The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has announced the shortlists for their 2021 awards. This is the first year for the Jean Little First-Novel Award. Here are the shortlisted titles in each of the English-language categories:

TD CANADIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AWARD

The Barnabus Project by the Fan Brothers

The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson

A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye by Melanie Mosher

Bloom by Kenneth Oppel

When Emily Was Small by Lauren Soloy

MARILYN BAILLIE PICTURE BOOK AWARD

The Barnabus Project by the Fan Brothers

Golden Threads by Suzanne Del Rizzo, illustrated by Miki Sato

Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki

Swift Fox All Along by Rebecca Thomas, illustrated by Maya McKibbin

Weekend Dad by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Frank Viva

NORMA FLECK AWARD FOR CANADIAN CHILDREN’S NONFICTION

111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl by Rina Singh, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer

Crows: Genius Birds (Science Comics) by Kyla Vanderklugt

The Eagle Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson), illustrated by Natasha Donovan

Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science Is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Drew Shannon

GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Barry Squires, Full Tilt by Heather Smith

The Brushmaker’s Daughter by Kathy Kacer

Journal of a Travelling Girl by Nadine Neema, illustrated by Archie Beaverho

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor

Under Amelia’s Wing by Heather Stemp

AMY MATHERS TEEN BOOK AWARD

Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

Facing the Sun by Janice Lynn Mather

Followers by Raziel Reid

He Must Like You by Danielle Young-Ullman

The Silence of Bones by June Hur

JEAN LITTLE FIRST-NOVEL AWARD

Journal of a Travelling Girl by Nadine Neema, illustrated by Archie Beaverho

My Name Is Konisola by Alisa Siegel

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen

The longlist for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature has been announced. Five finalists will be selected from this list and announced on October 5th with the winner announced on November 17th. Here are the ten longlisted titles:

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

Home Is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

The Children’s Book Council of Australia have announced the winners of their annual book awards. The awards are given in a variety of age categories and offer a winner as well as honor books in each category. Here are the winning books:

OLDER READERS

WINNER

The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell

HONOR BOOKS

Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore

Where We Begin by Christie Nieman

YOUNGER READERS

WINNER

Aster’s Good, Right Things by Kate Gordon

HONOR BOOKS

The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst by Jaclyn Moriarty, illustrated by Kelly Canby

Worse Things by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Sarah Davis

EARLY CHILDHOOD

WINNER

No! Never! by Libby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman, illustrated by Mel Pearce

HONOR BOOKS

Anemone Is Not the Enemy by Anna McGregor

We Love You, Magoo by Briony Stewart

PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR

WINNER

How to Make a Bird illustrated by Matt Ottley, written by Meg McKinlay

HONOR BOOKS

Not Cute by Philip Bunting

Your Birthday Was the Best! illustrated by Felicita Sala, written by Maggie Hutchings

THE EVE POWNALL AWARD (NONFICTION)

WINNER

Dry to Dry: The Seasons of Kakadu by Pamela Freeman, illustrated by Liz Anelli

HONOR BOOKS

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dangerous Animals by Sami Bayly

Strangers on Country by David Hartley & Kirsty Murray, illustrated by Dub Leffler

CBCA AWARD FOR NEW ILLUSTRATOR

This Small Blue Dot by Zeno Sworder

The winners of the 2021 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults have been announced. Here are the winners in each category:

MARGARET MAHY BOOK OF THE YEAR

Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea by T K Roxborough

PICTURE BOOK AWARD

Kōwhai and the Giants by Kate Parker

WRIGHT FAMILY FOUNDATION ESTHER GLEN AWARD FOR JUNIOR FICTION

Charlie Tangaroa and the Creature from the Sea by T K Roxborough

YOUNG ADULT FICTION AWARD

The Pōrangi Boy by Shilo Kino

ELSIE LOCKE AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook by Alexandra Tylee, illustrated by Giselle Clarkson

RUSSELL CLARK AWARD FOR ILLUSTRATION

Hare & Ruru: A Quiet Moment by Laura Shallcross

WRIGHT FAMILY FOUNDATION TE KURA POUNAMU AWARD FOR TE REO MAORI

Ngake me Whātaitai by Ben Ngaia, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers

BEST FIRST BOOK AWARD

Kōwhai and the Giants by Kate Parker

The winners of the 2021 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize have been announced. The UK award gives an overall winner and has winners and shortlists for illustrated books, younger readers and older readers. I didn’t cover the shortlists for the awards either, so those are below the prize winners here. I will also note what books are available in the U.S.

OVERALL WINNER

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll (released in U.S. in October 2021)

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK

The Grumpy Fairies by Bethan Stevens (Available in U.S., released April 2021)

BEST BOOK FOR OLDER READERS

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS SHORTLIST

Bear Shaped by Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden

The Blue Giant by Katie Cottle (Available in U.S.)

Found You by Devon Holzwarth

Freedom, We Sing by Amyra Leon Available in U.S.)

Where Happiness Begins by Eva Eland (Available in U.S.)

YOUNGER READERS’ SHORTLIST

A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons, illustrated by Chris Riddell

Llama Out Loud! by Annabelle Sami

Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie by Jenny Pearson (Available in U.S.)

When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten (Available in U.S.)

OLDER READERS’ SHORTLIST

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Available in U.S.)

Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassau (Available in U.S., released April 2021)

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales (Available in U.S.)

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Available in U.S.)

The winner and honor books of the 2021 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature have been announced. The award is given annually to ” the author of an outstanding children’s book addressing human rights issues or themes, such as discrimination, equity, poverty, justice, war, peace, slavery or freedom.” Here are the winning titles:

WINNER

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

HONOR BOOKS

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War by Maria Jose Ferrada, illustrated by Ana Penyas

Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker and April Harrison

Stand Up! Speak Up! by Andrew Joyner

The shortlists for the 2021 Environment Award for Children’s Literature have been announced. The Australian awards celebrate the best children’s nature books with the winners being announced in early September. Here are the 13 shortlisted titles:

NONFICTION

Hold On! Saving the Spotted Handfish by Gina Newton, illustrated by Rachel Tribout

Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charnged Wombats by Hazel Flynn

Tree Beings by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Sandra Severgnini

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting

PICTURE BOOKS

Bandits by Sha’an d’Anthes

Brother Moon by Maree McCarthy Yoelu, illustrated by Samantha Fry

The Giant and the Sea by Trent Jamieson, illustrated by Rovina Cai

Give Me Some Space! by Philip Bunting

Larry Leadbeater: Field Notes from a Fairy Possum by Jo Watson

FICTION

The Carbon-Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens by First Dog on the Moon

Edie’s Experiments 2: How to Be the Best by Charlotte Barkla, illustrated by Sandie Flett

The Power of Positive Pranking by Nat Amoore

Planet Weird by Anh Do, illustrated by Jules Faber

The winners of the 2021 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards have been announced. The awards cover three categories and offer honor books in each category as well. Here are the winners and the honor books for 2021:

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

FICTION AND POETRY AWARD WINNER

A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS

I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

FICTION AND POETRY HONOR BOOKS

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper