Joan Betty Stuchner–Oy Vey!–Funniest Children's Book Award: Winners announced (2017 and 2019)

Recently, I learned of a new Canadian children's book award which delightfully celebrates humour. The Joan Betty Stuchner–Oy Vey!–Funniest Children's Book Award was started by a small committee to honour children's author Joan Betty Stuchner who passed away in 2014. Stuchner wrote books both funny and serious, including Sadie the Ballerina (Scholastic Canada, 2006), Honey Cake (Tradewind, 2007), Can Hens Give Milk? (Orca, 2011), and Bagels Come Home (Orca, 2014). The award's Facebook page says this about award and its namesake:

Joan was many things — brave, gracious, warm, generous, kind and absolutely hilarious to boot. (“Oy vey!” she’s probably saying now…) With this award we honour Joan’s life-affirming humour and encourage other children’s writers to laugh it up on the page the way she did. 

(Retrieved from post dated April 1, 2017 at

 https://www.facebook.com/The-Joan-Betty-Stuchner-Oy-Vey

-Funniest-Childrens-Book-Award-389442461425578/)

The award which is presented biennially was first awarded in 2017 to

Kabungo

Written by Rolli

Illustrated by Milan Pavlović

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-804-4

173 pp.

Ages 7-10

2016

Reviewed here

••••••••••••••••

This year, two awards were presented, one for picture book/board book and a second for a chapter book.

The 2019 winners of the Joan Betty Stuchner–Oh Vey!–Funniest Children's Book Award are:

In the Picture Book/Board Book Category:

Sterling, Best Dog Ever

Written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie 

Farrar, Strauss and Giroux

978-0-374-30614-4
40 pp.
Ages 3-6

2018 

Reviewed here

In the Chapter Book Category:

Mort Ziff is Not Dead

Written by Cary Fagan

Puffin Canada

978-0143198475

176 pp.

Ages 10-14

2018

2017/2018 Willow Awards: Finalists and Winners

The Willow Awards are the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards. Each spring, short-lists are announced and young readers vote for their favouries the following year. Hence, I dated this group the 2017/2018 Willow Award. Because I didn't get this list out on time, I'm going to also post the winners.

The Shining Willow Finalists were:

The Darkest Dark
Written by Chris Hadfield and Kate Fillion
Illustrated by Terry and Eric Fan
Tundra Books

Frank and Laverne
Written by Dave Whamond and Jennifer Stokes
Illustrated by Dave Whamond
Owlkids Books

French Toast
Written by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by Francois Thisdale
Pajama Press

Haggis and Tank Unleashed: Digging for Dinos
Written by Jessica Young
llustrated by James Burks
Scholastic

If I Had A Gryphon
Written by Vikki VanSickle
Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
Tundra Books

In the Red Canoe
Written by Leslie A. Davidson
Illustrated by Laura Bifano
Orca

Ocean Animals from Head to Tail
Written by Stacey Roderick
Illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya
Kids Can Press

The Owl and the Lemming
Written by Roselynn Akulukjuk
Illustrated by Amanda Sandland
Inhabit Media

Sky Pig
Written by Jan L. Coates
Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Pajama Press

Who Broke the Teapot?!
Written and illustrated by Bill Slavin
Tundra

THE WINNER IS

Frank and Laverne

Written by Dave Whamond and Jennifer Stokes
Illustrated by Dave Whamond
Owlkids Books

The Diamond Willow Finalists were:

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard
Written by Jonathan Auxier
Penguin Group Canada

Worms for Breakfast: How to Feed a Zoo
Written by Helaine Becker
OwlKids

A Boy Named Queen
Written by Sara Cassidy
Groundwood Books

Myles and the Monster Outside
Written by Philippa Dowding
Dundurn

I Am Not a Number
Written by Jenny Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Second Story Press

Hand in Hand
Written by Jean Little
Scholastic Canada

Bittersweet
Written by Winnie Mack
Scholastic Canada

Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede
Written by Liam O’Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers

Pandas on the Eastside
Written by Gabrielle Prendergast
Orca Book Publishers

Heart of a Champion
Written by Ellen Schwartz
Tundra Books

THE WINNER IS

I Am Not a Number

Written by Jenny Dupuis and Kathy Kacer

Illustrated by Gillian Newland

Second Story Press

The Snow Willow Finalists were:

The Hill
Written by Karen Bass
Pajama Press

Transferral
Written by Kate Blair
Dancing Cat Books

Icarus Down
Written by James Bow
Scholastic Canada

Julia Vanishes
Written by Catherine Egan
Doubleday Canada

The Pain Eater
Written by Beth Goobie
Second Story Press

In the Swish
Written by Dawn Green
Red Deer Press

Rodent
Written by Lisa J. Lawrence
Orca Book Publishers

The Pact
Written by Amanda West Lewis
Red Deer Press

Movers
Written by Meaghan McIsaac
Tundra Books

Lucky Jonah
Written by Richard Scrimger
HarperTrophy Canada

THE WINNER IS

The Pain Eater

Written by Beth Goobie

Second Story Press

Congratulations to all nominees and winners!

2017 Governor General's Literary Awards: Finalists announced

Today, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the finalists for the 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 

for the literary awards of English or French language 

works for young people.

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

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

Reviewed here

Hit the Ground Running
Written by Alison Hughes
Orca Book Publishers

The Marrow Thieves
Written by Cherie Dimaline
Dancing Cat Books

The Way Back Home
Written by Allan Stratton
Scholastic Canada

Those Who Run in the Sky
Written by Aviaq Johnston
Inhabit Media

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

Short Stories for Little Monsters
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

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

When We Were Alone
Written by David A. Robertson
Illustrated by Julie Flett
High Water Press

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

Chroniques post-apocalyptique d'une enfant sage
par Annie Bacon
Bayard Canada

L'elixir du baron Von Rezine
par K. Lambert
Éditions Pierre Tisseyre

Les moustiques
par Jocelyn Boisvert
Soulières éditeur

L'importance de Matilde Poisson
par Véronique Drouin
Bayard Canada

Moi qui marche à tâtons dans ma jeunesse noire
par Roxanne Desjardins
Les Herbes rouges

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

Azadah
par Jacques Goldstyn
Les Éditions de la Pastèque

En voiture! L'Amérique en chemin de fer
par Pascal Blanchet
Les Éditions de la Pastèque

Fred Petitchatminou

par Christiane Duchesne 

Illustré de Marion Arbona

Les Éditions de la Bagnole

La légende de Carcajou

par Renée Robitaille 

Illustré de  Slavka Kolesar

Planète rebelle

Louis parmi les spectres

par Fanny Britt 

Illustré de Isabelle Arsenault

Les Éditions de la Pastèque

Winning titles will be announced 

on November 1, 2017

and 

presented on a later date at Rideau Hall.

2017 MYRCA winner and honour books announced

Last March and April, young Manitoba readers ages 10-14 voted for their favourite book from eighteen nominated titles for the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards (MYRCA)  The results announced in April were just given out today at the 27th Annual MYRCA ceremony.  Though there can only be one winner and two honour books selected, I believe all nominees are winners and should be acknowledged as so.  So congratulations everyone!

The 2017 winning title, as voted by young Manitoba readers of ages 10 to 14, is

The Dogs

by Allan Stratton

**********************

Congratulations to the readers' two  Honour Books:

The Blackthorn Key
by Kevin Sands

MiNRS

by Kevin Sylvester

  CONGRATULATIONS 

 to all Winners 

of this literacy awards program:
 authors, illustrators, publishers and readers!  

2017 Sunburst Awards for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic

In July, the Sunburst Award Society announced the shortlists for its three categories of Sunburst Awards for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, also known as the Copper Cylinder award.

These awards, presented annually in the categories of Adult and Young Adult speculative fiction, plus a category of Short Story, aim to recognize the speculative fiction of Canadian writers (citizens or landed immigrants), with a cash award and a Sunburst medallion. Winners were just announced this week.

Here were this year's nominees in the

Young Adult category

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard
by Jonathan Auxier
Puffin Canada

Worlds of Ink and Shadow
by Lena Coakley
HarperCollins

The Inn Between
by Marina Cohen
Roaring Brook Press

Reviewed here

Julia Vanishes
by Catherine Egan
Doubleday Canada

Reviewed here

The Skids
by Ian Donald Keeling
ChiTeen

This year's 

WINNER 

in the Young Adult category 

is


The Skids

by Ian Donald Keeling
ChiTeen/ChiZine
978-1-77148-385-8
287 pp.
Ages 12-15
2016

2017 Forest of Reading winners announced

This week, the Festival of Trees was held at Toronto's Harbourfront.  Over 8000 readers participated in the events at the Festival, which focused on the awards ceremonies for the different Forest of Reading programs of the Ontario Library Association.

Here are this year's readers' choice selections for each reading program:

Blue Spruce

WINNER 

The Night Gardener
by Eric Fan and Terry Fan
Simon & Schuster

          Honour Books         

Stanley at School

Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Kids Can Press

The Good Little Book

Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Marion Arbona

Tundra Books

  

Silver Birch EXPRESS

   WINNER

The Biggest Poutine in the World

by Andrée Poulin
Annick Press

          Honour Books        

Myles and the Monster Outside
by Philippa Dowding
Illustrated by Shawn Daigle
Dundurn

Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals
by Jess Keating
Illustrated by David DeGrande
A.A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Silver Birch FICTION

 WINNER

OCDaniel

by Wesley King
Paula Wiseman Books

          Honour Books      

Awkward
by Svetlana Chmakova
Yen Press

The Blackthorn Key
by Kevin Sands
Aladdin

Silver Birch NON-FICTION 

WINNER

Haunted Canada 6: More Terrifying True Stories
by Joel A. Sutherland
Scholastic Canada

          Honour Books     

Animal Hospital: Rescuing Urban Wildlife
by Julia Coey
Firefly Books

Friend or Foe: The Whole Truth about Animals That People Love to Hate
by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by David Anderson
Owlkids Books

Le Prix Peuplier

                   Lauréat              

Aux toilettes
Texte de André Marois
Illustrations de Pierre Pratt
Éditions Druide

          Livres distingués     

Comme ci, comme ça!
Texte et Illustrations de Caroline Merola
Bayard Canada

Manchots au chaud
Texte de Andrée Poulin
Illustrations de Oussama Mezher
Éditions de l'Isatis

Le Prix Tamarac 

                   Lauréat

Le Colosse des neiges de Campbellton
Texte de Denis M. Boucher
Illustrations de Paul Roux
Bouton d'or Acadie

         Livres distingués      

Le dragon vert: L'enfance de Van
Texte et illustrations de Jacques Goldstyn
Bayard Canada

Une étoile sur la dune
Texte et Illustrations de Danielle Loranger
Bouton d'or Acadie

Le Prix Tamarac EXPRESS

                   Lauréat

Le facteur de l'espace
Texte et Illustrations de Guillaume Perreault
La Pastèque

          Livres distingués      

La mouche dans l'aspirateur
Texte et Illustrations de Mélanie Watt
Scholastic Canada

Ti-Prout
Texte de Gilles Tibo
Illustrations de Oussama Mezher
Soulières

Red Maple Fiction

WINNER

Shooter
by Caroline Pignat
Razorbill

          Honour Books      

MiNRS
by Kevin Sylvester
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Trouble is a Friend of Mine
by Stephanie Tromly
Penguin Young Readers Group

Red Maple Non-Fiction

WINNER

Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls 
are Used in War
by Michel Chikwanine and Jessica Dee Humphreys
Illustrated by Claudia Dávila
Kids Can Press

          Honour Books      

Hidden Gold: A True Story of the Holocaust
by Ella Burakowski
Second Story Press

Vanished: True Tales of Mysterious Disappearances
by Elizabeth MacLeod
Annick Press













White Pine FICTION

WINNER

Fifteen Lanes
by S. J. Laidlaw
Tundra Books

          Honour Books     

Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by E. K. Johnston
Dutton Books

                                                                                                                 

Thrilling news for all authors, illustrators and publishers!

Enjoyed all the more for being selected 

by young Canadian readers!

Congratulations to everyone!