This is a picture I shamelessly stole from my publisher (DCB). I am not congratulating myself.
But yes! I won! I am over the moon about this. It’s a wonderful award, and one of the things that makes it so special is that the jury are students. Knowing that my book was enjoyed by the people I wrote it for means so much to me.
This year, the students were from Brock Public School, in Toronto. I went there, met them and talked to the school, which was a wonderful experience. It’s fantastic to see kids so engaged with reading.
Here’s a quote from the news release:
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.”
The winners of the Children’s Picture Book Category were Jennifer Maruno and Miki Sato for the wonderful Chidori. Super well deserved for such a beautiful book .