Author receives $20,000 prize, one of the largest for children's
    literature in Canada

    TORONTO, Nov. 6 /CNW/ - The Canadian Children's Book Centre and TD Bank
Financial Group announced this evening that author Christopher Paul Curtis
received the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for the most
distinguished English-language children's book of the year. Curtis's book,
Elijah of Buxton, was selected as the best from among five excellent
home-grown choices, representing some of the most talented children's authors
in Canada. Curtis was awarded $20,000, one of the largest prizes for
children's literature in Canada.
    All entries were written and illustrated by Canadians for children ages
one to 12 and judged on the quality of text and illustrations in addition to
the book's overall contribution to Canadian children's literature.
    "We are honoured to present Christopher Paul Curtis with the 2008 TD
Canadian Children's Literature Award and hope that parents and children across
Canada will be delighted and entertained by this book," said Frank McKenna,
Deputy Chair, TD Bank Financial Group and TD's Literacy Champion. "TD takes
great pride in knowing that this award not only helps recognize the creative
talent in this country, but that it also helps alleviate some of the
challenges faced by many Canadian authors in seeing their dreams realized in
the form of published work."
    Curtis originally hails from Flint, Michigan but has been living in
Windsor, Ontario for the past 25 years. His other award-winning children's
books include The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Bud, Not Buddy, and Bucking the
Sarge. Elijah of Buxton is the story of an 11-year old boy living in an
Ontario settlement of runaway slaves, who embarks on a journey back to the
United States and discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his
parents fled. Curtis uses his trademark humour and vibrant narrative style to
tell this gripping and sometimes hilarious tale that is an unforgettable
testament to the power of hope.
    "I am so proud to be honoured with this prestigious award," said Curtis.
"One of the reasons I write children's literature is because I want to bring
joy to children through their love of reading. The positive response I've had
to Elijah of Buxton from Canadian readers has been extremely gratifying and
winning this award is the icing on the cake."
    The remaining four finalists: Hugh Brewster for Carnation, Lily, Lily,
Rose: The Story of a Painting; Kenneth Oppel for Darkwing; Shane Peacock for
Eye of the Crow: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case; and Frieda Wishinsky
for Please, Louise! will share a $10,000 award.
    Other awards presented at the gala included the Geoffrey Bilson Award for
Historical Fiction for Young People, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction.
    "We have a terrific pool of talented children's literature authors in
this country including many of our nominees and I'm sure the judges had a
difficult time selecting the winner," said McKenna. "Thanks in part to the
great work of the Canadian Children's Book Centre, literacy in this country is
being recognized and supported and TD is a very proud sponsor of this award."
    This year's judges included: Maya Munro Byers, owner, Livres Babar Books;
Theo Heras, Children's Literature Resource Collection Specialist, Lillian H.
Smith Library, Toronto Public Library; Dr. Dave Jenkinson, Professor Emeritus,
Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba; Ron Jobe, Professor Emeritus,
Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia; and Norene Smiley,
author, Pugwash, Nova Scotia.
    "Christopher Paul Curtis has written an exceptional and inspiring story
and we are delighted that he won this award," said Charlotte Teeple, Executive
Director, Canadian Children's Book Centre. "It's immensely satisfying to
witness a truly talented group of Canadian writers honoured by being nominated
for Canada's top prize in their field. We'd like to thank TD for providing
that recognition for the fourth year in a row."

    The TD Canadian Children's Literature Award for the most distinguished
French-language book of the year was presented in Montreal on October 29, 2008
to author Gilles Vigneault and illustrator Stéphane Jorisch for Un Cadeau pour
Sophie (A Gift for Sophie).

    About The Canadian Children's Book Centre

    The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not-for-profit
organization, founded in 1976 to encourage, promote and support the reading,
writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. The CCBC's
programs, publications and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers
and parents select the very best for young readers. For more information,
visit www.bookcentre.ca.

    TD Community Giving: Making a Difference Together

    Children's health, literacy and education, and the environment are the
three main areas of focus for community giving at TD. Flagship programs within
these areas include: TD Children's Hospital Fund; TD Friends of the
Environment Foundation; TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup; TD Canadian
Children's Book Week; TD Canada Trust Scholarships for Community Leadership;
and the TD Summer Reading Club. With support from customers and employees, TD
is also involved with a host of national, regional and local causes benefiting
diversity, arts and culture and other community programs. In 2007, TD donated
$33 million to more than 2,000 organizations across Canada.

    /NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
    the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
    Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
    website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
    members of the media/

For further information: Matthew Cram, TD Bank Financial Group, (416)
983-1514, (647) 504-5013 (cell), matthew.cram@td.com; Charlotte Teeple,
Executive Director, The Canadian Children's Book Centre, (416) 975-0010,
charlotte@bookcentre.ca; Stephanie Sayer, GCI Group on behalf of TD and the
CCBC, (416) 486-9783, ssayer@gcigroup.com