Magic in the Mailbox

PJ Publishing celebrates an enchanting new board book — and the author and illustrator stewardship programs that made it possible.

 

By Naomi Shulman, Managing Editor of PJ Publishing

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This story appeared in the summer 2026 issue of PROOF, a PJ Library magazine.

It takes a lot of exceptional books to surprise and delight children and families month after month. And where do exceptional books come from? From inspired authors and illustrators. That’s why PJ Library invests in stewarding a talented and diverse network of content creators and brings their beautiful Jewish stories to life through our in-house publishing imprint, PJ Publishing.

This summer, we’re delighted to share a special PJ Publishing title with families of 1-year-olds: Bless the World, written by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Noa Mishkin. This lyrical board book celebrates small everyday moments as a family moves through their day from morning to night, appreciating each other and the world around them. And the story behind the story is just as charming: Both the author and illustrator drew creative inspiration from PJ Library’s stewardship programs. I sat down with Lesléa and Noa recently to chat about this project and their experiences with PJ Library.

Naomi Shulman: Let’s start at the beginning. Lesléa, PJ Library has sent out so many of your books. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with PJ Library author stewardship programming?

Lesléa Newman: I was at the very first PJ Library meeting back in 2005 when Harold Grinspoon announced that he wanted to send Jewish children’s books, free of charge, to families. Only Harold could come up with this wild idea and bring it to fruition beyond our wildest dreams! Since then, I’ve been to Tent: Children’s Literature [an author retreat PJ Library sponsored in 2017], traveled to Israel on PJ Library’s first Author Israel Adventure, and taught at Picture Book Summer Camp [an annual PJ Library retreat held at the Boyds Mills campus in Pennsylvania]. I’ve made lifelong friends and written books that came directly from those experiences. Most of all, my work has landed in the hands of thousands of children, which gives me such joy.

NS: It gives us joy too! Tell us a bit about the genesis of this particular manuscript.

LN: Bless the World was born during Picture Book Summer Camp in 2024. I was with a wonderful cohort of Jewish children’s book creators during a full moon — always a great time to be creative! There was a very dramatic thunderstorm that night. We all rushed outdoors when it was over, and the moon filled me with awe. It made me think about blessings and how all the world is a blessing.

NS: Noa, when I first read Lesléa’s manuscript, your work immediately came to mind. Do you recall when I shared it with you?

Noa Mishkin: Yes! You and I had met through the PJ Library Illustrator and Visual Storyteller Fellowship in 2024, when I was working on a book with similar themes. I was happy when you reached out. I had never done a board book for such young readers and was excited to simplify these big themes for a younger audience.

NS: After you both signed your contracts to work on this project, I arranged for the three of us to meet via Zoom.

NM: I’d requested that because I’m just at the beginning of my career and I wanted to do something more collaborative. What I remember most was when I suggested that since I’m in Israel, maybe we could take this book in an Israeli direction. I wasn’t sure how an American author would respond to that but, Lesléa, you were so enthusiastic about it! It gave me so much confidence. My neighborhood in Jerusalem overlooks the Old City, and the very first view I see when I walk each morning is the Dome of the Rock. It’s a big, political, sensitive image, but it’s also just my neighborhood. The fact that I can place that in a picture book as a fact of everyday life makes PJ Publishing very special.

LN: You know, having a conversation with the illustrator is just not done in mainstream children’s publishing, but to talk to you was such a gift. When you asked me how it would feel to have this book set in Jerusalem, I started to cry. That this simple poem could be set in Israel is so meaningful to me. With everything happening in the world, this is a small, but not so small, thing to offer children. And the illustrations are beautiful.

NM: I want to thank PJ Library for investing not only in authors but also in illustrators. If you want stories that really touch on what it means to be a Jew, you have to get into the specifics of people’s experiences, and you can do that with good illustrations. In order to see yourself in these books and learn about how others live, in a real, honest way, you have to invest in the lives of people who make that work. I see PJ Library doing that in all sorts of ways.

LN: Yes. I also want to reiterate my gratitude to PJ Library and to shine a light on Harold’s generosity — and the generosity of all PJ Library supporters. I’m so excited about Bless the World. I’m excited to see PJ Publishing grow. And I’m excited to see more and more wonderful books as a result.

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A Bright Legacy

By Rachel Moloshok, Manager of International Publications

In June of 2024, the PJ Publishing team was thrilled to extend an offer to author-illustrator Amalia Hoffman to publish her latest manuscript, Welcome, Moon, a picture book about the monthly Jewish new moon celebration of Rosh Chodesh.

As with her previous PJ Publishing books, My Hands Make the World and First Fruits, Amalia had paired gorgeous handmade art with child-friendly language to explore surprisingly abstract concepts: the waxing and waning of the moon and the connection between natural cycles and the Jewish experience. Sadly, days after she accepted our offer, we received the news that Amalia had passed away.

Amalia’s son, Jonathan Hoffman, worked closely with PJ Publishing’s staff to maintain his mother’s artistic and authorial vision. It is PJ Library’s great privilege and honor to publish Amalia’s final book and share it with families of 3-year-olds this summer.

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