The 2023 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 2023 English-language Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. (See their website announcement here with pdf here and video of shortlists on Bibliovideo.)

This year, the children's book awards include seven awards, both long-established and newly founded:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000), 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;
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000), Sponsored by Amy Mathers' Marathon of Books;
• Jean Little First-Novel Award ($5,000);
• Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000), Sponsored by Elly Barlin-Daniels;

 (n.b. The French-language award short lists will be announced on October 18th and winners celebrated on November 8.)

• • • • • • •

 

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

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

Berani

Written by Michelle Kadarusman

Pajama Press

Reviewed here 

Kunoichi Bunny

Written by Sara Cassidy

Illustrated by Brayden Sato

Orca Book Publishers 

Sitting Shiva
Written by Erin Silver
Illustrated by Michelle Theodore
Orca Book Publishers

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation
Written by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson
Orca Book Publishers

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

 

Boobies
Written and illustrated by Nancy Vo
Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

Fox and Bear
Written and illustrated by Miriam Körner
Red Deer Press

Reviewed here

I'm Not Sydney!
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

Lizzy and the Cloud
Written and illustrated by the Fan Brothers
Simon & Schuster Canada

Mina
Written and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
Simon & Schuster Canada

Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

Better Connected: How Girls Are Using Social Media for Good (Orca Think)
Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Julia Kyi
Illustrated by Vivian Rosas
Orca Book Publishers

Pink, Blue, and You! Questions for Kids About Gender Stereotypes
Written by Elise Gravel with Mykaell Blais
Illustrated by Elise Gravel
Anne Schwartz Books

Sun in My Tummy
Written by Laura Alary
Illustrated by Andrea Blinick
Pajama Press

Reviewed here

Why Humans Build Up: The Rise of Towers, Temples and Skyscrapers (Orca Timeline)
Written by Gregor Craigie
Illustrated by Kathleen Fu
Orca Book Publishers

The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation
Written by Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson
Orca Book Publishers

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

Hidden on the High Wire (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Written by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press

How to Be a Goldfish
Written by Jane Baird Warren
Scholastic Canada

Reviewed here

The Ribbon Leaf
Written by Lori Weber
Red Deer Press

The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan

Written by Salma Hussain

Tundra Books

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Written by Zoulfa Katouh
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

The Red Palace
Written by June Hur
Feiwel and Friends

Reviewed here

Road of the Lost
Written by Nafiza Azad
Margaret K. McElderry Books

TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
Written by Jesmeen Kaur Deo
Viking Books for Young Readers

Wrong Side of the Court

Written by H.N. Khan
Penguin Teen Canada

Jean Little First-Novel Award

The Grave Thief
Written by Dee Hahn
Puffin Canada

 

How to Be a Goldfish
Written by Jane Baird Warren
Scholastic Canada 

Reviewed here

Scout Is Not a Band Kid
Written and illustrated by Jade Armstrong
RH Graphic

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

The Wolf Suit
Written and illustrated by Sid Sharp
Annick Press

 

Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

Blood Scion
Written by Deborah Falaye
HarperTeen

 

Ghostlight
Written by Kenneth Oppel
Puffin Canada

Reviewed here

 

The Limitless Sky
Written by Christina Kilbourne
Dundurn Press 

Reviewed here

A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea, Book 1)
Written by Judy I. Lin
Feiwel and Friends

Sneaks
Written by Catherine Egan
Knopf Books for Young Readers

 📚📚📚

The winners of these awards will be announced on October 23, 2023 at a ticketed event in Toronto. (Tickets go on sale September 25.)