Have you ever wondered how we pick the books you find in your PJ Library envelopes? This post is part of a series from the PJ Library Book Selection Committee. Learn more about why they chose Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America by Susan Goldman Rubin.
Many of the books PJ Library sends out are about mensches -- people with solid moral compasses who actively try to make the world a better place. The swashbuckling pirate Jean Laffite, however? Well...let’s just say he’s not a mensch. But humans are complex beings, and even criminals are capable of making the right choices -- sometimes.
The Book Selection Committee found the story of Jean Laffite exciting, and we knew kids would, too -- but we also thought it would open up rich dialogue between parents and their children about how to stand up for what’s right, and how sometimes the lines between right and wrong can be a little blurry. We’ll never turn to Jean Laffite as a role model, but he is an example of a complicated person who struggles to do the right thing in the end -- and he makes for good storytelling along the way.
July 25, 2018