The finalists for the 2021 CCBC Book Awards have been announced. Handed out by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the eight awards celebrate exceptional books for young people.

The shortlisted titles are:

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000)

• The Barnabus Project, by Terry Fan, Eric Fan, and Devin Fan (Tundra Books)
• The Barren Grounds: The Misewa Saga, by David A. Robertson (Puffin Canada)
• A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye, by Melanie Mosher (Nimbus Publishing)
• Bloom (The Bloom Trilogy, Book 1), by Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins Publishers)
• When Emily Was Small, by Lauren Soloy (Tundra Books)

Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($50,000)

• Aurore et le pays invisible, by Christiane Duchesne (Éditions Québec Amérique)
• C’est quoi l’amour?, by Lucile de Pesloüan and Geneviève Darling, ill. (Éditions de l’Isatis)
• Colle-moi, by Véronique Grénier (Groupe d’édition la courte échelle)
• Ma maison-tête, by Vigg (Éditions Fonfon)
• Pokko et le tambour, by Matthew Forsythe and Nadine Robert, trans. (Comme des géants)

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000)

• The Barnabus Project, by Terry Fan, Eric Fan, and Devin Fan (Tundra Books)
• Golden Threads, by Suzanne Del Rizzo and Miki Sato, ill. (Owlkids Books)
• Our Little Kitchen, by Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)
• Swift Fox All Along, by Rebecca Thomas and Maya McKibbin, ill. (Annick Press)
• Weekend Dad, by Naseem Hrab and Frank Viva, ill. (Groundwood Books)

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction ($10,000)

• 111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl, by Rina Singh and Marianne Ferrer (Kids Can Press)
• Crows: Genius Birds, by ​​Kyla Vanderklugt (First Second)
• The Eagle Mother, by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan, ill. (HighWater Press)
• Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance, by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane (Orca Book Publishers)
• This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science is Tackling Unconscious Bias, by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Drew Shannon, ill. (Kids Can Press)

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000)

• Barry Squires, Full Tilt, by Heather Smith (Penguin Teen Canada)
• The Brushmaker’s Daughter (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers), by Kathy Kacer (Second Story Press)
• Journal of a Travelling Girl, by Nadine Neema and Archie Beaverho, ill. (Wandering Fox Books)
• The Paper Girl of Paris, by Jordyn Taylor (HarperTeen)
• Under Amelia’s Wing (The Ginny Ross Series, Book 2), by Heather Stemp (Nimbus Publishing)

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000)

• Charming as a Verb, by Ben Philippe (Balzer & Bray)
• Facing the Sun, by Janice Lynn Mather (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
• Followers, by Raziel Reid (Penguin Teen Canada)
• He Must Like You, by Danielle Younge-Ullman (Penguin Teen Canada)
• The Silence of Bones, by June Hur (Fiewel & Friends)

Prix Harry Black de l’album jeunesse ($5,000)

• Albertine Petit-Brindamour déteste les choux de Bruxelles, by Anne Renaud and Élodie Duhameau, ill. (Groupe d’édition la courte échelle)
• Le grand méchant loup dans ma maison, by Valérie Fontaine and Nathalie Dion, ill. (Éditions les 400 coups)
• L’horoscope, by François Blais and Valérie Boivin, ill. (Éditions les 400 coups)
• Ma maison-tête, by Vigg (Éditions Fonfon)
• Le tricot, by Jacques Goldstyn (Éditions de la Pastèque)

Jean Little First-Novel Award ($5,000)

• Journal of a Travelling Girl, by Nadine Neema and Archie Beaverho, ill. (Wandering Fox Books)
• My Name is Konisola, by Alisa Siegel (Second Story Press)
• No Vacancy, by Tziporah Cohen (Groundwood Books)

Returning host Tony Kim, in partnership with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) as part of its TIFA Kids! programming, will announce the winners of the English-language awards at a virtual event on October 29, with the French-language awards presented virtually on October 28. Both ceremonies will be available via a live stream.