Posted on February 17th, 2015 by pajamapress
This winter, Teddy, the famous stuffed bear who travelled to the front lines of World War I and back again, received a new home in the Canadian War Museum’s newly renovated “Homefront” exhibit. Teddy’s World War I exploits are recorded in the picture book A Bear in War.
On Sunday, March 15th, a new book about Teddy’s World War II experience, Bear on the Homefront, will be launched at the Canadian War Museum. Children and their families can join co-author Stephanie Innes and illustrator Brian Deines for a book reading, art display, craft activity, and book signing. The event gets underway at 10:00 a.m.
In Bear on the Homefront, Teddy helps English guest children travel to host families on the Canadian home front during the Second World War. When two homesick children need a friend, Teddy bravely leaves his beloved Aileen to comfort them. But the war seems endless. Will Teddy and the children ever return to their homes again?
You can find more information about the Bear on the Homefront launch on the Canadian War Museum website.
Posted in Bear on the Homefront | Tagged bear-on-the-homefront, canadian-war-museum, event, family, launch, picture-book, teddy
Posted on August 25th, 2014 by pajamapress
On Friday, August 22nd at 11 am, one hundred plaques were unveiled across Canada. They commemorated Canada’s enemy alien internment operations in the First World War, a little-known part of our history that saw Canadian citizens imprisoned in camps across the country because they had immigrated here from nations with which the British Empire was now at war.
The vast majority of internees were Ukrainian, targeted because their passports read “Austrian.” Canadian immigration officials did not make a distinction between ethnic Austrians and others who then belonged to—and were even persecuted by—the Austrian empire. Similarly, all immigrants from the Ottoman Empire were labelled “Turks.”
In 1914, one hundred of these “Turks”—really Alevi Kurds—were rounded up in Brantford, Ontario, on the charge of having plotted to destroy the post office. Although the charge was proven to be false, they were sent to the wilderness of Kapuskasing to build and then occupy a prison camp there.
At Friday’s ceremony, hosted by the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. John, Ukrainians came together with Armenians, Kurds, dignitaries, and supporters of Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, who put together many pieces of this history while researching her newest novel, Dance of the Banished. This young adult historical novel tells the stories of two Alevi teenagers in the First World War: Ali, who comes to Brantford to work and is interned in Kapuskasing, and his fiancée Zeynep, who is left behind in their homeland of Anatolia where she helps other Alevi Kurds rescue 40,000 of their Armenian neighbours from the Armenian Genocide.
A launch was held for Dance of the Banished following the plaque unveiling. Below, reviewer Helen Kubiw of CanLit for LittleCanadians (left) poses with the author and a signed copy of the book.
For more information about Dance of the Banished, visit the following links.
For more information about the recognition of Canada’s internment operations, visit the links below.
Posted in Dance of the Banished | Tagged alevi, armenian, Brantford, Canada, dance-of-the-banished, historical, kurd, launch, marsha-forchuk-skrypuch, marsha-skrypuch, Novel, ontario, plaque, teen, ukrainian, world-war-I, wwi, ya
Posted on October 18th, 2013 by pajamapress
We are looking forward to welcoming guests and authors and illustrators from across the country to our Annual Fall Book Launch and Art Show on November 7th, 2013. The evening will include refreshments, book sales and signings, and framed art sales from our talented illustrators. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to erinwoods@pajamapress.ca by October 31st. We hope to see you there!
Posted in Cat Champions, Comunity Soup, Graffiti Knight, Hoogie In the Middle, Namesake, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, Nix Minus One, The Stowaways, Tweezle into Everything | Tagged authors, book, event, illustrators, launch, november, Pajama Press, pawsway, reading, Toronto
Posted on November 2nd, 2012 by pajamapress
Nearly 200 guests turned out for the second annual Pajama Press book launch, art show and sale. We had some good conversation, great food, and nine talented Pajama Press authors and illustrators in attendance. Thank you to everyone who came out—we hope to see you again next year!
Click on a thumbnail to see the full picture.
Posted in A Bear in War, A Good Trade, Acts of Courage, Don't Laugh at Giraffe, Emily for Real, Lumpito and the Painter from Spain, No Shelter Here, One Step at a Time | Tagged art, event, launch, Novel, Pajama Press, party, picture-book, publisher, sale, show, Toronto, ya
Posted on September 5th, 2012 by pajamapress
Posted in One Step at a Time | Tagged author, book, Brantford, Canada, launch, literature, marsha-forchuk-skrypuch, one-step-at-a-time, reading, signing, Vietnam
