The 2023 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards: English-language winners announced

On Monday evening, a gala event was held to announce the winners of this year's English-language Canadian Children's Book Awards. From a fine list of nominees , the following winners were selected by juries of their peers from the kidCanLit world. (The French-language award will be announced on November 6, 2023.)

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

• 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;

• • • • • • •

 

Congratulations to all winners!

• • • • • • •

TD Canadian Children's 

Literature Award

 WINNER

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

WINNER 

Mina
Written and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe
Simon & Schuster Canada

Norma Fleck Award For 

Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

WINNER

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

WINNER

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award 

WINNER

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

Jean Little First-Novel Award

WINNER 

Weird Rules to Follow
Written by Kim Spencer
Orca Book Publishers

Arlene Barlin Award 

for Science Fiction and Fantasy

WINNER 

Blood Scion
Written by Deborah Falaye
HarperTeen

 

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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

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

2022 Canadian Children's Book Centre Book Awards: English-language Winners announced

 

Yesterday, the Canadian Children's Book Centre announced the winners of the 2022 English-language CCBC Awards at a streamed event presented from Harbourfront as part of the Toronto International Festival of Authors. (See the CCBC website announcement here with pdf here.)

 

These are the children's book awards presented this year:

• 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; and
  
• David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award ($3,500), Sponsored by Shelly Stagg Peterson.
  

 

Congratulations 

to all winners!

 

 📚📚📚

 

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

WINNER

On the Trapline

Written by David A. Robertson

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Tundra Books

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

WINNER 

Time is a Flower

Written and illustrated by Julie Morstad 

Tundra Books

Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

WINNER

The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures
Written by Christian Allaire
Illustrated by Jacqueline Li
Annick Press

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

WINNER

Second Chances
Written by Harriet Zaidman
Red Deer Press

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

WINNER

Iron Widow
Written by Xiran Jay Zhao
Penguin Teen Canada

Jean Little First-Novel Award

WINNER 

Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer

Written by Leslie Gentile
DCB

 

 

 

 

Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

WINNER 

Iron Widow
Written by Xiran Jay Zhao
Penguin Teen Canada

 

 

 

 

 

David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award

WINNER 

Summer Feet
Written by Sheree Fitch
Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher
Nimbus Publishing

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n.b. The French-language award short lists will be announced in October and winners celebrated in November.