PJ Library Presents: Afternoons With Mimi

Playlist: National Storytelling Month

Did you know that May is Jewish American Heritage Month, National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and National Storytelling Month? 

Our team has put together a playlist featuring three original Mimi and Kiddo stories to share this special month. And if you're looking for fabulous books to keep your celebrations and learning going, head to our website, pjlibrary.org to find reading lists and more. 

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.

Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher

Writer: Alli Thresher

Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller
Performed by Deirdre Wade

Cast:

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo Learns about A Special Jewish Community (Featuring Ciara from The Mizrahi Story)

Today Kiddo is getting a special treat: a video call from Mimi's friend Ciara. Listen in as our special guest, Ciara, teaches Kiddo all about the history and traditions of the Baghdadi Jewish community of India. Want to learn more? Visit Ciara at The Mizrahi Story on Instagram for all sorts of wonderful interviews, archival video footage, and more. 

Episode Cast and Credits:

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.
Executive Producer: Alli Thresher
Associate Producer: Elizabeth Korelitz
Writers and Story Editor: Ciara Shalome and Alli Thresher 
Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA
Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade Cast:
Kiddo: Percy Blythe
Mimi: Deirdre Wade
Ciara: Ciara Shalome

Kiddo Shares His Hanukkah Traditions - Special Episode with Koala Moon

Today's episode is a special collaboration between Afternoons With Mimi and Koala Moon, a cozy bedtime stories and sleep meditations show for children from the team at Sleepiest.

Koko chats with Mimi and Kiddo to learn all about Hanukkah before sharing a very cozy Hanukkah celebration with his good friend Prickles. 

To learn more about Hanukkah, please visit pjlibrary.org/hanukkah

Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher

Author ✍️ Suzanna Mcloughlin & Alli Thresher

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Kiddo and Mimi's lines edited by Peter Moore at Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Kiddo Learns About Collaboration

A challenging project has Kiddo and his friends frustrated. They need to construct something that can protect an egg for their school’s Egg Drop event, but each friend has tried their own ideas without success. Mimi reads the book Five Brave Knights vs. the Dreadful Dragon, a story about kids facing similar, though fire-breathing, frustration. What can we do when our individual efforts aren’t enough?In Hebrew, the word for “together” (yachad) shares the same root as the word for “individual” (yachid), illustrating how every group is made up of individuals. Your uniqueness is a superpower, but it can be combined with others’ to achieve big shared goals.

The book Mimi reads in this episode, Five Brave Knights vs. the Dreadful Dragon, was written by Netalie Gvirtz and illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt, and published by PJ Publishing.

Episode Cast and Credits:

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.
Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz
Writers and Story Editor: Alli Thresher
Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA
Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade

Cast:
Kiddo: Percy Blythe
Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo Has a Laugh

While searching for a game in Mimi’s closet, he finds a trunk full of funny costumes, plus flyers and other memorabilia from old comedy shows. Mimi explains that his great uncle Levi used to be a comedy performer, part of a long line of laughter in the Jewish tradition of finding happiness even in hard times. She shares a few famous names, telling Kiddo about Jewish comedians she’s enjoyed, like Gilda Radner, Mel Brooks, and others.

 

Episode Cast and Credits:

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.

Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz

Writer: Emma Carlson Berne

Story Editor: Alli Thresher

Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade

Jewish Comedy Historian: Brently Heilbron

Cast:

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

 

Kiddo Learns About the Importance of Names

Sure, Kiddo calls his little brother “Zee,” but what is his full name and where does it come from? What makes names so important anyway? Kiddo learns about the Jewish value of Lekol ish yesh shem, the significance of names.

 

Episode Cast and Credits

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library

The book My Name is Aviva was written by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Ag Jatkowska, and is used with permission from Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Production

• Executive Producer: Alli Thresher
• Associate Producer: Elizabeth Korelitz
• Writer: Emma Carlson Berne
• Story Editor: Alli Thresher
• Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA
• Opening theme song: lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller, performed by Deirdre Wade

Cast

• Kiddo: Percy Blythe
• Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo Decides Between Party Time and Helping Family

 

Kiddo wants to go to his friend Noam’s birthday party at the trampoline park, but it’s at the same time as his cousins’ play, and cousin Emilia could really use Kiddo there to calm her nerves. Mimi reads the book Rosie Saves the World which highlights the Jewish value of mutual responsibility. Kiddo knows the trampolines would be a blast, but can he find a bounce in his step from the mitzvah of helping family first?

 

The book Rosie Saves the World was written by Debbie Herman, illustrated by Tammie Lyon, and is used with permission from Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

 

Episode Cast and Credits:

 

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.

Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz

Writers and Story Editor: Alli Thresher

Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade 

Cast:

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo Helps Mimi Improve Something Special

Kiddo arrives to find Mimi sewing. She explains that Ms. Jenn left her coat behind when visiting, so Mimi’s giving it some needed repairs. Kiddo is eager to start playing and wants to know why they don’t just bring the coat to Ms. Jenn. Mimi shares a modern version of a classic Jewish story about the importance of not only returning lost items, but caring for them too.

 

Episode Cast and Credits:

 

Note: The version of The Lost Chickens folktale in this episode was adapted by Alli Thresher for Radio Chitaika.

 

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.

Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz

Writers and Story Editor: Alli Thresher

Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade 

Cast:

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

Kiddo Learns Resilience

It’s challah-baking time, but when Kiddo tries to braid the dough, it keeps ending up in a big tangled blob. Mimi knows the power of a good story, so she reads the book An Egg for Shabbat. It’s about a young boy trying to go fetch an egg for his mother. He keeps accidentally breaking egg after egg in different ways, but eventually shows us all that these aren’t failures, just learning steps on the way to success.

 

The book An Egg for Shabbat was written by Mirik Snir, illustrated by Eleyor Snir, and is used with permission from Kar-Ben Publishing, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

 

Episode Cast and Credits:

Afternoons With Mimi is a production of PJ Library.

Production: Executive Producer, Alli Thresher, Associate Producer, Elizabeth Korelitz

Writer: Emma Carlson Berne

Story Editor: Alli Thresher

Audio editing, mixing, mastering, and score: Peter Moore, Palace of Purpose Studios in Malden, MA

Opening Theme Song: Lyrics by Alli Thresher, composed and arranged by Hovav Paller Performed by Deirdre Wade 

Cast:

Kiddo: Percy Blythe

Mimi: Deirdre Wade

 

Playlist: What Makes a Good Friend?

 

No one is born with the knowledge of how to be a kind person. That's something we all learn as we grow. Follow along this week in a playlist of stories as Kiddo, with some help from Mimi, learns valuable lessons about being a good friend and neighbor.