Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration explained

The Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian illustrator for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, one each for writers and illustrators of English- and French-language books. The Governor General's Awards program is administered by the Canada Council.

In name, this award is part of the Governor General's Award program only from 1987 but the four children's literature awards were established in 1975 under a Canada Council name. In the event, the "Canada Council" and "Governor General's" awards have recognized children's book illustration in an English-language children's book every year from 1978.

Canada Council Children's Literature Prize

In 1975 the Canada Council established four annual prizes of $5000 for the year's best English- and French-language children's books by Canadian writers and illustrators. Those "Canada Council Children's Literature Prizes" were continued under the "Governor General's Awards" rubric from 1987, and continue today. Among them the English-language illustration prize was awarded every year from 1978.

Three of these winning English-language illustrators also won the annual Canadian Library Association award for children's book illustration, recognizing the same books. Their CLA Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Awards are dated one year later: Blades 1979, Gál 1980, and Woodall 1982. The Howard-Gibbon award was inaugurated in 1971 for 1970 publications.[1]

Six illustrators listed below, winners of the English-language illustration award under the "Governor General's" name, also won the CLA award for the same book: Gay 1988, LaFave 1989, Morin 1991, Lightburn 1992, Reid 1998, and Denton 1999.[1]

1980s

YearAuthorTitle
1987Marie-Louise GayRainy Day Magic
John BianchiExploring the Night Sky
László GálThe Enchanted Tapestry
Shawn StefflerFlights of Magic
1988Kim LaFaveAmos's Sweater
Marie-Louise GayAngel and the Polar Bear
Jillian Hulme GillilandHow the Devil Got His Cat
Dayal Kaur KhalsaSleepers
Jan ThornhillThe Wildlife ABC
1989Robin MullerThe Magic Paintbrush
Michèle LemieuxA Gift from Saint Francis
Jan ThornhillThe Wildlife 123

1990s

YearAuthorTitle
1990Paul MorinThe Orphan Boy
Warabé AskaSeasons
Frances TyrrellThe Huron Carol
1991Joanne FitzgeraldDoctor Kiss Says Yes
Kady MacDonald DentonThe Travelling Musicians
Michèle LemieuxPeter and the Wolf
Gilles PelletierA Happy New Year's Day
Jacquelinne WhiteCoyote Winter
1992Ron LightburnWaiting for the Whales
Eric BeddowsZoom Upstream
Suzanne DuranceauHickory, Dickory, Dock
Maryann KovalskiThe Big Storm
Mireille LevertWhen Jeremiah Found Mrs. Ming
1993Mireille LevertSleep Tight, Mrs. Ming
Scott CameronBeethoven Lives Upstairs
Marc MongeauThere Were Monkeys in My Kitchen!
Russ WillmsBrewster Rooster
Leo YerxaLast Leaf First Snowflake to Fall
1994Murray KimberJosepha: A Prairie Boy's Story
Marie LafranceLa Diablesse and the Baby
Michèle LemieuxThere Was An Old Man...: A Collection of Limericks
Laurie McGawPolar, the Titanic Bear
Martin SpringettWho
1995Ludmila ZemanThe Last Quest of Gilgamesh
Warabé AskaAska's Sea Creatures
Geoff ButlerThe Killick: A Newfoundland Story
Gary ClementJust Stay Put
Frances TyrrellWoodland Christmas
1996Eric BeddowsThe Rooster's Gift
Alan Daniel and Lea DanielSody Salleratus
Wang KuiThe Wise Washerman – A Folktale from Burma
Johnny WalesGruntle Piggle Takes Off
Werner ZimmermannWhatever You Do, Don't Go Near That Canoe!
1997Barbara ReidThe Party
Blair DrawsonFlying Dimitri
Marie-Louise GayRumpelstiltskin
Robin MullerThe Angel Tree
Ludmila ZemanThe First Red Maple Leaf
1998Kady MacDonald DentonA Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
Victor BossonThe Fox's Kettle
Harvey ChanMusic for the Tsar of the Sea
Zhong-Yang HuangThe Great Race
Stéphane JorischThe Village of a Hundred Smiles and Other Stories
1999Gary ClementThe Great Poochini
Rose CowlesI Know an Old Laddie
Zhong-Yang HuangDragon New Year
Ludmila ZemanSindbad: from the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights
Werner ZimmermannBrave Highland Heart

2000s

YearAuthorTitleRef.
2000Marie-Louise GayYuck, A Love Story
Nelly Hofer, Ernst HoferThe Snow Queen
Marthe JocelynHannah's Collections
Regolo RicciThe Market Wedding
Cybèle YoungPa's Harvest
2001Mireille LevertAn Island in the Soup
Harvey ChanWild Bog Tea
Murray KimberThe Wolf of Gubbio
Kim LaFaveWe'll All Go Sailing
Cindy RevellMallory and the Power Boy
2002Wallace EdwardsAlphabeasts[2]
Brian DeinesDragonfly Kites/pimihákanisa
Marie-Louise GayStella, Fairy of the Forest
RogéWhen Pigs Fly
Janie Jaehyun ParkThe Tiger and the Dried Persimmon
2003Allen SappThe Song Within My Heart
Nicolas DebonFour Pictures by Emily Carr
Rob GonsalvesImagine a Night
Barbara ReidThe Subway Mouse
Ludmila ZemanSindbad’s Secret: From the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights
2004Stéphane JorischJabberwocky
Nicolas DebonDawn Watch
Marie-Louise GayStella, Princess of the Sky
Kim LaFaveA Very Unusual Dog
Barbara ReidPeg and the Yeti
2005Rob GonsalvesImagine a Day[3]
Kyrsten BrookerCity Angel
Wallace EdwardsMixed Beasts
Murray KimberThe Highwayman
Rajka KupesicMaria Chapdelaine
2006Leo YerxaAncient Thunder
Eugenie FernandesEarth Magic
Annouchka Gravel Galouchko, Stéphan DaigleThe Birdman
Jon MorseCasey at the Bat
Maxwell NewhouseLet's Go for a Ride
2007Duncan WellerThe Boy from the Sun[4]
Wallace EdwardsThe Painted Circus
Joanne FitzgeraldThe Blue Hippopotamus
Jirina MartonMarja's Skis
Dusan PetricicMy New Shirt
2008Stéphane JorischThe Owl and the Pussycat
Isabelle ArseneaultMy Letter to the World and Other Poems
Josée BisaillonThe Emperor’s Second Hand Clothes
Matt JamesYellow Moon, Apple Moon
Kim LaFaveShin-chi's Canoe
2009Jirina MartonBella's Tree[5] [6]
Rachel BermanBradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog[7]
Irene Luxbacher, The Imaginary Garden
Luc MelansonMy Great Big Mamma
Ningeokuluk TeeveeAlego

2010s

YearAuthorTitleRef.
2010Jon KlassenCats' Night Out[8] [9]
Kristin BridgemanUirapuru
Julie FlettOwls See Clearly at Night
Matt JamesI Know Here
Renata LiwskaThe Quiet Book
2011Cybèle YoungTen Birds[10]
Isabelle ArsenaultMigrant[11]
Kim LaFaveFishing with Gubby
Renata LiwskaRed Wagon
Frank VivaAlong a Long Road
2012Isabelle ArsenaultVirginia Wolf[12]
Renné BenoitBig City Bees
Jon KlassenHouse Held Up by Trees
David ParkinsIn the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up
Barbara ReidPicture a Tree
2013Matt JamesNorthwest Passage[13] [14] [15]
Rachel BermanMiss Mousie's Blind Date[16]
Gary ClementOy, Feh, So?
Jon KlassenThe Dark
Julie MorstadHow To
2014Jillian TamakiThis One Summer[17]
Marie-Louise GayAny Questions?[18]
Qin LengHana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
Renata LiwskaOnce Upon a Memory
Julie MorstadJulia, Child
2015JonArno Lawson, Sydney SmithSidewalk Flowers[19] [20] [21]
Andy Jones, Darka ErdeljiJack, the King of Ashes
Kyo Maclear, Marion ArbonaThe Good Little Book
John MartzA Cat Named Tim and Other Stories[22]
Melanie WattBug in a Vacuum
2016Jon-Erik Lappano, Kellen HatanakaTokyo Digs a Garden[23]
Jo Ellen Bogart, Sydney SmithThe White Cat and the Monk
Lucy Ruth CumminsA Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals
Mireille Messier, Pierre PrattThe Branch
Esmé ShapiroOoko
2017David Robertson, Julie FlettWhen We Were Alone[24]
Marie-Louise GayShort Stories for Little Monsters
Paul Harbridge, Matt JamesWhen the Moon Comes
Joanne Schwartz, Sydney SmithTown Is By the Sea
Jan ThornhillThe Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
2018Jillian TamakiThey Say Blue[25]
The Fan BrothersOcean Meets Sky
Shauntay Grant, Eva CampbellAfricville
Wab Kinew, Joe MorseGo Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
Werner ZimmermannAt the Pond
2019Sydney SmithSmall in the City[26]
Isabelle ArsenaultAlbert's Quiet Quest
Cary Fagan, Dena SeiferlingKing Mouse
Julie FlettBirdsong
Nicola Winstanley, John MartzHow to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps

2020s

YearAuthorTitleRef
2020The Fan BrothersThe Barnabus Project[27]
Naseem Hrab, Frank VivaWeekend Dad[28]
Jordan Scott, Sydney SmithI Talk Like a River
Jillian TamakiOur Little Kitchen
Rebecca Thomas, Maya McKibbinSwift Fox All Along
2021David A. Robertson, Julie FlettOn the Trapline[29]
Paul Harbridge, Josée BisaillonOut Into the Big Wide Lake[30]
Brittany Luby, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-SteckleyMii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know
Bahram Rahman, Gabrielle GrimardThe Library Bus
Todd StewartThe Wind and the Trees
2022Naseem Hrab, Nahid KazemiThe Sour Cherry Tree[31]
Matthew ForsytheMina[32]
Doris George, Don K. Philpot, Alyssa Koskikā-āciwīkicik / The Move
Kyo Maclear, Gracey ZhangThe Big Bath House
Julie MorstadTime Is a Flower
2023Jack WongWhen You Can Swim[33]
Monica ArnaldoMr. S[34]
Jon KlassenThe Skull
Buffy Sainte-Marie, Julie FlettStill This Love Goes On
Nancy VoBoobies

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Amelia_Frances_Howard_Gibbon_Illustrator_s_Award&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2505 "Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award"
  2. Web site: Godfrey . Laura . May 5, 2016 . Canadian Children's Book Week to Host 400+ Events from Coast to Coast . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  3. Web site: November 17, 2005 . Awards, Part 2: The Governor General's . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  4. Web site: Godfrey . Laura . June 16, 2015 . Simply Read Books Faces Complaints of Late Payments, Breached Contracts . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  5. Web site: November 18, 2009 . Awards: Man Asian Literary Prize; Governor General's Awards . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness .
  6. Web site: November 9, 2009 . A Roster of Canadian Houses . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  7. Web site: 2014-06-05 . Obituary Note: Rachel Berman . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  8. Web site: November 18, 2010 . In Brief: November 18 . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  9. Web site: Corbett . Sue . February 20, 2012 . Can Jon Klassen Top 'Hat'? . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  10. Web site: March 11, 2014 . News from the North: March 2014 . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  11. Web site: May 26, 2017 . Colette's Lost Pet . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  12. Web site: 2012-11-14 . Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award Winners Named . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  13. Web site: November 15, 2013 . Awards: Governor General's Literary; Goldsmiths . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  14. https://vancouversun.com/news/Governor+General+Literary+Award+finalists+announced+updated/8987740/story.html "Governor General Literary Award finalists announced"
  15. Web site: Williams . Leigh Anne . November 21, 2013 . Groundwood Books: Celebrating 35 Years . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  16. "Post cartoonist Clement finalist for Canadian literary award". National Post, October 3, 2013.
  17. News: Medley . Mark . 2014-11-18 . Thomas King wins Governor-General’s Award for fiction . en-CA . The Globe and Mail . 2022-10-13.
  18. Mark Medley, "Governor-General Literary Awards finalists unveiled". The Globe and Mail, October 7, 2014.
  19. Web site: October 29, 2015 . Awards: Governor General's Literary . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  20. Web site: November 26, 2019 . Small in the City . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness .
  21. Web site: Eccleshare . Julia . June 17, 2018 . Geraldine McCaughrean, Sydney Smith Win 2018 Carnegie, Greenaway Medals . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  22. Web site: Nawotka . Ed . September 14, 2018 . Canadian Publishing 2018: Talking Tundra with Tara Walker . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  23. Web site: Godfrey . Laura . October 27, 2016 . News from the North: October 2016 . 2022-10-13 . . en.
  24. Web site: September 8, 2020 . David A. Robertson: Translating Knowledge from One Worldview to Another . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  25. Web site: October 31, 2018 . Awards: Governor General's Literary Winners . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  26. Web site: October 30, 2019 . Awards: Governor General's Literary; Warwick Women in Translation . 2022-10-13 . Shelf Awareness.
  27. https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/michelle-good-says-celebrating-fiction-win-feels-petty-and-selfish-after-residential-school-discovery-1.5450932 "Michelle Good says celebrating fiction win feels 'petty and selfish' after residential school discovery"
  28. https://www.cbc.ca/books/francesca-ekwuyasi-billy-ray-belcourt-anne-carson-among-2020-governor-general-s-literary-awards-finalists-1.6004149 "Francesca Ekwuyasi, Billy-Ray Belcourt & Anne Carson among 2020 Governor General's Literary Awards finalists"
  29. https://www.coastreporter.net/the-mix/inuk-author-norma-dunning-wins-25k-governor-generals-fiction-prize-4766110 "Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize"
  30. https://www.cbc.ca/books/ivan-coyote-david-a-robertson-julie-flett-among-finalists-for-25k-governor-general-s-literary-awards-1.6209298 "Ivan Coyote, David A. Robertson & Julie Flett among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards"
  31. Deborah Dundas, "Sheila Heti, Eli Baxter win 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards for fiction and non-fiction". Toronto Star, November 16, 2022.
  32. https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-finalists-for-the-2022-governor-general-s-literary-award-for-young-people-s-literature-illustrated-books-1.6612919 "The finalists for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — illustrated books"
  33. https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/anuja-varghese-wins-governor-generals-literary-award-for-fiction/article_1bb0f610-14e9-5ee7-9f19-68bcbfe555f8.html "Anuja Varghese wins Governor General's literary award for fiction"
  34. https://www.cbc.ca/books/suzette-mayr-iain-reid-among-finalists-for-25k-governor-general-s-literary-awards-1.7007194 "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards"