2017 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards: Finalists announced

Today, the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-renowned authority on all things related to youngCanLit, announced the finalists for the 2017 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. (See their website announcement here.)

The eight major children's book awards, which will be awarded at two invitation-only galas in November, include:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($30,000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($30,000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000) Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie;
• Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction ($10,000) Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation;
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000) Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund;
• John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000) Sponsored by John Spray of Mantis Investigation Agency;
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000) Sponsored by Amy Mathers' Marathon of Books; and
• Le Prix Harry Black de l’album jeunesse ($5,000) Sponsored by Mary Macchiusi

There is also the Fan Choice Award/Choix du public littérature jeunesse which invites young readers to to choose their favourite book from the titles shortlisted for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse.  CBC in partnership with the CCBC will start launch the voting process in early October.

The 2017 awards differ from previous years in that Le Prix Harry Black is being presented for the first time and the Monica Hughes Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction is not being presented this year.

Here are the short lists for each award category, as announced by the Canadian Children's Book Centre:

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

A Day of Signs and Wonders
Written by Kit Pearson
HarperTrophy Canada

The Skeleton Tree
Written by Iain Lawrence
Tundra Books

Tokyo Digs a Garden
Written by Jon-Erik Lappano
Illustrated byKellen Hatanaka
Groundwood books
Reviewed here

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

When We Were Alone
Written by David Alexander Robertson
Illustrated by Julie Flett
HighWater Books








Le Prix TD de littérature pour l'enfance et la jeunesse canadienne

Aaah!bécédaire
Écrit par Elaine Turgeon
Illustré par Martin Laliberté
Éditions Druide

En voiture! L'Amérique en chemin de fer
Écrit et illustré par Pascal Blanchet
Éditions de la Pastèque

Même pas vrai
Écrit par Larry Tremblay
Illustré par Guillaume Perreault
Éditionas de la Bagnole

Niska
Écrit par Étienne Poirier
Éditions du soileil de minuit

Y'a pas de place chez nous
Écrit par Andrée Poulin
Illustré par Enzo Lora Mariano
Éditions Québec Amérique












Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award 

The Artist and Me
Written by Shane Peacock
Illustrated by Sophie Casson
Owlkids Books

The Darkest Dark
Written by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion
Illustrated by Eric Fan and Terry Fan
Tundra Books

I Am Not a Number
Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Second Story Press
Reviewed here

The Snow Knows
Written by Jennifer McGrath
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Nimbus Publishing
Reviewed here

We Found a Hat
Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press












Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

Canada Year by Year
Written by Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Kids Can Press

Fight to Learn: The Struggle to go to School
Written by Laura Scandiffio
Annick Press

Level the Playing Field: The Past, Present and Future of Women's Pro Sports
Written by Kristina Rutherford
Owlkids Books

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

Water Wow! An Infographic Exploration
Written by Antonia Banyard and Paula Ayer
Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
Annick Press

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

Every Hidden Thing
Written by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Publishers

Freedom's Just Another Word
Written by Caroline Stellings
Second Story Press
Reviewed here

Heart of a Champion
Written by Ellen Schwartz
Tundra Books

Mark of the Plague (Blackthorn Key, Book 2)
Written by Kevin Sands
Aladdin

When Morning Comes
Written by Arushi Raina
Tradewind Books

John Spray Mystery Award

The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim
Written by Shane Peacock
Tundra Books

Howard Wallace, P.I.
Written by Casey Lyall
Sterling Children's Books

The Road to Ever After
Written by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada

Shooter
Written by Caroline Pignat
Razorbill Canada
Reviewed here

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard (The Continuing Adventures of Peter Nimble, Book 2)
Written by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada












Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Written by E. K. Johnston
Dutton Books
Reviewed here

Girl Mans Up 
Written by M-E Girard
HarperCollins

Julia Vanishes
Written by Catherine Egan
Doubleday Canada
Reviewed here

Shooter
Written by Carline Pignat
Razorbill Canada
Reviewed here

With Malice
Written by Eileen Cook
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reviewed here









Prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse

Au-delà de la forêt
Écrit par Nadine Robert
Illustré par Gérard DuBois
Comme des géants

Azadah
Écrit et illustré par Jacques Goldstyn
Éditions de la Pastèque

Je ne suis pas ta maman
Écrit et illustré par Marianne Dubuc
Comme des géants

N'importe quoi!
Écrit et illustré par Élise Gravel
Éditions Les 400 coups

Y'a pas de place chez nous
Écrit par Andrée Poulin
Illustré par Enzo Lora Mariano
Éditions Québec Amérique






Hosted by the Canadian Children's Book Centre and TD Bank Group, the Canadian Children's Literature Awards will celebrate great Canadian children's books and present the winners of the awards on the evenings of November 8, 2017 and November 21, 2017 in Montreal and Toronto, respectively.