2025 CCBC Book Awards: Finalists announced

From https://bookcentre.ca/blogs/industry-news/finalists-announced-for-the-2025-ccbc-book-awards

On Wednesday, August 17, 2025, the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-renowned authority on all things related to youngCanLit, announced the finalists for the 2025 English-language Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. (See their website announcement here with videos of shortlists on Bibliovideo. A pdf is also available.) These awards celebrate picture books, historical fiction, YA, debut novels, science fiction and fantasy, and more. Over the years, the awards have changed, some discontinued and some transitioned (e.g., the long-awarded Norma Fleck award for Canadian children's non-fiction will now be sponsored to honour Sharon Fitzhenry). Still, this year's seven awards are a sampling of the extraordinary books for young people created by Canadian authors and illustrators. They are a great resource for exceptional reads from 2024 to 2025.

 

This year, the children's book awards include the following: 

• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000) 
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000)
• Sharon Fitzhenry Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction ($10,000)  
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000) 
• Jean Little First-Novel Award ($5,000) 
• Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000)
• Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award ($2,500)

• • • • • • •

 

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

 

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

Supported by A. Charles Baillie

This award honours excellence in illustrated English picture books for children ages 3-8 and written and illustrated by Canadians.

A Face Is a Poem
Written and illustrated by Julie Morstad 
Tundra Books

I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf
Written by Danielle Daniel 
Illustrated by Matt James 
Tundra Books

It Bears Repeating
Written by Tanya Tagaq 
Illustrated by Cee Pootoogook 
Tundra Books

Mad at Dad
Written and illustrated by Janie Hao
Kids Can Press

Reviewed here 

SOS Water
Written and illustrated by Yayo 
Tradewind Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

Supported by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund

This is given annually to reward excellence in the writing of an outstanding work of historical fiction for young readers by a Canadian author.

Age 16
Written and illustrated by Rosena Fung 
Annick Press

Eyes on the Ice
Written by Anna Rosner 
Groundwood Books

The Go-Between
Written by Jennifer Maruno 
Red Deer Press

Song of Freedom, Song of Dreams
Written by Shari Green 
Andrews McMeel Publishing

Wings to Soar
Written by Tina Athaide 
Charlesbridge Move

Sharon Fitzhenry Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

Supported by the Fitzhenry Family Foundation 

It honours excellence in Canadian children’s non-fiction books for Grades 4-12 (ages 8-18).  

All Consuming: Shop Smarter for the Planet (Orca Think)

Written by Erin Silver 
Illustrated by Suharu Ogawa 
Orca Book Publishers

 

The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey (Orca Biography)
Written by Chad Soon and George Chiang
Illustrated by Amy Qi 
Orca Book Publishers

 

Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival
Written by Trina Rathgeber 
Illustrated by Alina Pete 
Coloured by Jillian Dolan 
Orca Book Publishers

 

Meet Jim Egan (Scholastic Canada Biography)
Written by Elizabeth MacLeod 
Illustrated by Mike Deas 
Scholastic Canada

Reviewed here

 

You Can Be an Activist: How to Use Your Strengths & Passions to Make a Difference (CitizenKid)
Written by Charlene Rocha and Mary Beth Leatherdale 
Illustrated by Drew Shannon 
Kids Can Press 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

Supported by Accelerate360 Canada

This award honours excellence in fiction written in English for teens or young adults (ages 13-18) by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada. 

Age 16
Written and illustrated by Rosena Fung 
Annick Press

And Then There Was Us
Written by Kern Carter 
Tundra Books

A Constellation of Minor Bears
Written by Jen Ferguson 
Heartdrum

Fledgling (The Keeper's Records of Revolution, Book 1)
Written by S.K. Ali 
Kokila

For She Is Wrath
Written by Emily Varga 
Wednesday Books

 

The Lightning Circle
Written by Vikki VanSickle 
Illustrated by Laura K. Watson 
Tundra Books 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean Little First-Novel Award

Supported by Teresa James

This award recognizes the achievements of a first-time Canadian children’s novel written for ages 8-12. 

Alterations
Written and illustrated by Ray Xu 
Union Square Kids

Maya Plays the Part
Written by Calyssa Erb 
Annick Press

Teddy vs. the Fuzzy Doom (Secrets of Ravensbarrow, Book 1)
Written and illustrated by Braden Hallett
Annick Press

 

 

 

 

 

Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

Supported by Elly Barlin-Daniels

This award, in honour of the sponsor's sister Arlene Barlin, is given to recognize excellence in Canadian children’s speculative fiction.

Fledgling (The Keeper's Records of Revolution)
Written by S.K. Ali 
Kokila

The Headmasters
Written by Mark Morton 
Shadowpaw Press

Lockjaw
Written by Matteo L. Cerilli 
Tundra Books

Waking the Dead and Other Fun Activities
Written by Casey Lyall 
Greenwillow Books

Reviewed here

Where the Dark Stands Still
Written by A.B. Poranek 

Margaret K. McElderry Books 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award

Supported by Rocky Mountain Book Award and Alice Chase 

It is awarded annually to a Canadian children’s title written for an elementary school-aged audience in Grades 4-6 (Ages 9-12) exemplifying Richard’s guiding principles of compassion, kindness, humanity, environmentalism, inclusivity, and connection to the land.

Hummingbird / Aamo-binashee
Written and illustrated by Jennifer Leason 
Anishinaabemowin translation by Norman Chartrand and Jennifer Leason 
Orca Book Publisher

I Wonder About Worlds: Discovering Planets and Exoplanets
Written by James Gladstone 
Illustrated by Yaara Eshet 
Owlkids Books

Mighty Scared: The Amazing Ways Animals Defend Themselves
Written by Erin Silver 
Illustrated by Hayden Maynard 
Orca Book Publishers

A Song for the Paper Children
Written by Christopher Tse 
Plumleaf Press

Reviewed here 

Two Pieces of Chocolate
Written by Kathy Kacer 
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard 
Second Story Press

 📚📚📚

The winners of these awards will be announced on October 27, 2025 at a ticketed event in Toronto. 

 

The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island (Wild By Nature)

Written by Deborah Hodge

Illustrated by Karen Reczuch

Groundwood Books

978-1-773067186 

32 pp. 

Ages 3–7 

August 2025 

 

Children's non-fiction books generally take two formats: one as a story, and the other as an information book with graphs, maps, info boxes, a glossary and more. Both formats work but some stories work better one way than the another. For the Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, Deborah Hodge and Karen Reczuch's chose to tell their story as a narrative, taking readers right onto the island and making them witness to the lives of these seabirds. 

From The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, written by Deborah Hodge, illustrated by Karen Reczuch

First, Deborah Hodge transports us to Triangle Island, an isolated island off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island. This Ecological Reserve is protected, as is the Marine Wildlife Area around it, offering safety for millions of seabirds from people and land predators. Each year, more than 50,000 Tufted Puffins return in the spring and, after finding their mates, prepare burrows in which nests are created.

From The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, written by Deborah Hodge, illustrated by Karen Reczuch

In addition to recounting the life cycle from the laying of the egg to it hatching six weeks later, Deborah Hodge discusses the food and feeding of the Tufted Puffins, the fledging of the birds, and their end-of-summer departure to the North Pacific. It's not until the birds are mature that they will return to Triangle Island to start new lives with the laying of eggs.

From The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, written by Deborah Hodge, illustrated by Karen Reczuch

While Deborah Hodge does append her story with a graphic list of other seabirds of Triangle Island and extensive information about the island itself—an extraordinary place of seabird diversity and national and provincial protection—including further reading, she stays true to a narrative. From their arrival to their breeding, departure and return, the lives of the Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island are told with simplicity but heart. It is evident that Deborah Hodge has a deep appreciation for this place and its wildlife and the need to protect them all.

From The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, written by Deborah Hodge, illustrated by Karen Reczuch

The remarkable beauty of Triangle Island and its uncommon accommodation of seabirds, among which the Tufted Puffins are but one species, is gloriously portrayed in Karen Reczuch's watercolour and coloured pencil illustrations. The scientific accuracy is there but it's Karen Reczuch's style of creating textures in the birds, in the landscape and with her perspective that generates an elegance of graphic storytelling.  

 

Karen Reczuch and Deborah Hodge have collaborated on previous picture books in their West Coast Wild series (e.g., West Coast Wild Rainforest and West Coast Wild ABC) and, as in The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, they have always given us reality with feeling. Even as they tell us about plants and animals and Canadian landscapes, they make us feel for the places they portray. I anticipate no less for this new series Wild By Nature if The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island is any indication.

You Need Pants!

Written by Sonya Bell

Illustrated by Jordan Wray

Scholastic Canada

978-1-0397-0563-0

24 pp.

Ages 3–8

July 2025 

 

This child is all in for a wealth of adventures. But first their parent has to get them dressed, and that may be greatest of all undertakings.

From You Need Pants!, written by Sonya Bell, illustrated by Jordan Wray

For this little one, each day is a "new day full of silliness and dirt." (p. 3)  His mom, the narrator of the story and a peripheral character in an orange jumpsuit, reminds him of all the things he can do, but first they have to get him dressed. For each piece of clothing he needs—shirt, pants, socks, shoes, coat, hat—she points out, in rhyming text, what fun he can have. 

You can hop, skip and jump

as you march with the ants!

 

You'll sing as you go—

so let's find you some pants.

From You Need Pants!, written by Sonya Bell, illustrated by Jordan Wray

On each double-spread illustration, courtesy of Vancouver's Jordan Wray, the child's imaginative adventure is set against the reality of the play. A flight on a rainbow is actually him drawing at the breakfast table, while his mom holds up a sock to put on. A voyage on a pirate ship seeking lost treasure is him balancing on a pillow with a sword and paper pirate hat alongside a whale stuffie and a toy ship. This time, his mom attempts to get him into his coat. But to have all these fantastic exploits, he must get dressed. 

From You Need Pants!, written by Sonya Bell, illustrated by Jordan Wray

When he's finally dressed and heading out the door, having taken to the stage with the dog and cat playing back up, his mom realizes she has missed something crucial. Oh dear.

 

I can see why Sonya Bell is considered a humorist as well as a writer. You Need Pants! is a cheeky look at getting a child dressed but its ending gives readers a punchline that is convincing, silly, and yet familiar to anyone—parent, teacher, caregiver—who has needed to dress a child. Sonya Bell whose impressive career has included roles as a journalist, a speech writer and a joke writer on This Hour Has 22 Minutes knows how to deliver the laughs but embed it in a context that is appropriate for her audience. Children will love this kid who is so happy and carefree, imagining wonderful scenarios of travel and accomplishment, but laugh at his mom who is desperately chasing him around the house and encouraging him to put on just one more piece of clothing. They'll especially enjoy the ending when it's her misstep that will undo all that hard work. 

From You Need Pants!, written by Sonya Bell, illustrated by Jordan Wray

The playfulness that Sonya Bell portrays in her rhyming text—"You can build a huge tree fort with million-dollar views. You're a tiny homeowner! Oh no! Where are your shoes?"—comes across in Jordan Wray's digital illustrations. They have drawn this child as happy and creative, making a city with a firetruck all out of boxes, imagining sliding with penguins on an iceberg of a slippery rug, and going on a hike through a jungle with his stuffed monkey among the potted houseplants. There's colour everywhere and joy both in the child's imagination and in the house. Nothing is without the zest of personality, from the child's dinosaur PJs to his mom's stylish bibbed overalls, hoop earrings, and headscarf-tied afro. This mom may be frazzled but maybe not—the child doesn't seem anything but content—and yet Jordan Wray makes their story one of liveliness and pleasure and even accomplishment.

 

That effort may be short-lived—you'll see when you read the story—but Sonya Bell and Jordan Wray take us through the process of getting a small child dressed for the day and let us see it from two perspectives. The operation may be exasperating, and it certainly is straggling, but it is fun. And the kid will be fully dressed when he finally gets to leave the house. What more could a parent ask for?

King of the Dump

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones

Illustrated by Scot Ritchie

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-748-3

32 pp.

Ages 3–6

August 2025

 

In Tim Wynne-Jones's newest picture book, illustrated by Scot Ritchie, a father-son visit to the dump becomes a lesson in recycling and donation and looking beyond the self.

From King of the Dump, written by Tim Wynne-Jones, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

Teddy and his dad are heading to the dump with multiple loads of recycling and some extra stuff, like Teddy's old foot-to-floor ride-on doggie. Teddy isn't sure he wants to give up on this toy, even though he is far too big to ride on the little dog toy. But, once they get to the waste management center, there's lots to do and much to recycle. 

From King of the Dump, written by Tim Wynne-Jones, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

First they head to recycle their metal cans and such. When Teddy spots an errant plastic bottle in the bin, Gord, one of the operations staff, lets Teddy use his grabber tool to pick it out and place it in the correct bin. Next comes a visit to the mixed paper bin where Teddy finds himself chasing flying paper to return to the bin. He also gets to watch the contents of various bins get compacted so they don't take up so much space. Finally, they visit the "As Is" area where Teddy can donate his ride-on dog. He has a hard time parting with the yellow-saddled red dog but a gift of a crown from the coordinator and seeing the joy his old friend gives to a young child is enough to make Teddy change his mind.

 

I'm sure many children remember regular outings with a parent to run errands, which the adults might think of as routine and mundane, but children find the magic within. Whether it's a trip to the local dump—sorry, waste management center—or the hardware store or a local bakery, kids will remember something about how it made them feel. (Readers of my age will undoubtedly remember visits to the local Canadian Tire for car stuff or the hardware store to paw through bins of screws or nails.) While many would not see the fascination kids might experience at a dump, the time spent alone with a parent is already special, and the activity of sorting is not dissimilar from the first task learned. Though it has been awhile since author Tim Wynne-Jones has given us a picture book—he has been very busy with middle-grade and young adult fiction like Blink and Caution and The Starlight Claim—he hasn't lost the touch that earned him the Ruth Schwartz award in 1983 for Zoom at Sea. As with Zoom, Teddy finds adventure in the ordinary. Though many children are bombarded with tools for play nowadays, from iPads to video games and a variety of apps, most know how to create fun and adventures from very little. Chasing paper that has escaped the recycling bin or using a trash picker tool to extract a misplaced plastic bottle or watching the compactors or the dump trucks all entertain Teddy. He finds amusement where the adults only see labour or chores.

From King of the Dump, written by Tim Wynne-Jones, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

But Tim Wynne-Jones doesn't just show us the pleasure children can get in the mundane. He also demonstrates that kids can see beyond themselves. I'm sure there are many parents who would just have given in to Teddy and let him keep his old toy, giving in to his fear for losing a beloved toy. It's not unusual to hold on to that which holds wonderful memories. But Teddy's dad and even the lady in the "As Is" area know that moving on, perhaps with a new play crown or by seeing someone else enjoy the toy, can be a big step, albeit a seemingly unthinkable one.

Getting Vancouver's Scot Ritchie to illustrate King of the Dump works so well. Perhaps it's Scot Ritchie's use of pen that gives his lines and shapes movement that is both methodical and purposeful. Sometimes there's flurry of activity, as when Teddy chases paper, or just intense observation of all the goings-on. Scot Richie gives Teddy and his dad and the waste management center the appropriate energy of activity, of pleasure, of work, and of emotion. (Yes, there is emotion. Just look at Teddy's face as his dad carries the beloved toy away.)

From King of the Dump, written by Tim Wynne-Jones, illustrated by Scot Ritchie

Tim Wynne-Jones's dedication to "Felix, the original King of the Dump" suggests a very personal connection to this story, and I wonder if the bearded father could be Tim Wynne-Jones himself. Even if it isn't, King of the Dump remains a personal story of something special coming from the ordinary. It's a father and son spending time together with subtle lessons in unselfishness that suggest that doing good for the environment and others does not have to be a big deal.