Pajama Press

Pajama Press is excited to announce that two of our titles have been nominated for the 2020 Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading^® Awards.

Giraffe and Bird Together Again, written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender, is a nominee for the Blue Spruce Award.

And Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to be Reunited with Her Family, written by Van Ho and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, is a nominee for the Yellow Cedar Award.

Click here to see the full list of award nominees.

The Forest of Reading^® is an initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) that helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators and promotes a love of reading among Ontario students. Every year, over 270,000 participants read a shortlist of books in their age category and vote for their favourites. Learn more at: www.accessola.org

Pajama Press extends our congratulations to Rebecca Bender, Van Ho, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, as well as their fellow nominees. Our sincerest thanks go to the Ontario Library Association for promoting reading and Canadian books through this outstanding program. We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Book Fund for our publishing program.

For further information, or to request an interview with any of our authors or illustrators, please contact:
Laura Bowman, Publicity
publicity@pajamapress.ca

Pajama Press is excited to announce that three of our titles have been nominated for the 2018 Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading^® Awards.

French Toast, written by Kari-Lynn Winters and illustrated by François Thisdale, is a nominee for the Blue Spruce Award.

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess, written by Shari Green, is a nominee for the Silver Birch Fiction Award. Click here to download the Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess teaching guide.

Adrift at Sea, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch with Tuan Ho, and illustrated by Brian Deines, is a nominee for the Golden Oak Award. Click here to download the Adrift at Sea teaching guide.

The Forest of Reading^® is an initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) that helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. Every year, over 250,000 participants read a shortlist of books in their age category and vote for their favourites.

Pajama Press extends our congratulations to Kari-Lynn Winters, François Thisdale, Shari Green, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, Tuan Ho, and Brian Deines. Our sincerest thanks go to the Ontario Library Association for promoting reading and Canadian books through this outstanding program.

Pajama Press is proud to announce that Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends has been nominated for the 2015 Forest of Reading Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award.

An inspiring book by biologist and animal activist Rob Laidlaw, Cat Champions is the companion book to No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, which won the same award in 2013. Both titles explore the challenges facing animals around the world and the remarkable ways in which young “Cat Champions” and “Dog Champions” are helping them. Readers are encouraged and empowered to make a difference, too.

Since its publication in the fall of 2013 Cat Champions has also been nominated for the Red Cedar Book Award and the Hackmatack Award, and has been a Best Books for Kids & Teens Starred Selection and a Resource Links “The Year’s Best” selection.

The Forest of Reading, run by the Ontario Library Association, is the largest recreational reading program in Canada. Over the next several month, more than 250,000 participants will read a shortlist of books nominated for their age range and vote for their favourite. We are honoured to once again take part in this important initiative.

Pajama Press is proud to announce that One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way  by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch has won the Silver Birch Non-Fiction Book Award™ at today’s Festival of Trees in Toronto. The longest-running award in the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading^® program, the Silver Birch Award is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year.

One Step at a Time is the companion book to Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War, which was an honour book for the Red Maple Non-Fiction Award™ last year. Last Airlift has also won the Red Cedar Information Book Award and been a Top-5 Finalist for the CYBILS Award, a Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice, and a Bank Street Best Book. One Step at a Time was also a finalist for the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award, a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens starred selection, and a Bank Street Best Book.

This is the second year in a row that a Pajama Press book has won the Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award™. Last year Rob Laidlaw’s No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs took home that honour. This year two other Pajama Press books were nominated for the Forest of Reading^®: A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton and Karen Patkau for the Blue Spruce Award™, and Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean for the White Pine Fiction Award™.

The Forest of Reading^® is a children’s choice reading program run by the Ontario Library Association. Each year, over 250,000 participants read a shortlist of books in their age category and vote for their favourites. Pajama Press is honoured to be a part of this important program, which brings excellent Canadian literature to more children than any other reading program in the country.

Congratulations, Marsha!

Pajama Press is pleased to announce that three of our Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 titles have been nominated for this year’s Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading^®awards.

A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Karen Patkau, has been nominated for the Blue Spruce Award™. Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean has been nominated for the White Pine Fiction Award™. One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch has been nominated for the Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award™. At the Festival of Trees in May 2013, Skrypuch’s Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War was declared an honour book for the Red Maple Non-Fiction Award™.

The Forest of Reading^® is a reading program run by the Ontario Library Association.Each year, over 250,000 participants read a shortlist of books in their age category and vote for their favourites.

Pajama Press extends our most sincere congratulations to Alma Fullerton, Karen Patkau, Jill MacLean, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Our warmest thanks go to the Ontario Library Association for promoting reading through this exciting program.

With the Ontario Library Association Super Conference fast approaching, it seems appropriate to acknowledge another OLA program that is engaging children across the province right now: the OLA Forest of Reading.

Every October the Forest of Reading committees, which are made up of public and school library practitioners, select shortlists of nominated titles for the following categories:

The Blue Spruce Award—ages 4–7

The Silver Birch Award—ages 8–12

The Red Maple Award—ages 12–13

The White Pine Award—high school and teen readers

The Evergreen Award—adults of all ages

The Golden Oak Award—new adult readers

Le Prix Tamarac—french language fiction and non-fiction

Le Prix Peuplier—french language books read aloud to participants

In the months between the announcement of the nominees and the awards ceremony in June*, participants read or are read books from the shortlists in their age category and vote for their favourite. The awards are presented at the Festival of Trees in Toronto, where hundreds of eager school children meet and cheer on their favourite authors.

With more than 250,000 readers participating each year through their school or public library, the Forest of Reading is the largest program of its kind in Canada. To learn more, visit the Ontario Library Association website.

Not a resident of Ontario? Many other provinces and regions in Canada have readers’ choice awards. We have already featured the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award and British Columbia’s Chocolate Lily Book Award. We look forward to featuring more!

*The Evergreen Award and the Golden Oak Award are presented at different times.

Pajama Press is proud to announce that three of our titles have been nominated for 2013 Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Awards.

Don’t Laugh at Giraffe by Rebecca Bender is nominated for the Blue Spruce Award. Last year, Rebecca won the Blue Spruce Award for her debut picture book, Giraffe and Bird.

No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs by animal activist Rob Laidlaw is nominated for the Silver Birch Nonfiction Award.

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is nominated for the Red Maple Nonfiction Award.

For more information about the Forest of Reading Awards, visit the Ontario Library Association website at  www.accessola.com.

Our books have also been nominated for three other awards this year:

True Blue, a murder mystery by bestselling author Deborah Ellis, was nominated for the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre John Spray Mystery Award.

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch was nominated for the British Columbia Red Cedar Nonfiction Award.

Congratulations to all of our nominated authors!

Pajama Press author Rebecca Bender has taken home the Blue Spruce Award for her debut picture book, Giraffe and Bird (Dancing Cat Books, 2010)!

The Blue Spruce Award is part of the Ontario Library Association’s annual recreational reading program, the Forest of Reading. Readers from across the province voted for their favourite in a shortlist of books for their age category; Giraffe and Bird was chosen by voters aged 4 to 7.

Rebecca received the award at the 2012 Festival of Trees on May 15, the same day her second picture book, Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, hit the shelves. Quill & Quire has already given the sequel a starred review, saying, “Endearing animal buddies Giraffe and Bird return in Rebecca Bender’s stellar second book, Don’t Laugh at Giraffe…a warm, gentle tale with a good message and plenty of funny moments, making it a great choice for sharing. After all, the story reminds us, it’s always better to laugh with a friend that at one.”

Pajama Press will be releasing a Giraffe and Bird greeting card line this summer, and further books are being planned. For those who just can’t wait, the characters will interact with fans on special Facebook pages, The Giraffe and The Bird.