Your PJ Our Way Books for October
PJ Our Way is proud to present four incredible titles for October selection. Take a magical adventure with a chimney sweep and her beloved monster, choose your own adventure as you try to survive the blitz of World War II, find out how a tween boy sneaks off to camp without either of his divorced parents knowing, or learn how to be a mensch! Choose your book by the 10th!
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
by Jonathan Auxier
Ages 11+
352 pages
Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is the best chimney sweep in Victorian London. After her beloved mentor disappears and she is almost killed in a fire, Nan’s only protection against the evil master sweep Wilkie Crudd is Charlie, a golem figure made of soot and ash, and the friends she makes among the city’s other sweeps and outsiders. Sweep is a beautifully written adventure in the tradition of classic children’s literature, with a Dickensian atmosphere, resourceful orphans, larger-than-life villains, and magical touches, as well as allusions to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and social reformer William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. This choice is suitable for older readers in the program because it has challenging vocabulary and emotionally mature content. Sweep is a captivating story with a rich emotional range, offering children (and parents!) much to discuss and think about long after the book is finished.
The British Escape
by Leah Sokol
Ages 10+
156 pages
This choose-your-own-adventure story set in England during World War II is full of action, tension, and suspense. The reader assumes the role of a 10-year-old Jewish refugee who has been sent from Austria to London on the Kindertransport. “You” and your 5-year-old sister Ruthie are living in Rabbi Schonfeld’s house in London but are soon sent to homes in the British countryside to avoid the bombings in London. The reader is offered a series of options for responding to various events, resulting in a variety of outcomes. An afterword separates fact from fiction in the story and provides additional historical background.
The Jake Show
by Joshua S. Levy
Ages 10+
240 pages
7th grader Jake Lightman is caught between two worlds. He’s Yaakov when he’s with his Orthodox mother and her Rabbi husband, and he’s Jacob when he’s with his secular father and non-Jewish step-mother. The only place where he really feels like himself - Jake - is at his new school, JDS, the modern Orthodox day school that both parents reluctantly agreed to send him to. The best part of Jake’s new school are his new friends, Caleb and Tehilla. Like Jake, they know what it feels like to be an outsider - Caleb was only the third student at JDS to come out as gay, and Tehilla and her mother live in poverty and she’s a scholarship student. Jake is determined to spend the summer at Camp Gershoni with his new friends, but he knows neither parent will approve - it’s too Jewish for his father, and not observant enough for his mother. With the help of his new friends, Jake comes up with a plan that will keep both parents happy while he’s at Camp Gershoni. As Jake’s web of lies becomes increasingly complex, he struggles to keep the ruse going while maintaining his friendships with Caleb and Tehilla. Eventually, Jake has to figure out what really matters, or risk losing the best friends he’s ever had.
How to Be a Mensch
by Catherine Newman
Ages 9+
144 pages
This how-to manual is a version of Catherine Newman’s book How to Be a Person, with Jewish content specially created for a unique PJ Our Way edition. Chapters cover life skills like how to care for people, pets, and plants; how to cook for Shabbat; how to clean your clothes; and how to manage money. Cartoon-style illustrations add to the accessible, kid-friendly style.
Note: Quantities of each title are limited! If you see another book offered for selection this month, head over to Story Central to check it out.