Comics Kingdom | The Pajama Diaries by Terri Libenson

Terri Libenson

About

The Pajama Diaries details the personal life of Jill Kaplan, a contemporary working mom trying to juggle it all — work life, family life, and sex life (or lack thereof) — without going bonkers. The characters age in real time so readers can enjoy and relate to each new challenge that awaits Jill and her family. The subjects range from everyday silliness to social commentary. It is a sounding board for modern, multitasking women and their families.

Characters

Jill Kaplan

Loving wife and devoted mother of two girls, she manages to balance work, family, and everything in between with a wicked sense of humor. Armed with a to-do list a mile long, Jill manages to accomplish in one day what a small army could barely manage in a week.

Rob Kaplan

Jill’s easygoing husband and tag-team partner in parenting. He works in I.T., so his logical nature is a perfect match for Jill’s artsy and creative counterpart. He is the yin to Jill’s yang (or is it the other way around?). As the lone male in a
household of feisty females, he knows that the female is always right. Right, Rob?

Amy Kaplan

Jill and Rob’s spirited older daughter. Amy is now in college, where she is learning to navigate dorm life, exams, and midnight cafeteria offerings. She is as strong-willed as ever – a challenge in her toddler years, but (hopefully) an advantage as she works her way toward adulthood.

Jess Kaplan

Jill and Rob’s sweet-natured younger daughter. Jess is in high school, where she tries to follow in Amy’s footsteps. At first lonely without her big sis, she quickly is discovering how much she enjoys the life of an only child.

Nanci and Lisa

Jill’s close-knit circle of friends. Both women have kids, as well as various careers and personal lives. They meet up for the occasional dinner or Girls’ Night Out, where they drink one glass of wine (wink, wink), catch up on gossip, and commiserate with each other.

Grandma Sophie

Rob's old-fashioned grandmother who enjoys reminding Jill about the virtues of being the ideal homemaker.

80's Jill

Jill's subconscious voice of reason (or in certain cases, unreason). Represented as her teenaged self, ‘80s Jill sporadically appears in the bathroom mirror to broadcast her opinions. Often, she brings along old friends from days gone by.

Perfectville

Jill and Rob jokingly refer to their neighbors across the street as “Perfectville” for their neat and seemingly “perfect” household. From their pristine lawn and always appropriate housewarming gifts, Jill is both envious and amazed by her neighbors who appear to do no wrong.

Author

Terri Libenson

Terri Libenson is the cartoonist of the internationally syndicated comic strip, The Pajama Diaries (now in reruns online). She was also an award-winning humorous card writer for American Greetings Corp.

Terri graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BFA in illustration and a minor in art history. She developed her first comic strip, Got A Life, in 2000, which was distributed by King Features Weekly Service. The Pajama Diaries launched with King Features in 2006 and ran in hundreds of newspapers internationally until its retirement in 2020. The Pajama Diaries has been nominated four times for Best Newspaper Strip by the National Cartoonists Society, and won the coveted award in 2016.

Terri has three Pajama Diaries book collections: Deja To-Do, Having It All...And No Time To Do It, and Bat-Zilla. She is also the author of the best-selling Emmie & Friends middle-grade series.

Born and raised in Kingston, PA, Terri lives with her husband and two daughters in Cleveland, OH.

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