2019 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards: Finalists announced

On September 5th, the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-renowned authority on all things related to youngCanLit, announced the finalists for the 2019 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 5 and October 3 for the English contest (https://www.cbc.ca/fanchoice/) and September 8 to October 6 for the French contest (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/concours-choixdupublic/).

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



TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

After Life: Ways We Think About Death
Written by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
Orca Book Publishers
88 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018

Ebb & Flow
Written by Heather Smith
Kids Can Press
232 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018
Reviewed here

Mustafa
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4-8
2018

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Written by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada
368 pp.
Ages 8-12
2018

They Say Blue
Written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 3-7
2018









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

Anatole qui ne séchait jamais
Written by Stéphanie Boulay
Illustrated by Agathe Bray-Bourret
Éditions Fonfon
80 pp.
Ages 10+
2018

Jules et Jim, frères d’armes
Written and illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn
Bayard Canada
60 pp.
Ages 9+
2018

Moi, c’est Tantale
Written by André Marois
Illustrated by Julien Castanié
Éditions de l’Isatis
55 pp.
Ages 11+
2018

Nos héroïnes: 40 portraits de femmes québécoises
Written by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
Illustrated by Mathilde Cinq-Mars
Éditions Marchand de feuilles
96 pp.
Ages 9+
2018

Qui va bercer Zoé?
Written by Andrée Poulin
Illustrated by Mathieu Lampron
Éditions Les 400 coups
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2018







Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

Africville
Written by Shauntay Grant
Illustrated by Eva Campbell
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018
Reviewed here

The Funeral
Written and illustrated by Matt James
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018
Reviewed here

Mustafa
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4-8
2018

Seb and the Sun
Written and illustrated by Jami Gigot
Ripple Grove Press
36 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018

They Say Blue
Written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 3-7
2018








Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

After Life: Ways We Think About Death
Written by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
Orca Book Publishers
88 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018

Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night
Written by Rob Laidlaw
Pajama Press
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
2018
Reviewed here

Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
Written by Wab Kinew
Illustrated by Joe Morse
Tundra Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-9
2018
Reviewed here

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle
Written by Erica Fyvie
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
64 pp.
Ages 8-12
2018

Turtle Pond
Written by James Gladstone
Illustrated by Karen Reczuch
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018
Reviewed here






Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

Don’t Tell the Enemy
Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
184 pp.
Ages 10-14
2018
Reviewed here

The Journey of Little Charlie
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
234 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018
Reviewed here

Miles to Go
Written by Beryl Young
Wandering Fox Books
224 pp.
Ages 10-14
2018

Piper
Written by Jacqueline Halsey
Nimbus Publishing
176 pp.
Ages 10-12
2018

The Sound of Freedom (Heroes Quartet, Book 1)
Written by Kathy Kacer
Annick Press
286 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018

John Spray Mystery Award

Aftermath
Written by Kelley Armstrong
Penguin Teen
384 pp.
Ages 12-18
2018

Call of the Wraith (The Blackthorn Key, Book 4)
Written by Kevin Sands
Aladdin
512 pp.
Ages 10-14
2018

The Case of the Firebane's Folly (Tank & Fizz, Book 4)
Written by Liam O'Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers
256 pp.
Ages 8-11
2018

Sadie
Written by Courtney Summers
St. Martin's Press
308 pp.
Ages 14+
2018
Reviewed here

Wolfe in Shepherd's Clothing (Shepherd & Wolfe, Book 3)
Written by Angie Counios and David Gane
Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
480 pp.
Ages 15+
2018







Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

Aftermath
Written by Kelley Armstrong
Penguin Teen
384 pp.
Ages 12-18
2018 

Easy Prey
Written by Catherine Lo
Amulet Books
352 pp.
Ages 14+
2018

A Girl Like That
Written by Tanaz Bhathena
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers
369 pp.
Ages 14+
2018
Reviewed here

The House of One Thousand Eyes
Written by Michelle Barker
Annick Press
354 pp.
Ages 14+
2018
Reviewed here

Learning to Breathe
Written by Janice Lynn Mather
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
336 pp.
Ages 14+
2018









Prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse

Mémé à la plage
Written by Rhéa Dufresne
Illustrated by Aurélie Grand
Éditions Les 400 coups
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2018

Mon lit de rêve
Written by Gilles Tibo
Illustrated by Mathilde Cinq-Mars
Éditions de l’Isatis
32 pp.
Ages 4+
2018

On a un problème avec Lilou la loutre
Written and illustrated by Orbie
Éditions Fonfon
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2018

Le pelleteur de nuages
Written by Simon Boulerice
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Groupe d’édition la courte echelle
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2018

Qui va bercer Zoé?
Written by Andrée Poulin
Illustrated by Mathieu Lampron
Éditions Les 400 coups
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2018




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 15, 2019 and November 7, 2019 in Toronto and Montreal, respectively.

Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action

Written and illustrated by Janet Wilson

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-103-9

32 pp.

Ages 7-12

September 2019

Together, we want to show that everyone can do something for our future and that together, as a world family, we can solve these problems.

With that hopeful message, Janet Wilson begins her latest non-fiction book about young activists who are working to make a difference.

In each double-spread, Janet Wilson dedicates original art and story to one warrior for world justice and then also mentions two other influencers who have taken on a similar cause. In the breathtaking mixed media technique of hot wax painting–applying layers of hot beeswax mixed with resin and oil colour–Janet Wilson depicts young activists in rich landscapes of place and triumphs. Her art is deep in texture and colour, luxuriant in its content and in its composition. 

From Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action by Janet Wilson

Canada's Autumn Peltier from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island is profiled for her advocacy for clean drinking water for her community which supported the work of her aunt, Water Walker Josephine-ba Mandamin.  Stella Bowes and Marcus Deans are also showcased for their work to ensure water quality in Canada and elsewhere.

American Jaelun Parkerson encouraged his youth football team to emulate Colin Kaepernick's taking of the knee to protest racism and police brutality while Hebh Jamal organized protests against Islamophobia and Claudette Colvin's actions in 1955 helped end bus segregation in Alabama.

In Indonesia, sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen organized themselves to get plastic bags banned where they live, and Edgar Edmund Tarimo and Hannah Testa have both taken action to combat plastic pollution at home and globally.

We youth may only be 25 percent of the world's population but we are 100 percent of the future. 

(Melati and Isabel Wijsen, pg. 11)

From Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action by Janet Wilson

Jesse Thompson fought against discrimination leveled against him as a transgender hockey player and Ke'Shon Newman has spoken out against the prevalence of gun violence in America.

"Our voices are LOUD. Our voices are CLEAR. And, our voices are about to change HISTORY."

(Ke'Shon Newman, pg. 25)

From Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action by Janet Wilson

These are young leaders who are fighting against pollution, climate change, against cruelty to animals, in support of those struggling in war-torn countries and seeking refuge. They are fighting gun violence, bullying and supporting mental health. They live in Canada and the U.S. as well as in Kenya, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Indonesia, Colombia and elsewhere. Their stories are as diverse as their issues of concern and their homelands. It becomes evident that there is much in our world that needs fixing and that there are many young people around the globe who are willing to step up and take action.

With Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action, Janet Wilson has added new stories to her impressive series (see other titles in this series below) regarding laudable young people who recognize their obligation to do something to make the world a better place than the one they have inherited. Kudos to them for putting themselves out there and encouraging others to do the same, and to Janet Wilson for shining a light on their extraordinary efforts.

Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet (2010)

Our Rights: How Kids are Changing the World (2013)

Our Heroes: How Kids are Making a Difference (2014)

Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action (2019)

Triple book launch: Burlington and Toronto, ON

Three new books are launching at two different events!  

That's multiple opportunities to purchase new books and 

get them signed while celebrating new volumes of youngCanLit.

•••••••••••••

Join authors

Joanne Levy

Angela Misri

Bev Katz Rosenbaum

for the launch their newest novels for young readers.

Double Trouble

 Written by Joanne Levy

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2133-0
132 pp.
Ages 9-12
August 2019

Reviewed here 

Victoria Adelman is lonely. Her best friend has moved away, leaving her to spend the summer alone. One day, on her way home from a bat mitzvah, she meets Jazzy, her next-door neighbors’ granddaughter. Tori hopes her friendless status is about to change.

Later, in her garden, she meets Jazzy again, but Jazzy doesn’t recognize the filthy, smelly girl as the one she met earlier. In a moment of insecurity, Tori tells Jazzy that the girl she met before was her twin sister, Vicky. Tori is sure she can fake being that girl in the dress—it’s only for two weeks.

But then Jazzy announces she’s staying with her grandparents for the school year. Tori needs to figure out what to do: come clean and lose her new friend, or live her life as a fake. 

(From Orca Book Publishers at 

https://www.orcabook.com/Double-Trouble-P4331.aspx)

Pickles vs. the Zombies

Written by Angela Misri

DCB

978-1770865587

192 pp.

Ages 9-12

September 2019

The comfortable life of Pickles, the calico housecat, is turned upside down when humans succumb to a zombie apocalypse. She doesn’t know where her “pet” – human child Connor – has gone, only that there are zombies everywhere.

Determined to find Connor, Pickles sets off with her cat friends and a streetwise raccoon, exploring a world she has only seen through a window. Fending off human zombies, street cats from the wrong side of the track, and a fearsome gang of chipmunks, Pickles and her crew search for remnants of human society. 

(From DCB at 

https://www.dcbyoungreaders.com/pickles-vs-the-zombies)

Who is Tanksy? 

Written by Bev Katz Rosenbaum

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2085-2

128 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2019

Fourteen-year-old Tanya Kofsky is invisible. She hates that no one listens to her, at home or at her new school. So as student elections get underway, Tanya starts secretly painting controversial images on the walls of the school. Soon everyone is talking about this amazing artist with a lot to say.

The election results turn out to be a catalyst for more rebellion. And not just from students. Teachers, tired of the principal's authoritarian leadership, start promoting self-expression. Even the lunch ladies join in, ignoring the strictly controlled menu and serving more nutritious and culturally diverse fare.

But can this revolution effect real change? Or will speaking up lead to complete disaster? 

(From Orca Book Publishers at

 https://www.orcabook.com/Who-is-Tanksy-P4326.aspx)

on 

Saturday, September 7, 2019

2-4 p.m.

A Different Drummer Books

513 Locust St.

Burlington, ON

&

Sunday, September 8, 2019

2-4 p.m.

Indigo Yonge & Eglinton 

2300 Yonge St.

Toronto, ON
 

Take in one or both events for a chance to pick up some great reads for middle-graders and to chat with Canadian authors of books for young readers.

 

Harvey Comes Home

Written by Colleen Nelson

Illustrations by Tara Anderson

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-097-0

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

September 2019

A scent, a touch, a colour, a voice. They can draw memories. And memories can take you places. They can take you away from the present and towards something else. They can take you to a past that needs to be remembered or give direction to follow forward. And they can take you home in more ways than one.
 
Harvey is a West Highland Terrier who is left in the care of a dog-sitter while Maggie and her family go on holidays. While they are away, Harvey gets out of his yard and "His curiosity takes him farther and farther away from his home." (pg. 18) After several days away, scrambling for food, attacked by another dog, distracted from a rescue, Harvey is found by eleven-year-old Austin who helps his Grandpa out after school at the Brayside Retirement Villa. Though his mother and grandfather insist that Harvey's owners must be looking for him and that Austin needs to take him to the shelter to help locate them, Austin lies about his efforts, hopeful that he'll be able to keep the dog.

During the day, Harvey stays with Grandpa Phillip at Brayside where everyone, staff and residents alike, fawn over the Westie who acts as an unofficial therapy dog. But when Austin arrives, Harvey accompanies him on his chores. When the reticent Mr. Pickering takes a liking to Harvey, Austin finds the ninety-six-year-old man finally willing to talk and share about his past. He talks of his own dog, General, and of growing up during the 1930s. Though Mr. Pickering is sometimes confused about who Austin is, whether his own wife is still alive, and what Brayside is, he goes to a place of memory with Harvey by his side. As for Harvey, when he "sits beside Mr. Pickering, he drifts off into a place of contentment." (pg. 69)

While Mr. Pickering reminisces about living during the Depression and his complicated friendship with an abandoned girl named Bertie, Harvey's memories of Maggie are fading to elusive scents and sounds, Austin continues in his uncomfortable lies, and Maggie searches desperately for the Westie. Colleen Nelson's title may give away a happy ending for Harvey but it's wrapped in a complex tug-of-war of emotions as Mr. Pickering tells his heartrending stories about hardships and tragedies and lessons about forgiveness are learned.

Told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of Harvey, Maggie and Austin, Harvey Comes Home is not just a story about a dog lost and found. It's a story about the bonds between human and dog. These are the bonds that tie us in love and gratitude, responsibility and empathy. They are the ones that give us our humanity via our benevolence for others. But Harvey Comes Home is also about the power of memory to bring us home. I will admit that Colleen Nelson's story brought me to tears time and time again, as an aging Mr. Pickering grabs at his memories, as Bertie survives against all odds, and as Harvey and General are loved and love.  Colleen Nelson always tells a good story (see her YA titles Sadia, Blood Brothers, Finding Hope, and The Fall for a great sampling) but, in her first middle-grade novel, she is able to grab the reader's heartstrings while blending a dog story with an intergenerational relationship and embedding profound reflections on the Depression and the Dust Bowl. It's a complete package as Harvey's, Maggie's and Austin's stories converge, integrated with heart and important messages about connecting with others and forgiveness for mistakes made when scared, hurt or alone.

Harvey Comes Home will make dog-lovers hug their animals and children ask their grandparents to share their stories from their own childhoods, bringing all a little closer and giving life to new memories for all.

From Harvey Comes Home by Colleen Nelson, illus. by Tara Anderson

Double Trouble (Orca Currents)

Written by Joanne Levy

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2133-0

132 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2019 

While many of us display different personalities depending on the circumstances–reserved, outgoing, chatterbox, leader, etc.–Victoria Adelman takes it to a whole different level when she meets Jazzy, the granddaughter of her neighbours and a potential new best friend. She actually becomes her own twin.

With her best friend Anna having moved away, Victoria fills her time cultivating her organic garden, feeding her family–her Dad and grandmother Bubby–and their neighbours and tending to her compost. But when she meets the Patels' granddaughter Jasvitha (Jazzy) shortly upon returning home from synagogue, Jazzy gets the impression that Victoria likes fashion and dressing up. Later when she spots Victoria wearing her grubby gardening clothes and working with her worm bin, Jazzy apparently does not recognize her and keeps asking for Vicky. Victoria, desperate for a friend, pretends to be Tori, Vicky's twin sister, and launches the charade of switching between the garden-loving Tori and the fashionista Vicky, depending on when she sees Jazzy.

But you know things cannot go smoothly when you attempt to deceive and must alter your personality and dress for one person and keep all the others in the dark.

I suddenly felt guilty. Because not only had I made up a sister, but now I was trash-talking her. To the girl I'd lied to. (pg. 68-69)

From a trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens with Mr. and Mrs. Patel and Jazzy, and a shopping trip with Bubby and Jazzy, Victoria is torn between being herself and the person she thinks will win her a new friend in Jazzy.  And then there's the sleepover which Jazzy expects to have with Tori and Vicky. Will it all blow up for Victoria or will she get the friend she is desperate to have?

While Joanne Levy has brought us stories with extraordinary circumstances (see Small Medium at Large, 2012), she does equally well with middle-grade stories that are typical of most young people. Whether it's friendships or family, bat mitzvahs or first crushes (Crushing It, 2017 and Yael and the Party of the Year, 2018, writing as Tamsin Lane), Joanne Levy brings the humour to everyday ups and downs in a middle-grader's life. Moreover, she gets that eagerness to be accepted by your peers, when you'd try just about anything to be liked. The farce that becomes Victoria's life is so representational that I could imagine a young reader wondering if they could pull off faking being twins too. (My advice based on Victoria's experience: Don't.)

Readers will enjoy the ridiculousness of Victoria's deception, which is never spiteful nor mean-spirited, and the farcical scenes of her attempting to pretend to be both Vicky and Tori in this short, hi-lo novel. Still, fortunately, they'll be left with the honest message that self-acceptance will always triumph over pretending to be someone you're not, though you might get a few laughs, plus some heartache, along the way if you do.

A Likkle Miss Lou: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

Join children's author 

Nadia L. Hohn

for the launch of her newest picture book

A Likkle Miss Lou

How Jamaican Poet 

Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice

Written by Nadia L. Hohn

Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-350-7

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2019

on

Saturday, September 14, 2019

3-5 p.m.

at

A Different Booklist

779 Bathurst St.

Toronto, ON

There will be a reading, book signing and refreshments.

•••••••••••

From publisher Owlkids Books website at https://shop.owlkids.com/collections/new/products/a-likkle-miss-lou

Jamaican poet and entertainer Louise Bennett Coverley, better known as “Miss Lou,” played an instrumental role in popularizing Jamaican patois internationally. Through her art, Miss Lou helped pave the way for other poets and singers, like Bob Marley, to use patois in their work.

This picture book biography tells the story of Miss Lou’s early years, when she was a young girl who loved poetry but felt caught between writing “lines of words like tight cornrows” or words that beat “in time with her heart.” Despite criticism from one teacher, Louise finds a way to weave the influence of the music, voices, and rhythms of her surroundings into her poems.

A vibrant, colorful, and immersive look at an important figure in Jamaica’s cultural history, this is also a universal story of a child finding and trusting her own voice. End matter includes a glossary of Jamaican patois terms, a note about the author’s “own voice” perspective, and a brief biography of Miss Lou and her connection to Canada, where she spent 20 years of her life.  

The Starlight Claim: Book launches (Perth, Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston, ON)

It's not a sequel but it shares commonalities with

Tim Wynne-Jones's
Governor General award-winning novel

The Maestro

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones
 Groundwood
231 pp.
Ages 11+
1995

and it is launching this fall.

Join author Tim Wynne-Jones

for multiple launches of his new #YA psychological thriller

The Starlight Claim

Written by Tim Wynne-Jones

Candlewick Press

978-1-5362-0264-9

240 pp.

Ages 13+

September 2019

on

Sunday, September 15, 2019
1-3 p.m.

The Book Nook and Other Treasures
60 Gore Street East
Perth, ON

•••

Monday, September 16, 2019

 6 -8 p.m.

Ben McNally Books
366 Bay Street

Toronto, Ontario

•••

Thursday, September 19, 2019
7-9 p.m.

Books on Beechwood
35 Beechwood Avenue
Ottawa, ON

•••

Thursday, October 3, 2019 
7-9 p.m.

Novel Idea Bookstore
156 Princess Street
Kingston, Ontario

Fast-paced, evocative, and intensely suspenseful, Tim Wynne-Jones’s latest psychological thriller finds a teenager setting his wits against the frigid wilderness and a menacing crew of escapees.

Four months after his best friend, Dodge, disappeared near their families’ camp in a boat accident, Nate is still haunted by nightmares. He’d been planning to make the treacherous trek to the remote campsite with a friend — his first time in winter without his survival-savvy father. But when his friend gets grounded, Nate secretly decides to brave the trip solo in a journey that’s half pilgrimage, half desperate hope he will find his missing friend when no one else could. What he doesn’t expect to find is the door to the cabin flung open and the camp occupied by strangers: three men he’s horrified to realize have escaped from a maximum-security prison. Snowed in by a blizzard and with no cell signal, Nate is confronted with troubling memories of Dodge and a stunning family secret, and realizes that his survival now depends on his wits as much as his wilderness skills. As things spiral out of control, Nate finds himself dealing with questions even bigger than who gets to leave the camp alive. 

Retrieved from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/611957/the-starlight-claim-by-tim-wynne-jones/9781536202649 on July 15, 2019.