Chocolate Lily 2012 winners announced

Unlike the British Columbia book awards of Red Cedar and the Stellar Award programs, the Chocolate Lily Book Awards promote children's fiction by B. C. authors and B. C. illustrators. The three award categories for 2011/2012 were:

1. Picture Book – for readers in Kindergarten to Grade 4
2. Chapter Book – for Grades 3-6
3. Novel – for Grades 5 to 8

The winners of the Chocolate Lily Book Awards were announced recently from the following shortlists announced last spring:


In the Picture Book Category (Kindergarten to Grade 3)

• Singing Away the Dark
by Caroline Woodward
Simply Read Books

• Great Lakes and Rugged Ground Imagining Ontario
by Sarah N. Harvey & Leslie Buffam
Orca Book Publishers

•  Stanley’s Little Sister
by Linda Bailey (BC)
Kids Can Press

• The Little Hummingbird
by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Greystone Books

• Where are You Bear?
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Sean L. Moore (BC)
Owl Kids

• Compost Stew an A to Z Recipe for the Earth
by Mary McKenna Siddals
Tricycle Press

The winner in the Picture Book Category is. . .

Stanley's Little Sister

by Linda Bailey

Kids Can Press

In the Chapter Book Category (Grades 3 – 5)

• Emily
by Julie Lawson
Penguin

• The Ballad of Knuckles McGraw
by Lois Peterson
Orca Book Publishers

• Ben’s Robot
by Robin Stevenson
Orca Book Publishers

• Black Dog Dream Dog
by Michelle Superle
Tradewind Books

• No Pets Allowed
by Irene N. Watts
Tradewind Books

The winner in the Chapter Book Category is. . .

Black Dog, Dream Dog

by Michelle Superle

Tradewind Books

In the Novel Category  (Grades 5 – 8 )

• Hannah & the Spindle Whorl
by Carol Anne Shaw
Ronsdale Press

• Silver Rain
by Lois Peterson
Orca Book Publishers

• Follow the Elephant
by Beryl Young
Ronsdale Press

• Ghost of Heroes Past
by Charles Ried
Ronsdale Press

• No Moon
by Irene Watts
Tundra Books

• Dear George Clooney Please Marry Mom
by Susin Nielsen
Tundra Books

• Liar and Fools
by Robin Stevenson
Orca Book Publishers


The winner in the Novel Category is. . .

Follow the Elephant

by Beryl Young

Kids Can Press

 Congratulations 

authors, illustrators and publishers 

on your nominations and wins

Red Cedar Award 2012 winners announced

 

British Columbian children in Grades 4 through 7 have read and voted for their favourite titles among the Fiction nominees and Information Book nominees for 2011/2012. We are pleased to announce the winners in each category.

For the Red Cedar Book Award for Fiction, the winner is . . .

After the Fire

by Becky Citra

 Orca Books 

186 pp.

Ages 8-11

2010 

While her mom and boyfriend are passed out drunk, a fire breaks out and Melissa is left scarred.  Two years later, Melissa, her brother and mom are spending the summer at a friend's cottage. There Melissa meets Alice and, although she is embarrassed about her less-than-perfect family, Melissa learns that Alice is not what she seems, her family also less than perfect and dealing with grief in a variety of unhealthy ways.


For the Red Cedar Information Book Award, the winner is . . .

How to Build Your Own Country 

by Valerie Wyatt

Illustrated by Fred Rix

Kids Can Press

40 pp.

Ages 9-11

2009 

This "how-to" book will help readers establish their own countries, learn how to set up their governments and how to set up international relations with other countries.  All the organization needed and the knowledge of government, economics, trade and other key national endeavours are illustrated in this worthwhile book. 

Hackmatack 2011/2012 Award Winners announced!

Readers 9 to 12 years of age and living in Atlantic Canada who participated in the annual Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award literary program have made their selections.  Last Friday night, April 27, 2012, the winners of the 2012 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award were announced at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton, New Brunswick.  

Hearty congratulations to the winners in the four categories:

ENGLISH  FICTION 

Hugh Brewster

Prisoner of Dieppe: World War II, Alistair Morrison, 

Occupied France, 1942

Scholastic Canada

222 pp.

2010

Hugh Brewster

Scholastic Canada's I am Canada series

  

 ENGLISH  NON-FICTION

Catherine Rondina

Don’t Touch That Toad & Other Strange Things Adults Tell You

Illus. by Kevin Sylvester
Kids Can Press
96 pp.
2010

Catherine Rondina
Kevin Sylvester

ROMAN  FRANÇAIS

 Richard Petit

Ton journal intime Zone Frousse

Z'Ailées

120 pp.

2010

zonefrousse.com

DOCUMENTAIRE  FRANÇAIS

Stéphanie C. Dubois

Le petit livre des affaires dégueulasses

Les Malins Editions

105 pp.

2010

Willow Award 2011/2012 Winners announced!

The winners of the Willow Awards, Saskatchewan's young readers' choice awards, were announced last night at the SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala 2012 in Moose Jaw.  The titles nominated for these three awards were announced last spring (2011), and readers in Kindergarten to Grade 9 read and then voted on the titles in their award category. 

Congratulations to the  

winners of the three Willow Awards!

The winner of the Shining Willow Award, selected from those books written for youngest readers, those in Kindergarten to Grade 3, is...

The King’s Taster

by Kenneth Oppel, 

Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

HarperCollins

2009

The king's cook is having a hard time getting the young king to eat his fare.  In an exhaustive series of trips, the cook and the king's taster look for new dishes to serve the king.  But, it isn't until the king's taster reveals a secret that the youthful king is compelled to enjoy his meals.

The winner of the Diamond Willow Award, selected from those books written for readers of Grades 4 to 6, is...

The Midnight Curse

by L. M. Falcone

Kids Can Press

2010

--> When their great-great-uncle Jonathan dies, eleven-year-old fraternal twins, Charlie and Lacey Darcy, and their mom are summoned to England hopeful for an inheritance.  But, it is a curse that transfers from Uncle Jonathan to Charlie, already a nervous worrier, which condemns him to a life sleeping in water from midnight to daybreak, or suffer death.

The winner of the Snow Willow Award, selected from those books written for readers in Grades 7 to 9, is ...

Dear George Clooney, 

Please Marry My Mom

by Susin Nielsen

Tundra Books

2010

Also, winner of the 2012 Rocky Mountain Book Award Gold Medal, Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom tells the story of Violet's struggle to look for an appropriate match for her mom after Violet's TV-director dad leaves Vancouver and reshapes his life into that of a rich LA big-shot with a beautiful actress-wife and perfect twin daughters.  With Dad blissfully unaware of the impact his choices have had on others, and her younger sister bed-wetting again, and her mom dating loser after loser, Violet decides to take matters into her own hands, compelling her to make some abominable and hilarious decisions.

Just an aside:

If I err in my labelling of the awards, please let me know so that I may amend my posts.  I'm sure others have been confused as well.  For example, the 2011 Willow Award Winners were announced at the SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala 2012.  The nominated titles for the 2011 Willow Awards were announced in 2011, read in 2011 and 2012, voted on in 2012, and awarded in 2012.  But they are the 2011 Willow Awards.  Just to add to the confusion, the 2012 Willow Award nominees were announced while young readers were voting for their 2011 Willow Awards.  Just a thought: why not announce the nominees just before the reading programs begin?  As I said, just a thought.)

The Willow Awards: Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice

On February 28, 2012,  young readers in Saskatchewan will be voting for their favourite books as part of the 2011 Willow Awards reading program. 

Established in 2001, the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice (SYRCA) awards, the Willow Awards, encourage reading by nominating a variety of Canadian titles in three categories.  Young readers can participate in the reading programs through their schools and public libraries, selecting their favourite from one list.  The Willow Awards are truly conferred according the choices of Saskatchewan's young readers.

This year's lists of nominated titles were announced last year.  Since then, young readers have enjoyed reading exceptional Canadian books, anticipating their voting day next week.

The three Willow Awards i.e., Shining Willow, Diamond Willow and Snow Willow are detailed below, along with the 2011 nominated titles.
 

The Shining Willow Award winner is selected from those books written for youngest readers, those in Kindergarten to Grade 3.

The 2011 Shining Willow nominees are:

• Clever Rachel
by Debby Waldman, illustrated by Cindy Revell
Orca Books
2009

• Fred and Pete at the Beach
by Cynthia Nugent
Orca Books
2009

• Giraffe and Bird
by Rebecca Bender
Dancing Cat Books
2010

• The Imaginary Garden
by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
Kids Can Press
2009

• In Front of My House
by Marianne Dubuc
Kids Can Press
2010

• The King’s Taster
by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
HarperCollins
2009

• The Little Hummingbird
by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Greystone Books/D & M Publishers
2010

• Timmerman Was Here
by Colleen Sydor, illustrated by Nicolas Debon
Tundra Books
2009

• Viola Desmond Won’t be Budged
by Jody Nyasha Warner, illustrated by Richard Rudnicki
Groundwood Books
2010

• Willow’s Whispers
by Lana Button, illustrated by Tania Howells
Kids Can Press
2010

The Diamond Willow Award winner is selected from those books written for readers of Grades 4 to 6.

The 2011 Diamond Willow nominees are:

• After All, You're Callie Boone

by Winnie Mack
Scholastic Canada
2010

• Animals That Changed The World
by Keltie Thomas
Annick Press
2010

• Fatty Legs
by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes
Annick Press
2010

• The Gargoyle In My Yard
by Philippa Dowding
Dundurn
2009

• The Midnight Curse
by L. M. Falcone
Kids Can Press
2010

• The Odds Get Even
by Natale Ghent
HarperCollins
2009

• Ortega
by Maureen Fergus
Kids Can Press
2010

• Stolen Child
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
2010

• Tumbleweed Skies
by Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
2009

• Walking Backward
by Catherine Austen
Orca Books

2010

The Snow Willow Award winner is selected from those books written for readers in Grades 7 to 9.

The 2011 Snow Willow nominees are:

• Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom
by Susin Nielsen
Tundra Books
2010

• Free As A Bird
by Gina McMurchy-Barber
Dundurn
2010

• A Hare In The Elephant's Trunk 
by Jan L. Coates
Red Deer Press
2010

• Haunted 
by Barbara Haworth-Attard
HarperCollins
2009

• Home Truths
by Jill MacLean
Dancing Cat Books
2010

• No Safe Place
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
2010

• Puppet  

by Eva Wiseman
Tundra Books
2009

• Shapeshifter
by Holly Bennett
Orca Books
2010

• Thunder Over Kandahar
by Sharon E. McKay
Annick Press
2010

• The Worst Thing She Ever Did
by Alice Kuipers
HarperTrophy Canada
2010

The nominated titles for the 2012 Willow Awards have been posted here on the March 2, 2012.