Thao Lam’s illustrations for the picture book Wallpaper are among the 10 finalists for the 2018 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award

Ten finalists have been announced for the 2018 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award. The Cleaver Award is presented to a Canadian illustrator in recognition of artistic excellence in a picture book. The winning illustrator will receive $1,000.

Groundwood Books titles dominate the finalist list, occupying five of the slots.

The list of finalists follows:

• Africville, illustrated by Eva Campbell and written by Shauntay Grant (Groundwood Books)
• Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock, illustrated by Amanda Strong and written by Dallas Hunt (Portage & Main Press/HighWater Press)
• Bloom, illustrated by Julie Morstad and written by Kyo Maclear (Tundra Books)
• Blue Rider, illustrations and story by Geraldo Valério (Groundwood)
• Deep Underwater, written and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher (Groundwood)
• The Funeral, written and illustrated by Matt James (Groundwood)
• Mustafa, written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood)
• Red Sky at Night, written and illustrated by Elly MacKay (Tundra Books)
• Toucania, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer and co-written with Valérie Picard (Monsieur Ed)
• Wallpaper, illustrations and story by Thao Lam (Owlkids Books)

The prize is presented by the International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section, with prize money awarded in trust from the estate of Canadian illustrator Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver. The winner will be announced Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. EST via the @IBBYCanada Twitter account and facebook.com/ibbycanada.