2015/2016 Willow Award nominees announced

Established in 2001, the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice (SYRCA) awards, the Willow Awards, encourage reading by nominating a variety of Canadian titles in three categories.  Young readers can participate in the reading programs through their schools and public libraries, selecting their favourite from one list.  The Willow Awards are truly conferred according the choices of Saskatchewan's young readers.

Just to make things complicated, these nominees are called the 2015 Willow Awards nominees because they are announced in 2015.  However, young readers will actually be participating in 2015 and 2016 and voting for their favourites in February 2016. So I call them the 2015/2016 awards since that designation covers the whole time from nomination to award. 

The nominated titles for the three Willow Awards i.e., Shining Willow, Diamond Willow and Snow Willow are detailed below.

For those books written for readers in Kindergarten to Gr. 3

The 2015/2016 Shining Willow nominees are:

Dipnetting with Dad
by Willie Sellars
Illustrated by Kevin Easthope
Caitlin Press
 

Fox and Squirrel
by Ruth Ohi
Scholastic Canada

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
by Chieri Uegaki
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Kids Can Press

The Highest Number in the World
by Roy MacGregor
Illustrated by Geneviève Duprés
Tundra Books

If Kids Ruled the World
by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by David Huyck
Kids Can Press 

Jasper Dooley, Not in Love
by Caroline Adderson
Illustrated by Ben Clanton
Kids Can Press 

Leaving Mr. Humphries
by Alison Lohans
Illustrated by Gretchen Ehrsam
Your Nickel's Worth Publishing

The Most Magnificent Thing
by Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press

My Name is Blessing
by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Tundra Books

The Worm 
by Elise Gravel
Tundra Books

For those books written for readers of Gr. 4 to 6

The 2015/2016 Diamond Willow nominees are:

Curse of the Dream Witch
by Allan Stratton 
Scholastic Canada

The Great Bike Rescue
by Hazel Hutchins
Orca Book Publishers

The Hidden Agenda of Sigrid Sugden 
by Jill MacLean
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

The Last Train: A Holocaust Story
by Rona Arato
Owlkids

The Metro Dogs of Moscow
by Rachelle Delaney
Puffin Canada

The Night Gardener
by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada

Seconds
by Sylvia Taekema
Orca Book Publishers

The Spotted Dog Last Seen
by Jessica Kerrin Scott
Groundwood Books

The Swallow: A Ghost Story
by Charis Cotter
Tundra Books

Zoobots: Wild Robots Inspired by Real Animals
by Helaine Becker
Kids Can Press   

For those books written for readers in Gr. 7 to 9

The 2015/2016 Snow Willow nominees are:

The Art of Getting Stared At
by Laura Langston
Razorbill

Below
by Jason Chabot
HarperTrophy Canada

The Boundless
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada

Moon At Nine
by Deborah Ellis
Pajama Press

Rocket Blues
by David Skuy
Scholastic Canada

The Rule of Three
by Eric Walters
Penguin Canada

To This Day
by Shane Koyczan
Annick Press

Truths I Learned from Sam
by Kristin Butcher
Dundurn

Unspeakable
by Caroline Pignat
Puffin Canada

A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius
by Stacey Matson
Scholastic Canada










It may be a long...g...g...g way off, and we still have to see who wins this year's 2014 Willow Awards but we do look forward to the announcement of the winners at the end of next April (2016) at the Willow Awards Gala 2016.  Good luck to all nominees!