The Practically Perfect Pajamas

by Erik Brooks

Percy Orlando Leonard Alexander Reginald Bear loves his colorful flannel pajamas more than anything else in the world. But there's one problem - all the other polar bears tease him for being the only one to wear pj's. Percy wants to fit in, so he reluctantly packs away his pajamas. The teasing ends, but Percy runs into a whole new set of problems. Distinctive color illustrations follow Percy through his troubles as he learns a meaningful lesson about the importance of being true to himself.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

Erik has been drawing for as long as he can remember, and making books since the early part of the 21st century.

He is particularly fascinated by polar bears and the art of the picture book. He has, however, happily contributed his illustrations to a number of fine and dandy early chapter books about dinosaurs and monkeys, so don't write him off as an arctic specialist :)

Erik's latest book (ahem) is POLAR OPPOSITES (which has arctic AND antarctic characters) and 2011 is the year that he plans to get savvy about things like goodreads.com, twitter, super awesome imovie book trailers, and the magic of social networking!

If it all gets too overwhelming, he'll just try to keep making good books for kids.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Percy the polar bear loved his footed pajamas. They kept his feet, they were perfect for lounging, napping, and various other activities in his life. The other bears teased him about him wearing pj's. So Percy decided to put them away, but life wasn't what Percy thought it would be without them. An Arctic Fox named Aurora convinced Percy to be himself, and he did with surprising results.

[Michelle Grimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet read with great theme to except others as they are.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story with awesome pajamas.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Percy the Polar Bear loves his footed flannel pajamas. They keep his fur clean, keep ice from forming between his toes, and keep him warm while he naps. They do not, however, keep the other bears from making fun of him. Percy decides to put the pajamas away and try being like the other bears. This doesn't work out too well. The other bears decide that the game they invite Percy to play is "shove Percy into the icy, cold water." Percy is horribly unhappy. He doesn't have his much-loved pj's and the other bears are still making fun of him.

Aurora the Arctic Fox comes to his rescue. She shares her plan with him and it works wonderfully! You'll have to read it to find out what it is.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining, but very silly book about being true to yourself and not giving in to peer pressure. I love that Percy the polar bear loves his footie flannel pajamas and appreciates their warmth and practicality, despite the fact that they are mocked by others. I also like that he gets support from a defender when he is bullied by the others.

The illustrations are nicely detailed, with sharp contrast between the clownish color of the pjs and the stark white of the snow and the polar bear fur. The narrative is fun to read aloud and we enjoyed reading it together.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Lesson on being happy with who you are and not trying to be like others just to please them. The ending didn't quite fit, even though I knew that's what the story was leading up to. This could work in a PJ storytime (because of PJs!) but also in themes about being nice, liking yourself, accepting others, etc. I think it's a bit too much text to try with preschool, plus it might be over their heads at times.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The other polar bears tease Percy for wearing his bright pajamas. Although, Percy loves them, he decides to go a day without them, in hopes of making friends with the other bears. After a rough day, Percy learns that being himself is best and he even inspires others to try it his way.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiction Book 5
Paired with Non-fiction book I Am A Polar Bear
I paired these books together because after reading Practically Perfect Pajamas you can read the non-fiction book I Am A Polar Bear to see real photographs and learn facts about polar bears.

[Taralee Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

(picture book) Cute story about a polar bear getting embarrassed because the other bears make fun of his pajamas. Perfect read for the classroom to get to themes of fitting in and how it's okay to be different.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful and fun. A polar bear loves pajamas and others tease him about his choice of clothing.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a fun pairing Naked Mole Rat for a clothes/being yourself storytime.

Themes: clothes, being yourself, bears