2017 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 2017 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. (See their website announcement here.)

The eight major children's book awards, which will be awarded at two invitation-only galas in November, include:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($30,000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($30,000) 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;
• John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000) Sponsored by John Spray of Mantis Investigation Agency;
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000) Sponsored by Amy Mathers' Marathon of Books; and
• Le Prix Harry Black de l’album jeunesse ($5,000) Sponsored by Mary Macchiusi

There is also the Fan Choice Award/Choix du public littérature jeunesse which invites young readers to to choose their favourite book from the titles shortlisted for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse.  CBC in partnership with the CCBC will start launch the voting process in early October.

The 2017 awards differ from previous years in that Le Prix Harry Black is being presented for the first time and the Monica Hughes Award for Fantasy and Science Fiction is not being presented this year.

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

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

A Day of Signs and Wonders
Written by Kit Pearson
HarperTrophy Canada

The Skeleton Tree
Written by Iain Lawrence
Tundra Books

Tokyo Digs a Garden
Written by Jon-Erik Lappano
Illustrated byKellen Hatanaka
Groundwood books
Reviewed here

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

When We Were Alone
Written by David Alexander Robertson
Illustrated by Julie Flett
HighWater Books








Le Prix TD de littérature pour l'enfance et la jeunesse canadienne

Aaah!bécédaire
Écrit par Elaine Turgeon
Illustré par Martin Laliberté
Éditions Druide

En voiture! L'Amérique en chemin de fer
Écrit et illustré par Pascal Blanchet
Éditions de la Pastèque

Même pas vrai
Écrit par Larry Tremblay
Illustré par Guillaume Perreault
Éditionas de la Bagnole

Niska
Écrit par Étienne Poirier
Éditions du soileil de minuit

Y'a pas de place chez nous
Écrit par Andrée Poulin
Illustré par Enzo Lora Mariano
Éditions Québec Amérique












Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award 

The Artist and Me
Written by Shane Peacock
Illustrated by Sophie Casson
Owlkids Books

The Darkest Dark
Written by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion
Illustrated by Eric Fan and Terry Fan
Tundra Books

I Am Not a Number
Written by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Second Story Press
Reviewed here

The Snow Knows
Written by Jennifer McGrath
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Nimbus Publishing
Reviewed here

We Found a Hat
Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press












Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

Canada Year by Year
Written by Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Kids Can Press

Fight to Learn: The Struggle to go to School
Written by Laura Scandiffio
Annick Press

Level the Playing Field: The Past, Present and Future of Women's Pro Sports
Written by Kristina Rutherford
Owlkids Books

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

Water Wow! An Infographic Exploration
Written by Antonia Banyard and Paula Ayer
Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
Annick Press

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

Every Hidden Thing
Written by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Publishers

Freedom's Just Another Word
Written by Caroline Stellings
Second Story Press
Reviewed here

Heart of a Champion
Written by Ellen Schwartz
Tundra Books

Mark of the Plague (Blackthorn Key, Book 2)
Written by Kevin Sands
Aladdin

When Morning Comes
Written by Arushi Raina
Tradewind Books

John Spray Mystery Award

The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim
Written by Shane Peacock
Tundra Books

Howard Wallace, P.I.
Written by Casey Lyall
Sterling Children's Books

The Road to Ever After
Written by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada

Shooter
Written by Caroline Pignat
Razorbill Canada
Reviewed here

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard (The Continuing Adventures of Peter Nimble, Book 2)
Written by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada












Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

Exit, Pursued by a Bear
Written by E. K. Johnston
Dutton Books
Reviewed here

Girl Mans Up 
Written by M-E Girard
HarperCollins

Julia Vanishes
Written by Catherine Egan
Doubleday Canada
Reviewed here

Shooter
Written by Carline Pignat
Razorbill Canada
Reviewed here

With Malice
Written by Eileen Cook
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reviewed here









Prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse

Au-delà de la forêt
Écrit par Nadine Robert
Illustré par Gérard DuBois
Comme des géants

Azadah
Écrit et illustré par Jacques Goldstyn
Éditions de la Pastèque

Je ne suis pas ta maman
Écrit et illustré par Marianne Dubuc
Comme des géants

N'importe quoi!
Écrit et illustré par Élise Gravel
Éditions Les 400 coups

Y'a pas de place chez nous
Écrit par Andrée Poulin
Illustré par Enzo Lora Mariano
Éditions Québec Amérique






Hosted by the Canadian Children's Book Centre and TD Bank Group, the Canadian Children's Literature Awards will celebrate great Canadian children's books and present the winners of the awards on the evenings of November 8, 2017 and November 21, 2017 in Montreal and Toronto, respectively.

The Winnowing

Written by Vikki VanSickle

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4886-3

312 pp.

Ages 12+

September 2017

“If powerful people believed in a theory, it became real.  It didn’t matter if it was crazy.” (pg. 292)

In Marivic Stone’s world, there are many beliefs that are accepted as real.  There’s the Infertility Crisis that was only resolved by SuperGen, a hormonal shot developed by the Barton Five scientists. There are the stigmatizing changes at puberty that include the Adolescent Physical Impairments a.k.a. imps which produce bizarre traits of superhuman eyesight or hearing or speed or strength, and the ACEs, Adolescent Chronosomniatic Episodes, which are vivid night terrors.  No wonder young people who begin to experience the imps and ACEs are eager to be winnowed at their local center for adolescent health to stop the progression of these horrors.

When the ACEs and imps arrive for Marivic, she is fully prepared to be checked into the Barton Center for Adolescent Health, the facility to which best friend Saren Silver had only gone the day before.  Though she doesn’t know what to expect, as those winnowed have memory impairment, and though she knows complications can lead to death, as they did for Saren’s older brother Lex, Marivic sees the winnowing as a rite of passage in which she is eager to engage.  But things seem less clear when a group of new intakes, including Marivic and Saren and classmates Kamal, Quin, and Tavi, are invited to a covert “Dis-orientation.”  There a young teen, Abbot, tells them that everything they’ve been told about the winnowing and Barton is untrue and that the organization called Winfree, the People for a Winnowing Free World, wants to help them escape before they come to harm. Most of the teens scoff at the idea of the authorities conspiring to hide the truth about the winnowing, ACEs, imps and more but, after learning the next day that Saren died during her winnowing, Marivic goes rogue–“Mrs. Silver could be sad for both of us.  I was going to be angry.” (pg. 121)–and joins Kamal in escaping the facility.

But getting out is just the beginning.  In addition to Abbot, who harbours a secret about his own origins, Marivic and Kamal are introduced to Dr. Lowry, one of the original Barton Five, who reveals the source of the SuperGen and her research on the ACEs; Ren, a young man with whom Marivic is able to communicate telepathically; and Daisy, the proprietor of the Starlight Diner and adopted mum of Abbot.  There are a lot of theories to sort through regarding the truth and lies about the winnowing and SuperGen but some answers will only come when Marivic breaks back into Barton.  She may be on a rescue mission, but she has no idea that she is the key to blowing open the whole conspiracy.

Reaching adolescence is never easy but not as problematic as in Vikki VanSickle’s first novel of speculative fiction for teens.  Just as the term winnowing suggests–cleaning of the chaff from the grain–the adolescents are sanitized from the effects of puberty.  But it’s the wholesale acceptance of the need for this process that is so alarming.  It’s easy to understand how a crisis, like infertility, can establish fear but it’s this fear that allows government and experts to make recommendations that are accepted as necessary.  There’s a type of internal terrorism to promote compliance.  Only when anomalies such as death at winnowing and the existence of those conceived without benefit of SuperGen–Abbot is one of these Naturals–contradict the accepted belief system that the faith and submission are shattered.  But it takes courage and conviction to see beyond the established way of doing things and Vikki VanSickle makes sure that readers see Marivic as someone who is enlightened enough to question these incongruities as important.

In fact, it’s Marivic who is astute enough recognize that it’s the fears of those who are different that are the source of the problems, leading to paranoia and violence.  Whether it’s seeing the Naturals like Abbot as a threat–“…if superhuman is the new normal, then where does that leave me?” (pg. 238)–or seeing danger from those only seeking refuge, fear distorts thinking and creates the very problems they hope to avoid.

Vikki VanSickle has lots to say about fear, distrust, manipulation, and blind submission but also about defiance, courage and winnowing the irrational to reveal the truth.  What The Winnowing teaches us is that there is a need for caution in construing meaning within the realm of fear, as well as for openness and respect for all.

Look for my Q & A with author Vikki VanSickle tomorrow as part of the blog tour celebrating the release of The Winnowing.  Vikki VanSickle reveals much about her path to writing speculative fiction and her enthusiasm for sci-fi and The X Files.

nipêhon/I Wait

Written by Caitlin Dale Nicholson with Leona Morin-Neilson

Illustrated by Caitlin Dale Nicholson

Translated by Leona Morin-Neilson

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-914-0

24 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2017

The waiting that happens in nipêhon/I Wait is not of the onerous variety but one that is reserved for companions coming together to complete a task.  It's a part of the process and one gladly done to achieve something worthwhile.

In nipêhon/I Wait, three generations travel by RV to a site where they will pick yarrow flowers and leaves in order to produce a tea used for medicinal purposes. (A recipe is appended to the story.)  It is evident that Nôhkom (grandmother) leads, as daughter and granddaughter wait for her to gather her supplies.  Then, with every action that Nôhkom makes, the narrator and granddaughter follows as does Mom.  When she walks, they walk.  When she takes out her Medicine Bundle and prays, so too do her granddaughter and daughter.  But, when Nôhkom picks, placing the white flowers and leaves in her paper bag, it is only her granddaughter who follows.  Mom is busy blowing the seed heads from what looks like a Tragopogon.  So now Nôhkom and the narrator must wait. Eventually Mom begins to pick the yarrow and the three complete their task, ending the simple story of family coming together with the words, "We are done!"

Caitlin Dale Nicholson, a teacher and student of UNBC instructor of Cree Leona Morin-Neilson, takes her lessons of traditional plant medicines and her observations about generations connecting to create the unique story that is nipêhon/I Wait.  Nôhkom, undoubtedly modelled after Leona Morin-Neilson, is the elder who guides the trio on their journey of collection and family as she did in their first picture book collaboration, niwîcihâw/I Help (Groundwood, 2008).  The story is told in English and Cree (the Y dialect), with the Cree text presented in both standard roman orthography and syllabics, the translation provided by Leona Morin-Neilson.

From nipêhon/I Wait

Written by Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morin-Neilson

  Illustrated by Caitlin Dale Nicholson

The acrylic illustrations are the work of Caitlin Dale Nicholson who ensures accuracy and reality while going beyond true likeness and sharing the feel of the people and the place.  The patience and connection between the three generations is palpable, even as they work separately and seemingly silently.  Like the few words that tell the story, few words are needed between them.  They understand each other without verbalizing it every moment. It is calming and still intense with kinship.  (Those social media hounds who feel the need to overshare could take a lesson here.)  The strokes of Caitlin Dale Nicholson's paint give movement to the grasses, the trees, the plants, and of course the people and dog.  From Mom rubbing the dog's belly with her foot to the picking of the yarrow, life is going on, telling a story of a bond borne in tradition and affection.

From nipêhon/I Wait

Written by Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morin-Neilson

  Illustrated by Caitlin Dale Nicholson

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge: Book launch (Burlington, ON)

Join author

Jennifer Mook-Sang

author of Speechless

Written by Jennifer Mook-Sang

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4267-0

159 pp.

Ages 8-13

2015

Reviewed here

for the launch of 
her first picture book

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge

Written by Jennifer Mook-Sang

Illustrated by Liz Starin

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-626-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2017

on 

Saturday, October 14, 2017

1-3 p.m.

at

A Different Drummer Books

513 Locust Street

Burlington, ON

From the publisher's website:

Monty the Malodorous is a daring pirate. He is brave. He is bold. He is feared by all who sail the six or seven seas. But Monty has a secret: he can't swim. He never goes into the ocean --- and he never takes a bath. “Real pirates don't bathe. Yar-har-har!” he says. But things change when he meets a mermaid named Meg. “Monty's heart went ka-thunk. He tumbled head over boot heels in love.” And, one day, when Meg's life is put into peril, Monty realizes he's the only one who can jump into the ocean to save her. Monty is faced with a terrible dilemma: is his love strong enough to overcome his fear?

This is engaging, heartwarming and funny picture book tale is told with originality by Jennifer Mook-Sang. Children will love Monty the pirate (who's actually a dog!), and readers with their own fears of learning to swim will relate to his difficulties. Young children will also be delighted by the idea of not having to take a bath! The childlike style of Liz Starin's illustrations add a freshness to the story, as does the non-conformist mermaid she's created --- perfect for her character. Meg is a voracious reader who knows all the best fishing spots and teaches Monty how to set course by the constellations. This playful book is an excellent choice for story time, reinforcing themes of self-discovery and personal development, as well as character education lessons on courage.

Retrieved from http://www.kidscanpress.com/products/captain-monty-takes-plunge 

on August 7, 2017.

There will: 

• a book reading

• author signing of books

• foxy bookmark-making, and

• pirate-y refreshments!

n.b. If you know you can't make this launch, which would be a shame, Jennifer Mook-Sang will be presenting Captain Monty Takes the Plunge earlier at the Toronto Word on the Street on Sunday, September 24, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. at the TD Children's Literature Tent. Details here

Saving Grad & Miriam's Secret: Double book launch (Edmonton, AB)

It's a double book launch!!

--------------------------------------------

Join authors

Debby Waldman

and 

Karen Spafford-Fitz

for the launch of their newest books for readers

--------------------------------------------

For the middle-grade set, there's

Miriams's Secret

 Written by Debby Waldman
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-4598142457
208 pp.
Ages 8-12
September 2017

In 1930 nine-year-old Miriam travels by train from Brooklyn to her grandparents' farm in upstate New York. Her grandparents are kind, generous people, but they aren't exactly ideal playmates for a lonely girl. When Miriam is not doing homework in the kitchen with Bubby or helping prepare meals for the migrant workers that Zayde hires to help out on the farm, she plays with the barn kittens born just before she arrived. Those kittens are her only friends, until the day Miriam discovers a young girl hiding in the barn. Cissy and her brother, Joe, who's one of Zayde's farm hands, are on the run from an abusive uncle back in Mississippi. Miriam and Cissy hit it off immediately. But their friendship is tested when Miriam is forced to choose between keeping a promise and doing the right thing.

Retrieved from 

http://www.orcabook.com/Miriams-Secret-P1319.aspx 

on August 28, 2017.

--------------------------------------------

For young adults, there's

Saving Grad

Written by Karen Spafford-Fitz

Lorimer
978-1-459412521
184 pp.
Ages 13-18
August 2017

Vienna is a mixed-Métis teen whose mother has moved in with a man who turns out to be racist and violent. Vienna and her mother decide to end the situation by moving to a new city. In Edmonton, where she knows no one, Vienna goes to high school for her final year. Gradually, her school and home life feel more normal and she starts making friends. She joins the committee planning the school's graduation, where her determination and decisiveness show through. When her step-father unexpectedly shows up at Vienna's grad party, threatening Vienna and two of her schoolmates, Vienna finds the strength to keep herself, her friends and her mother out of harm's way.

Retrieved from 

http://www.lorimer.ca/childrens-us/Book/2997/Saving-Grad.html 

on August 28, 2017.

--------------------------------------------

Both books launch on

October 1, 2017

at

2 p.m.

at

Audrey's Books

1002 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB