Pajama Press

Foreword Reviews **Starred Review**

“Office supplies have never been more entertaining than they are in this punny tale of friendship and ingenuity. Old school and new tech go head to head when Jackson trades his longtime pal Pencil in for a shiny new Tablet. Cheerful illustrations add to the hilarity as Pencil tries a variety of toppers and innovative uses while enlisting the help of everyone from Eraser and Scissors to Sticky Notes and Flashlight in an effort to regain Jackson’s attention.”

—Pallas Gates McCorquodale

Kirkus Review

“Move over, Pencil; Tablet’s in town…but what happens when Tablet breaks?….Pencil tries desperately to cheer Jackson up, but nothing works…until he enlists his old companions from the drawer, Scissors, Paper Clip, Flashlight, Tape, and the rest. Jackson finally smiles again, and all the supplies end as friends, with pages full of puns….The illustrations feature expressive, googly-eyed implements and realistic children and animals interacting against a white background….An overload of fun puns will have many readers giggling through to the openly sweet moral at the end.”

Click here to read the full review

CM Magazine

“Veteran author Ann Ingalls has produced a book with a lightweight plot but much lighthearted play with language that will delight younger readers just learning about verbal humour as well as teachers who could use this book as a lesson on the pun as literary device.

Dean Griffiths is a British Columbia illustrator with a number of awards to his name. He has filled the pages of Pencil with familiar objects which are candy-colourful and plastic in their contours, as well as expressive images of the two dark-eyed, dark-haired children. Tooth-marked and a little off-kilter, Pencil is definitely a character in his own right in the story. The spread showing the shadowy interior of the junk drawer where a small green flashlight illuminates little but a number of pairs of eyes is especially captivating.

Recommended.”
—Ellen Heaney is a retired children’s librarian living in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

“It’s wonderful to see a new Timo story from Victoria Allenby and illustrated by Dean Griffiths. This early reader series tugs at my heart with each new story as the rabbit Timo learns new life lessons alongside his friends Bogs, Hedgewick, Rae and Suki….

This lovely series of early readers returns an innocence and humility to children’s early readers that we haven’t seen since Peter Rabbit and Frog and Toad. There are valuable lessons about friendship and self-acceptance and learning. But, even more, Timo allows children to share in his learning about friendship and interacting with others, as well as the importance of reading. From his first book, Timo’s Garden (2015), and his second, Timo’s Party (2016), the rabbit is learning how to deal with friends and his own insecurities which he is always able to put aside when he takes the opportunities to learn and gain insight from his experiences.

As in all three of the Timo books, Victoria Allenby has made her characters so distinct that their roles in this camping adventure make perfect sense….For an author to create a story rich in characters, atmosphere, plot and positive messages is an astounding achievement for any book but extraordinary for an early reader.

The story is brought to visual life by Dean Griffiths’ artwork, with its textural richness of setting and scene. Dean Griffiths…knows how to adapt his style for an early reader, balancing the story, not becoming the story as it may, and rightly so, in picture books.

Together Victoria Allenby and Dean Griffiths have made Timo Goes Camping a book that any child would love to take on their own camping adventure, as guide (see the illustration below about using a compass), insurance or pleasant diversion.”

Click here to read the full review

“Colorful, digital illustrations reveal each animal friend’s personality and complement the text of this early chapter book, which describes an experience with which many children will be familiar.”

Click here to read the full review