The Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award[1] was established in 1985 following the death of Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver, one of Canada's pre-eminent book illustrators. In her will, Cleaver left a fund of $10,000 dollars for an award to be given annually in recognition of outstanding artistic talent in a Canadian picture book. The recipient receives a cheque for $1,000 dollars and a certificate.
The Cleaver Award is administered by a committee of three members of the Canadian section of the International Board on Books for Young People IBBY Canada. The recipient is a Canadian illustrator of a picture book published in Canada in English or French during the previous calendar year.[2]
Winners of the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award:
2009 – Oleg Lipchenko, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 2008 – Christine Delezenne, La Clé 2007 – Stéphane Jorisch, The Owl and the Pussycat 2006 – Kady MacDonald Denton, Snow 2005 – Geneviève Côté, The Lady of Shalott 2004 – Stéphane Poulin, Un chant de Noël 2003 – Pierre Pratt, Where’s Pup? 2002 – Janie Jaehyun Park, The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon 2001 – Marie-Louise Gay, Stella, Queen of the Snow 2000 – Michèle Lemieux, Stormy Night 1999 – Kady MacDonald Denton, A Child’s Treasury of Nursery Rhymes 1998 – Pascal Mileli, Rainbow Bay 1997 – Harvey Chan, Ghost Train 1996 – Janet Wilson, Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt 1995 – Murray Kimber, Josepha: A Prairie Boy’s Story 1994 – Leo Yerxa, Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall 1993 – Barbara Reid, Two by Two 1992 – Ron Lightburn, Waiting for the Whales 1991 – Paul Morin, The Orphan Boy 1990 – Ian Wallace, The Name of the Tree 1989 – Eric Beddows, Night Cars 1988 – Stéphane Poulin, Can You Catch Josephine? 1987 – Barbara Reid, Have You Seen Birds? 1986 – Ann Blades, By the Sea: An Alphabet Book