Pajama Press

“…Meticulously researched and sensitively written…In her nineteenth book, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch again gives a revealing and compassionate voice to an under-represented group of people, and shines a light on little-known events in history. Writing about historical injustices for young adults requires a solid grip of the events, sensitivity, and the ability to juggle multiple perspectives in order to create a compelling story that not only keeps us turning the pages, but also brings forward truths that may have been forgotten or buried. Dance of the Banished enlightens us about the plight of the Alevi Kurds during World War 1, saddens us as we find out about the massacre of the Armenians, and maybe even embarrasses us as we discover how “foreigners” were treated in Ontario. Her characters are human, and multifaceted, and make us think about how we would react in times of great stress if our homeland, families, or loved ones were in danger. The answers are never easy, and Marsha does not shy away from difficult and heart-wrenching choices.”

Click here to read the full review.

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.

• Official Pajama Press Dance of the Banished page
• Official website of Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
• The Record news article
• Radio interview by Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio (begins at 19:00)
• CanLit for LittleCanadians blog interview
• CanLit for LittleCanadians blog review
• Blog interview by Laura Best

For more information about the recognition of Canada’s internment operations, visit the links below.

• The Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund
• Keghart.com Armenian website coverage of the plaque unveiling
• The Province news article
• Edmonton Sun news article
• Winnipeg Free Press news article

Ken says: “It’s a story from 1912, where there is an epidemic of flies. In 1912 they decided flies were the reason for all the illness in the city. And, so in Hamilton (Ont.) they had a contest: what child can kill the most flies? This is a fictional account of a young boy that has come from Ireland with his father. They’ve got nothing. His mother has recently died, his sister has recently died, and he knows germs were caused by these flies, so he goes on an all-out war. It’s an exciting book and one that I found riveting.”

Click here to listen to see the full post.

“A fly-catching contest comes to dominate the life of new Irish immigrant Will in 1912 Hamilton, Ontario. 

Life isn’t easy for the 12-year-old. His mother and young sister recently died, money is very tight, and rich boy Fred, a new classmate, is savoring every opportunity to humiliate him. Opportunity knocks when the local newspaper offers a $50 prize for killing the most flies as part of an effort to reduce disease. The competition is ruthless, with Fred and his minions collecting thousands of flies and Will trying lots of clever tricks to pull even. Another poor child, Ginny, is besotted with Fred but gradually comes to see the truth about the bully and switches her loyalty and friendship to Will. He struggles with the ethics of his tricks, reminded by the wealthy but even-minded Rebecca of a nobler mission. While the dead-fly count reaches an awesome, even unbelievable level, an author’s note states that the tale is accurately based on a real contest….McNicoll paints a believably gritty portrait of urban life a century ago. 

An entertaining visit to the past with a likable guide on a spirited—if icky—quest. (Historical fiction. 9-14)”

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.

“Alma Fullerton is an award-winning children’s author living in Midland, Ontario. Although she’s an accomplished visual artist, her newest book, Community Soup (Pajama Press), is the first book she’s illustrated herself. Directed towards children ages four to seven, Community Soup gives young Canadians a fun look at everyday life in a Kenyan village, including a mischievous herd of goats.

Today, Alma tells Open Book about why she writes for children and how she gets it all done.”

Click here to read the interview.

Pajama Press is proud to announce that Deborah Ellis has won The Reliable Life Insurance Award for Children & Young Adult Book for her YA psychological thriller True Blue.

The award was presented on November 12, 2012, during the 18^th Annual Hamilton Literary Awards at Theatre Aquarius’ Norman and Louise Haac Studio Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario. Ron Ulrich, artistic director of the host theatre, announced the award and shared the compelling first chapter with the audience.

True Blue has met with critical acclaim in both Canada and the United States. School Library Journal said, “True Blue is about the courage to believe in oneself and fight for what’s right, even when it’s the hardest thing to do. A book worthy of any school curriculum.” Kirkus Reviews said protagonist Jess “grabs readers’ attention and never lets it go.”

True Blue has also been nominated for the Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award and the John Spray Mystery Award.