“Phoebe, who is half Jamaican and half French-Canadian, hates when her classmates call her ‘French Toast.’…The imaginative artwork blends traditional drawing and painting with digital imagery using collage, acrylic, watercolor, and computer manipulation.”
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“When the Rain Comes features lovely color drawings by Kim La Fave, is set in a Sri Lankan community…Free verse captures the sounds, sights, and experiences of Malini’s first job.”
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“A gentle yet moving story of refugees of the Syrian civil war, My Beautiful Birds illuminates the ongoing crisis as it affects its children. It shows the reality of the refugee camps, where people attempt to pick up their lives and carry on. And it reveals the hope of generations of people as they struggle to redefine home.”
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“Catherine Buquet’s touching debut in lyrical rhyme, accompanied by Marion Arbona’s bold and stylish illustrations, celebrates intergenerational friendship and the magic of sharing. It also reminds children and adults alike that bright moments can be found on even the gloomiest of days.”
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“Despite the weight of the themes Road Signs is funny and full of heart, with skillful depiction of the hooks and barbs of sibling rivalry.”
Read the full review on page 64 of the Spring 2017 issue of Atlantic Books Today
We are thrilled to extend our congratulations to Jan L. Coates and Suzanne Del Rizzo, the author and illustrator of Sky Pig. This inventive picture book about a pig who wants—against all popular truisms—to fly has won the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. This is Coates’ and Del Rizzo’s first time being nominated for the award.
Jan Coates accepted the award Thursday night at the 8th annual Atlantic Book Awards Gala, hosted at Paul O’Reagan Hall in Halifax. The Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration, named for a long-time buyer for the now inoperative independent bookstore, The Book Room, is one of ten major prizes awarded at the gala each year. This is the first award win for Sky Pig, which is also nominated for the 2017 Shining Willow Award, and is a 2016 Best Books for Kids and Teens selection.
Pajama Press would also like to congratulate all the other award nominees and winners of the evening. Our nominated titles were in such good company; it is an honour to be recognized alongside some of the best artists and books rooted in Atlantic Canada.
Pajama Press thanks the Atlantic Book Awards for their continued dedication to promoting excellence in Atlantic Canadian writing and book publishing.
“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5…Perfect middle grade free verse! I am so excited to share this with my elementary and middle school students, as I am always talking up free verse, but can’t find enough excellent examples to share with them. Macy’s story is heartwarming and thought-provoking…I especially loved the book references throughout the story, like to the books El Deafo and The Tale of Despereaux – books that kids today will know and be able to relate to….I can’t wait to read this author’s other middle grade novel Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles and order both of these titles for my libraries.”
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“As soon as I read the book description, I was pulled to the storyline about three sisters who take a road trip. In my family we are three sisters and I like stories that center on sisterhood. I liked that the trip was across Canada from Nova Scotia to Vancouver, including a stopover in my city of Montreal….
The best part of the novel was how the sisters experienced life together and grew closer by the end of the trip, although it was in subtle ways.”
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“Bold, fantastical illustrations that play with perspective, shape, and color accompany the rhyming text which is a delightful read-aloud.”
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“Prodigious Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch has built an admirable, award-winning reputation by writing about difficult subjects for younger readers, including the Armenian genocide, world wars, and Canadian internment….
In her latest picture book, Skrypuch presents then-6-year-old Tuan Ho who, with his mother and two older sisters, leave their Ho Chi Minh City home in the darkness of night, and dodge gunshots to board a fishing boat….With a rich palette of deep, vibrant colors, artist Brian Deines adds swirling desperation and swift motion across every detailed spread.
…Filled with urgency, fear, and ultimately hope, Tuan’s real-life odyssey proves to be an illuminating inspiration for all readers.”
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