Parvana's Journey, The Night Walker win children's literature award

ArtsCanada

TORONTO - Parvana's Journey , about a 12-year-old girl who sets off to search for her missing family in Taliban-era Afghanistan, has won the national Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award.

A jury of five Grade 6 students chose Deborah Ellis's sequel to The Breadwinner as the best young adult/middle reader book, saying that it "shows compassion" and "made us think we should be happy with what we have."

The Night Walker , about a boy who believes he is being followed by a sharp-clawed creature, was chosen the best picture book by five Grade 4 students.

Written by Richard Thompson and illustrated by Martin Springett, the book was described as "partly a mystery and partly funny."

One student described the pictures "as though the illustrator had read the author's mind." Ellis received $4,000 and Thompson and Springett each received $3,000.

Sylvia Schwartz established the award in 1976 in honour of her sister, the late Ruth Schwartz, a respected Toronto bookseller.

Each year, the Ontario Arts Council selects an Ontario school to provide the juries for the prizes.

This national award recognizes authors and illustrators from across Canada "who demonstrate artistic excellence in children's literature."

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