Pajama Press

“…Where reading non-fiction books can at times be dry and daunting, fiction opens up the same topics in a new way, providing characters a reader can personally connect with interspersed with historical facts.

Sue MacLeod’s Namesake is a spectacular example of this. I loved the way she took some liberties with Lady Jane’s story, while still staying true to the historical aspects. MacLeod also manages to make Jane and Lady Jane’s characters equally fleshed out and relatable.

…I would recommend this book more for early teen readers, but it’s a must read for lovers of historical fiction.”

Click here to read the full review.

In a recent article titled “Lost Childhood,” School Library Journal contributor Kathleen St. Isaacs highlighted books “about child refugee experiences and children who’ve found safe havens, but have haunting memories.” The selections are “emotionally rich narratives, often with a political subtext.” They include two books published by Pajama Press:

A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton, illustrated by Karen Patkau

“Gr. 1–3—On his daily trek to get water, a Ugandan boy sees a treasure in an aid truck—bright new sneakers—and finds just the right thing to exchange. Colorful illustrations full of details of daily life in a war-torn country will show well when the spare text is read aloud.”

One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way

“Gr. 4–6—A seven-year-old Vietnamese refugee, newly arrived in Canada and unable to understand the language, faces a painful operation to straighten an ankle bent by polio. Tuyet’s poignant story was begun in Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War (2012) but readers don’t have to have read that to enjoy this story of healing.”

Learn more about School Library Journal here.

“A modern-day Canadian girl named Jane Grey travels back in time to meet the Lady Jane Grey, imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1553.

Bookish Jane is doing research for a paper about her namesake Lady Jane Grey, the 15-year-old who was queen of England for nine days and later executed by Queen Mary. Finding an old prayer book, she reads a prayer out loud and is transported to the Tower of London, where only Lady Jane, who calls her “Namesake,” can see her. Using the prayer book to time travel at will, she becomes friends with Lady Jane and tries to think of a way to save the brilliant and innocent teenager. Meanwhile in the present, Jane tries to escape her alcoholic mother’s increasingly aggressive and bizarre behavior. When the two stories collide just before Lady Jane’s scheduled execution, Jane struggles to save herself and her friend. MacLeod writes the modern sections in a heightened style that almost feels more like poetry than prose. She writes Lady Jane’s dialogue in Tudor English, modifying it only slightly for modern readers. Her vivid descriptions of the filthy turmoil of 1553 London, when even the nobility often had lice, should open some eyes. Most importantly, she strives to get the history right.

Suspenseful, emotional and powerful.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Past and present collide when a 15-year-old Halifax girl named Jane Grey slips back in time and comes face-to-face with her namesake, who ruled Tudor England for nine days before being imprisoned in the Tower of London. The girls’ bond grows with each of modern Jane’s trips back through time, as she desperately tries to prevent her new friend from meeting a tragic end.—DC

“This book captivated my interest with the connection between the past and the future.”—Alissah, 16, Calgary

Canadian Family Magazine‘s summer issue is on newsstands across the country now! Visit their website at www.canadianfamily.ca.

The 4:00 Book Hook is a newsletter released bimonthly by a group of seven children’s book authors. In the current issue, author Alma Fullerton talks about her most recent book, A Good Trade, and why a new pair of shoes is so important to its protagonist—and to kids around the world.

“…I think it’s important for [children] to learn that even in North America, where children are expected to have two pairs of shoes for school every year, we have families that have to choose between groceries or shoes for their children.

It’s estimated that over 300 million children in developing nations don’t have shoes, and in many of those countries children cannot attend school without them. Could you imagine not being able to afford even a pair of flip flops for your child to go to school? Or if you could only afford one pair, imagine having to choose which child to send to school? For these families a pair of shoes can change the life and futures of their children
drastically.

In places like Uganda, where A GOOD TRADE is set, shoes can not only change a life, they can save one…”—Alma Fullerton

To read the full article—and to get lots of other great book news—click here for a free e-subscription to The 4:00 Book Hook.