PJ Library, a program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh in partnership with the JCC, is expanding!

A new program, PJ Our Way, will provide books to children ages 9-11 who live in the Pittsburgh community, bringing Jewish books into older children’s lives as effectively as PJ Library has done with younger children over the last ten years.

Building on the success of PJ Library, which gives the gift of Jewish children’s books each month to more than 140,000 children ages six months to eight years old, in North America, including more than 1,000 in the Pittsburgh area, PJ Our Way allows program participants to select one of four books every month, giving them more choice on their journey toward being life-long readers while introducing them to Jewish ideas.

“We believe these stories and their values help shape young people in their understanding of being Jewish, and it’s our hope that PJ Our Way will ultimately build a strong community of young Jewish people,” said Harold Grinspoon, Founder of PJ Library and PJ Our Way.

As part of the program, PJ Our Way participants can create book trailers, videos, quizzes, author interviews, and other media to communicate with peers about the books. The PJ Our Way website – www.pjourway.org – provides these new avenues for discussion.

“We’ve thought a great deal about how to engage older readers by giving them more say in what they read and then giving them creative platforms to talk to their peers about the books,” said PJ Our Way Director Catriella Freedman.

PJ Our Way is guided by a Design Team made up of participants from around the country. These children have early access to books and create videos and reviews, interview authors, participate in workshops and lead the conversation amongst their peers. PJ Our Way subscribers can apply to be a part of the national Design Team each October.

PJ Library is a program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in partnership locally with the Jewish Federation and the JCC.

For our graduating PJ Library kids, their reading journey continues. We couldn’t be more excited!

For information about PJ Library in the Pittsburgh area, please contact Lauren Bartholomae, 412-339-5417 or [email protected].

To sign up for PJ Our Way, please visit www.pjourway.org.

(Featured image originally found on the PJ Our Way website)