{"id":34326,"date":"2023-11-17T11:23:21","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T11:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=34326"},"modified":"2023-11-17T11:23:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T11:23:22","slug":"pajama-night-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/?p=34326","title":{"rendered":"Pajama Night 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last night marked the 2023 iteration of my favorite event of the year: Jammie Night!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"999\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie1a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34328\" style=\"width:400px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Jammie Night, aka Prime Time Reading Night, which takes place at Mallett Elementary School, has ingredients that would be the envy of any event. For example, it is comprised of&nbsp;an actively shared love of reading, widespread community support, partnerships, great authors, a great crowd, amazing decorations, and pajamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how it works: the Mallett community comes back to school at 6:00 in the evening\u2014parents, kids, teachers, librarian, principal\u2014all dressed in pajamas for an evening of read alouds. I produce a children\u2019s book author. The evening starts with that author reading her book to the assembled throng in the gymnasium, which has been lavishly decorated around the book\u2019s theme. Afterwards, families can either go listen to one of five different community readers in five different classrooms, read together in the gym, or purchase a book and have the guest author sign it. The evening ends with the author reading a second book to the whole audience and then concludes with goodnights and more book signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The event, which is more than 21 years old, was headlined by an unusual author: Tonya Shevenell who is well known in Maine but not beyond. She is a rare bird, a high caliber traditionally-printed, self-published and self-distributed author, with high production values. Her two picture books, <em>The Maine Birthday Book<\/em> and <em>Hop Onward Rabbit Rabbit<\/em>, are both superb. Fun, informative, and beautifully illustrated by Laura Winslow, both books are also kid favorites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonya had never done a school event before. How would she do?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arriving at the school Meg and I found that the the gym had been decorated in Mallett librarian Arika Galkowski&#8217;s trademark jaw-dropping style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34329\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammi1bee.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34330\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34331\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34332\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The audience began to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammieken.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34333\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The audience filed in and soon it was time for me to introduce Tonya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie-kenny-baton.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34334\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And hand over the baton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"562\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jaMmie6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34335\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She enchanted her audience, young and old!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/tonya.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34336\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And everyone settled in to hop onward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie-line.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34337\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Then it was time to sign books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34338\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Awww! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammie8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34339\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonya brought signing markers in seven colors so that the kids could choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/jammiefinal.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34348\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally it was time to take a photo with Mallett&#8217;s amazing librarian Arika Galkowski, who had brought Tonya&#8217;s books to life in the gym. With that the gym lights were dimmed on   another triumphant Jammie Night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tonya Shevenell makes her triumphant Jammie Night Debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34326"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34350,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34326\/revisions\/34350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.publishersweekly.com\/blogs\/shelftalker\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}