Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration facts for kids
The Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration is a special Canadian award given each year. It celebrates the best Canadian artist who illustrates children's books written in English. This award is one of four prizes for children's books that are part of the larger Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit. These awards honor both writers and illustrators of books in English and French. The whole program is managed by the Canada Council, which is a group that supports arts in Canada.
Even though it's called the "Governor General's Award" since 1987, the awards for children's literature actually started earlier, in 1975, under the Canada Council's name. So, Canadian artists illustrating English children's books have been recognized every year since 1978!
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Early Awards: Canada Council Children's Literature Prize
In 1975, the Canada Council created four yearly awards, each worth $5,000. These were for the best English and French children's books by Canadian writers and illustrators. These "Canada Council Children's Literature Prizes" continued under the "Governor General's Awards" program from 1987 onwards. The award for English-language illustration has been given out every year since 1978.
Here are the winners from the early years:
- 1978: Ann Blades, for A Salmon for Simon, written by Betty Waterton
- 1979: László Gál, for The Twelve Dancing Princesses, retold by Janet Lunn
- 1980: Elizabeth Cleaver, for Petrouchka: adapted from Igor Stravinsky and Alexandre Benois, retold by Cleaver
- 1981: Heather Woodall, for Ytek and the Arctic Orchid: an Inuit legend, by Garnet Hewitt
- 1982: Vlasta van Kampen, for ABC/123: The Canadian Alphabet and Counting Book
- 1983: László Gál, for The Little Mermaid, retold by Margaret Crawford Maloney
- 1984: Marie-Louise Gay, for Lizzy's Lion, by Dennis Lee
- 1985: Terry Gallagher, for Murdo's Story, by Murdo Scribe
- 1986: Barbara Reid, for Have You Seen Birds?, by Joanne Oppenheim
Some of these illustrators also won another award, the Canadian Library Association's Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, for the same books.
Winners from the 1980s
Many talented illustrators have won this award. Here are the winners and finalists from the late 1980s:
| Year | Illustrator | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Marie-Louise Gay | Rainy Day Magic |
| John Bianchi | Exploring the Night Sky | |
| László Gál | The Enchanted Tapestry | |
| Shawn Steffler | Flights of Magic | |
| 1988 | Kim LaFave | Amos's Sweater |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Angel and the Polar Bear | |
| Jillian Hulme Gilliland | How the Devil Got His Cat | |
| Dayal Kaur Khalsa | Sleepers | |
| Jan Thornhill | The Wildlife ABC | |
| 1989 | Robin Muller | The Magic Paintbrush |
| Michèle Lemieux | A Gift from Saint Francis | |
| Jan Thornhill | The Wildlife 123 |
Winners from the 1990s
The 1990s brought more amazing illustrators into the spotlight.
| Year | Illustrator | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Paul Morin | The Orphan Boy |
| Warabé Aska | Seasons | |
| Frances Tyrrell | The Huron Carol | |
| 1991 | Joanne Fitzgerald | Doctor Kiss Says Yes |
| Kady MacDonald Denton | The Travelling Musicians | |
| Michèle Lemieux | Peter and the Wolf | |
| Gilles Pelletier | A Happy New Year's Day | |
| Jacquelinne White | Coyote Winter | |
| 1992 | Ron Lightburn | Waiting for the Whales |
| Eric Beddows | Zoom Upstream | |
| Suzanne Duranceau | Hickory, Dickory, Dock | |
| Maryann Kovalski | The Big Storm | |
| Mireille Levert | When Jeremiah Found Mrs. Ming | |
| 1993 | Mireille Levert | Sleep Tight, Mrs. Ming |
| Scott Cameron | Beethoven Lives Upstairs | |
| Marc Mongeau | There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen! | |
| Russ Willms | Brewster Rooster | |
| Leo Yerxa | Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall | |
| 1994 | Murray Kimber | Josepha: A Prairie Boy's Story |
| Marie Lafrance | La Diablesse and the Baby | |
| Michèle Lemieux | There Was An Old Man...: A Collection of Limericks | |
| Laurie McGaw | Polar, the Titanic Bear | |
| Martin Springett | Who | |
| 1995 | Ludmila Zeman | The Last Quest of Gilgamesh |
| Warabé Aska | Aska's Sea Creatures | |
| Geoff Butler | The Killick: A Newfoundland Story | |
| Gary Clement | Just Stay Put | |
| Frances Tyrrell | Woodland Christmas | |
| 1996 | Eric Beddows | The Rooster's Gift |
| Alan Daniel and Lea Daniel | Sody Salleratus | |
| Wang Kui | The Wise Washerman – A Folktale from Burma | |
| Johnny Wales | Gruntle Piggle Takes Off | |
| Werner Zimmermann | Whatever You Do, Don't Go Near That Canoe! | |
| 1997 | Barbara Reid | The Party |
| Blair Drawson | Flying Dimitri | |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Rumpelstiltskin | |
| Robin Muller | The Angel Tree | |
| Ludmila Zeman | The First Red Maple Leaf | |
| 1998 | Kady MacDonald Denton | A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes |
| Victor Bosson | The Fox's Kettle | |
| Harvey Chan | Music for the Tsar of the Sea | |
| Zhong-Yang Huang | The Great Race | |
| Stéphane Jorisch | The Village of a Hundred Smiles and Other Stories | |
| 1999 | Gary Clement | The Great Poochini |
| Rose Cowles | I Know an Old Laddie | |
| Zhong-Yang Huang | Dragon New Year | |
| Ludmila Zeman | Sindbad: from the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights | |
| Werner Zimmermann | Brave Highland Heart |
Winners from the 2000s
Here are the award winners and nominees from the 2000s, showcasing more fantastic Canadian talent.
| Year | Illustrator | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Marie-Louise Gay | Yuck, A Love Story |
| Nelly Hofer, Ernst Hofer | The Snow Queen | |
| Marthe Jocelyn | Hannah's Collections | |
| Regolo Ricci | The Market Wedding | |
| Cybèle Young | Pa's Harvest | |
| 2001 | Mireille Levert | An Island in the Soup |
| Harvey Chan | Wild Bog Tea | |
| Murray Kimber | The Wolf of Gubbio | |
| Kim LaFave | We'll All Go Sailing | |
| Cindy Revell | Mallory and the Power Boy | |
| 2002 | Wallace Edwards | Alphabeasts |
| Brian Deines | Dragonfly Kites/pimihákanisa | |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Stella, Fairy of the Forest | |
| Rogé | When Pigs Fly | |
| Janie Jaehyun Park | The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon | |
| 2003 | Allen Sapp | The Song Within My Heart |
| Nicolas Debon | Four Pictures by Emily Carr | |
| Rob Gonsalves | Imagine a Night | |
| Barbara Reid | The Subway Mouse | |
| Ludmila Zeman | Sindbad’s Secret: From the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights | |
| 2004 | Stéphane Jorisch | Jabberwocky |
| Nicolas Debon | Dawn Watch | |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Stella, Princess of the Sky | |
| Kim LaFave | A Very Unusual Dog | |
| Barbara Reid | Peg and the Yeti | |
| 2005 | Rob Gonsalves | Imagine a Day |
| Kyrsten Brooker | City Angel | |
| Wallace Edwards | Mixed Beasts | |
| Murray Kimber | The Highwayman | |
| Rajka Kupesic | Maria Chapdelaine | |
| 2006 | Leo Yerxa | Ancient Thunder |
| Eugenie Fernandes | Earth Magic | |
| Annouchka Gravel Galouchko, Stéphan Daigle | The Birdman | |
| Jon Morse | Casey at the Bat | |
| Maxwell Newhouse | Let's Go for a Ride | |
| 2007 | Duncan Weller | The Boy from the Sun |
| Wallace Edwards | The Painted Circus | |
| Joanne Fitzgerald | The Blue Hippopotamus | |
| Jirina Marton | Marja's Skis | |
| Dusan Petricic | My New Shirt | |
| 2008 | Stéphane Jorisch | The Owl and the Pussycat |
| Isabelle Arseneault | My Letter to the World and Other Poems | |
| Josée Bisaillon | The Emperor’s Second Hand Clothes | |
| Matt James | Yellow Moon, Apple Moon | |
| Kim LaFave | Shin-chi's Canoe | |
| 2009 | Jirina Marton | Bella's Tree |
| Rachel Berman | Bradley McGogg, the Very Fine Frog | |
| Irene Luxbacher | The Imaginary Garden | |
| Luc Melanson | My Great Big Mamma | |
| Ningeokuluk Teevee | Alego |
Winners from the 2010s
The awards continued to celebrate incredible artwork in children's books throughout the 2010s.
| Year | Illustrator | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jon Klassen | Cats' Night Out |
| Kristin Bridgeman | Uirapuru | |
| Julie Flett | Owls See Clearly at Night | |
| Matt James | I Know Here | |
| Renata Liwska | The Quiet Book | |
| 2011 | Cybèle Young | Ten Birds |
| Isabelle Arsenault | Migrant | |
| Kim LaFave | Fishing with Gubby | |
| Renata Liwska | Red Wagon | |
| Frank Viva | Along a Long Road | |
| 2012 | Isabelle Arsenault | Virginia Wolf |
| Renné Benoit | Big City Bees | |
| Jon Klassen | House Held Up by Trees | |
| David Parkins | In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up | |
| Barbara Reid | Picture a Tree | |
| 2013 | Matt James | Northwest Passage |
| Rachel Berman | Miss Mousie's Blind Date | |
| Gary Clement | Oy, Feh, So? | |
| Jon Klassen | The Dark | |
| Julie Morstad | How To | |
| 2014 | Jillian Tamaki | This One Summer |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Any Questions? | |
| Qin Leng | Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin | |
| Renata Liwska | Once Upon a Memory | |
| Julie Morstad | Julia, Child | |
| 2015 | JonArno Lawson, Sydney Smith | Sidewalk Flowers |
| Andy Jones, Darka Erdelji | Jack, the King of Ashes | |
| Kyo Maclear, Marion Arbona | The Good Little Book | |
| John Martz | A Cat Named Tim and Other Stories | |
| Melanie Watt | Bug in a Vacuum | |
| 2016 | Jon-Erik Lappano, Kellen Hatanaka | Tokyo Digs a Garden |
| Jo Ellen Bogart, Sydney Smith | The White Cat and the Monk | |
| Lucy Ruth Cummins | A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals | |
| Mireille Messier, Pierre Pratt | The Branch | |
| Esmé Shapiro | Ooko | |
| 2017 | David Robertson, Julie Flett | When We Were Alone |
| Marie-Louise Gay | Short Stories for Little Monsters | |
| Paul Harbridge, Matt James | When the Moon Comes | |
| Joanne Schwartz, Sydney Smith | Town Is By the Sea | |
| Jan Thornhill | The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk | |
| 2018 | Jillian Tamaki | They Say Blue |
| The Fan Brothers | Ocean Meets Sky | |
| Shauntay Grant, Eva Campbell | Africville | |
| Wab Kinew, Joe Morse | Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes | |
| Werner Zimmermann | At the Pond | |
| 2019 | Sydney Smith | Small in the City |
| Isabelle Arsenault | Albert's Quiet Quest | |
| Cary Fagan, Dena Seiferling | King Mouse | |
| Julie Flett | Birdsong | |
| Nicola Winstanley, John Martz | How to Give Your Cat a Bath in Five Easy Steps |
Winners from the 2020s
The awards continue to highlight the best in children's book illustration into the new decade.
| Year | Illustrator | Book Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Fan Brothers | The Barnabus Project |
| Naseem Hrab, Frank Viva | Weekend Dad | |
| Jordan Scott, Sydney Smith | I Talk Like a River | |
| Jillian Tamaki | Our Little Kitchen | |
| Rebecca Thomas, Maya McKibbin | Swift Fox All Along | |
| 2021 | David A. Robertson, Julie Flett | On the Trapline |
| Paul Harbridge, Josée Bisaillon | Out Into the Big Wide Lake | |
| Brittany Luby, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley | Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know | |
| Bahram Rahman, Gabrielle Grimard | The Library Bus | |
| Todd Stewart | The Wind and the Trees | |
| 2022 | Naseem Hrab, Nahid Kazemi | The Sour Cherry Tree |
| Matthew Forsythe | Mina | |
| Doris George, Don K. Philpot, Alyssa Koski | kā-āciwīkicik / The Move | |
| Kyo Maclear, Gracey Zhang | The Big Bath House | |
| Julie Morstad | Time Is a Flower | |
| 2023 | Jack Wong | When You Can Swim |
| Monica Arnaldo | Mr. S | |
| Jon Klassen | The Skull | |
| Buffy Sainte-Marie, Julie Flett | Still This Love Goes On | |
| Nancy Vo | Boobies | |
| 2024 | Jean E. Pendziwol, Todd Stewart | Skating Wild on an Inland Sea |
| Danielle Daniel, Matt James | I'm Afraid, Said the Leaf | |
| Adam de Souza | The Gulf | |
| Thao Lam | One Giant Leap | |
| Sydney Smith | Do You Remember? |
See also
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