2021 Governor General's Literary Awards: Winners announced

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

Books were awarded in seven categories, both in French and English, and I'm so pleased to announce the winners of those books for young readers.

Congratulations to these winners!

 

• • • • •

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

 WINNER

Firefly

Written by Philippa Dowding

DCB

Reviewed here

 

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

WINNER

On the Trapline

Written by David A. Robertson

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Tundra

 

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

 

WINNER

Les avenues
Written by Jean-François Sénéchal
Leméac Éditeur

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

WINNER

À qui appartiennent les nuages?
Written by Mario Brassard
Illustrated by Gérard DuBois
Les Éditions de la Pastèque

Congratulations to this year's finalists

and these four stellar winners  

of books for young people

👏👏👏

Alberta Blue: A prairie sky lullaby

Written by Pat Hatherly

Illustrated by Jesse Horne

Red Barn Books

978-1-98991-502-8

14 pp.

Ages 0-5

October 2021

 

As unhurried and melodic as the song written by Pat Hatherly and Jim Lewis, Alberta Blue lulls the young with the wideness of Alberta and the depth of its spirit.

 

With simple words and expansive images, author Pat Hatherly and illustrator Jesse Horne take us to a province of sweeping blue skies with impressive golden pink sunrises and dramatic northern lights. There are buffalo and tipis, trains and prairies, Rocky Mountains and cattle herds. This is an Alberta with its diverse landscapes and people and celebrated in natural rhyming text.

From Alberta Blue by Pat Hatherly, illus. by Jesse Horne

First the golden pink sunrise
warms the land with its hue.
Then a new day begins
wrapped in Alberta blue.

From Alberta Blue by Pat Hatherly, illus. by Jesse Horne

Albertans Pat Hatherly and Jesse Horne take us into the Alberta that is their home to see the colours that make it rich. We're not taken into the cities which could be from any province. Instead young readers are taken to the outdoors which could be past or present and always under that glorious blue sky. For young children in Alberta, the words will resonate but children elsewhere will get a natural feel for what the province has to offer. And with the vibrancy of her gouache colours and softness of line, even as she gives texture to her illustrations, Jesse Horne has matched her artwork fittingly for a board book and rhyming text aimed at the very young.

 

From Alberta Blue by Pat Hatherly, illus. by Jesse Horne

Whether you're an Albertan who is familiar with the song "Alberta Blue" which is performed by The Travelling Mabels, or a young child who is seeing the Alberta landscape for the first time, Alberta Blue will transport you to a province of vastness and colour, diverse in its places and people and story.

Traitors Among Us

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Scholastic

978-1-338-75429-2

288 pp.

Ages 8-13

September 2021

 

Do what you can, Maria, instead of worrying about what you can't. (pg. 21)

Everyone has their story. But is it the one they lived or just a story? Among the refugees from the Nazis, there are both kinds of stories, and sisters Krystia and Maria Fediuk from Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's earlier books, Don't Tell the Nazis and Trapped in Hitler's Web, can only be sure of what they've lived through and what they are willing to share.

It's June 1945 and the two Ukrainian sisters have made their way, separately and then together, from their town of Viteretz through Austria and now into the Karlsfeld camp in the American Zone in Germany, hopeful that this stop will help get them to their aunt and uncle in Toronto. But the Soviets, under the guise of repatriating refugees from Eastern Europe but really to punish them as traitors and silence them, take Krystia and Maria and several others into the Soviet Zone for interrogation before choosing how to deal with them.

With fellow prisoners Sophie, a former Hitler Girl, and Volksdeutsche father and son Elias and Finn, they are locked away, fearful that their roles in helping both the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Jews escape will have them sent to Siberia or worse. Drawing strength from their memories of their father and their mother, the girls make sure that they tell only one story, regardless of threat of death or worries for the other. But will it be enough to keep them alive? And who can they trust? When anyone can be a traitor, whether lowly prisoner, local cook or NKVD officer, the girls know only that they can rely on each other. They may only be 14 and 16 years of age, but Maria and Krystia have a lifetime of strength and suffering to help them survive.

Don't Tell the Nazis (2018)

Trapped in Hitler's Web (2020)

Traitors Among Us (2021)

If you've read the first two books in Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's trilogy about the Fediuk sisters, and I encourage all readers to immerse themselves in these earlier stories, you'll know the depth of heartache and hardship that Krystia and Maria and others have endured at the hands of the Nazis and the Soviets. Their experiences are not foreign to most in western Ukraine who were wedged between two dangerous oppressors and hoped that immigration to other countries might help them survive. Old enemies or new enemies are still enemies. From the girls' terror of Soviet and Nazi occupation in Ukraine, their enslavement by the Nazis and finally their seeking refuge with the Allies before imprisonment as traitors to the Soviets, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch informs young readers about stories seldom told of World War II. War is not just for soldiers and sometimes the civilians living through it are young people and their stories are compelling and tragic. But Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, a master storyteller of historical fiction as well as of picture books, non-fiction and realistic middle-grade and YA, takes us to those war-torn countries to travel with the girls as they walk dusty roads with thousands of refugees, toil on farms, hide from dangerous people, and find and offer support, even as they endure hunger, cold, fear and uncertainty. Every atmospheric scene is one of edge-of-your-seat nerves, worry that the next ally they make may not be one, shock at executions witnessed, and solace from a sisterly bond and fleeting memories of home.

 

There have always been traitors among them, but Krystia and Maria are able to find the hope and strength to achieve an ending to their story that satisfies, courtesy of Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, and young readers will appreciate that ending, acknowledge the stories that took them there and learn the history that started them on those journeys.

 

• • • • • • •

 

Author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch will launch her new book virtually through the Brantford Public Library on December 1st. Register at calendar.brantfordlibrary.ca for an opportunity to hear this acclaimed author speak and read from Traitors Among Us.

 

Animals Illustrated: Wolverine: Guest review

Occasionally I invite young readers to share a review of a Canadian book they've read and enjoyed. Here I'm pleased to share a review of Animals Illustrated: Wolverine by Grade 3 student Hudson G.

Written by Allen Niptanatiak
Illustrated by Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-298-7

28 pp.

Ages 6-8

September  2021 

When I picked out this book, I didn’t know much about wolverines, but I was a little scared of them.  I was hoping to learn more about them so I wouldn’t be scared at all.  This book had good information about wolverines on each page.  The number of words was just the right amount for young readers.  The "Table of Contents" has a good amount of topics covered including: diet, survival adaptations, babies, and tough animals.  The overall information in the book was really good to help the reader understand about wolverines.  These animals are really important to Indigenous people and there is a section on traditional uses.  This section is a great idea to explain to children all of the uses for their fur.  For example, their fur makes parka trim and mittens.  The "Fun Facts" section was also good, but I would have liked more than just three main facts.  Instead of sentences, dot jots would be better to fit in more fun facts on the double-page spread.

This book is illustrated by Patricia Ann Lewis MacDougall and I really like the drawings and how realistic they are.  I felt like it was real life and I was right there with the wolverine.  The muted colours she used seem to represent the wildlife in the Arctic and helps the reader feel the location better.  The art also has labels on the pictures to help the reader understand the text better.  A combination of the information I learned and the beautiful illustrations have helped me to feel better about wolverines and they are no longer scary to me.

~Review by student Hudson G., Gr. 3

 

From Animals Illustrated: Wolverine by Allen Niptanatiak, illus. by Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall

• • • • • • •

Inhabit Media's popular Animals Illustrated series currently comprises of nine titles.

Narwhal (2016)

Polar Bear (2016)

Muskox (2016)

Walrus (2017)

Bowhead Whale (2018)

Arctic Wolf (2018)

Caribou (2019)

Wolverine (2021)

Ringed Seal (2021)

My Art, My World

Written by Rita Winkler with Helen Winkler and Mark Winkler

Art by Rita Winkler

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-214-2

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

October 2021

 

This is not a story. This is a life. It's a life well-lived by Rita Winkler, a young woman with Down Syndrome. She lives it with colour, with activity, and with heart. And she tells her life through her art, hence My Art, My World.

From My Art, My World by Rita Winkler

Rita introduces herself through a self-portrait and then discusses the making of her art: when, where, why. She reveals her activities like taking the bus, clearly the TTC, to her job at a coffee shop, and participating in dance class and yoga. She recounts anecdotes of seeing fish in a bag, dealing with pesky telemarketers and visiting her uncle in New York City. And she always represents it in her art.

From My Art, My World by Rita Winkler

But more than just capturing a moment in time, Rita Winkler expresses herself through her artwork. She recognizes how her art changes through the seasons, and how the season makes her feel. From summer flowers and Halloween, through Remembrance Day and New Year's Eve, Rita Winkler tells us how she feels through her art which is often, though not limited to, paint.

From My Art, My World by Rita Winkler

With a boldness of intent and line, Rita Winkler invites us to meet her and enter her world, one of artistic temperament, not of disability or limitations. It's a testament to what is and not what isn't and that message of acceptance is paramount to the verve in Rita Winkler's life and My Art, My World.

30+ Must Reads for Babies and New Parents

Recently, I heard about the good news of friends expecting their first grandchild and realized that, with this pandemic, there are many new little ones entering the world to the delight of their family and friends. While there are many concept books out there that will be useful for teaching letters and colours and such, those are best for slightly older children, and are not included here.  Here I include picture or board books that celebrate new babies and those first years of parenting that new bundle of joy.

 

Baby Cakes

Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2017

Reviewed here

Baby's First Treasury

(4 stories: Welcome, Baby; Read Me a Book; Sing a Song of Mother Goose; and Zoe’s Year)

Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

Scholastic Canada

136 pp.

2016

 

Beach Baby

Written by Laurie Elmquist

Illustrated by Elly MacKay

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 2-4

2016

 

 

Before You Were Born

Written by Deborah Kerbel
Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7

2019

Reviewed here

A Bedtime Yarn

Written by Nicola Winstanley
Illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2017

 

The Best Gifts

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Illustrated by Elly MacKay
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 4-8

2013 

Reviewed here 

Buddy and Earl and the Great Big Baby

Written by Maureen Fergus
Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7

2016

Reviewed here

Checkers and Dot

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by J. Lum

Tundra Books

16 pp.

Ages 0-3

2012

 

Checkers and Dot at the Beach

Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books
16 pp.
Ages 0-3
2013

 

Checkers and Dot at the Zoo

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by J. Lum

Tundra Books

16 pp.

Ages 0-3

2012

 

Checkers and Dot on the Farm

Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books
16 pp.
Ages 0-3
2013

Cinnamon Baby

Written by Nicola Winstanley

Illustrated by Janice Nadeau

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2011

Forest Baby

Written by Laurie Elmquist

Illustrated by Shantala Robinson

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2018

Goodnight, Sleepy Animals (A Nightlight Book)
Illustrated by Christine Battuz
CrackBoom
14 pp.
Ages 0-3
2016

 

Hat On, Hat Off

Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3

2016 

Reviewed here

Here Babies, There Babies

Written  by Nancy Cohen
Illustrated by Carmen Mok

Nimbus Publishing
14 pp.
Ages 0-2

2015 

Reviewed here

 

I Sang You Down from the Stars 

Written by Tasha Spillett-Sumner

Illustrated by Michaela Goade

Owlkids Books

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

2021

King Baby

Written and illustrated by Kate Beaton
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
40 pp.
Ages 4-8

2016

Reviewed here

Kiss Tickle Cuddle Hug

Written by Susan Musgrave

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2012

 

Little You 

Written by Richard Camp

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2013

 

Lots of Kisses

Written by Lorna Crozier

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2014

 

Love You Forever

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Sheila McGraw

Firefly Books

32 pp.

Ages 0-4

1995

Love You Head to Toe

Written and illustrated by Ashley Barron

Owlkids Books

28 pp.

Ages 0-5

2020

Please Don't Change My Diaper!

Written by Sarabeth Holden
Illustrated by Emma Pedersen
Inhabit Media
28 pp.
Ages 0-4

2020 

Reviewed here 

So Many Babies!

Written by Lorna Crozier

Illustrated by Laura Watson

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2015

Sweetest Kulu
Written  by Celina Kalluk
Illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis
Inhabit Media
32 pp.
Ages 0-6
2014 

Reviewed here

Time for Bed: Baby’s Bedtime Routine (Baby Steps)
Written by Carol McDougall & Shanda LaRamee-Jones
Nimbus
18 pp.
Ages 0-2
2018

 

Toesy Toes

Written by Sarah Tsiang

Orca Book Publishers

26 pp.

Ages 0-2

2018

 

Up! How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones

Written by Susan Hughes
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
24 pp.
Ages 2-5

2017 

Reviewed here

 

The Ways I Will Love You

Written by Rachel Boehm

Illustrated by Mary Jane Gerber

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-6

2010

Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns

Written by Richard Van Camp

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2007 

We Sang You Home

Written by Richard Van Camp

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2016

Where's Bunny?
Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3
2018 

Reviewed here