Everybelly, a 2025 children’s book by Toronto-based author-illustrator Thao Lam, has been awarded the U.S.-based Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature.
The Kirkus Prize, one of the most recognized book awards in the world, comes with a $50,000 USD (approx. $70,082.50 Cdn) prize.
Lam told CBC Radio’s Fresh Air she didn’t expect to win the award.
LISTEN | Thao Lam appears on Fresh Air with Ismaila Alfa:
Fresh Air11:08Toronto writer and illustrator wins Kirkus Prize for her new children’s book, “Everybelly”
When asked about what difference the prize money will make, Lam said that she will “squirrel this money away, so that if something comes up” for her daughter, she “will be prepared.”
Everybelly was published by Groundwood Books and tells the story of a young girl, Maddie, who spends the day at a pool filled mostly with adults.
At Maddie’s height, people’s stomachs are at eye-level, so are centred in her mind. She begins to compare them, realizing that they are all unique and different — featuring six-packs, stretch marks and freckles. As she watches, Maddie realizes that each deserves to be celebrated.
Lam has a daughter named Maddie and said the idea for the book came from her own experience.
“She would come up and she would hug me… She would put her face in my belly like a pillow and squish it and stretch it,” Lam said.
“I thought, ‘Oh, you know, that’s how they see people … all their encounters with adults are from that height. I thought it would be interesting to see it from their perspective.”
“This joyful celebration of humanity springs to life through masterful, vibrant collages and text that’s both poignant and witty,” the prize jury said in a statement.
Her book was chosen from a pool of 497 children’s and young adult books that received a Kirkus starred review.
Lam’s The Paper Boat was chosen as a best Canadian Picture book of 2020 by CBC Books. Her other books include Happy Birthday to Me, THAO, My Cat Looks Like My Dad.