanian; my husband is Portuguese. We live in Northern Ireland, and our children have British passports. But what we share is our rich, beautiful, and diverse Jewish heritage, one that I’m proud to say we’re helping to keep alive.
“With the help of PJ Library and our growing Jewish community in Northern Ireland, our family has turned questioning our identity into embracing our identity.”
The PJ Library community in Baltimore is focused on connecting families to Jewish life — and its strategy is working.
BY RACHEL WETTER ADVANCEMENT COORDINATOR
In 2021, Baltimore marked its 13th year as a PJ Library community. Just as many Jewish children recognize their 13th year of life with a b’nai mitzvah celebration, the community celebrated its milestone with a Book Mitzvah party. And as Baltimore enters its 14th year, it continues to have plenty to celebrate.
When the program started — with the help of local supporters like Howard and Michelle Rosenbloom — 577 children signed up for books, and many lived in the city’s center. Today it serves almost 3,200 children and has a much wider reach.
“PJ Library has been a blessing for our Baltimore Jewish community by enabling us to connect with young families in meaningful ways through the gift of reading and education infused with Jewish content,” says Marc B. Terrill, president of the Associated, which runs PJ Library locally through its Macks Center for Jewish Connections.
Those connections weren’t by accident. Using PJ Library data, the Macks Center for Jewish Connections noticed that families were moving an hour north of the city. Soon it connected those families to the PJ Library community and Jewish-life opportunities in Greater Baltimore.
Another contributor to the growth? A group of 15 parent connectors. (Most programs have two to eight.) They engage with their local communities and reflect the diverse landscape of Jewish Baltimore, including grandparents, Russian-speaking Jewish families, and LGBTQ+ parents.
“The program is part of key objectives to provide a welcoming place for all Jews to connect with our Associated network of agencies and serve as an entry point to all that the Jewish community has to offer,” Terrill says.
DONORS AT ALL LEVELS HAVE AN IMPACT ON PJ LIBRARY. Go to pjlibrary.org/donate to make a gift or learn more.
The PJ Library program in Baltimore is focused on family engagement. And it shows.
PHOTOS BY DAVID STUCKWe had the good fortune of meeting Harold Grinspoon before the inception of PJ Library, which he founded in 2005. At that time, camping, day schools, and Birthright Israel were the mainstays of keeping children Jewish.
And then the light went on, and Harold, with vision and passion, created PJ Library — storytelling within families that enables the values and ethics of Torah to be passed down from generation to generation. Now there are four pillars to ensure Jewish continuity. PJ Library ought to be one of the main addresses for Jewish philanthropy.
We thank Harold for being one of the great Jewish leaders of our time.
— Howard and Michelle Rosenbloom
Would you like to meet the pope?
It was both a question and an invitation. The Vatican would be hosting an interfaith conference on philanthropy. Was I interested in attending?
I was intrigued by the opportunity. I would be joining an international group of Christians, Muslims, and Jews brought together to consider how faith-inspired philanthropy could advance the pope’s mission to serve humanity. We would meet with Pope Francis and hear his vision. My husband would rework his busy schedule to join me. And we would get to do something very special for a friend.
A few days before my husband and I left for Rome, our friend Sara asked a favor of us. Sara is undergoing cancer treatment and has another surgery ahead. She carries a Mass card with her that contains prayers to St. Jude for healing. She asked through tears if we would take her card to our audience with the pope. “Of course,” we said, “we’d be happy to.”
With Sara’s Mass card in hand, we headed to Rome and a most impressive series of events and conversations. Attendees at the summit included royalty, dignitaries, and leaders of industry, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who told of his gratitude to the parish that housed and educated his immigrant father as a teen. We heard many inspiring examples of how people were working to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. We shared stories of how our faith has inspired our philanthropy and how our philanthropy has inspired our faith.
Our audience with the pope would take place on our final morning together. We had been briefed on proper protocols in advance, down to the dress code. We gathered for
After an invitation to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican, Winnie Sandler Grinspoon and her husband, Dr. Steven Grinspoon, hoped to do a mitzvah for a friend.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WINNIE SANDLER GRINSPOON
breakfast, all in our dark, conservative clothing, eager for the day ahead.
Minutes before the appointed time, our hosts shared disappointing news. There had been a change of plans. Pope Francis would not be joining us.
The room went quiet, and our hosts suggested a coffee break. My husband and I considered what to do about our promise to Sara. We approached one of the leaders of the group and asked if there was any way to receive a blessing for our friend. Our host made some inquires, and a few minutes later, she returned with a small pouch containing rosary beads blessed by Pope Francis. She asked that we give it to Sara with best wishes.
You can imagine Sara’s reaction.
I left Rome feeling inspired by grand plans of action to heal the world and the power of small acts of kindness toward one person. It also made me proud to be part of a faithinspired foundation. By working toward a more engaged Jewish people through programs such as PJ Library, we are connecting hundreds of thousands of young people to the inspiration of Jewish values such as tikkun olam: repairing the world for all of humanity. There is much to do, and there are many ways to make a difference.
“We shared stories of how our faith has inspired our philanthropy and how our philanthropy has inspired our faith.”
Did you know that more than 10,000 donors contribute to PJ Library every year? Each gift ensures we maintain our commitment to celebrating Jewish values and culture through story. Help more kids experience PJ Library by making a gift today. Go to pjlibrary.org/donate or contact us at give@hgf.org.
