The Surprise in the Envelope

Alongside the monthly book, PJ Library has sent puzzles, games, and other activities to families. What’s behind these special treats?

 

By Danny Paller, Creative Director

---

This story appeared in the July 2023 issue of PROOF, a PJ Library magazine.

 

A pair of Shabbat candlesticks. A mezuzah on the doorpost. A kippah from Cousin Joey’s bar mitzvah. Whether these or other artifacts of Jewish life adorn your home, PJ Library has a few to add: a perpetual Jewish calendar on the refrigerator, a Mitzvah Pack on the coatrack, a Who Stole Hanukkah?! puzzle in the game bin.

These are just some of the many surprise gifts and activities that PJ Library has sent alongside the monthly storybook.

After its first full decade of sending free Jewish children’s books, PJ Library began responding to parents’ requests for “beyond-the-book” experiences as a means of deepening Jewish engagement in the home. PJ Library mailed one of its first activities in March 2016: a Passover Question Catcher. In the Passover spirit of encouraging children to ask questions, families received foldable sheets modeled on paper fortune tellers — in this case, featuring fun questions for children to ask in preparation for the Passover seder (ritual meal). The team made this ready-to-use family activity as flat as a matzah so it could be tucked into the envelope with the book.

Since then, PJ Library has continued creating gifts for families to enjoy and sending them as a surprise in the same envelope as the monthly book. Each piece aspires to meet three criteria: 1. Be relevant. What are parents looking for to enrich the at-home Jewish experience? 2. Make the old new. How can PJ Library renew and refresh the way Jewish rituals or values have traditionally been presented? 3. Be quick and deep. How can a child-centered activity also involve and resonate with busy grownups?

Over the past seven years, PJ Library has developed and mailed nearly 20 in-envelope presents to hundreds of thousands of children. Families used colorful decals to construct their own family tree, designed to spark stories and conversations about family history. Kids attached an eye-catching luggage tag to a backpack or suitcase, and — inspired by Tefilat HaDerech, an ancient Jewish traveler’s prayer — inserted their own wishes for summer travels. Families unfolded the Passover River Ride at the seder table to retell the dramatic story of the Exodus from Egypt. Kids wore a PJ Library apron to cook with family members in the kitchen — creating sweet Jewish memories — and slipped giftable items into their Mitzvah Pack to go out into the world to do acts of kindness. Guided by a child-friendly Perpetual Jewish Calendar, families learned about the cycle of the Jewish year, and, as a result, kept track of just when to enjoy a special peel-and-sniff Havdalah kit, distribute their Persian-style Purim gift basket, greet guests with their dangling Sukkot welcome mobile, or plant seeds on Tu B’Shevat (Jewish Earth Day) with their microgreens growing kit. And most recently, families celebrated Israel’s milestone 75th birthday by encountering diverse people and places in the groundbreaking Israel Trail Game.

What has been the outcome of all these surprise activities? No surprise, really. Families post their delight on social media and send notes of appreciation. When we survey families, asking about the impact of these gifts, over 90 percent tell us they enjoy them. Children and adults alike embrace these creative ways to connect with holiday traditions and customs.

“Passing this along for the game makers in the latest PJ Library book packets: We love them!” shares Shaina S. of Anchorage, Alaska. “The amount of thought and consideration that goes into these are amazing.”

What new special gifts are in the pipeline? We’re not telling. Would you really want us to ruin the surprise?

A Case Study: How We Did the Whodunit

By Danny Paller, Creative Director

This past December, PJ Library mailed families with children ages 3 to 8 a surprise Hanukkah gift — a whodunit story called Who Stole Hanukkah?! with an accompanying jigsaw puzzle that kids could assemble to solve the mystery. That same month, PJ Library’s Instagram engagement spiked: Kids everywhere were cracking the case, piece by piece. We had a Hanukkah hit on our hands!

“The most recent book which we received, Who Stole Hanukkah?!, is an absolute gem. My 5-year-old daughter absolutely loves it,” David S. from Fairfax Station, Virginia shares.

Adds Madelynn K. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: “Joining a story with a puzzle like this — where the puzzle is integrally connected to the plot — was genius.”

Now that families have succeeded in solving the mystery, let’s unpack yet another mystery: What goes into producing a gift like Who Stole Hanukkah?! Read on to learn how a simple idea became hands-on Hanukkah joy.

The Idea

One day, Harold Grinspoon, the founder of PJ Library, said to the team, “Wouldn’t it be great to send kids a puzzle this Hanukkah?” We thought it over and replied, “Wouldn’t it be great to send a Hanukkah mystery book with a puzzle kids need to assemble in order to solve the mystery?” And we were on our way.

The Plan

We developed a plan to bring the product concept to life. First, we detailed the goals — in this case, building cognitive skills (let’s hear it for sleuthing!), reinforcing Hanukkah values and rituals, and supporting family togetherness and fun. Senior creative manager Beth Honeyman then created a production timetable (roughly a year) and held us to it, every step of the way.

The Story

I wrote a draft of the story, and Naomi Shulman, managing editor of PJ Publishing, improved it. (As they say, two is better than one.) We changed the ending a few times before we agreed on the “who” of the whodunit.

The Manufacturer

Renée Zborowski, our operations manager, is responsible for hiring the right manufacturer for each in-envelope piece. Following a rigorous review, she chose WPS Worldwide Printing Solutions, who helped create puzzle templates with the number of pieces and the shapes we wanted. We went with 30 pieces for ages 3 to 5 and 72 pieces for ages 6 to 8, and we decided to make the puzzles a little more challenging than a standard puzzle.

The Illustrator

Artist Paul Meisel illustrated one of my all-time favorite PJ Library books, The Schmutzy Family. I wanted some of that same Schmutzy fun in Who Stole Hanukkah?!, and luckily, Paul was in! I sent him the story, and soon afterward he began working.

First Sketches

When Paul sent his first round of sketches, we made a mock-up, pairing the text of each page with Paul’s sketches. Everyone was getting excited — it started to feel like a book!

Editing and Revising

Various team members weighed in, and as a result, Naomi and I inserted a clearer motive and planted more clues to add intrigue and make the detective look smarter. Barb Bastian, the senior graphic designer on the PJ Library team, shared tips on the visuals. As a result, the detective became more appealing, and the cat turned out … shorter!

The Puzzle

With the story complete, it was time to create the jigsaw puzzle, which, when assembled, would solve the mystery and reveal the Hanukkah thief! Barb took the final illustration in the story (hidden behind a sealed page) and merged it with the puzzle template.

 

Production, Assembly, and Mailing

When the story, illustrations, and puzzle art were finalized, we received sample books and puzzles. They looked great! We gave the go-ahead for mass production. Books and puzzles arrived at the PJ Library distribution center, where they were placed in envelopes and mailed around the world to arrive in time for PJ Library families’ Hanukkah celebrations!