The 2026 winners of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were announced today during a school assembly at Brock Public School in Toronto, Ont. The winners were selected by two juries of young readers from the school – a jury of grade 4 students selected the recipient of the Children’s Picture Book Award, and a jury of grade 8 students selected the recipient of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award.
The student jurors were chosen for their love of reading, their willingness to work in a consensus-building environment, and to reflect the school community. Each student read the shortlisted books individually, then worked with their group to collectively decide on a winner. This process makes it a unique literary award in Canada.
Winner of the Children's Picture Book Award Category
Chidori: A Story of One Thousand Birds
by Jennifer Maruno (Burlington, Ont.)
Illustrations by Miki Sato (Toronto, Ont.)
Pajama Press
About the Book
Hana’s school sits on the side of a hill with a view of the ocean. One day, while in class, a tsunami drags the ocean across her village. Hana watches in horror as the dark water crashes into trees and tosses cars and boats around. When she is finally reunited with her family, she learns that the wave has taken more than she could have ever imagined. To cope with her grief, Hana begins to paint chidori (a thousand birds). Jennifer Maruno writes with compassion and heart, bringing life to this story inspired by true events. Miki Sato’s collage art, which combines paper, textiles, and watercolor, creates a three-dimensional world that is rich in emotion, detail, and texture.
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The student assessors selected Chidori: A Story of One Thousand Birds as this year’s winner. The student jury said, “We really connected to this story. It is sad and thoughtful, and told in a way that makes it easy to imagine what happened to Hana's family. We especially loved how she painted her mother's rock as a special way to remember ‘their spot’ and a thousand birds to soar through the air. The collage art is so original and matched the story perfectly. The textures created a feeling and made us want to touch the pictures.”
About the Author
Jennifer Maruno is the author of eight novels and seven picture books. While You Sleep (Pajama Press) was selected for the 2023 Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year. Momma’s Going to March (Groundwood Books) won the 2025 Horace Mann Upstander Award. She is a moderator for the Burlington Authors Mafia and mentor to Dawson College’s Illustration program. Jennifer lives in Burlington, Ontario, with her husband and her collection of David Austin Roses.
(Photo courtesy of Pajama Press)
Quote from Jennifer
“This award is the highlight of my writing career. When someone picks up a book of your words and falls into your story, it is the greatest reward of all. When your book is chosen by young readers, it inspires you to write even more. To paraphrase the great author Roger Duvoisin, ‘They who own books and love them are wise.’ Thank you for loving my book.”
About the Illustrator
Miki Sato is a mixed-media illustrator who works with different papers, fabrics, and surfaces to create three-dimensional illustrations. She enjoys working and experimenting with new textures and spends her days cutting and gluing tiny pieces of her illustrations together. Originally from Ottawa, she currently resides in Toronto.
(Photo courtesy of Pajama Press)
Quote from Miki
“Being an illustrator can often be a solitary experience, where we face our desks and spend months illustrating in our own little worlds, but this award is a wonderful reminder of who I am creating for. Knowing that the final jury is composed of young readers makes this honour incredibly special.”
Winner of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award Category
We Bury Nothing
by Kate Blair (Toronto, Ont.)
DCB Young Readers / Cormorant Books
About the Book
In 1943, German soldier Erich Stein is captured by the Allies and imprisoned at Camp 43 in Canada, where he begins to question everything he once believed about what it means to be “a good German.”
In present day, Keira Martin lands a summer internship at the museum built atop Camp 43 to work on a historical true crime research project: solving the murder of Erich Stein in 1945. But when a fellow intern drowns under suspicious circumstances, Keira unveils a potential connection between the two deaths involving the Hoppers, a politically powerful family on the museum board pushing anti-2SLGBTQ+ policies. The Hopper Scholarship is Keira’s only hope to afford her dream university, but the more secrets she digs up from the past, the less certain she is about her own future …
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The assessors were very enthusiastic in their support for We Bury Nothing. They said “We loved uncovering the mysteries in both time periods. It was surprising to learn about German prisoners of war's lives in Canada. It gave us a better understanding of different perspectives and the negative power of propaganda. The moral and ethical problems that Erich and Keira grapple with made them feel really human. This book was impossible to put down.”
About the Author
Kate Blair has always loved books and searched fiercely for Narnia in all wardrobes as a child. She is a British-Canadian author living in Toronto, a former museum curator, clown and theme park ride operator, with five novels for teens and children published with DCB: We Bury Nothing, The Magpie’s Library, A Mist of Memories, Tangled Planet and Transferral.
(Photo: Juliette Capdevielle)
Quote from Kate
“I am deeply honoured that We Bury Nothing was chosen as the Young Adult/Middle Reader laureate for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards. I am utterly thrilled that the student jury enjoyed the book and am so grateful for their work, and the work of the selection panel in judging between the wonderful stories nominated.”
About the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards
- The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were established in 1976 by Sylvia Schwartz in memory of her sister, Ruth, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family renamed the awards to honour both sisters.
- Two awards of $6,000 each are presented annually to recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian children’s literature.
- The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) administers the awards with the support of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), which manages the nomination and jury process.
- See the full details on the award and the complete list of past laureates.
Ontario Arts Foundation Inquiries
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director, OAF
bbennett@oafdn.ca