2025 Willow Awards: Winners announced

Established in 2001, the Willow Awards, also known as the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards (SYRCA), encourage reading of Canadian books for young people. Readers can participate in the reading programs through their schools and public libraries, selecting their favourite from one of the following categories: Shining Willow, Diamond Willow, and Snow Willow. 
 

Last year, the nominees for these three awards were announced. This spring, young readers selected their favourites. Two days ago the winners were announced. 

 

Congratulations to the 2025 winners of he Shining Willow, Diamond Willow and Snow Willow awards.

 

 

 

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

Do Hippos Brush Their Teeth?: How Animals Care for Their Bodies

Written by Etta Kaner

Illustrated by Jenna Piechota

Owlkids Books

32 pp.

Ages 4–8

2024

 

 

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

Plague Thieves

Written by Caroline Fernandez
DCB Young Readers
208 pp.
Ages 9–12 

2024

 

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

 Simon Sort of Says

Written by Erin Bow

Disney-Hyperion
305 pp.
Ages 8–12

2023 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to all!

2026 Willow Award nominees announced

Established in 2001, the Willow Awards, also known as the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards (SYRCA), encourage reading of Canadian books for young people. Readers can participate in the reading programs through their schools and public libraries, selecting their favourite from one of the following categories: Shining Willow, Diamond Willow, and Snow Willow. 
 

This year's lists of nominated titles were announced recently, and readers will have the next year to read them and then vote, before a gala that will announce the winners next spring.
 

Here are the 2026 nominees for the Shining Willow, Diamond Willow and Snow Willow awards.

 

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

At the Rescue Cat Café

Written by Anna Humphrey
Illustrated by Kari Rust 

Owlkids Books 

 

Call Me Gray

Written by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen
Illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine
Kids Can Press 

 

Frostfire

Written and illustrated by Elly Mackay

Tundra Books 

 

The Love Song of Mr. Byrd

Written by Philippa Dowding

Illustrated by Carolyn Clarke 

DCB Young Readers

 

Oma's Bag

Written by Michelle Wang
Illustrated by Sam Nunez 

Arsenal Pulp Press 

 

Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm 

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Owlkids Books 

 

Raven's Ribbons

Written by Tasha Spillett
Illustrated by Daniel Ramirez 

Owlkids Books 

 

Rez Kid

Written by Andrea Landry
Illustrated by Isabelle Fassler
Kids Can Press 

 

Sand Cakes

Written by Kallie George

Illustrated by Devon Halzwarth

Tundra Books 

 

Who Needs the Dark? The Many Ways Living Things Depend on Darkness
Written by Laura Alary

Illustrated by Risa Hugo

Owlkids Books 

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

 

After the Wallpaper Music

Written by Jean Mills 

Pajama Press 

 

The City of Lost Cats

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Tundra Books 

 

Closer to Far Away

Written by Kristin Butcher

Red Deer Press 

 

Death by Whoopee Cushion

Written by Vicki Grant 

Tundra Books 

 

How to Save a Library

Written by Colleen Nelson

Pajama Press 

 

The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey
Written by Chad Soon & George Chiang
Illustrated by Amy Qi

Orca Book Publishers 

 

Robot Island

Written by Cary Fagan 

Tundra Books 

 

Swan: The Girl Who Grew

Written by Sidura Ludwig 

Nimbus Publishing 

 

Time Surfers

Written by Kevin Sylvester 

HarperCollins 

 

Touching Grass

Written by  Kristy Jackson

Illustrated by Rhael McGregor

HarperCollins Canada 

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

Among Ghosts

Written by Rachel Hartman

Penguin Teen Canada

 

The End of Always

Written by Rebecca Phillips

Second Story Press 

 

A Fondness for the Reckless

Written by Jennifer Jacoby-Smith

YNWP 

 

The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall

Written by Charis Cotter 

Penguin Random House 

 

Never Stop Skating

Written by Jesse A. Murray

Off the Field Publishing 

 

No Purchase Necessary

Written by Maria Marianayagam
HarperCollins

 

Red Flags and Butterflies

Written by Sheryl Azzam

DCB Young Readers

 

Tig

Written by Heather Smith 

Tundra Books 

 

We Bury Nothing

Written by Kate Blair

DCB Young Readers

 

You Started It

Written by Jackie Kalileh

Penguin Random House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to all nominees!

 

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: 2012 Nominated Titles

The 2012 nominees for the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice (SYRCA) awards, the Willow Awards, have been announced.

After reading a minimum number of titles, young readers will be invited to vote for their favourite on February 28, 2013.  Award winning titles will be announced in April, 2013 at a gala hosted at a Saskatchewan school. 

The three Willow Awards i.e., Shining Willow, Diamond Willow and Snow Willow are detailed below, along with this year's nominated titles.
 

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

The 2012 Shining Willow nominees are:

• Ella May and the Wishing Stone
by Cary Fagan, Illustrated by Geneviève Côté
Tundra Books
2011

• I Know Here
by Laurel Croza, Illustrated by Matt James
Groundwood Books
2010

• In the Bag!: Margaret Knight Wraps It Up
By Monica Kulling, Illustrated by David Parkins
Tundra Books
2011

• Little Chief and Mighty Gopher: The Pemmican Frenzy
By Victor Lethbridge, Illustrated by Ben Crane
Tatanka Productions
2010

• Loon
By Susan Vande Griek, Illustrated by Karen Reczuch
Groundwood Books
2011

• Picture a Tree!
By Barbara Reid
Scholastic Canada
2011

• Small Saul
By Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press
2011

•The Busy Beaver
By Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press
2011

• The Flute
By Rachna Gilmore, Illustrated by Pulak Biswas
Tradewind Books
2011

• Tooter's Stinky Wish
By Brian Cretney, Illustrated by Peggy Collins
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
2011

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

The 2012 Diamond Willow nominees are:

• Better Than Weird

By Anna Kerz
Orca Book Publishers
2011

• Full Steam to Canada
By Anne Patton
Coteau Books
2011

• Ghosts of Government House
By Judith Silverthorne
Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
2011

• Ghosts of the Titanic
By Julie Lawson
Scholastic Canada
2011

• Missing
By Becky Citra
Orca Book Publishers
2011

• No Small Victory
By Connie Brummel Crook
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
2010

• Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World
By Susan Hughes
Owlkids
2011

• Power Play
By Liam O’Donnell, Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers
2011

• Somebody's Girl
By Maggie de Vries
Ocra Book Publishers
2011

• Spy, Spy Again: True Tales of Failed Espionage
By Tina Holdcroft
Annick Press
2011

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

The 2012 Snow Willow nominees are:

• Accomplice
By Valerie Sherrard
Dundurn Press

2011

• Ashes, Ashes
By Jo Treggiari
Scholastic Press

2011

• Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret
By Vicki Grant
HarperTrophy Canada

2011

• Dust City
By Robert Paul Weston
Puffin Canada

2010

• The Gathering
By Kelley Armstrong
Doubleday Canada

2011

• Held
By Edeet Ravel
Annick Press

2011

• Shot at Dawn: World War I, Alan McBride, France 1917
By John Wilson
Scholastic Canada

2011

• This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein

By Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins

2011

• Tori By Design

By Colleen Nelson
Great Plains Fiction

2011

• Undergrounders

By David Skuy
Scholastic Canada

2011

Congratulations to all nominated authors, illustrators and publishers!