The finalists for the 2022 CCBC Book Awards have been announced. Handed out by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the eight awards celebrate exceptional books for young people. This year’s program features two inaugural awards: the Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy and the David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award.

The shortlisted titles are:

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

• Borders, by Thomas King and Natasha Donovan, ill. (HarperCollins Publishers)
• The Fabulous Zed Watson!, by Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester; Kevin Sylvester, ill. (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words, by Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry, eds. (Orca Book Publishers)
• A Kid Is a Kid Is a Kid, by Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng, ill. (Groundwood Books)
• On the Trapline, by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett, ill. (Tundra Books)

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000)

• Hare B&B, by Bill Richardson and Bill Pechet, ill. (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides)
• Lala’s Words, by Gracey Zhang (Orchard Books)
• On the Trapline, by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett, ill. (Tundra Books)
• Time is a Flower, by Julie Morstad (Tundra Books)
• We All Play / kimêtawânaw, by Julie Flett (Greystone Kids)

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

• Boy from Buchenwald: The True Story of a Holocaust Survivor, by Robbie Waisman with Susan McClelland (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
• The Girl Who Loved Giraffes and Became the World’s First Giraffologist, by Kathy Stinson and by François Thisdale, ill. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words, by Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry, eds. (Orca Book Publishers)
• Mad for Ads: How Advertising Gets (and Stays) in Our Heads, by Erica Fyvie and Ian Turner, ill. (Kids Can Press)
• The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures, by Christian Allaire and Jacqueline Li, ill. (Annick Press)

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

• Dear Peter, Dear Ulla, by Barbara Nickel (Thistledown Press)
• Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer, by Leslie Gentile (DCB Young Readers)
• Second Chances, by Harriet Zaidman (Red Deer Press)
• Stealing Home, by J. Torres and David Namisato, ill. (Kids Can Press)
• Traitors Among Us, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Scholastic Press)

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000)

• Blood Like Magic, by Liselle Sambury (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
• If I Tell You the Truth, by Jasmin Kaur (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen Canada)
• Misfit in Love, by S.K. Ali (Salaam Reads)
• The Project, by Courtney Summers (Wednesday Books)

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

• Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer, by Leslie Gentile (DCB Young Readers)
• Living with Viola, by Rosena Fung (Annick Press)
• Thanks a Lot, Universe, by Chad Lucas (Amulet Books)

Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000)

• Blood Like Magic, by Liselle Sambury (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
• Hunting by Stars: A Marrow Thieves Novel, by Cherie Dimaline (Penguin Teen Canada)
• Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen Canada)
• Sisters of the Snake, by Sarena Nanua and Sasha Nanua (HarperTeen)
• Spell Sweeper, by Lee Edward Födi (HarperCollins Publishers)

David Booth Children’s and Youth Poetry Award ($3,500)

• The Book of Selkie, by Briana Corr Scott (Nimbus Publishing)
• A Great Big Night, by Kate Inglis and Josée Bisaillon, ill. (Nimbus Publishing)
• I Talk Like a River, by Jordan Scott and Sydney Smith, ill. (Neal Porter Books)
• Our Corner Store, by Robert Heidbreder and Chelsea O’Byrne, ill. (Groundwood Books)
• Summer Feet, by Sheree Fitch and Carolyn Fisher, ill. (Nimbus Publishing)
• Welcome to the Cypher, by Khodi Dill and Awuradwoa Afful, ill. (Annick Press)

Presented in partnership with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) as part of its TIFA Kids! Programming, host Garvia Bailey will announce the winners at an in-person event at Harbourfront Centre on Thursday, September 29. The shortlist for the Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse will be released in October, with the winner revealed virtually in mid-November.