Pajama Press

We are proud to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson has won the 2016 Crystal Kite Award for Canada.

The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to recognize great books from the seventy SCBWI regions around the world.  Along with the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, the Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.

Founded in 1971, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is one of the largest existing writers’ and illustrators’ organizations, with over 22,000 members worldwide. It is the only organization specifically for those working in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and multimedia. The organization was founded by Stephen Mooser (President) and Lin Oliver (Executive Director), both of whom are well-published children’s book authors and leaders in the world of children’s literature.  For more information about the Crystal Kite Award, please visit www.scbwi.org, and click “Awards & Grants.”

Pajama Press is pleased to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson is the winner of the 2015 Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award.

The results were announced on Saturday, November 7th at the Vancouver Roundtable’s Illustrator Breakfast. The award will be formally presented on January 27th, 2016.

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale and published by Annick Press, was selected as the 2015 Information Honour Book.

A Brush Full of Colour is a picture book biography of Ted Harrison, Canada’s most iconic painter of the Yukon. In addition to the Information Book Award, it has been nominated for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award, and the Hackmatack Award.

Click here for more information about the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award.

Pajama Press is pleased to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson has been shortlisted for the 2015 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

This beautiful picture book biography, which includes a forward by Harrison himself, is the only book for young readers written about Canada’s most famous artist of the Yukon. Since its publication in 2014 it has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award, and the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award.

Ted Harrison, who passed away in early 2015, was one of Canada’s most celebrated artists; his distinctive and colourful paintings of the Arctic and the West Coast are recognized around the world. Ted’s many honours include the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. Several generations of schoolchildren have grown up familiar with his work through picture books like A Northern Alphabet, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, and The Cremation of Sam McGee.

In A Brush Full of Colour, readers learn how Harrison’s passion for learning saved him from a life in England’s coal mines and set him on a road of worldwide travel that led him to the incredible Yukon he had read about as a child. The story is illustrated with Harrison’s own drawings and paintings, showing how the classically trained artist developed his unique and colourful style.

Margriet Ruurs is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books for children. When she isn’t giving workshops at international schools around the world, Margriet runs a booklover’s bed and breakfast on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Learn more at www.margrietruurs.com.

Katherine Gibson is the best-selling author of four non-fiction books. Her work has been published internationally in several languages. Katherine’s extensive research for the illustrated biography Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise was instrumental in the writing A Brush Full of Colour. Katherine lives on Vancouver Island. Learn more at www.katherinegibson.com

The TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, administered by the TD Bank Group and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, is awarded to the most distinguished children’s book of each year. The winner will be announced at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards gala in Toronto on November 18^th.

Pajama Press is excited to announce that four of our authors and author/illustrators will be touring as part of TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2016.

Rebecca Bender, author and illustrator of the Giraffe and Bird books and illustrator of Peach Girl by Raymond Nakamura

Wallace Edwards, author and illustrator of the forthcoming Once Upon a Line

Sarah Ellis, author of A+ for Big Ben and Ben Says Goodbye

Margriet Ruurs, co-author of A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison

TD Canadian Children’s Book Week is an annual festival that celebrates Canadian children’s books and the importance of reading. This year 30 authors, illustrators, and storytellers will travel to events in every province and territory, presenting to over 28,000 participants.

Visit the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and the  TD Book Week website to learn more.

“Ted Harrison, one of Canada’s most recognized and celebrated artists, died in January, 2015. Using a distinctive style that particularly resonates with children, he portrayed the Canadian west coast and Yukon landscapes in vibrant, non-traditional colours. A Brush Full of Colour follows the life and career of Harrison, from his youth in a coal-mining town in northeast England.

…This inspirational and informative biography includes many stunning examples of Harrison’s luminous artwork as well as resources, sources and a foreword written by the artist himself: “I urge you to keep on reading, writing, and painting. Develop your own style and keep it honest and true to who you are. Find inspiration in the world around you, and you will make the world a happier and more creative place.”

—Senta Ross

Pajama Press is proud to announce that Revenge on the Fly and A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison have been nominated for the 2016 Rocky Mountain Book Awards.

The Rocky Mountain Book Awards are the province of Alberta’s readers’ choice award program. Each year, students in grades 4–7 read at least five of ten nominated books in two categories (fiction and nonfiction) and vote for their favourite. The winner is asked to tour the province of Alberta, giving presentations to randomly selected schools.

Click here to see the full list of nominees.

Revenge on the Fly by Sylvia McNicoll has been nominated in the fiction category. This middle-grade novel immerses readers in the quest of 12-year-old immigrant Will Alton to win a fly-catching contest and rid his new city of disease.

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison has been nominated in the nonfiction category. This illustrated biography of world-famous Canadian artist Ted Harrison is co-authored by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson.

Pajama Press is pleased to announce that three of our Fall, 2014 titles were selected for the Spring, 2015 edition of Best Books for Kids & Teens

Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That—STARRED SELECTION
9781927485668 Board Book
Written by Victoria Allenby
Illustrated by Tara Anderson

Bear on the Homefront
9781927485132 Picture Book
Written by Stephanie Innes & Harry EndrulatIllustrated by Brian Deines

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison—STARRED SELECTION
9781927485637 Non-Fiction Picture Book
Written by Margriet Ruurs & Katherine Gibson

Visit the Canadian Children’s Book Centre website to order your copy of Best Books for Kids & Teens today.

Two Pajama Press books have been nominated for the 205–16 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award.

Skydiver: Saving the Fastest Bird in the World, a picture book illustratedby Celia Godkin, chronicles the successful efforts of scientists to reintroduce peregrine falcons to their former territories in North America after the population was depleted by the effects of DDT.

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison, a picture book biography written by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson, recounts the life of Canada’s iconic artist of the Yukon. Filled with full-colour examples of Ted Harrison’s art from throughout his career, the book also features an introduction written by the artist himself.

The Hackmatack Award is Atlantic Canada’s reading program for students in grades four to six. Participants will read a shortlist of ten fiction books and ten non-fiction books in either English or French, then vote for their favourites. You can view the full list at the Hackmatack Award website.

“Best known for his colorful paintings of the Yukon, Ted Harrison grew up in England’s drab, gray coal country. His military duties during World War II took him to India, Egypt, and Kenya. After the war, he taught art in Malaysia and New Zealand before he and his wife moved to Canada, where they fell in love with the Yukon. Inspired by the landscape, he moved away from his traditional, formal art training and developed his own distinctive style, notable for its simplified forms, unusual colors, and underlying sense of joy. Harrison has illustrated several books, including O Canada (1993) and Robert Service’s The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1988). Ruurs and Gibson’s beautifully designed volume combines a clearly written account of Harrison’s life and work with photos of his early years and, later, many of his paintings. Seldom does an artist’s biography for children offer so many beautiful reproductions of the subject’s work. Pair this inviting book with Ashley Bryan:Words to My Life’s Song (2009), another wonderfully visual celebration of an artist following his own path.”

—Carolyn Phelan

“Gr 3-6–An outstanding, well-organized biography about the life of Ted Harrison, one of Canada’s most recognized and popular painters. The book chronicles the man’s life, from his birth in the coal mining town of Wingate, County Durham, England, where his father gave him pencil and paper and told him to draw; to art school and military service post–World War II, which gave him the opportunity to see the world; to teaching art in Malaysia; and finally immigrating to Canada and combining all the designs and techniques he had seen around the world and finding his own style. Harrison vowed that his paintings would only depict positive images. He developed a colorful, vibrant technique that reflected the joys of life. While many love his work, others are more critical. However, Harrison remains upbeat: “‘We must be who we are in everything we do, no matter what others say.’” This book is filled with quotes from Harrison and examples of his work, all demonstrating his love for vivid colors and flowing lines. VERDICT A joy to look at and an inspiration to read.”
—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN