2018 Canadian Children's Book Awards: Finalists announced

On September 6th, the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-renowned authority on all things related to youngCanLit, announced the finalists for the 2018 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 October and November, include:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($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;
• 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 of ages 5-12 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.  Voting takes place between September 6 and October 25 at https://www.cbc.ca/fanchoice.

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



TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

Dragonfly Song
Written by Wendy Orr
Pajama Press

Picture the Sky
Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation
Written by Monique Gray Smith
Orca Book Publishers

Town is By the Sea
Written by Joanne Schwartz
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

When the Moon Comes
Written by Paul Harbridge
Illustrated by Matt James
Tundra Books
Reviewed here








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

ABCMTL
Written by Jeanne Painchaud
Photographs by Bruno Ricca
Éditions Les 400 coups

Bleu
Written and illustrated by Philippe Béha
Éditions de l’Isatis

Le chemin de la montagne
Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc
Comme des géants

Gilles
Written and illustrated by Mathieu Lavoie
Comme des géants

Pow Pow, t’es mort!
Written by Marie-Francine Hébert
Illustrated by Jean-Luc Trudel
Éditions Les 400 coups









Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award 

Little Blue Chair 

Written by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Madeline Kloepper
Tundra Books

My Beautiful Birds
Written and illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Pajama Press
Reviewed here

Sam & Eva
Written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Reviewed here

Stolen Words
Written by Melanie Florence
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Second Story Press
Reviewed here

When the Moon Comes
Written by Paul Harbridge
Illustrated by Matt James
Tundra Books
Reviewed here

You Hold Me Up
Written by Monique Gray Smith
Illustrated by Danielle Daniel
Orca Book Publishers









Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women
Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
Annick Press

Meatless? A Fresh Look at What You Eat
Written by Sarah Elton
Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin
Owlkids Books

The Sockeye Mother
Written by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson)
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan
HighWater Press

Rewilding: Giving Nature a Second Chance
Written by Jane Drake and Ann Love
Annick Press

When Planet Earth Was New
Written by James Gladstone
Illustrated by Katherine Diemert
Owlkids Books






Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

The Agony of Bun O’Keefe
Written by Heather Smith
Penguin Teen Canada

The Assassin’s Curse (The Blackthorn Key, Book 3)
Written by Kevin Sands
Aladdin

A Blinding Light
Written by Julie Lawson
Nimbus Publishing

Clutch
Written by Heather Camlot
Red Deer Press

Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh
Written by Uma Krishnaswami
Tu Books/Lee & Low

John Spray Mystery Award







The Assassin’s Curse (The Blackthorn Key, Book 3)
Written by Kevin Sands
Aladdin

Blood on the Beach
Written by Sarah N. Harvey and Robin Stevenson
Orca Book Publishers
Reviewed here

The Hanging Girl
Written by Eileen Cook
Houghlin Mifflin Harcourt
Reviewed here 






 
Recipe for Hate
Written by Warren Kinsella
Dundurn

The Case of the Missing Mage (Tank & Fizz, Book 3)
Written by Liam O’Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers









Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

The Agony of Bun O’Keefe
Written by Heather Smith
Penguin Teen Canada

Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined
Written by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Razorbill Canada
Reviewed here

The Marrow Thieves
Written by Cherie Dimaline
DCB

Munro vs. the Coyote
Written by Darren Groth
Orca Book Publishers

The Way Back Home
Written by Allan Stratton
Scholastic Canada









Prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse

ABCMTL
Written by Jeanne Painchaud
Photographs by Bruno Ricca
Éditions Les 400 coups

Le chemin de la montagne
Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc
Comme des géants

Je ne te vois plus
Written and illustrated by Paul Martin
Éditions Les 400 coups

Mammouth Rock
Written by Eveline Payette
Illustrated by Guillaume Perreault
Groupe d’édition la courte échelle

Riopelle, l’artiste magicien
Written by Marie Barguirdjian
Éditions Edito








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 October 29, 2018 and November 19, 2018 in Toronto and Montreal, respectively.

At the Pond

Written and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-4287-8

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

September 2018

On Wednesday, At the Pond became a nominee for a Governor General's Literature Award for Children's Book Illustration and today I want to share why this superb book of art is a worthy contender.

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

At the Pond is a counting book at its simplest. One fish...two fish...and upwards to ten. But At the Pond is more art book than concept book. It is a compendium of beautifully rendered paintings that take the reader to see a pond up close and very personal. Every double spread is an opus of the natural world in colour and shape. The depth of realism that reflects the pond's life, botanical and zoological, is dramatic and intimate. From the goldfish to the water lilies, leopard frogs, insects that include water striders and dragonflies, and the great blue heron from whom the pond life scatters, At the Pond is a literary pond study for those for whom ponds are not readily accessible and even for those fortunate to have them in their backyards.

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

Werner Zimmermann blends green and blue watercolour pigments to give life to the pond's water. There's a dynamic component to essentially still waters–ponds are after all defined as bodies of standing water–that comes from the strokes of his brushes and blending of tones, tints and shades. There are seemingly hundreds of greens in Werner Zimmermann's pond. Moreover, his depiction of the living components in the pond are natural and accurate and filled with life. (Watch the flowering of the water lily for evidence of this.)

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

Teachers may well use At the Pond for counting or for STEM lessons, but for me, it's a study in extraordinary art of the natural world, bringing the outdoors in and sharing a glimpse of life At the Pond.

2018 Governor General's Literary Awards: Finalists of books for young people

Yesterday, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the finalists for the highly prestigious Governor General's Literary Awards.

The seven categories of books, both in French and English, for which awards are given are:

• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Poetry
• Young People's Literature (Text)
• Young People's Literature (Illustration)
• Drama
• Translation

Congratulations to the finalists 

of all the awards
and I present here those nominees of

works for young people.

English-language: Young People's Literature (Text)

Ebb & Flow
Written by Heather Smith
Kids Can Press
Reviewed here

Learning to Breathe
Written by Janice Lynn Mather
Simon & Schuster

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Written by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada

The Journey of Little Charlie
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic
Reviewed here

Winnie's Great War
Written by Lindsey Mallick and Josh Greenhut
Art by Sophie Blackall
HarperCollins

English-language:  Young People's Literature (Illustration)

Africville
Written by Shauntay Grant
Illustrated by Eva Campbell
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

At the Pond
Written and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
Written by Wab Kinew
Illustrated by Joe Morse
Tundra Books

Ocean Meets Sky
Written and illustrated by the Fan Brothers
Simon & Schuster Books for Young People

They Say Blue
Written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Groundwood Books

 French-language: Young People's Literature (Text)

13000 ans et des poussières

par Camille Bouchard

Soulières éditeur

Ferdinand F., 81 ans, chenille
par Mario Brassard
Soulières éditeur

Les Marées
par Brigitte Vaillancourt
Les Éditions du Boréal

Maman veut partir
par Jonathan Bécotte
Leméac Éditeu

Un dernier songe avant le grande sommeil
par Jocelyn Boisvert
Soulières éditeur





French-language: Young People's Literature (Illustration)

Jules et Jim, frères d'armes
par Jacques Goldstyn
Bayard Canada








Le chemin de la montagne
par Marianne Dubuc
Comme des géants

 






Les mots d'Eunice

par Gabrielle Gendreau 

Illustré par Nahid Kazemi

Édtions de l'Isatis

Lili Macaroni: Je suir comme je suit

par Nicole Testa 

Illustré par Annie Boulanger

Dominique et compagnie

Une histoire de cancer qui finit bien

par Marianne Ferrer 

Illustré par India Desjardins

Les Éditions de la Pastèque




 

Winning titles will be announced 

on October 30, 2018

and 

presented on a later date at Rideau Hall.

Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to be Reunited with her Family

Written by Van Ho with Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-066-6

152 pp.

Ages 8-12

November 2018

When Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch co-wrote Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy's Story of Survival with Tuan Ho, she began a family's story of escape from Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and taking of power by the communists. In that picture book, illustrated by Brian Deines, a mother and her two daughters, Loan and Lan, and six-year-old son Tuan escape Vietnam by boat, hopeful of joining father and the eldest daughter Linh in Canada. But there was another story. Because four-year-old Van is left behind.  Too Young to Escape is her story.

In May of 1981, four-year-old Van awakens at 5 a.m. in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to find her mother, older sisters Loan and Lan, and her six-year-old brother Tuan gone. Though it is unusual for Tuan to go with the women to do their early morning work, Van is distracted by her own chores. As guests of their aunt and uncle, Dì and Bác, since her own family lost everything when the communists took over, Van's pre-school work includes cleaning the house and spinning yarn for a weaver to later make the rice sacks Dì and Bác sold. But when her siblings don't show up to school, Van learns from her grandmother, Bà Ngoại, that her mother and siblings are gone. Van is devastated, wondering why she wasn't good enough to go with them, but Bà Ngoại reassures her that they've gone on a dangerous journey and Van's respiratory issues–she has difficulty breathing and often has to clear phlegm from her lungs–would have made it even more hazardous for her and the family.

Sometimes there are no perfect solutions. (pg. 31)

So begins a difficult chapter in little Van's life, slaving away at her aunt and uncle's home, tormented by a policeman's son at school, and feeling the loss of her family, particularly her mother who, she'd thought, should have been there to protect her. Still her Bà Ngoại, though seemingly insensitive to Van's struggles, tries to help Van understand.

Be thankful for what you do have, little one, instead of fretting about what you don't have. (pg. 64)

And Van learns to become "an expert at hiding my sadness" (pg. 67). Finally, they get a heartfelt letter and package from Saskatoon where her parents and four siblings have reunited. Along with some gifts, including clothes that growing Van desperately needs, Van learns that that her parents have submitted applications to bring Van and Bà Ngoại to join them.

It takes over four years before Van and her grandmother are reunited with her family in Canada, a family that "was like a storybook family" (pg. 87), and, though her life in Vietnam is difficult, it is a life with which she is familiar and leaving it is difficult.

Van Ho, who lived this story, tells it through Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's pen of extraordinary writing which reflects both Van's youthful point of view and her trauma. Her story is a disquieting but it's also uplifting, focusing on Van's resilience.  Told from her perspective, from Van explaining away her family's absence before she learns the reason to her obligation to completing chores many of our culture might deem inappropriate for one so young to finding a friend in a girl less fortunate than herself, Van's story of being left behind is heartbreaking.

Enhancing Van Ho's story with photographs and interviews with her father, Nam Ho, and mother, Phuoc Ho, Too Young to Escape gives a snapshot of a different time and place, one of upheaval and loss, perseverance and endurance, that ends with a reunion and a good life in Canada. It is a story of survival, even if Van Ho was Too Young to Escape.

Wicked Nix

Written by Lena Coakley

Illustrated by Jaime Zollars

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-443454698

163 pp.

Ages 8-12

October 2018

Wicked Nix is the foulest of fairies who lives in the forest in a nest in the old oak tree, ever since the Good Queen and all the other fairies left last Midsummer's Eve for the Summer Country.  Wicked Nix has learned to survive through some help from Mr. Green, a forest entity (or a figment of Nix's imagination?) and a little girl-people, Rose the Wise, who is not repulsed by Nix's looks. The gifts the villagers leave out, like a bit of cheese or honeycomb, to appease the fairies also help.

But now a man-people has shown up at the cottage in the forest and Wicked Nix is not happy.

I can smell him, or at least I think I can. Like all peoples, he smells like soap and taking baths and eating with a fork. Horrible. (pg. 3)

Anticipating the return of the Good Queen and knowing the presence of the man-people will displease her, Wicked Nix looks for ways to frighten the man-people away. But, unlike the other fairies, Nix has no magic and the man-people figures out the tricks used to drive him away and uses his own, including salt, iron and daisies, to keep the fairies at bay. Will Wicked Nix be successful in getting rid of the intruder or will the intruder succeed in making a home of the abandoned cottage in the fairy wood?

Lena Coakley has always spun a great YA fantasy tale (Witchlanders, 2011; Worlds of Ink and Shadow, 2016) but, with Wicked Nix, she's proven that she can write really great middle grade fiction. While Wicked Nix does not contain the angst we anticipate in YA fiction–because life becomes more complicated as you get older, doesn't it?–it delves into the worries of young readers: freedom to choose, belonging, and being loved. Wicked Nix may well be a tale of fantasy with its fairies and magic but at its roots it's a story of abandonment, home and finding connectedness, sometimes where least expected. It's also about perspective, both Nix's and the reader's, and seeing beyond the established and being open to the unexpected. And Lena Coakley has such a gentle touch with the voice of Nix and Rose and others that it's easy to empathize with their plights.

I'm sure she did not forget me, though. I'm sure she loves me. She once pulled a star down from the sky for me–that's how I know. She must have left me here to protect the forest. She must have left me here because she trusts me more than all of the others. (pg. 32)

While I encourage all readers to take the path through Wicked Nix's woods (follow Jaime Zollars's map at the beginning of the book), be sure stick to the road meant for people. Otherwise, there may be some nasty surprises in store for you and you wouldn't want to be taken by the fairies, since Nix probably won't be able to help you out.

Growing Up in Wild Horse Canyon: Book launch (Kelowna, BC)

Join

Karen Autio and Loraine Kemp

for the launch of their picture book

Growing Up in Wild Horse Canyon

Written by Karen Autio

Illustrated by Loraine Kemp 

Crwth Press

978-1-7753319-0-2

48 pp.

Ages 7-10

October 2018

 on 

Saturday, October 20, 2018

from

2-4 p.m.

at

Okanagan Regional Library

Kelowna Branch

1380 Ellis Street

Kelowna, BC 

From Crwth Press's website:

In a hidden canyon in British Columbia’s Southern Interior, a ponderosa pine tree sprouts. Seasons pass as the tree grows, witness to generations of human history in the Okanagan Valley, from First Nations quests to fur brigades, horse wrangling, secret wartime commando training, to the firestorm of 2003. Richly illuminated by maps, illustrations, and historical images and informed by a timeline and historical notes, this fascinating book weaves First Nations history with European settlement and natural history. By following the thread of one tree growing in one sheltered and sacred space, award-winning author Karen Autio gently explores patterns of colonization that will resonate with readers all over North America.