PJ Library
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American Girl Author
Jacqueline Dembar Greene
Sunday, April 25th
1:00 - 4:00 pm
JCCRI, Providence
American Girl™ Tea Party with author Jacqueline Dembar Greene on Sunday, April 25th at 1:00 pm at the Jewish Community Center. There is a program fee of $18 per adult and $9 per child. The event is best-suited for children eight years and up, and will include tea and snacks, a craft project, and a raffle for a Rebecca doll. Books will be available for purchase and Ms. Greene will autograph books, newly purchased or already well-read. RSVP to Nicole Katzman, PJ Library Director, at 401.331.0956 x180 or nkatzman@bjeri.org. The Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island is offering a program for fans of sports in the gym during the American Girl program.
History serves as a backdrop in Greene’s books, and allows readers to step into a new world—and feel at home. In developing the series about Rebecca, a young Jewish girl growing up with her immigrant family in the melting pot of New York City in 1914, Ms. Greene drew on her own family history. “One of my favorite aspects of writing is imagining what it would be like to live in other times,” Ms. Greene says. “Although Rebecca is American-born, her parents, grandparents, and cousins all came through Ellis Island—just as my own grandparents did long ago.” She will give a talk about the Rebecca book series and how they were written.
Ms. Greene is an award-winning author of more than 30 books and stories for young readers. In addition to her American Girl™ series, some of her notable books of fiction include:
• Out of Many Waters, a historical novel about the first Jewish settlement in America. The novel was a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, a New York Libraries “Book for the Teen Age,” and garnered a New York Times featured book review.
• One Foot Ashore, a companion to Out of Many Waters. Named a Sydney Taylor Honor Book and an American Booksellers “Pick of the Lists.”
• Nathan’s Hanukkah Bargain, a picture book about a young boy in search of his own Hanukkah menorah.
• “David’s Star,” a short story in the National Jewish Book Award-winning anthology With All My Heart, With All My Mind.
• Butchers and Bakers, Rabbis and Kings, a picture book set in Spain in the 1100s. Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
Ms. Greene has also written many non-fiction titles for children, including the recent Fire at the Triangle Factory, about the tragic shirtwaist factory fire in New York City in 1911, and The 2001 World Trade Center Attack. Two of her books about Native Americans, The Tohono O’odham and Powwow: A Good Day to Dance, are illustrated with Ms. Greene’s original photographs.
Ms. Greene grew up in the rural town of Bloomfield, Connecticut. She received a B.A. in French Literature from University of Connecticut with honors. She earned a M.A. degree in English Literature from Central Missouri University with special distinction. Following a brief career teaching French, she worked as a journalist for several Boston area newspapers. She began her career writing for children with several stories and poems before turning to longer fiction and nonfiction works.
Jacqueline Dembar Greene is married and has two grown sons. She lives in Wayland, Massachusetts.
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The PJ Library is a Jewish literacy and outreach program for families with children age six months through six years. Children enrolled in PJ Library receive Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis through the mail. Each delivery includes a guide for parents with tips on ways to enrich their use of the book or music.
Enrollment in the program is offered to greater Rhode Island families at no charge. Subscriptions for children who live outside of greater Rhode Island are available at a cost of $60 per year. In addition to the monthly mailings, the Bureau of Jewish Education, in conjunction with local partners, presents a variety of educational program opportunities throughout the state.
PJ Library has been such a success in our community that we now have a waiting list for enrollments. As of August 2009, the waiting list is at least three months. To place your child on our waiting list, click here to download a PJ Library Enrollment Form. We will begin your child's subscription as soon as possible and notify you when we have done so. For more information regarding the program, please contact Nicole Katzman, PJ Library Director, at 401.331.0956 x180 or via email at: nkatzman@bjeri.org.
A national partnership program model created by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the greater Rhode Island PJ Library is funded with the generosity of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, the Helene and Bertram Bernhardt Foundation, and the Rhode Island Friends of PJ Library.
Rhode Island Friends of PJ Library
Sheila and Paul Alexander
Neil and Randi Beranbaum
De Rabbanan Fund of the Rhode Island Foundation
Engle Family Foundation
Rosalie Fain and Family
Freedman Family
Ira and Anna Galkin Trust
Larry and Jill Goldstein
David and Hope Hirsch
Ravera and Rosenstein Families
Rotenberg Family
Arthur and Barbara Sheer
Siperstein Family
Yarlas Family