The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award shortlists for 2023 have been revealed.

The annual awards, which come with a $6,000 prize each, recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian picture books, middle grade, and young adult literature. A nomination committee comprised of Brooke Windsor and Alison Dunn selected the shortlists, and student juries from Jesse Ketchum Junior and Senior Public School in Toronto will choose the winning titles.

Nominated in the picture book category are:

• Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince and Gabrielle Prince; Carla Joseph, ill. (Orca Book Publishers)
• Journey of the Midnight Sun by Shazia Afzal and Aliya Ghare, ill. (Orca Book Publishers)
• Pink, Blue, and You!: Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes by Elise Gravel and Mykaell Blais; Elise Gravel, ill. (Anne Schwartz Books)
• The Most Magnificent Idea by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)
• This is the Boat that Ben Built by Jen Lynn Bailey and Maggie Zeng, ill. (Pajama Press)

Nominated titles in the young adult/middle grade category are:

• Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse by Marthe Jocelyn (Tundra Books)
• Eight Days by Teresa Toten (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)
• Forever Birchwood by Danielle Daniel (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
• Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad (Margaret K. McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster)
• Haunted Canada: The Third Terrifying Collection by Joel A. Sutherland (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)

The winners will be announced at a school assembly later this month.

The awards are administered by the Ontario Arts Foundation with the support of the Ontario Arts Council.