Author Archive

“Little Ben’s best friend, Peter, is moving away, and Ben is heartbroken. The only way he can deal with his sadness is by moving himself—not away, however, but to an imaginary cave under the table. Caveboy Ben eats with his fingers, plays with rocks, and protects himself with a club and a stick. He communicates […]

“Veteran children’s author (and Q&Q contributing editor) Sarah Ellis adds another title to her Ben series of picture books (produced in collaboration with illustrator Kim La Fave). This touching, realistically told story of a little boy dealing with the hardship of his best friend moving away is a rarity in a kidlit landscape littered with […]

“This book captures the real-life journey of three elephants from the Toronto Zoo to their new home at an animal sanctuary in California, the story also framing the difficulties of wild animals in captivity and our changing understanding of zoos and their purposes. From acclimatizing the elephants to their travel crates, to transporting the crates […]

“A heartwarming nature adventure for children, Elephant Journey: The True Story of Three Zoo Elephants and their Rescue from Captivity chronicles the steps in relocating the last three surviving elephants at the Toronto Zoo to their more appropriate home at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California. Rob Laidlaw, author and founder of […]

“…Elephant Journey is an important book. For those who grew up with the elephants at the zoo, for those who only visited Toko, Thika, and Iringa once or twice, or for those who have never had (and may never have) a chance to experience the elephant exhibit in Toronto, this book is a worthwhile read. […]

“Toka, Iringa, and Thika, three female elephants at the Toronto Zoo, showed signs of illness, people became concerned about their living in a cold climate with so little room to roam. In a clearly written narrative, Laidlaw explains how the three elephants were moved from the zoo to an animal sanctuary in California. Led into […]

Pajama Press is honoured to celebrate a win for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People for the second year in a row. Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch received the award on November 18th at the Canadian Children’s Literature Awards Gala at the Carlu in Toronto. “In Canada we […]

Kids’ Book Buzz is a website where children’s books are reviewed by their intended audiences: kids! Here’s what they had to say about some of our latest titles. Kiss, Kiss “This book is very nice because it shows you all sorts of nice kisses. Kisses show someone that you love them, and some kisses are […]

“Allenby (Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That) and Griffiths (Bad Pirate) explore the perils of perfectionism, following a rabbit named Timo through a week’s worth of gardening, as he tries to make it perfect for an upcoming garden tour. Allenby laces her story with alliteration and wordplay (“Gently, he planted some ginger. Gingerly, he […]

“Giant circus frogs eat their trainers, robots ice-skate on frozen ponds, a dinosaur hatches out of a balloon held by a king: we were already in love with this book even before the high concept set in. And that high concept is how the author’s uncle left a trunk full of his drawings, all of […]