Your PJ Our Way Books for August 2025
PJ Our Way is proud to offer four fantastic books this month! Your reader can hunt for dragons with Anya, follow Felix on his journey through wartime Poland, take the stage with Lauren, or learn about comedy trio The Three Stooges!
Be sure to have your PJ Our Way subscriber choose their book by August 10th!
Anya and the Dragon
By: Sofiya Pasternack
Ages 11+
384 pages
Eleven-year-old Anya and her family are the only Jews in the village. When the magistrate gives her mother a month to pay a huge sum or lose their home, Anya joins forces with her new friend Ivan and his family of magic users. They promise her a share of the reward the tsar will pay to the person that kills the last dragon in the region, but things are more complicated than they seem. Ultimately, Anya must decide whether to save her family or her friends.
Once
By: Morris Gleitzman
Ages 11+
192 pages
Felix has been living in a Polish orphanage since his bookseller parents went away. When the Nazis come to the orphanage and burn the Jewish books, Felix goes on the run, convinced his parents are alive and determined to find them. In the city he sees a couple who have been shot and an unconscious little girl. A dentist, Barney, rescues Felix and the girl, Zelda, from the Nazis and takes them to a cellar, where he is hiding Jewish children. Felix boosts morale by telling stories but can’t face the truth that his own parents are almost certainly dead. The children and Barney are captured and put on a train to a concentration camp. Felix and Zelda escape, setting up a series of five more books.
Not Your All-American Girl
By: Wendy Wan-Long Shang and Madelyn Rosenberg
Ages 10+
256 pages
Lauren’s a talented singer who dreams of being on Star Search. She does a great audition for the school musical, All-American Town, and everyone thinks she should get the lead. But the teacher says Chinese-Jewish Lauren doesn’t look “American” enough for the role and gives it to Lauren’s best friend, Tara, relegating Lauren to the ensemble. Tension grows between the friends, and Lauren finds it difficult to continue in the play, but she finds solace in the music of Patsy Cline plus a new button-making business. Eventually, the girls work together to make things right both on and off the stage.
Who Were the Three Stooges?
By: Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso
Ages 9+
101 pages
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard would do anything for a laugh, and audiences loved it! This is the story of the career and legacy of the Three Stooges, from vaudeville to movies to television to internet. It follows Shemp, Moe, Larry, Curly, Joe, and Curly Joe through the timeline of their lives, and describes how the Stooges entertained the world over several decades.
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.