How PJ Library Connects Children and Families to Israel

For many families, PJ Library serves as an entry point to Jewish life. Through PJ books, families can learn about the values, ideals, and traditions that have sustained and enriched the Jewish people for millennia. Through stories, families gain familiarity with Jewish holidays, customs, and life cycle events and discover how other Jews have lived around the world, in both the past and present.

One area of focus for PJ Library stories is to build a connection for children and families with Israel. PJ Library sends children books that feature Israeli people, culture, geography, language, and so much more. Along with Israeli stories, PJ Library also features Israeli authors. The books that arrive are age specific and range from board books like When I First Held You: A Lullaby from Israel by Mirik Snir, to stories for older children like Stork’s Landing by Tami Lehman Wilzig. Stories such as these help build a bridge between children and families in Dayton with Israel.

For more information on PJ Library please contact Rachel Gilbert, PJ Library Coordinator at (937) 610-1794 or rgilbert@jfgd.net.

When I First Held You
Written by Mirik Snir
Illustrated by Eleyor Snir

When I First Held You celebrates the unique and immediate connection between parents and newborns. The story follows as the tranquil natural world welcomes a new baby with greetings of beauty and harmony. The illustrations depict calm and happy animal families comforted by each other’s company on simple backgrounds of patterned color. Hear love and joy come to life in this sweet Israeli lullaby.

Stork’s Landing
Written by Tami Lehman-Wilzig
Illustrated by Anna Shuttlewood

Israel has one of the largest populations of migrating birds, and in this story, one of them gets stuck in a net in the fish ponds and breaks its wing! On her kibbutz, Maya and her dad discover the injured bird and decide to save it. A heartwarming tale of caring for animals and the natural beauty of Israel, the story also teaches a handful of Hebrew vocabulary words.