“We started reading age-appropriate board-books and soft pillow books to Judah from the day he was born,” said Pam Schwartz of Oakwood. “Children’s books with a bit of a grownup sense of humor are favorites of mine.”
Spetter is a retired Wright State University American history professor who lives three doors down the street, and has had a big influence in his grandson’s love of reading. They like to discuss history, read books, and watch documentaries and historical films together.
“Recently the family gathered to celebrate Judah’s 10th birthday amidst some nice toys and gifts,” said Schwartz. “My dad was proud to say that Judah could be found curled up on the couch reading the book ‘Grandpa Al’ had just given him, ‘Who Was Julius Caesar?’ by Nico Medina.”
The Schwartz’s were contacted by Caryl Segalowitz of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton early last fall, to see if Judah would be interested in applying for the few select PJ Our Way spots across the nation. The federation is partnered with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in Springfield, Massachusetts, the founders of PJ Library/PJ Our Way.
Dayton was designated as a PJ Library city in 2006. PJ Our Way began last year as the next chapter of PJ Library. PJL is a highly successful Jewish outreach program to promote literacy and appreciation for Jewish culture for kids aged six months to eight. They send free books monthly to families, and have 150,000 subscribers around the world.
PJ Our Way offers 9- to 11-year-olds a choice of Jewish-themed books and a safe website to upload reviews, videos and blogs.
After a thorough application process that included questions about interests/connections to Judaism and a book review video submission, the Schwartzs were notified last November 12 that Judah would be part of the national PJ Our Way Design Team.
“It’s one of our favorite programs. We are ecstatic and thrilled about Judah’s involvement,” said Segalowitz, development director/PJ Our Way coordinator.
Judah is this month's featured video on the PJ Our Way website. He gives a 2½-minute review of the book "When the Hurricane Came" by Nechama Liss-Levinson. The video site is https://vimeo.com/153365989.
Two other influences in Judah’s reading life are his Aunt Stephie and Becky Nienaber. Aunt Stephie is a children’s librarian who reads out loud to him and his siblings, Devorah and Seth, when she visits from Chicago. Nienaber, his teacher at Hillel Academy, encourages him to share new books he finds with the class.
Going forward, team members will have monthly webcam meetings via Google Hangouts with the Jerusalem-based facilitator, Saskia Swenson Moss. The kids read newly-published books, and write or record reviews, polls, quizzes, and blogs. They also have the opportunity to meet authors and film producers.
“I’m excited to get kids pumped up about reading and other Jewish stuff,” Judah told PJ Our Way staff members.
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