The Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian illustrator for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the

Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by th ...

, one each for writers and illustrators of English- and French-language books. The Governor General's Awards program is administered by the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

. In name, this award is part of the Governor General's Award program only from 1987 but the four children's literature awards were established in 1975 under a Canada Council name. In the event, the "Canada Council" and "Governor General's" awards have recognized illustration in an English-language children's book every year from 1978.

Canada Council Children's Literature Prize

In 1975 the Canada Council established four annual prizes of $5000 for the year's best English- and French-language children's books by Canadian writers and illustrators. Those "Canada Council Children's Literature Prizes" were continued under the "Governor General's Awards" rubric from 1987, and continue today. Among them the English-language illustration prize was awarded every year from 1978. * 1978:

Ann Blades Ann Blades (born November 16, 1947) is a Canadian illustrator, writer and educator. She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned a teaching certificate from the University of British Columbia in 1970. In 1974, she graduated in nursing ...

, ''A Salmon for Simon'', written by Betty Waterton * 1979: László Gál, ''

The Twelve Dancing Princesses "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (or "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes" or "The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces") (german: Die zertanzten Schuhe) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1815 ( ...

'', retold by Janet Lunn * 1980: Elizabeth Cleaver, ''Petrouchka: adapted from Igor Stravinsky and Alexandre Benois'',

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. Italian puppeteers introduced it in the first third of the 19th century. While most core characters came from Italy ...

retold by Cleaver * 1981: Heather Woodall, ''Ytek and the Arctic Orchid: an Inuit legend'', by Garnet Hewitt * 1982: Vlasta van Kampen, ''ABC/123: The Canadian Alphabet and Counting Book'' * 1983: László Gál, ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

'', retold by Margaret Crawford Maloney * 1984:

Marie-Louise Gay Marie-Louise Gay (born June 17, 1952) is a Canadian children's writer and illustrator. She has received numerous awards for her written and illustrated works in both French and English, including the 2005 Vicky Metcalf Award, multiple Governor ...

, ''Lizzy's Lion'', by Dennis Lee * 1985: Terry Gallagher, ''Murdo's Story'', by Murdo Scribe * 1986:

Barbara Reid Barbara Reid (born November 16, 1957) is a Canadian illustrator and author of children's books. She has been called "one of Canada's major literary figures". She was born in Toronto, Ontario and studied at the Ontario College of Art. She began her ...

, ''Have You Seen Birds?'', by Joanne Oppenheim Three of these winning English-language illustrators also won the annual

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

award for children's book illustration, recognizing the same books. Their CLA

Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award was presented annually by the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques (CLA) to an outstanding illustrator of a new Canadian children's book. The book must be "suita ...

s are dated one year later: Blades 1979, Gál 1980, and Woodall 1982. The Howard-Gibbon award was inaugurated in 1971 for 1970 publications."Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award"
inners ''Book Awards''. Canadian Library Association (cla.org). Retrieved 2015-08-06. Six illustrators listed below, winners of the English-language illustration award under the "Governor General's" name, also won the CLA award for the same book: Gay 1988, LaFave 1989, Morin 1991, Lightburn 1992, Reid 1998, and Denton 1999.

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

{{Governor General's Literary Awards Picture book awards * Awards established in 1987 1987 establishments in Canada Children English English-language literary awards