Julian Edelman’s Children Book Gets A Jewish Makeover
Image by Getty Images
BOSTON (JTA) — If New England Patriots star Julian Edelman retires from the NFL anytime soon, he could clearly have a promising second career as a Jewish children’s book writer.
In front of about 400 children and their families Tuesday night at the Newton Centre flagship of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston, the 31-year-old wide receiver and past Super Bowl hero read a special edition of a children’s book he co-wrote last year.
Unsurprisingly, Edelman, who has Jewish ancestry on his father’s side and has identified as Jewish in recent years, was treated like a rock star.
“He’s a really good receiver and I hope I like his book,” Ilan Sherman Kadish, one of Edelman’s many young fans in attendance, said before the star player spoke.
The event was organized by PJ Library, the Massachusetts-based global Jewish children’s book giveaway program supported by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in partnership with other philanthropists and local Jewish community organizations. Twenty-five thousand copies of Edelman’s book “Flying High,” a semi-autobiographical story about an endearing squirrel named Jules who is determined to play football, are being mailed this week to five-year-olds in Jewish homes across North America through the PJ Library program.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
