Your PJ Our Way Books for December

Check out PJ Our Way’s choices for December! Learn a shocking secret about Miguel’s family history, follow eight kids as they try to save their teacher’s job, join a fun and surprising Hanukkah sleepover, or discover the truth about a famous but mysterious magician. Dive into a great read this month with one of PJ Our Way’s four excellent selections!

Walk Till You Disappear By Jacqueline Dembar Greene

Ages 10+

202 pages

Twelve-year-old Miguel’s father wants him to follow in his footsteps and help run the family horse ranch near Tucson, Arizona, but Miguel, raised Catholic, would rather become a priest. However, when his father invites a Jewish peddler for dinner, a secret is revealed: 400 years ago, in Spain, the Abranos family had been Jewish. Suddenly, his family’s traditions of candle lighting and special bread on Friday nights make sense, but Miguel is horrified by the revelation. He runs away, only to be captured by a band of Apaches. Eventually Miguel is rescued by Rushing Cloud, a young man from the Tohono O'odham tribe, who himself is escaping – from white men who kidnap Tohono O’odham children and force them to live at a mission school and give up their traditional ways and beliefs. During their dangerous journey, the boys’ friendship grows, and through learning about Rushing Cloud’s experience, Miguel comes to see his Jewish heritage in a new light.

Operation Frog Effect By Sarah Lynn Scheerger

Ages: 9+

320 pages

For Aviva, Kai, Emily, Henry, Blake, Kayla, Sharon, and Cecilia, fifth grade means a wonderful teacher and a class pet frog. It also means changing friendships and being put at a table with kids they don’t like. When a social action project goes badly wrong and their beloved Ms. Graham is suspended, the kids must put aside their differences and work together to save her job. Told in eight voices through journal entries, letters, verse, film scripts, and comics, this is an engaging read with important messages about bullying, immigration, and poverty.

How I Saved Hanukkah By Amy Goldman Koss

Ages: 9+

88 pages

Marla hates being the only Jewish kid in her fourth-grade class, and she hates having to make blue and white decorations when everyone else is making red and green ones. If only she could celebrate Christmas -- her family hardly does anything for Hanukkah anyway! But when her best friend sleeps over during Hanukkah, Marla is determined to make it fun for Lucy, and in the process, she makes her family realize just what they've been missing.

Who Was Harry Houdini? By Tui Sutherland

Ages: 9+

112 pages

For kids who love magic, this is a fast-paced, informative, and exciting biography of the legendary Harry Houdini. The mystery surrounding Houdini begins with his origins: while records show that he was born in Hungary, Houdini sometimes claimed to have been born in America, and he often gave different birth dates. While painting a picture of his struggles, his persistence in becoming a master of illusion, his successes in America and Europe, and his marriage, this biography looks at Houdini’s motivations and ambitions, and even reveals some of the tricks behind his magic.

What do you think of this month’s books? Comment below to let us know.