2010 Winners Announced - Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards

BRAMPTON, ON, May 26 /CNW/ - Students at Brampton's Huttonville Public School today announced the winners of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards:

    
                        CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK AWARD
                        -----------------------------
             Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion by Jane Barclay
                             (Pointe-Claire, QC)
                Illustrations by Renné Benoit (St.Thomas, ON)
                          Published by Tundra Books

                       YOUNG ADULT/MIDDLE READER AWARD
                       -------------------------------
           Vanishing Girl: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Third Case
                       by Shane Peacock (Baltimore, ON)
                          Published by Tundra Books

    FACTS
    -----

    -   Jane Barclay, Renné Benoit and Shane Peacock are all first time
        winners of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards.
    -   The awards, of $6,000 each, recognize artistic excellence in writing
        and illustration in Canadian children's literature. Barclay and
        Benoit share the children's picture book award and will each receive
        $3,000.
    -   The winners were selected by two juries of young readers at
        Huttonville Public School. Students in grades 3 and 4 chose the
        winning author and illustrator of the children's picture book award.
        The recipient of the young adult/middle reader award was chosen by
        students in grades 7 and 8.
    -   The announcement took place at Huttonville Public School in Brampton,
        at 2322 Embleton Road, at 1 p.m. on May 26, 2010.
    -   Jane Barclay, Renné Benoit and Shane Peacock were on hand to accept
        the awards from students at Huttonville Public School.

    QUOTES
    ------
    

Student jurors' praise for author Jane Barclay's and illustrator Renné Benoit's Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion:

    
    -   "... It taught us about Remembrance Day."
    -   "I really liked the pictures with the animals behind the characters."
    

Student jurors in grades 7 and 8 said the following about Shane Peacock's Vanishing Girl: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Third Case:

    
    -   "...Mr. Peacock's use of language...really brought you into the time
        period."
    -   "...It was a like a puzzle that we had to keep reading to solve."

    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, their family renamed the
        awards to honour both sisters.

    -   The administration of these awards is shared by the Ontario Arts
        Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council, which manages the jury process
        and the Ruth Schwartz Foundation which funds the awards. Candidates
        are nominated by the Canadian Booksellers Association and members of
        the Awards Committee. The Awards Committee also selects the short
        list for the student juries.
    

The Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) offers donors effective and creative opportunities for charitable giving - helping to build a foundation for the arts in Ontario. OAF works with donors to build lasting endowments in support of the arts - a gift for this generation and the next.

The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is the province of Ontario's primary funding body for professional arts activity. Since 1963, the OAC has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts and artists for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians.

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For further information: MEDIA INQUIRIES, Geneviève Vallerand, Communications Coordinator, Ontario Arts Council, [phone], 1-800-387-0058, ext. 7434, [email protected]; ONTARIO ARTS FOUNDATION INQUIRIES, Janet Stubbs, Executive Director, [phone], [email protected]