Meet the Hayes Family

Alicia and her husband, Mark, live in the South Peninsula with their daughters, Zoe (age 6) and Anna (age 5), and have been PJ Library® subscribers for five years. Thank you to Alicia, Mark, Zoe, and Anna for sharing your story. We wish you many more years of happy reading!

Tell us about your experiences with PJ Library® and how this program has impacted your family: 

I think of PJ Library® as a gift of Judaism every month. It provides our family with an opportunity to learn about Judaism and holidays. Once you become a parent, you have a lot to figure out regarding religion. I want my kids to feel good about their Judaism. My husband isn’t Jewish but shares my values, and we raise the girls in a Jewish home. I grew up attending a synagogue in my neighborhood, so being involved was easy. Truthfully, we don’t have a lot of Jewish access points for our family. Sunday school is challenging as working parents and, with kids’ schedules, it falls lower on the weekly list. Our daughters went to a Jewish preschool, but once they got older it was harder to connect regularly with anything that was Jewish identity building. PJ Library® provides that step into Judaism we needed with our kids.

What are your children's favorite PJ Library® books?

Some of our favorite books are Five Little Gefiltes, Sam Charlie (and Sam too) at Camp, Sky High Sukkah, and Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. The camp book was fun to read, even though our daughters aren’t old enough for camp yet. After reading the book Joseph had a Little Overcoat, my kids were able to connect the dots and understand the important analogy of reusing. At Rosh Hashanah, I was thrilled when my daughter asked to read the book Apples and Honey at bedtime.  

What do you love most about PJ Library®? 

Reading PJ Library® books make the holidays feel more familiar and present. We also appreciate the historical fiction books, especially with present day challenges. It helps root our kids in our history.

The Federation is pleased to offer the PJ Library® program to families like the Hayes’ in the San Francisco Bay Area with kids from six months through eight years of age. PJ Library® is a program of the Early Childhood Education Initiative of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund with support from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the Albert and Janet Schultz PJ Library® Fund, the Alexander M. and June L. Maisin Foundation, and other generous local funders. PJ Library® offers books to many more families in our area.

Visit www.pjlibrary.org to sign up today, or email Vivien Braly at vivienb@sfjcf.org with any questions!