The Fan Brothers win $50K TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for picture book The Barnabus Project

The Fan Brothers havewon the TDCanadian Children's Literature for The Barnabus Project. The $50,000 prize recognizes themost distinguished Canadian children's book of the year, and is the biggest prize for children's books in the country.

The Barnabus Project is a story about following your dreams and finding where you truly belong. Barnabus and his friends live deep underground, in a secret lab for "Failed Projects," because of their imperfections. He dreams of one day seeing the world above ground. Barnabus sets out to find freedom and a place where he and his friends can finally be accepted for who they are.

The book also won the 2020 Governor General's Literary Prize for young people's literature illustrated books.

"With illustrations that are detailed, precise and perfect, this exquisite collaboration uses simple, spare and understated text to tell a poignant and powerful story about self-acceptance and accepting one's flaws and differences," the jury said in a statement.

"This is an instant classic that is sure to delight readers of all ages for many years to come."

Eric Fan and Terry Fan are frequent collaborators on children's books, including The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky. They also illustrated The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield.

• The Fan brothers: Books we'd love to illustrate

Devin Fan is an artist, poet and youth worker. The Barnabus Project is his first children's book and marks the first time the three brothers have written and illustrated a picture book together.

• Devin Fan from The Fan Brothers explores love, nature and not looking back in this original poem

The Canadian Children's Book Centre Book Awards honour outstanding literary work for young readers. Theyrepresent the biggest prizes in Canadian children's literature.A total of $107,500 in prize money was awarded in six categories, celebrating books for readers up to age 12.

Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki won the $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award.

In Our Little Kitchen, a crew of resourceful neighbours come together to prepare a meal for their community. The picture bookdocuments an evening of full bellies in a community kitchen a celebration of people looking out for one another.

"The uplifting energy of this perfectly balanced narrative celebrates something nearly ineffable: the brightly glowing satisfaction of working together to give to others," said the jury in a statement.

Tamaki is a two-time Governor General Literary Award-winning illustrator for her picture book They Say Blue and her work in This One Summer, written by her cousin and graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki. They also collaborated on Skim. Her other books include the comics SuperMutant Magic Academy and Boundless.

She created a comic strip called This Face for the special CBC Books series Borders.

LISTEN | Jillian Tamaki discusses Our Little Kitchen:

The Next Chapter3:28Jillian Tamaki on Our Little Kitchen

Jillian Tamaki tells the story of volunteers in a community kitchen in the picture book Our Little Kitchen.

Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane won the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's NonFiction for Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance.

Powwow is a celebration of Indigenous song and dance. The book chronicles the history of powwow culture in North America. As a lifelong competitive powwow dancer, Pheasant-Neganigwane introduces readers to the protocols, regalia, songs, dances and food at powwows, as well as the important role they play in Indigenous culture and reconciliation.

"This timely and relevant book shares an important cultural celebration without overlooking the sad historical truths tied into the subject," the jury said in a statement.

Pheasant-Neganigwane is an Anishinaabe scholar, artist and writer from Wiikwemkoong on Manitoulin Island, Ont. She is currently working on her doctorate on Indigenous pedagogy.

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor won the $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.

A blend of historical fiction and modernnarrative, The Paper Girl of Paris tells the story of two 16-year-old girls from different times.Alice from the present dayis spendinghersummerin an abandonedapartment left by her grandmother, while discoveringfamily secrets. Back in time,Adalyn lives in aParis occupied byNazis and finally getsa chance to fight back.

"Taylor's smooth shifts from the present to the past and back again make for an evocative narrative that drives home the point that we all should remember where we come from," said the jury in a statement.

Taylor is an author anddeputy editorat Men's Health magazine. She also wrote the YA novelDon't Breathe a Word.

Facing the Sun by Janice Lynn Mather won the $5,000 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award.

Set in a small Bahamian town,Facing the Sun is astory about four friends Eve, Faith, KeeKee and Niawho experience unexpected changes in their lives during the summer when a hotel developer purchases their community's beloved beach.

"Janice Lynn Mather doesa fantastic job weaving four perspectives that offer a look into the lives of Black girls [examining] the ways in which Black girls are often expected to bear the weight of responsibility in their homes while also interrogating Blackness set outside of Canada," said the juryin a statement.

Mather was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas, and is now based in Vancouver. She holds aBFA andMFAfrom the University of BritishColumbia. She published her debut novelLearning to Breathein 2018.

LISTEN | Janice Lynn Mather discussesFacing the Sun:

The Next Chapter8:52Janice Lynn Mather on Facing the Sun

Janice Lynn Mather's YA novel Facing the Sun is a coming-of-age story set in the Bahamas. It's about four young girls Eve, Faith, KeeKee and Nia and the choices they are forced to make one fateful summer. When a hotel developer makes a move to buy the community's beloved beach, all four teens are faced with decisions that might change them forever.

No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen won the inaugural $5,000Jean Little First-Novel Award.

No Vacancyis about an 11-year-old Jewish girl namedMiriam, who creates a provocative local tourist attraction to save her family's failing motel. When it becomes clear that only a miracle is going to save the Jewel from bankruptcy,Miriam and her Catholic friend Kate decide to create their own.

"Cohen offers a gentle exploration of belief, faith and various modes of religiosity, along with an entertaining portrait of motel ownership in a tiny, rural town," the jury said in a statement.

Cohen was born and raised in New York and is now based in Canada.

"Amidst these uncertain and difficult times, these titles all remind us of two things that can heal and help us move forward: stories and one another," said Rose Vespa, the executive director of the Canadian Children's Book Centre, in a statement.

Founded in 1976, the Canadian Children's Book Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting Canadian books for young readers.

Last year's winners include Julie Flett, who took home the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for her picture book Birdsong.