Toronto, May 15, 2025 – Today, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) and the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) released the shortlists for the 2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards. The Schwartz Awards are the only Canadian literary award where student jurors work together to choose the winning books.
Student juries from Birch Cliff Heights Public School in Scarborough, Ont., will debate the shortlisted books and come to a consensus on the 2025 winners. The winning books will be announced at an event in June.
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK AWARD CATEGORY | |
| Fighting Words by Leonarda Carranza (Brampton, Ont.) illustrations by Erika Medina (Vancouver, B.C.) Annick Press |
| I Want to Read All the Books by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Toronto, Ont.) Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
| The Little Regent by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade (Calgary, Alta.) illustrations by Ken Daley (Kitchener, Ont.) Owlkids Books |
| Métis Like Me by Tasha Hilderman (Lloydminster, Alta.) illustrations by Risa Hugo (Salmon Arm, B.C.) Tundra Books |
 | One Giant Leap by Thao Lam (Toronto, Ont.) Owlkids Books |
YOUNG ADULT / MIDDLE READER AWARD CATEGORY | |
| Fledgling: The Keeper’s Records of Revolution |
| Is There a Boy Like Me? by Kern Carter (Mississauga, Ont.) Scholastic Canada Ltd. |
| The New Girl: A Graphic Novel |
| The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett (Edmonton, Alta.) HarperCollins |
 | Today I Am: 10 Stories of Belonging edited by Jael Richardson (Brampton, Ont.) Scholastic Canada Ltd. |
ABOUT THE RUTH AND SYLVIA SCHWARTZ CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARDS
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 winners are selected by two juries of young readers, this year comprising students at Birch Cliff Heights Public School. Five students in grade 4 will select the recipient of the Children’s Picture Book Award. Five students in grade 8 will select the recipient of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award.
LEARN MORE
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. OAF administers the awards with the support of OAC, which manages the nomination and jury process.
The nomination committee that chose this year’s shortlist consisted of Becky Dixon (librarian at the Niagara Falls Public Library), Rabia Khokar (teacher and equity and education consultant) and Christie Vella (teacher-librarian at John English Public School).
See the full details on the award and the complete list of past laureates.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
Shoshana Wasser, Associate Director of Public Affairs and Communications, OAC
swasser@arts.on.ca
ONTARIO ARTS FOUNDATION INQUIRIES
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director, OAF
bbennett@oafdn.ca
The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2023-2024, the OAF paid $4.6 million in endowment income and $500,000 in awards and scholarships.
For more than 60 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. The OAC reached 27.4 million people through events and arts education activities across the province in 2021-22. In 2023-24, OAC invested its grant program budget of $53.3 million in 219 communities across all 124 Ontario ridings, providing 2,149 grants to individual artists and 1,043 grants to organizations
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