Toronto, May 15, 2015 – The 2015 winners for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were announced today at Alexander Muir / Gladstone Avenue Junior and Senior Public School. The winners were selected by two juries of young readers from the school – a jury of grade 3 and 4 students selected the recipient of the Children’s Picture Book Award, and a jury of grade 7 and 8 students selected the recipient of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award.
Each student read the books individually and then worked together with their group to reach consensus and decide on a winner. This process makes it a unique literary award in Canada.
WINNER OF THE CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK AWARD | ||
| The Magician of Auschwitz
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 | Kathy Kacer is the author of The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser and seven other books in Second Story Press’s Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers, as well as an adult non-fiction book, Restitution. She is a first-time winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards. “I’m so grateful to the wonderful student readers for choosing this book,” said author Kathy Kacer. “It is so important to keep stories about the Holocaust alive for future generations. You young people are all helping do just that.”
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ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
 | Gillian Newland has illustrated a variety of publications, from magazine editorial to children’s books. She is a first-time winner of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards. “I’m very honoured to receive this award alongside Kathy,” said illustrator Gillian Newland. “As an artist, it was both challenging and rewarding to illustrate a story that is so sensitive and kind yet takes place in such a dark setting. I’m so happy to hear that the students both liked and felt inspired by the book.” |
QUOTES
“This amazing true life story reminds us of power of hope and the power of magic,” said student jurors in grades 3 and 4. “Werner was a boy just like us. The dark paintings matched the story.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 | Kenneth Oppel is the author of the Airborn series and the Silverwing saga, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. He has previously received the Schwartz Children’s Book Award for his books Half-Brother (2011), Darkwing (2008), Skybreaker (2006), Airborn (2005) and Sunwing (2000). |
“Receiving this award is especially gratifying because the winner is chosen by a jury of young readers – the very audience I’m writing for,” said author Kenneth Oppel. “Their approval is an amazing gift.”
QUOTES
“The Boundless was action-packed. Suspenseful. Intense,” said student jurors in grades 7 and 8. One juror remarked that they “liked the way Will met so many different people and had so many adventures.” As another juror noted, “I didn’t want to put the book down.”
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ABOUT THE AWARDS
The two awards, of $6,000 each, are presented annually to recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian children’s literature.
This year’s selection committee comprised Mandy Brouse (Co-Owner, Words Worth Books, Waterloo), Brianne Peters (Librarian, Children’s Services, Kingston Frontenac Public Library) and Rachel Seigel (Sales & Selection Strategist, Edu Reference, Toronto).
LEARN MORE
The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were established in 1976 by Sylvia Schwartz in memory of her sister, Ruth Schwartz, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family renamed the awards to honour both sisters.
The Ontario Arts Foundation administers the awards with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, which manages the nomination and jury process. These awards are funded through the Ruth Schwartz Foundation. See the list of previous laureates.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES
Shoshana Wasser, Communications Coordinator, Ontario Arts Council
416-969-7434/1-800-387-0058, ext. 7434 | swasser@arts.on.ca
ONTARIO ARTS FOUNDATION INQUIRIES
Alan Walker, Executive Director
416-969-7413 | awalker@arts.on.ca
The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2014-2015, the OAF paid over $2.8 million in endowment income and $275,000 in awards and scholarships.
For more than 50 years,the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2013-2014, the OAC funded 1,737 individual artists and 1,095 organizations in 223 communities across Ontario for a total of $52.1 million.
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