April 2017

Tell us about your family; how did you hear about the PJ Library?
Both Alex and I are originally from Ontario but we met in Winnipeg almost a decade here and Winnipeg has been home since. We heard about PJ library after the birth of our twins almost five years ago, when I was trying to find Jewish content books to read with them. A friend of ours suggested we enroll in PJ library, and a few months later we received “On Tu B’Shevat we plant a tree” and we have been in love with the program ever since! 
Tell us about your experiences with PJ Library and how this program (books and events) have impacted your family. 
We have now received books on a monthly basis for almost five years. While we are quite involved in the Jewish community, the books (and music) and programs have enhanced our Jewish lives in innumerable ways. The books get our kids excited and knowledgeable about the Jewish holidays, and are both educational and fun. I can honestly say that the most treasured books in our home are all PJ library books. For our baby Hannah, it warms our heart to be able to read to her about Jewish holidays and experiences from such a young age. You can see her learning (she now says “taya” for challah based on the PJ library Shabbat books) and enjoying the books with her siblings. 
We have put the PJ Library Music CDs in our car, and that is now generally what our children will request to listen to. They are learning all kinds of both Hebrew and Jewish songs just on our car rides. Sometimes at night, when they are going to sleep, we hear the singing Jewish songs that they have listened to in our car, provided by PJ Library. There is not enough space for all the wonderful things I can say about PJ Library. 

What are your children's favorite PJ books?
Too many to count! For Hannah, it’s Bim and Bom, A Kiss on the Keppie, Mitzi’s Mitzvah, My Jewish Colors (she points at the dreidel and sings “daydel daydel daydel”) and Thank You For Me. For Ben and Claudia, their favourites are: A Mezuzah on the Door, Bagels from Benny (which is displayed in Claudia’s room), The Little Little House, Emma’s Poem, Chicken Man, The Chanukah Guest, and the Friday Nights of Nana. I can honestly say that we have never received a PJ library book that wasn’t loved and cherished (and still read)! 

What has been your child's favorite PJ Library program and why?
Once again it’s so hard to choose! The Tu B’Shvat program at Fort Whyte was wonderful! We love all the Morah Nancy Shabbats at Etz Chayim. And I of course loved the Shabbat Project Havdallah Program (although that’s a bit of a bias)

Anything else you’d like us to know?
We are so grateful to the PJ library program for all the ways it enhances our Jewish life on an ongoing basis. Our children love to read and it has been such a privilege to receive such high quality beautiful books that we can share with our children. Thank you thank you thank you!