Pajama Press

“…A Year of Borrowed Men is a gentle story, poignant in its hopeful perspective, perhaps because it is narrated by 7 year old Gerda, and Michelle Barker is able to retain all the innocence of a child in her writing. A cruel, hateful regime and war, after all, doesn’t mean one needs to sacrifice their humanity, as so many did living under Hitler and during WWII. Although the story covers the year the POWs were at the Schlottke’s farm, because of the number of pages devoted to Christmas, it makes a nice holiday story, as well. There may not have been Peace of Earth at that time, but at least on one farm there was Goodwill towards men.

Renné Benoit’s watercolor, pencil and pastel illustrations has a gentle, almost folk art feeling to them, done in a palette of warms browns, greens, and ochre earthtones that seems to create a haven in the midst of war.

This book is recommended for readers 6+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL”

Click here to read the full review

“This is a delightful picture book from an Ontario writer that celebrates the joys of diversity….Montreal artist François Tisdale’s illustrations, in warm brown colours of honey and maple syrup, help make this little book delicious.”

Click here to read the full article

“…French Toast starts out as less about the food and more about labelling but Kari-Lynn Winters, with illustrator François Thisdale, turns the story around to be about the goodness of food and relationships that nourish us. Kari-Lynn Winters…impresses with her splendid foray into understanding and acceptance of skin colour, diversity and multiculturalism (Phoebe’s family is Haitian) and one that warms the heart and fills the belly with virtue and affection.

…François Thisdale, whose artwork is a magical blend of drawing and painting with digital imagery, balances the reality of Phoebe and her grandmother’s relationship and emotional situations with a dream-like landscape. His colours and textures fuse so many elements that the book becomes more art than merely a child’s picture book. And then there are the images of glorious food that cultivate nourishment for the soul, inspiring Phoebe and her grandmother, and anyone who reads the book, to see family and skin colour from a fresh perspective.

French toast may not be part of your holiday buffet but French Toast should definitely be on everyone’s bookshelf and story-telling list for the holidays and every day of the year when acceptance is vital i.e., always. It feeds the spirit and bakes up multiple servings of compassion and open-mindedness, helpings we should all scoop out enthusiastically.”

Click here to read the full review

Pajama Press is thrilled that Elizabeth Bird has selected both My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo, and When the Rain Comes by Alma Fullerton and illustrated by Kim La Fave as books on her list “2017 Picture Books I’m Really Looking Forward To”.

Click here to read the full book list

Pajama Press is thrilled that Elizabeth Bird has selected both French Toast by Kari-Lynn Winters, and illustrated by François Thisdale, and Elliot by Julie Pearson and illustrated by Manon Gauthier as books on her list “2016 Books with a Message.”

Click here to read the full book list

Pajama Press is thrilled to announce that My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo is a Junior Library Guild 2017 Selection.

The Junior Library Guild “is a book review and collection development service helping thousands of school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books, saving them both time and money….Our services help librarians with collection development and our members trust us to put only the best books into the hands of their eager young readers.” For more information, please visit the Junior Library Guild website.

Pajama Press extends our congratulations to Suzanne Del Rizzo. Our sincerest thanks go to the Junior Library Guild for promoting reading through this outstanding program.

“I love books that expose children to another culture, especially when it is in the form of an exciting story with a heroine character. When the Rain Comes is such a book, set in Sri Lanka in a small agricultural village where rice is the main income and food source….

My son and I really liked this story. Malini’s excitement and later her terror and fear are very palpable without being too scary for young children who read the book. The story highlights that even young children are courageous and their actions can make a huge difference in their family. The illustrations beautifully depict the colorful village and later the strength and fierceness of the storm. Through color and sketches, the illustrator captured the culture of the Sri Lankan people and the monsoon season. My son and I loved these unique illustrations.

This is a beautiful book with an exciting plot and a heroine any little child can look up to. It’s a great way to introduce one of the many Asian cultures to our children so as to build in them respect and admiration for other nationalities and ways of life. I don’t think my son has ever seen an ox before. Not one up close as Malini was with the ox she had to move to higher ground. This opened up a conversation about ox and how prevalent they are in some countries for agriculture. So although fiction, this book can be used as an educational tool as well. An excellent addition to any home and school library.”

Click here to read the full review

“Poetry lives, falls from the sky, floats on the sea, and tumbles from the heart, in All the World a Poem, a flowing collection of verses from Gilles Tibo, translated from the original French by Erin Woods. Cut-paper-and-crayon collage art by Manon Gauthier adds to a youthful sense of wonder, as young poets are invited to see and share the beauty and inspiration in nature, emotion, friendship, and all the world around them.” 

Click here to read more reviews from Foreword Reviews

“…All the World a Poem, called [Gilles Tibo’s] ‘tribute to poetry,’ was first published in French as Poésies pour la vie.

Enhanced by illustrations by Montreal artist Manon Gauthier, done in paper collage, coloured pencil and gouache, Tibo celebrates the power and freedom of poetry. He writes ‘Poetry is like a flower that blooms in the rain. Poetry is a mockingbird that wings me away to a land with no pain.’ For early readers with a love of words.”

Click here to read the full review

“Godkin eloquently examines how the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park led to dramatic changes both in the landscape of the park and in the lives of the creatures that make their home there….Godkin’s text focuses on the interconnectedness of the animals’ environment and how one ostensibly small change can have dramatic effects over time. Although the author emphasizes the necessary role that predators play, her mixed-media artwork avoids goriness, instead focusing on delicate textures of fur, feather, leaf, and grass. The hunts that removed wolves from the landscape in the first place (and their 1995 reintroduction) are covered in thorough back matter. Ages 6–9. (Jan.)”

Click here to read the full review