2022 Forest Kid and Teen Committees Summer Reading Lists

In early May, selected young readers who'd applied to participate on the sixth annual Forest Kid Committee (for ages 9-13) and the fourth Forest Teen Committee (for ages 14+) came together online to talk books.  From their discussions, which were interspersed with visits from award-winning Canadian authors including Angela Ahn, Basil Sylvester, Teresa Toten, Heather T. Smith and June Hur, these young people produced three extraordinary lists of recommended titles to keep everyone reading Canadian over the summer.  These are their recommendations for their peers in the Silver Birch, Red Maple and White Pine reading programs of the Forest of Reading®.

Happy summertime reading!

•••

Silver Birch Readers 
(Ages 8-12, Grades 3-6)

 

Beatrice and Croc Harry

Written by Lawrence Hill

HarperCollins

Ages 9-12

Children of the Fox (Thieves of Shadow, Book 1)
Written by Kevin Sands
Penguin Random House
Ages 8-12

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crosswood (Faerie Woods, Book 1)

Written by Gabrielle Prendergast

Orca Book Publishers

Ages 9-12

 

 

 

 

 

 

Escape to Witch City 

Written by E. Latimer

Tundra Books

Ages 10+

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gryphon's Lair (A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying, Book 2)

Written by Kelley Armstrong

Puffin Canada

Ages 10-14  

Reviewed here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living with Viola 

Written and illustrated by Rosena Fung

Annick Press

Ages 9-12

 

Lone Runner 

Written by Dirk McLean

James Lorimer

Ages 10-13

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray 

Written by Jess Keating

Illustrated by Lissy Marlin

Scholastic

Ages 8-12  

 

Oh My Gods! 

Written by Stephanie Cooke and Insha Fitzpatrick

Illustrated by Juliana Moon

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Ages 8-12 

Reviewed here

Operation Do-Over 

Written by Gordon Korman

Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 

Ages 9-12

 

Pink, Blue and You! Questions for Kids about Gender Stereotypes

Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Anne Schwartz Books

Ages 4-8

Stealing Home 

Written by J Torres

Illustrated by David Namisato

Kids Can Press

Ages 9-12 

 

 

 

 

The Street Belongs to Us 

Written by Karleen Pendleton Jiménez

Illustrated by Gabriela Godoy

Arsenal Pulp Press

Ages 8-12

Sunny Days Inside and Other Stories

Written by Caroline Adderson

Groundwood Books

Ages 8-12 

Reviewed here

Valley of the Rats 

Written by Mahtab Narsimhan

DCB 

Ages 9-12

Reviewed here

 

Red Maple Readers
(Ages 12-14, Grades 7-8)

The Delusionist

Written by Don Calame

Candlewick Press 

Ages 13-16

 

Eight Days

Written by Teresa Toten

Scholastic Canada 

Ages 10-14

Reviewed here

 

Heart of Flames (Crown of Feathers #2)

Written by Nicki Pau Preto

Simon & Shuster

Ages 12-18

 

Hunting by Stars (A Marrow Thieves Novel)

Written by Cherie Dimaline

Penguin Random House Canada 

Ages 12-18

 

Iron Widow

Written by Xiran Jay Zhao

Penguin Random House Canada

Ages 14+

 

Lessons in Fusion

Written by Primrose Madayag Knazan

Great Plains Publications 

Ages 13-17

 

Mountain Runaways

Written by Pam Withers

Dundurn

Ages 12-15

 

On the Line

Written by Paul Coccia and Eric Walters

Orca Books Publishers

Ages 9-13

Reviewed here

 

The Red Palace

Written by June Hur

Feiwel & Friends 

Ages 13-18

Reviewed here

 

Rescue at Lake Wild
Written by Terry Lynn Johnson

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Ages 8-12

 

The Undercover Book List

Written by Colleen Nelson

Pajama Press 

Ages 9-12

Reviewed here

 

Zara Hossain is Here

Written by Sabina Khan

Scholastic Canada

Ages 14+

 

White Pine Readers
(Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12)

Aetherbound

Written by E. K. Johnston

Penguin Random House

Ages 14-17

 

Blood Donor

Written by Karen Bass

Orca Book Publishers

Ages 12-17

A Dark and Hollow Star

Written by Ashley Shuttleworth

Simon & Schuster

Ages 14-18

Hana Khan Carries On

Written by Uzma Jalaluddin 

HarperCollins Canada

Ages 15+

 

 

 

Hunting by Stars (A Marrow Thieves Novel)

Written by Cherie Dimaline

Penguin Random House Canada 

Ages 12-18

 

If I Tell You the Truth

Written by Jasmin Kaur

HarperCollins 

Ages 14-17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iron Widow

Written by Xiran Jay Zhao

Penguin Random House Canada

Ages 14+

 

The Junction

Written by Norm Konyu 

Penguin Random House

Ages 15+

 

The Last Time I Saw Her

Written by Alexandra Harrington

Nimbus Publishing

Ages 12-16

 

The Project

Written by Courtney Summers

Wednesday Books

Ages 12+

Reviewed here

 

The Red Palace

Written by June Hur

Feiwel & Friends 

Ages 13-18

Reviewed here

 

The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad

Written by Natasha Deen

Running Press Kids 

Ages 13+

 

The Upside of Falling

Written by Alex Light

HarperCollins Canada

Ages 14-17

 

The Wild Ones

Written by Nafiza Azad

Simon & Schuster

Ages 14+

 

Wrong Side of the Court 

Written by N. H. Khan

Penguin Random House Canada

Ages 12-17

 

 

 

The book lists are posted on the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading website:

• For Silver Birch readers: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/01-Kid-Committee-List-Silver-Birch-2022-FINAL.pdf
• For Red Maple readers: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/02-Kid-Committee-List-Red-Maple-2022-FINAL.pdf
• For White Pine readers: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/03-Teen-Committee-List-2022-FINAL.pdf

And there are lovely posters too (Forest Kid Committee: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/01-Kid-Committee-Poster-2022-FINAL.pdf; Teen Committee: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/03-Teen-Committee-Poster-2022-FINAL.pdf) to help keep everyone reading Canadian this summer.