{"id":105410,"date":"2025-08-29T13:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/105410\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T13:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:01:10","slug":"inuit-creators-shortlisted-for-20k-canadian-picture-book-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/105410\/","title":{"rendered":"Inuit creators shortlisted for $20K Canadian picture book prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tanya Tagaq and Cee Pootoogook\u2019s book \u2018It Bears Repeating\u2019 shortlisted for Oct. 27 award<\/p>\n


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Tundra Books\u2019 \u201cIt Bears Repeating,\u201d written by Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq and illustrated by Cape Dorset printmaker Cee Pootoogook, is shortlisted for the $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Winners will be announced Oct. 27 in Toronto. The story introduces children aged three to seven to numbers, Inuktitut language teachings, and polar bear habits. (Photo from Penguin Random House) <\/p>\n

A children\u2019s book written by throat singer Tanya Tagaq and illustrated by Cape Dorset printmaker Cee Pootoogook has been shortlisted for one of Canada\u2019s top prizes for children\u2019s literature.<\/p>\n

It Bears Repeating, published by Tundra Books last August, is one of five finalists for the $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the Canadian Children\u2019s Book Centre announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Jurors called it \u201ca simply splendid counting book that engages readers on several levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book is aimed at children aged three to seven. It focuses on numbers alongside Inuktitut language teachings and the habits of polar bears.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s jury for the award includes Vancouver teacher-librarian Jade Lee, children\u2019s media specialist Janis Nostbakken and University of Toronto instructor Larry Swartz.<\/p>\n

The Marilyn Baillie award, created in 2006, honours the country\u2019s top picture book. Marking its 20th year, it has awarded $350,000 to Canadian authors and illustrators.<\/p>\n

It is one of seven prizes the Canadian Children\u2019s Book Centre will present this year, with a combined value of $52,500. Categories include historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, teen fiction, non-fiction and first novels.<\/p>\n

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Winners will be announced Oct. 27 at a Toronto ceremony, which will also be livestreamed.<\/p>\n

Tagaq, who is originally from Cambridge Bay, is a Polaris Prize\u2013winning throat singer and Order of Canada member. Her first book for adults, Split Tooth, won the Indigenous Voices Award for English prose in 2019 and received numerous other accolades.<\/p>\n

In addition to It Bears Repeating, Tagaq is the author of another children\u2019s picture book, I Would Give You My Tail, published in April.<\/p>\n

Pootoogook comes from a prominent artistic family including his grandmother, renowned Inuit artist Pitseolak Ashoona; and his parents, graphic artist Napachie Pootoogook and printmaker Eegyvudluk Pootoogook. He is also the brother of the late artist Annie Pootoogook.<\/p>\n

He began his career as a carver before turning to printmaking in 2009. Cee Pootoogook\u2019s work has appeared in the Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection since 2012 and has been exhibited across Canada, the United States and Germany, his Inuit Art Foundation profile said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tanya Tagaq and Cee Pootoogook\u2019s book \u2018It Bears Repeating\u2019 shortlisted for Oct. 27 award Tundra Books\u2019 \u201cIt Bears…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,75],"class_list":["post-105410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}