Your PJ Our Way Books for July
PJ Our Way is proud to offer four great titles this month. Your reader can choose their own adventure as Yael prepares for her bat mitzvah, laugh and cheer for Holling Hoodhood and his Wednesday afternoon antics in Mrs. Baker’s classroom, hold their breath while Irene and her family hide in a circus during the Holocaust, and crack up as Alley and Rex – two very different boys – find their way to an unlikely friendship.
Be sure to have your PJ Our Way subscriber choose their book by July 10th!
Yael and the Party of the Year
By: Tamsin Lane
Ages 10+
160 pages
This Choose Your Own Adventure style book takes Yael through the months leading up to her bat mitzvah. During this time, she negotiates with her loving yet overbearing mom to plan the celebration that best reflects her personality and begins to appreciate the friends (and boys) around her. Kids will enjoy reading in the driver’s seat with this light and fun choice.
The Wednesday Wars
By: Gary D. Schmidt
Ages 10+
288 pages
It’s 1968 in Long Island, NY, and Holling Hoodhood is the only Presbyterian in his class. Because he's not going to Hebrew School or Catholic classes on Wednesday afternoons, Holling has to hang out with Mrs. Baker. Holling goes from cleaning the classroom to learning Shakespeare, all while managing the chaos of 7th grade, including getting chalk on the cream puffs and getting bullied by Doug Swieteck's brother.
All of this takes place against the backdrop of the political turmoil of the late 60's, including the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.
By the end of the book, Holling’s relationship with Mrs. Baker has developed into a beautiful friendship and they support each other through some of their most challenging moments.
Readers will laugh and cheer for Holling as they read this beautifully written Newbery Honor Award book.
Hidden on the High Wire
By: Kathy Kacer
Ages 10+
254 pages
It's 1939, and 13-year-old Irene Danner is a high-wire walker in the Lorch Family Circus. When the Nazis pass a law forbidding Jews to work, Irene's father, who is not Jewish, is forced to shut down the circus. Soon after that he is conscripted into Hitler's army. He goes reluctantly in the hope that his army service will protect his family. The owner of a circus knows Irene’s father and agrees to shelter Irene and her mother. When the Nazis come and search the camp, Irene and her mother hide and are protected by circus staff. Not long afterwards, Althoff reveals their identity to circus staff and fires the only performer who complains.
Alley & Rex
By: Joel Ross
Ages 9+
144 pages
Alley Katz doesn’t make very good choices, or at least that’s what the adults in his life are always telling him. After a particularly messy incident involving a burrito, a ceiling fan, and a bunch of kindergarteners, Principal Kugelmeyer tells Alley that if he doesn’t get an A on the next science test, he’ll have to transfer to the dreaded Steggles Academy, where his horrible Grannie Blatt is the lunch lady.
Alley’s not happy about being paired with a peer mentor to help him with the test, especially when he finds out it’s Rex, the shy fourth grader who wears a bunny suit and carries a briefcase. But Alley needs Rex to stay in school, and Rex needs Alley to survive school.
Readers will love this hilarious, highly illustrated book about how two boys, “one with the heart of a lion and the test scores of a baked potato, the other a shy boy genius in a bunny suit,” become friends.
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.