Author Jen Lynn Bailey (Ottawa, ON) and illustrator Maggie Zeng (Montreal, QC) and are the recipients of the 2023 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, Picture Book category. In their debut picture book, This is the Boat that Ben Built (Pajama Press, 2022), young Ben sets out to explore the river equipped with a sturdy boat, some sample-collection gear, and his scientific curiosity. Along the way he meets a black bear taking a swim, a moose all wobbly and slim, a goose with a gorgeous grin, and a heron all proper and prim … but things really start happening after the owl HOOs loudly on a whim! The book concludes with an extended Author’s Note that spotlights facts about every animal Ben has met and invites readers to think like an ecologist about the ways in which they are all connected.   

The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were established in 1976 by Sylvia Schwartz in memory of her sister, Ruth, a respected Toronto bookseller. In 2004, the family renamed the awards to honour both sisters.

Two awards of $6,000 each are presented annually to recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration, traditionally or self-published, in English-language Canadian children’s literature.

The Ontario Arts Foundation administers the awards with the support of the Ontario Arts Council, which manages the nomination and assessment process.