Chris Hadfield among finalists for Canadian children's book awards
The Canadian Children's Book Centre announced the shortlists for their seven English-language literary awards. The awards recognize writing for young readers from picture books through to young adult.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield is nominated for the $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award for The Darkest Dark, which is illustrated by Eric Fan and Terry Fan. Other notable nominees include Jon Klassen, also a finalist for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, for We Found a Hat, Kit Pearson, who is nominated the $30,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, which recognizes the best book for young readers up to the age of 12, and Kenneth Oppel, who is nominated for the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People for Every Hidden Thing.
All the finalists are listed below. The winners will be revealed on Nov. 21, 2017 at an event in Toronto.
The finalists of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award are:
- A Day of Signs and Wonders by Kit Pearson
- The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence
- Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lappano, illustrated by Kellen Hatanaka
- The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk by Jan Thornhill
- When We Were Alone by David Alexander Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
Learn more about the finalists of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award here.
This fall, CBC Books will launch the Fan Choice Contest, giving readers the opportunity to vote on their favourite book of the five titles shortlisted for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. The winning author of the Fan Choice Contest will be announced at the gala in Toronto. Those who vote in the contest will be entered in a random draw to win $500, a school visit from one of the nominated authors and a financial donation to their school library.
The finalists of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000) are:
- The Artist and Me by Shane Peacock, illustrated by Sophie Casson
- The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield & Kate Fillion, illustrated by Eric Fan & Terry Fan
- I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland
- The Snow Knows by Jennifer McGrath, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
- We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen
The finalists of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction ($10,000) are:
- Canada Year by Year by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Sydney Smith
- Fight to Learn by Laura Scandiffio
- Level the Playing Field by Kristina Rutherford
- The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk by Jan Thornhill
- Water Wow! An Infographic Exploration by Antonia Banyard & Paula Ayer, illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
The finalists of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000) are:
- Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel
- Freedom's Just Another Word by Caroline Stellings
- Heart of a Champion by Ellen Schwartz
- The Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands
- When Morning Comes by Arushi Raina
The finalists of the John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000) are:
- The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim by Shane Peacock
- Howard Wallace, P.I. by Casey Lyall
- The Road to Ever After by Moira Young
- Shooter by Caroline Pignat
- Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier
The finalists of the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000) are:
- Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
- Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
- Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan
- Shooter by Caroline Pignat
- With Malice by Eileen Cook