Four years ago at the Fall Fair, Mrs. Parsons–Emily's mom–had to be restrained by committee members when she learned Mrs. Gorgonzola's red pepper jelly had beaten hers. She claimed Mrs. Gorgonzola stole her recipe, which was her grandmother's, and passed it off as her own. Mrs. Gorgonzola said Mrs. Parsons shouldn't flatter herself, that the only thing the Parson red pepper jelly was good for was to oil her furniture. (pg. 81)
✽ Promoting children's and YA books by Canadian authors and illustrators ✽
June 03, 2023
Swept Away: Ruth Mornay and the Unwanted Clues
June 01, 2023
The Remembering Stone
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From The Remembering Stone by Carey Sookocheff |
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From The Remembering Stone by Carey Sookocheff |
The Remembering Stone truly becomes Carey Sookocheff's story because she illustrates it. Using acrylic gouache and graphite, she embeds the story in reality. Her art is clean and smooth and gives a calmness to being with others. It's the reality of going to school, participating in show-and-tell, spending time with a grandparent, and losing a grandparent. It's all about what a child might experience so it will speak to many children. But, while the story connects with young readers, it will also give them an opportunity to see that there are opportunities beyond the obvious. A skipping stone becomes a memory first but then it transforms both in its presence and in its absence. It's a remembering stone even when it's not.
May 29, 2023
2023 Willow Awards: Winners announced for the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards
Written by Rachel Poliquin
Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
Kids Can Press
Reviewed here
The winner of the Diamond Willow Award, selected from those books written for readers of Grades 4 to 6, is...
May 28, 2023
2023 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards: Winners announced
A jury of four students in grade 4 selected the recipient of the Children’s Picture Book Award, and a jury of grade 8 students selected the winner of the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award.
Congratulations to both winners and to the juries for their auspicious selections!
Illustrated by Maggie Zeng
Pajama Press
978-1-77278-242-4
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
Margaret K. McElderry Books
978-1-534484993
336 pp.
Ages 14+
May 27, 2023
2023 Forest Kid Committee Summer Reading Lists
In
early May, selected young readers who'd applied to
participate on the seventh annual Forest Kid Committee (for ages 9-13)
came together online
to talk books. From their discussions, which were interspersed with
visits from award-winning Canadian authors Paul Coccia and Kathy Kacer, these young
people
produced two extraordinary lists of recommended titles to keep everyone reading
Canadian over the summer. These are their recommendations for their
peers in the Silver Birch and Red Maple reading programs of
the Forest of Reading®.

(Ages 12-14, Grades 7-8)
Orca Book Publishers
120 pp.
Ages 9-13
2023
Scholastic
288 pp.
Ages 8-13
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/2023/05/01-Kid-Committee-List-Silver-Birch-2023-1.pdf
- For Red Maple readers: https://forestofreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/02-Kid-Committee-List-Red-Maple-2023-1.pdf