Pajama Press is pleased to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson has been shortlisted for the 2015 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.
This beautiful picture book biography, which includes a forward by Harrison himself, is the only book for young readers written about Canada’s most famous artist of the Yukon. Since its publication in 2014 it has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award, and the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award.
Ted Harrison, who passed away in early 2015, was one of Canada’s most celebrated artists; his distinctive and colourful paintings of the Arctic and the West Coast are recognized around the world. Ted’s many honours include the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. Several generations of schoolchildren have grown up familiar with his work through picture books like A Northern Alphabet, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, and The Cremation of Sam McGee.
In A Brush Full of Colour, readers learn how Harrison’s passion for learning saved him from a life in England’s coal mines and set him on a road of worldwide travel that led him to the incredible Yukon he had read about as a child. The story is illustrated with Harrison’s own drawings and paintings, showing how the classically trained artist developed his unique and colourful style.
Margriet Ruurs is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books for children. When she isn’t giving workshops at international schools around the world, Margriet runs a booklover’s bed and breakfast on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Learn more at www.margrietruurs.com.
Katherine Gibson is the best-selling author of four non-fiction books. Her work has been published internationally in several languages. Katherine’s extensive research for the illustrated biography Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise was instrumental in the writing A Brush Full of Colour. Katherine lives on Vancouver Island. Learn more at www.katherinegibson.com
The TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, administered by the TD Bank Group and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, is awarded to the most distinguished children’s book of each year. The winner will be announced at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards gala in Toronto on November 18th.