Timothy and the Strong Pajamas by Viviane Schwarz

Timothy and the Strong Pajamas Reviews

• 
  Cheryl

  What a wonderful mom, encouraging her son's imagination and doing extra work for him. And he's obviously turning out great, too. Just, oh, say it with me, "Aww...."
• 
  Susan

  The PATCHES OF POWER and the BUTTONS OF BRAVENESS lead to super strength -- and super trouble! -- in this triumph of the small.
  
  Every night, Timothy tries to make himself stronger. He drinks milk. He exercises. He thinks STRONG thoughts ... all with the help of his faithful stuffed monkey.
  Then his mother fixes up his holey, missing-button favorite pajamas, and suddenly Timothy has super strength! He catches an elephant falling off a cliff! He rescues a princess in a tipping tower! He drags an alligator back to the zoo! But when Monkey gets trapped -- and the pajamas rip! -- Timothy finds his real power in his friends.
  Sweetly funny, utterly charming, this is the debut of a brilliant new author-illustrator.
  
  Great read and very cute.
• 
  Joanne Roberts

  How I loved this book. It is not a traditional story but a sort of mix of comic book and bedtime tale. The art is just perfect. The concept is on target: kids love their pajamas. C'mon so do adults. That's been proven by every professional who has had to stay at home and work during the COVID 19 pandemic. But the theme goes way past that and can encompass all those childhood lovies, be it a blanket, a favorite tee, or a stuffed toy. The main character's super powers are hilarious and the supporting characters made me smile. The ending might be a bit predictable, but I think this is a kid-friendly winner.
• 
  Amanda Walz

  I really liked this story. Timothy does all sorts of things to be strong, it's something that he's working on. His mother ends up patching up his favorite pajamas and it turns them super strong. Timothy decides that he will use his strength for good. He does many great deeds until he finds that he needs help. Who will help him?
  
  It's a really cute story.
• 
  Emily Roberts

  It's a superhero adventure! Or so monkey says on the cover. Timothy and his strong pajamas -- with their patches of power and buttons of braveness -- help all sorts of animals and people in distress. Cute book with endearing illustrations. Not sure how this would fit for a storytime program, but it could be possible.
• 
  Pam

  Absolutely hilarious. Timothy's mom repairs his old pajama's and makes them stronger which in turn makes Timothy stronger. As he goes out to save the world, he brings along Monkey but when Monkey gets stuck under a hibernating bear it takes all of Timothy's new friends to pull him out.
• 
  Emily Carlyn

  This is a longer picture book, so it's good to read with an older crowd (at least pre-k and up).
• 
  J

  Cute book about how if you do nice things for people, nice things will happen for you, too. I love that Timothy decided to use his power for good!
• 
  kim

  a little too odd
• 
  Storywraps

  Timothy Smallbeast wants to make himself stronger, so every night before bedtime he exercises vigorously, drinks fortified milk and thinks "strong" thoughts. His best friend, Monkey, sticks close by his side and helps him out at every turn. Mom notices that Timothy's pyjamas are worn out and suggests that he may need a new pair, to which he replies, "but mom, they don't sell FAVORITE pajamas at the store, only NEW ones. Please fix these instead." So loving mom, wanting to please her son, mends them with "Patches of Power and Buttons of Braveness." When Timothy dons his "new" old pyjamas he becomes a super-strong, superhero. He and Monkey catch an elephant from falling off a cliff, carries a mountain of packages for an elderly woman, rescues a princess from a tipping tower, rights a sinking ship, drags an alligator back to the zoo and carries a sleeping bear into the "deep dark forest." When he tries to free his stuffed monkey from under the sleeping bear he accidentally rips his pyjamas and is rendered powerless. What is poor Timothy to do? Not to despair dear reader....all those he previously helped show up to help him and Monkey out and deliver them safely back to their home. Hurray for the "Pay it Forward" mentality. "Pay it Forward" is the opposite of payback; when someone does a good deed for you, instead of paying them back, pay it forward by doing a good deed for someone else. What a great life lesson to teach your kids.
  
  This charming little book is illustrated in watercolors that vary from small vignettes, to vertical and horizontal panel scenes, all the way to full page spreads. They are expressive and very, very detailed.
  
  Kids who envy super heroes, power and strength will really enjoy this book! Recommended for ages 4-8.
  
• 
  Melanie H.

  Timothy wants very much to be a big strong cat. So he exercises and thinks strong thoughts. This really isn't working though. When his mother notices that all of the exercising is ruining his favorite pajamas she asks Timothy to get rid of the old ones and she'll get new ones. Timothy does not like this idea at all. These are his favorite pajamas! Can't his mom just fix them? So she learns how to sew and she sews them super strong, puts on some strong patches and some really red buttons. The pajamas are now Timothy's strong pajamas.
  
  In these new super strong pajamas, Timothy becomes a hero! He saves an elephant lady who's falling off a cliff, a princess, a cat out of a tree, among many others. At the end of the day, on his way home, he encounters a bear that is lost, can't find the forest to hibernate and is too tired to continue looking. As his last act of heroism for the day, Timothy carries the bear to the forest. As he prepares to leave the bear to hibernate, he notices that his monkey toy is missing. Suddenly he realizes the monkey is trapped underneath the giant sleeping bear. His attempts to pull him out only result in ripping his super strong pajamas. So now his pajamas are no longer strong. What will he do?
  
  The elephant lady he rescued earlier in the day finds him and sees his predicament. She puts out a distress call and all of the creatures that Timothy helped that day come to his rescue. With everyone's help, Timothy is able to get the monkey free. Yea!
• 
  Amy Forrester

  Timothy Smallbeast isn’t very big or strong until his favorite fixes his favorite pair of pajamas. All the extra reinforcements his mother put on the pajamas have made Timothy strong, too! With the help of his best friend, a sock monkey, Timothy begins using his superhero strength for good. In one day alone he saves an elephant, a princess, an old lady, some sailors, a zoozeeper, and a kitten in distress. As he and Monkey are walking home, they happen upon an upset bear who has lost his way. He needs to go back to his home in the woods to hibernate, but he can’t find the way. Timothy carries the exhausted bear back to his home and the bear falls asleep right on top of Monkey! Timothy tries to save Monkey, but his pajamas rip and his superhero strength disappears. Luckily, the people Timothy saved rush to his rescue and soon Timothy is back home with his mother.
  
  The text is full of wonderful adjectives and onomatopoeias that make this story a wonderful book for reading aloud. Monkey and other characters chime in with humorous asides in small speech bubbles throughout the story. The illustrations utilize every inch of available space and many pages are divided into sections that help to keep the quick pace of the story.
  
  Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day:
  http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
• 
  Gwen the Librarian

  This is the first picture book I have loved this year. Sly, hilarious jokes, cutie illustrations, and a terrific story make this a winner for lap reading. Some word balloons and a lot going on in the illustrations would rule this one out for me as a group read-aloud, but you may be more intrepid than I.
  
  
  Timothy wants to get stronger, so he tries all kinds of things every night before bed - drinking fortified milk, doing push-ups, even thinking strong thoughts. When Timothy's favorite pajamas get warn out, his mom sews on some patches with super strong thread. All of a sudden, when Timothy wears his pajamas, he is super strong! He and his sock monkey are able to save the day for an elephant lady, a princess, some sailors and a zookeeper. But what happens when Timothy's pajamas rip again? Read the story to find out! This is a really fun story with engaging illustrations.
  
• 
  Kelly Holmes

  This is a clever story about a pair of pajamas that give the main character superhero strength, with his stuffed monkey providing the comic relief. I only wish the main character had solved the problem at the climax by finding some inner strength and realizing he didn't need the pajamas. Also, it felt a little too long. For example, we could have been introduced to the character as having the superhero strength pajamas right off the bat, instead of hearing all about how he got them. The illustrations were adorable, especially that monkey!
• 
  Sherry

  This adorable, cartoon-like adventure will be the cat's pajamas for any child who has felt deep affinity for a favorite object. Timothy can't part with his raggedy pajamas. When his mother sews them together again, they give him great strength, which he uses to help animals in trouble. When the pajamas suffer another tear, Timothy momentarily loses his strength and confidence, but all is restored when his friends step in to help, and his mother sews his pajamas once more. Recommended for ages 3-8.
• 
  Jennifer

  Oh my goodness, what a treat! This fun picture book depicts Timothy Smallbeast who desperately wants to be strong. When Mom says it's time to throw out his favorite pajamas, he begs her to fix them instead. After she sews them with "Patches of Power" and "Buttons of Braveness" Timothy becomes so strong he's ready to become a hero.
  
  Read the book to find out what Timothy does with his new-found strength and what he learns about friendship and heroism along the way. Fantastic illustrations and easy-to-read narration make this perfect for story time.
• 
  Amy Brown

  Great illustrations. Timothy loves his pajamas so when his mom wants to buy him new ones, he talks her in to fixing his old ones. After she finishes sewing them, he discovers that his pajamas make him super strong and he saves many different animals, that is until his pajamas are ripped and he loses his strength. That's when his friends come to the rescue.
• 
  Molly

  The read aloud possibilities are endless with this colorful, exciting book. It's already been a hit with my son in one on one reads (this is the time to try on your best superhero voice). I think I will use it in storytimes, especially Early Lit ones, where I plan to use the off-kilter typing, and word balloons to demonstrate print awareness.
  
  
• 
  Christy

  Collin loves this book. It is the story of Timothy who gets super hero strength when his mother reinforces his favorite pajamas with patches of power and buttons of bravery. He uses his power to help everyone who needs him and he discovers that they are also willing to help him when he needs them. Nice story.
• 
  Dolly

  This is a fun and imaginative book about a little boy who gets superhero strength from his mended pajamas. It's a great story to read at bedtime. I love that the story shows that repairing an old pair of well-loved pajamas is better than merely purchasing a new pair. We really enjoyed reading this book together and we've read it a couple of times.
• 
  Amy

  Meh, this one was alright. I thought the illustrations were a little underwhelming, and I'm not sure why Timothy was a... whatever he was instead of a human boy, but whatever. My niece liked it ok, but my nephew was not impressed at all. The message in this one was kind of nice, though. Timothy and the Strong Pajamas might be a good bedtime story for the right kid.
• 
  Sarah

  I LOVE this book! I read it to the Summer Reading Club yesterday, and the entire audience was entranced. It has so many fabulous melodramatic moments, but is at heart about an ordinary kid who discovers that he can help others and that sometimes those you help will help in return.
• 
  Celestia

  Great story! One of those darling picture books that makes you smile. I loved the ending. It is a twist on the classic "lion and the mouse" story. I love that it teaches children to use their power for good, not for evil.
• 
  Renee

  After Timothy's mom repairs his worn pajamas, the pajamas become...super strong pajamas! Timothy goes around helping people out, but what will he do when his monkey side kick gets stuck beneath a hibernating bear? Funny and talks about how doing nice things for people can later help you out.
• 
  babyhippoface

  When Timothy's favorite pair of pajamas rip, his mama does a really good of sewing them up. Problem is, she sews 'em up too good--they give him super strength! What little boy doesn't dream of having super strength?
• 
  Megan

  Timothy may be tiny, but his pajamas make him super strong--strong enough to help elephants, bears, and various other creatures. Comic book-like illustrations and a hilarious monkey doll make this book a winner for all readers.
  
• 
  Felicia Goodwin

  I really liked this book because it talks about using our talents or abilities to help others and how when we reach out to others, they will also reach out to us in our time of need. I would definitely use this book with my students.