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PJ Publishing, the publishing imprint of the beloved free Jewish book program PJ Library, is about to have a standout season. Since its formation in 2014, the imprint has released more than 60 Jewish picture books and delivered them to hundreds of thousands of PJ Library subscribers worldwide. In 2025 alone, PJ Publishing will release 10 books, bringing the total number of releases to 70, marking the imprint’s biggest year yet.

Here’s just a sample of what’s coming.

Lesléa Newman and Noa Mishkin – Bless the World (Fall/Winter 2026)

PJ Publishing has acquired world rights to Bless the World by National Jewish Book Award winner Lesléa Newman, 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. Though PJ Library has sent many of Newman’s other titles to young readers, this is her first title to be published through PJ Publishing.

“This book feels extra special because I have spent time with both the author and the illustrator on several PJ Library sponsored author stewardship trips,” says Naomi Shulman, Managing Editor, PJ Publishing. “In fact, Leslea first wrote the text while at Picture Book Summer Camp at Highlights! And after getting to know Noa through the Illustrator Storyteller Fellowship, I just knew her work would be a perfect fit for this gorgeous, child-friendly poem.”

Sarah Aroeste – Uno, Dos, Tres (June 2025) and Bavajadas (Oct 2025)

Sarah Aroeste is a singer, musician, and writer who has spent the last two decades bringing her contemporary vision of Sephardic culture through books and music to audiences around the world. She sings in Ladino and writes books interlaced with the Judeo-Spanish dialect. A member of PJ Library’s inaugural Sephardic Stories Initiative cohort, Sarah is a mentor and role model for burgeoning Sephardic and Mizrachi literary talent.

Sarah has two board books publishing through PJ Library this year.

Uno Dos Tres: A Sephardic Counting Book by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Nathalie Belhassen, depicts beautiful papercut art of oil candles, hand drums, biskochos, and other Sephardic symbols paired with simple Ladino counting. It was sent to 2-year-old PJ Library subscribers in June.

Bavajadas! That’s Just Silly! by Sarah Aroeste, illustrated by Annabel Tempest, is a laugh-out-loud rhyming board book that embraces silliness with the fun of the Ladino word “bavajadas:” nonsense! It will be sent to 2-year-old PJ Library subscribers in October.

Sarah’s other board books include Mazal Bueno!; Buen Shabbat, Shabbat Shalom; and the upcoming Anyada Buena, Shanah Tovah from Kar-Ben Publishing. 

Diana Harmon Asher – Trouble Finds Evie Lefkowitz (Sept 2025)

What could be more humiliating than your mom dating your assistant principal? Evie’s about to find out in this hilarious, big-hearted novel about surviving the uncertainties of middle school, sticking up for what you believe, and becoming the person you’re meant to be. This middle grade book from the author of Upstaged and Sidetracked is one of the first middle grade books to be published by PJ Publishing and distributed through PJ Our Way, an extension of PJ Library for middle grade readers. Through PJ Our Way, PJ Library readers ages 9 to 12 can choose their own book or graphic novel each month.

Grappling with themes such as the loss of a parent, antisemitism, and bullying, Trouble is Diana Harmon Asher’s most personal – and explicitly Jewish – book yet.