Pajama Press

The Ontario Library Association Super Conference 2015 is fast approaching. Held on January 28-31 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Super Conference is the place to be for all the latest buzz in libraries and literature.

Pajama Press will be exhibiting in the Ontario Book Publishers Organization booth, #220-222. We look forward to book signings by the following authors on Friday, January 30:

10:30 a.m. – Stephanie McLellan, Hoogie in the Middle

12:30 p.m. – Masha Skrypuch, Dance of the Banished

1:00 p.m. – Sylvia McNicoll, Revenge on the Fly

We hope to see you there!

This week Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson travelled to Victoria, British Columbia, to present A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison at the Saanich Centennial Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library. The event was organized jointly by the Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable and Schoolhouse Teaching Supplies, under the able leadership of Pat Oldroyd, seen introducing the authors below. The night included a PowerPoint presentation about Ted Harrison; a raffle for a mounted poster and a copy of A Brush Full of Colour; book signings; cookies; and lots of fun.

Thank you to everyone who braved the cold weather to come out, with special thanks to Moira Gardener for sharing the pictures below.

Peach Girl, the lively picture book writtenby Raymond Nakamura and illustrated by Rebecca Bender, has been selected as a Toronto Public Library “First & Best” book for 2014. The First & Best list, which features ten new Canadian books for children from ages 0–5, is carefully selected to increase young children’s reading readiness. Because, as the Toronto Public Library website says, “the first books you share with your child should also be the best!”

Click here to view the full list.

On November 15th, about fifty parents and children gathered at the North York Central Library to hear author Margriet Ruurs talk about the life and art of iconic Canadian painter Ted Harrison. After an engaging presentation, Margriet signed the library’s copies of the picture book biography she recently co-authored, A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison, and settled in to join the families in making art inspired by Harrison’s colourful style.

Click here to see our digital gallery of the beautiful Harrison-style drawings and colouring pages created at this event.

This event was made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

“Nat, an orange tabby cat, spends his day sleeping in spite of the bustle going on around him. In fact, he can sleep anywhere–in drawers, on the stairs, even in a “cooking pot” or “flopping halfway off a shelf.” But “when the nighttime quiet falls,/when strange shadows fill the halls,/” Nat comes to life, joined by a black-and-white kitten. They careen around on toys, jump on beds, and enjoy the night sky perched on a window sill. Young readers will enjoy the brief rhymed text and find themselves chiming in on the repeated refrain, “Nat the cat can sleep like that!” And they will especially relish telling the unwritten story depicted in the large, mixed-media illustrations. In the three-quarter-page pictures that appear beneath the text, occasionally interspersed with double-page bleeds featuring close-ups of the two felines, the energetic kitten who plays with Nat at night tries repeatedly to rouse him during the day. He dangles string toys in front of the lazy cat’s face, rolls balls, plays the piano, tries to entice him with games–all to no avail. But whether sleeping or cavorting through the house, these two kitties are sure to win youngsters’ hearts.”

Click here to learn more about School Library Journal.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the pace and historical details in this novel.  Karen Bass—the author, gave me a sense of the difficulties of living in a communist, post war Germany in 1947.  I learned many details and now I have even more questions about life after World War 2.”

Click here to read the full review.

“You will think about the characters in this book, even when you’re not reading. Animal lovers, especially, won’t be able to put it down.

Note: Nix Minus One is one of 10 works of fiction nominated in the White Pine (Grades 9 – 12) category for the 2014 Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Awards.”

— Heather Woodley, a collections development librarian with the Region of Waterloo Library.

Click here to read the full review.

“Strange things happen when Jane Grey, a high school student in Halifax, begins an assignment researching Lady Jane Grey, the “nine days queen.” Upon examining her cache of library books, she finds one she hadn’t checked out: Booke of Prayre. As Jane opens it, she is mysteriously transported to the 16th century and meets her namesake. MacLeod dexterously handles the intricacies of the time travel central to the story, and a fascinating, powerful bond develops between the two Jane Greys. It is during their encounters that this first novel is most riveting and successful. Both characters are wonderfully fleshed out. Their mutual confusion heightens the mystery about the impact they might have on each other. Both Janes have their problems with family. Historical Jane struggles to continue following her Protestantism while her Catholic cousin Mary assumes the throne of England. Modern Jane has difficulty coping with what she perceives as the three sides of her mother’s personality. The author’s skill is most pronounced when the two Janes are getting to know each other and to understand the milieu in which each lives….MacLeod’s evocative prose makes friendship across time seem possible. Though Lady Jane’s tragic life is known, readers hope for a happier outcome. This enjoyable read offers a window into an intriguing aspect of British history. It is likely to appeal to fans of Susan Cooper’s King of Shadows (S & S, 1999) and books by Margaret Peterson Haddix.”

—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

Learn more about School Library Journal here.

In their current issue, School Libraries in Canada is exploring bringing the past into the future. How fitting, then, to interview Sue MacLeod, author of the time slip novel Namesake in which a library book does just that.

MacLeod explains how she came to write Namesake:

“It was actually Lady Jane Grey herself who compelled me. I read a book about her when I was ten or so, and she stayed with me. It occurred to me a long time ago – twenty years or more – that I wanted to write about her in a way that would link her story with that of a contemporary girl. So, a young adult time-slip novel emerged as a natural way to approach that.”

Click here to read the full interview.

“…Although intended for a children audience, Last Airlift is a pleasurable, fast paced book for readers of any age. Tuyet’s rescue is nothing short of miraculous. Skrypuch helps the reader see the journey through Tuyet’s eyes, from her brave attempt to eat “horrible slimy” Catalina salad dressing to the first bonding moments with her adoptive father…”

Click here to read the full review.