Cassandra Calin, Yewande Daniel-Ayoade and Ken Daley win 2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards
Cassandra Calin, Yewande Daniel-Ayoade and Ken Daley and are this year's winners of the 2025 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards.
Annually, the awards have recognized excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian children's literature. They consist of the Children's Picture Book Award category and the Young Adult/Middle Reader Award category. The winners in both categories will each receive $6,000 and were determined by two juries of young readers from Birch Cliff Heights Public School in Toronto.
Calin won the Young Adult/Middle Reader Award for The New Girl. The graphic novel follows a young girl named Lia as she navigates her family's move from Romania to Montreal.
Drawing from Calin's own experiences immigrating to Canada when she was 10, The New Girl explores these big changes in Lia's life — including what's happening to her own body — and how she begins to feel like herself again.
"This story is realistic and relatable, with really great lessons about making and keeping friends in a new country and culture," said the student jury in a press statement. "Lia's struggles with self-doubt make her character and the story come to life. At the same time, the illustration style is adorable, bubbly and makes you feel positive!"
Calgary writer Yewande Daniel-Ayoade and Ontario illustrator Ken Daley won in the Children's Picture Book Award category for The Little Regent. The picture book draws on Yoruba traditions and culture to tell the story of a eight-year-old West African girl named Abioye who is made the temporary ruler, or regent, when the king dies.
"Abioye is an excellent role model for kids and adults — she made her kingdom WAY happier," said the student jurors who selected this book for the award. "Being a ruler is not an everyday thing, but helping others in the community is." They also noted that the illustrations are beautiful, "especially the clothes showing pretty, traditional West African fabric and colours. That was a really good way to show the culture."
Daniel-Ayoade is a Nigerian-Canadian author and management consultant. Her children's love for princesses inspired her to write this book.
Daley is an illustrator from Cambridge, Ont. His previous books include Joseph's Big Ride, Auntie Luce's Talking Paintings and Jayden's Impossible Garden.
Sylvia Schwartz established the Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Awards in 1976 in memory of her sister, Ruth, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family renamed the awards to honour both sisters.
Last year's winners were Kevin Sand's young adult fantasy The Raven's Revenge and the picture book Nutshimit: In the Woods by Mollen Dupuis and illustrator Elise Gravel.
Past winners also include Kenneth Oppel, Susin Nielsen and Kathy Kacer.
