Pajama Press

We are thrilled to welcome the award-winning author of Nim’s Island, Wendy Orr, to Pajama Press, and proudly so with a Junior Library Guild Selection for her new fantasy novel, Dragonfly Song.

In Dragonfly Song, Orr weaves an intriguing mythological portrayal of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, where subject nations are forced to send youths each year to dance with bulls in the god-king’s bloody ceremonies. Inspired by Crete’s frescoes showing figures leaping over the backs of bulls, and by the legend of the Minotaur, Orr spins a gripping story of danger and destiny that will appeal to fans of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games.

Aissa is a resourceful and persistent heroine who possesses a mysterious bond with animals. Mute since the traumatic raider attack that took the only family she ever knew, and spurned by a community that thinks she carries bad luck, Aissa takes her survival, identity, and destiny into her own hands. In a world where the gods demand perfection, Aissa—scarred, silent, and rejected—dares to be resilient enough to fight for her own worth.

Pajama Press thanks the Junior Library Guild for their continued dedication to servicing thousands of school and public libraries in North America with the best of children’s and young adult books.

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.

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.

Every year BC students from kindergarten to grade six read and vote on a list of picture books and novels published in the last year. With resources for teachers and librarians, the program encourages book clubs, letter-writing to authors and illustrators, and activities that foster critical thinking. An annual gala event celebrates the award winners.

For more information about the Chocolate Lily Book Awards, please visit chocolatelilyawards.com

The chocolate lily is a native British Columbia flower that grows nowhere else in Canada. The Chocolate Lily Book Awards program is one that celebrates the unique literary offerings of British Columbia authors and illustrators. Founded by teacher-librarian Karen Ehrenholz, the Chocolate Lily Book Awards have been encouraging children to read for over ten years.