The short list of authors and illustrators nominated for the 2006 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards was announced today. These national awards — one for a children’s picture book and one for a young adult/middle reader book — recognize writers and illustrators from across Canada who demonstrate artistic excellence in children’s literature.
Two juries of schoolchildren from Lord Dufferin Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto, Ontario, will review the books and announce the winners on May 9, 2006 at a special 2 p.m. reception at Queen’s Park hosted by The Honourable James K. Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
The young adult/middle reader book category is judged by students in grades 7 and 8. The winning author will receive a $5,000 prize. Students in grades 3 and 4 will award the $5,000 children’s picture book prize, which is split between the author and illustrator.
The Ruth Schwartz Children’s Book Award was established in 1976 by Sylvia Schwartz in memory of her sister, the late Ruth Schwartz, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family decided to rename it the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards to honour Sylvia. Sylvia was a well-known photographer in Toronto from the 1940s to the early 1960s who had a great love of children.
The administration of these awards is shared annually by the Ontario Arts Council, which selects the school and the juries, the Ontario Arts Foundation, the Ruth Schwartz Foundation and the Canadian Booksellers Association, whose members select the short list of books.
Short List for the 2006
Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards
Picture Books
Click on thumbnail to enlarge image
- Caramba
written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press |
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- Forever: The Annual Hockey Classic
written by Roy MacGregor, illustrated by Brian Deines
Red Deer Press Inc. |
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- Gretzky’s Game
written by Mike Leonetti, illustrated by Greg Banning
Raincoast Books |
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- The Nutcracker
written by Karen Kain, illustrated by Rajka Kupesic
Tundra Books |
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- Shi-shi-etko
written by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press |
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Young Adult/Middle Reader Books
- Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last
by Susan Juby
HarperCollins Canada |
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- The Crazy Man
by Pamela Porter
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press
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- The Gravesavers
by Sheree Fitch
Doubleday Canada |
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- Skybreaker
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada |
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- Swimming in the Monsoon Sea
by Shyam Selvadurai
Tundra Books |
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For more information, please contact:
Ann Boyd, Associate Director, Ontario Arts Foundation, (416) 969-7411 or toll-free in Ontario at 1-800-387-0058 ext.7411 or email aboyd@arts.on.ca
Daphnée Nostrome, Communications Assistant, Ontario Arts Council, (416) 969-7446 or toll-free in Ontario at 1-800-387-0058 ext.7446 or email dnostrome@arts.on.ca
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