Your PJ Our Way Books for January

Ellie’s Deli: Wishing on Matzo Ball Soup!
by Lisa Greenwald

Ages 9+

224 pages

Eleven-year-old Ellie Glantz worries about a lot of things, but right now her biggest worry is the future of her family’s Jewish deli. It’s been going strong for years (her great-grandmother opened it), but lately things have been pretty slow–and they might need to close it. Ellie loves the deli and is determined to keep it open, and BFF Ava is full of good ideas to get more business (food delivery, a website, and more). The girls rally together friends, family, and the community in their fight to save the Lukshen Deli. There’s friendship trouble at school, and Ellie’s Bubbie gets sick and has to go to the hospital, but cheerful illustrations keep the ultimately feel-good story light, and recipes sprinkled throughout will have readers craving matzah balls, chicken soup, and more.

The Six Day Hero
by Tammar Stein

Ages 11+

256 pages

This thrilling, beautifully written coming-of-age novel vividly captures the spirit of Israel during the Six-Day War through the eyes of twelve-year-old Motti, who lives in Jerusalem, just a few meters from the Jordanian border. The entire country is suspended in a state of tense anticipation, Motti’s brother and father have been drafted, and his best friend has fled the country.  Motti dreams of playing the hero and is frustrated that he’s too young to help until the reality of war teaches him that courage and daring are not exactly synonymous. Kids will be unable to put down this fast-paced and poignant novel as they join Motti in navigating through this inspiring and difficult era of recent Israeli history, so rarely documented for this age group. The Six-Day Hero has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection and is a Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner.

Starfish
by Lisa Fipps

Ages 11+

256 pages

This best-selling, award-winning novel in verse introduces us to eleven-year-old Ellie Hofstein. She’s not looking forward to starting 6th grade, and not just because her best friend, Viv, has moved away. Despite Ellie’s commitment to her “Fat Girl Rules” (don’t wear bright colors, make yourself as small as possible, etc.), she is still bullied relentlessly by her peers. But the bullying doesn’t end when Ellie leaves school; her brother makes rude comments and her mother is obsessed with Ellie’s weight, food intake, and the possibility of bariatric surgery - which Ellie doesn’t want. 

With the support of compassionate teachers, her supportive father, a skillful therapist, and her new neighbor Catalina (a Mexican-American girl who knows what it’s like to be judged by her appearance), Ellie finds her voice and the words she needs to stand up for herself. Although the story can be intense at times, readers will be cheering for Ellie by the end! 

The Time Tunnel: Jerusalem Under Siege
by Galila Ron-Feder-Amit

Ages 9+

96 pages

The Time Tunnel  is a popular Israeli series about ten-year-old friends Dan and Sharon who travel back in time to periods in Israeli and Jewish history. In this English edition created just for PJ Our Way, Sharon and Dan end up in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City just as the Jewish inhabitants are surrendering to Jordan’s Arab Legion in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. The story is fast-paced and exciting, and the sadness of defeat is tempered by the fact that Sharon and David know that one day Jews will again live freely in both the Old and New Cities of Jerusalem.