Mishpuchah!

This month when I opened my mailbox and found a copy of Mishpuchah from PJ Library I immediately flipped through it as I often do when a new book arrives. What I found was a fun little alien trying to talk to various farm animals with the Yiddish word Mischpuchah, which is right up my alley as a Jewish sci fi nerd. But it didn’t take long to realize that what I had in my hands was so much more than a fun book that my 2.5 year old son would enjoy. It was a book that would help instill in him a very important part of Judaism to me, family.

For me, being Jewish is rooted in family. Growing up holidays like Passover Seders, Hannukah, and break the fast for Yom Kippur were all family affairs. Not just immediate family but grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even friends who came to be known as mishpuschah. And for me, being Jewish is a lot about spending time with family and keeping up the traditions we have, not to mention throwing in the occasional Yiddish word. So to have received a book
that expressed those very important values, felt like more than just a gift. I was excited to share this one.

As expected reading this book with my son was a fun experience. Not only did he enjoy the animal noises which he has recently perfected, but he also loved the word mishpuchah which is fun to say and sounds hilarious. It was an interactive read along as I read and asked him what each animal said and I smiled as I watched him laugh every time I said the word mischpuchah.

Books before bed have become impromptu family time for my husband, son and I. Sharing this book about family was extra special, especially since we haven’t seen much family this year. I miss the family time, seeing extended family, watching it grow and hearing what is going on with everyone. I can’t wait until we can gather again for holidays, and continue to share everything with the next generation. My family has morphed and grown since I was a child, including marriages, deaths, births, and new friends joining the mix. But one thing has stayed the same, the traditions that were built. I hope to perpetuate those values and help create new memories with my son and beyond. Books like Mishpuchah are a great way to continue on and build new traditions as well as honor those that came before.

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Growing up with a fascination for space and things that fly, Jamie turned that love into a career as an Aerospace Engineer. Combining her natural enthusiasm for Science Fiction and her love of reading, she now spends a lot of her time writing Middle Grade and Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Through Snowy Wings Publishing, Jamie Krakover is the author of Tracker220 (October 2020). She also has two female in STEM short stories published in the Brave New Girls anthologies and two engineering-centered nonfiction pieces published in Writer’s Digest’s Putting the Science in Fiction. Jamie lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her husband, Andrew, their son, and their dog Rogue (after the X-Men, not Star Wars, although she loves both).