Red Cedar and Salmonberry Book Awards: 2026/2027 Nominees announced

Readers' choice awards are a very special kind of book award. There are juries or selection committees that chose nominees or shortlists, but it's young readers who choose the winners. In British Columbia, the readers' choice awards are the Red Cedar Book Award, and now also the Salmonberry Book Award. As 2027 is the 30th Anniversary of the creation of B.C.’s Red Cedar Book Award which was designed to award books of fiction and non-fiction for readers in Grades 5–7. To celebrate this anniversary, they've expanded their awards to include an award for book aimed at younger readers, those in Grades 3–5. It's named the Salmonberry Book Award and has its own new logo.

 

 

Red Cedar Book Award for Fiction

Way Off Track    

Written by Carl Brundtland  

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila  

Kids Can Press

Saving Wolfgang

Written by Gregor Craigie    

Orca Book Publishers

Maggie Lou Meets Her Match    

Written by Arnolda Dufour Bowes    

Groundwood Books

 

Go

Written by Deborah Ellis    

Groundwood Books

Reviewed here 

 

Robot Island    

Written by Cary Fagan    

Tundra Books

 

Briarwood    

Written by Natalie Hyde    

DCB Young Readers

Reviewed here 

 

Touching Grass    

Written by Kristy Jackson  

Illustrated by Rhael McGregor  

HarperCollins

 

The City of Lost Cats    

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi    

Tundra Books

 

The Setback    

Written by Lynn Leitch    

Pajama Press

 

No Purchase Necessary    

Written by Maria Marianayagam    

HarperCollins

Reviewed here
    

The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt    

Written by Gabrielle Prendergast    

Orca Book Publishers

The Book of Jupiter    

Written by Robin Stevenson    

Kids Can Press

Reviewed here 

 

Time Surfers 

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester

HarperCollins 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Cedar Book Award for Information 

Bison: Community Builders and Grassland Caretakers    

Written by Frances Backhouse    

Orca Book Publishers
    

Green Cities: How Green Infrastructure Helps Urban Centers Thrive

Written by Sheila Boudreau  

Illustrated by Katie Dockrill  

Owlkids Books
    

Sticking to the Facts: 10 ways to Fight Misinformation    

Written by Gregor Craigie 

Illustrated by Bithi Sutradhar   

Orca Book Publishers
    

The Sustainable School: A Journey Through Time and Energy    

Written by Erica Fyvie

Illustrated by Scot Ritchie    

Kids Can Press

Reviewed here
    

Feeling Your Feelings: The Head-to-Toe Science of Emotions    

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi  

Illustrated by Phil Nicholls   

Kids Can Press
    

Octopus Ocean: Geniuses of the Deep    

Written by Mark Leiren-Young    

Orca Book Publishers
    

All About Us: 20 True Tales of Courage and Disability    

Written by Hannalora Leavitt 

Illustrated by Stef Wong   

Orca Book Publishers
    

Why Communities Need Engineers: Helping Humans Live Together    Written by Helen Liang   

Illustrated by Arden Taylor 

Orca Book Publishers
    

Making a Splash: How Humans Consume, Control and Care for Water 

Written by Colleen Nelson 

Illustrated by Sophie Dubé   

Orca Book Publishers
    

Microbes to the Rescue: Using Bacteria, Algae and Fungi to Clean Up the Planet    

Written by Yolanda Ridge    

Orca Book Publishers
    

You Were Made For This World: Celebrated Indigenous Voices Speak to Young People    

Edited by Stephanie Sinclair and Sara Sinclair    

Tundra Books
    

Soccerology: Unbelievable Facts and Stories about the Beautiful Game  

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester    

Annick Press

Reviewed here
    

Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Story    

Written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger   

Illustrated by Michelle Theodore 

Annick Press

Reviewed here 

 

 

 

Salmonberry Book Award

Julia on the Go!: The Big Splash    

Written by Angela Ahn 

Illustrated by Julie Kim    

Tundra Books

 

Two Tricksters Find Friendship    

Written by Johnny Aitken and Jess Willows

Illustrated by Alyssa Koski    

Orca Book Publishers
    

One Goal: How Soccer can Save the Planet    

Written by Heather Camlot

Illustrated by Drew Shannon    

Groundwood Books

 

Star Sailor, the Story of Words    

Written by Sara Cassidy

Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin    

Orca Book Publishers

Reviewed here 

 

Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge    

Written by Dian Day

Illustrated by Amanda White    

Second Story Press

 

Howler Reef (Sueño Bay Adventures)    

Written by Nancy Deas

Illustrated by Mike Deas    

Orca Book Publishers

 

The Cedar Mother (Mothers of Xsan)    

Written by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw

Illustrated by Natasha Donovan    

Highwater Press

Reviewed here 

 

The Burrowing Owls of the Prairie Grasslands    

Written by Deborah Hodge

Illustrated by Karen Reczuch    

Groundwood Books

 

The Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom

Written by Leigh Joseph 

Illustrated by Natalie Schnitter    

becker&mayer! kids

 

How to Save a Library    

Written by Colleen Nelson    

Pajama Press

 

The Man in Motion: How Rick Hansen’s World Tour Helped Break Down Barriers for People with Disabilities

Written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson with Rick Hansen 

Illustrated by Emma Fitzgerald    

Owlkids Books

Reviewed here  

 

Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story    

Written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn  

Second Story Press

Reviewed here 

 

One Beaded Earring    

Written by Pat Lamondin Skene

Illustrated by Natalie Laurin    

Orca Book Publishers

 

Springtime in Kitkatla    

Written by Kim Spencer

Illustrated by Karlene Harvey    

Orca Book Publishers

 

The Three Wolves    

Written by Eric Walters

Illustrated by Olga Barinova 

Orca Book Publishers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julia and Romano

Written by Eric Walters
DCB Young Readers 

978-1-77086-823-6
Ages 13+
304 pp.
March 2026

 

When sixteen-year-old Julia Anderson's mom, Susan Eden, moves the two of them to Campbell River, BC, Julia a.k.a. Jules is not impressed. Not only is she leaving her boyfriend Paris, and friends like Jodi, Shannon, and Beth behind, she must leave the big city Toronto for a smaller community where the major industries are forestry and fishing. But, because Mom caught Jules's dad cheating and wanted a new start, she accepted a job as the executive director and lawyer for the environmental group Eco-Guardians at Campbell River.

 

So, while Mom is busy dealing with a logging company eager to cut a disputed tract of forest, as well as with associated businesses like the mill, Jules goes exploring. When she is accosted by dangerous Steller sea lions, she meets local teen Cody who takes her for fish and chips. She doesn't know much about him, as he goes to the other high school in town, but the two bump into each other a few times, and he shows her around town. Cody is smitten and becomes very protective of her. He warns her to be careful around some people, like the Devil Dogs, a local biker gang, and at her first bush party.

 

Even as the two teens are falling in love, they learn that Julia's mom has been fighting Cody's dad, Raphael Romano, who owns Royal Lumber Mill. The two teens had never realized that the conflict their parents had was with each other because Jules has her father's last name. And his dad and her mom are not pleased about Cody and Jules's relationship.

 

As in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet which inspired Julia and Cody's story, there is conflict between families, a secret relationship, and a love that cannot be broken. Even the teens see the similarities, they anticipate a happier ending.

“This isn’t Romeo and Juliet,” Cody said. “This is Julia and Romano. We’re free to write our own story and this one can have a happy ending.” (pg. 148)

I'm glad the Forest Kid Committee (Red Maple) put this novel on its summer reading list because that means teens (and late middle-grade readers) have already been enjoying the story of Jules and Cody. I'm also glad that I finally got to review this novel. Beyond its sweet Shakespearean inspiration, Julia and Romano is influenced by the unique location of Campbell River, focusing on the land, its people, and its industry. Campbell River becomes a character in itself, shaping the way people interact, the struggles they have, and how the environment dictates so much. Eric Walters, extraordinary storyteller and observant writer of the human condition, tells Jules and Cody's story as a function of their place: how they meet, how they date, and how they are conflicted. He gives them latitude to be themselves and to grow to be new people. This is how Julia and Romano differs from Shakespeare's play. Eric Walters's characters are not doomed by their circumstances. They can be more than the legal and environmental feud between their families. They can make change happen and continue to love.

 

Don't worry that Jules and Cody's story will end as Romeo and Juliet's did. Eric Walters has written a love story that will endure.

Spotting Dottie (Orca Currents)

Written by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-3483-5

112 pp.

Ages 9-12

R: 2.5

April 2024 

There's Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. There's also Chessie, the Chesapeake Bay creature,  and Champ, the lake monster of Lake Champlain. But in Gail Anderson-Dargatz's latest hi-lo novel for Orca Currents, we have Dottie, a cryptid that lives in the deepest part of Dorothy Lake. Or does she?

Charlotte believes wholeheartedly in Dottie, just as her grandmother Donna always has. Ever since Donna saw the lake monster when she was 14, as Charlotte is now, she has been interested in Dottie, collecting memorabilia and photos, interviewing prospective witnesses, and patiently watching through her spotting scope and binocs. This has earned her the moniker of Dottie Donna, and though her grandmother doesn't mind, it really bothers Charlotte's mom Anna who is not a believer in the creature.  When Anna gives Charlotte a drone with a camera for her birthday, Charlotte (a.k.a. Lottie) and Grandma and Charlotte's friend Scott witness something large, with humps rolling out the water. Convinced they have footage of Dottie, Charlotte shares it with the Dorothy Lake News website. 

That posting starts everything, from media attention, local ridicule–Charlotte becomes known as Dottie Lottie–self-doubt, and an undesirable draw of tourists and cryptid hunters to the lake. All Charlotte had wanted was to get her mother to believe Grandma in her assertion that Dottie existed. Instead, she has brought chaos and perhaps danger to her friends and family and perhaps, worse of all, to Dottie.

 

There is a natural interest in the unknown, attempting to understand the unexplainable, to prove that which has not been proven. It's wondering about things we don't know and defending those whose beliefs may be different than our own. Charlotte is a sweet granddaughter who really just wants to help her mother and grandmother get along better. The two strong women in her life are pulling Charlotte to different perspectives and Charlotte is convinced that if she can find evidence of Lottie and prove it to her mother, then everything will be alright. Unfortunately, beliefs can be entrenched and making someone believe something other than what they've always held true is a tall order. It doesn't help when there are those who ridicule you for those beliefs. But Gail Anderson-Dargatz doesn't force Charlotte or Anna or even Donna to believe something they don't. She lets them be a family who can love and accept differences and bend as needed. Spotting Dottie may lead young readers to investigate the real story of BC's cryptid–Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan–but that mystery is one that will remain while families come together, and sometimes fall apart. And Gail Anderson-Dargatz will let us watch them and learn.

Whether Nessie or Chessie or Champ are logs, mega eels or cryptids, it doesn't matter to Dottie's story. Dottie is as real as she needs to be for all the families involved. And we're going to keep her secrets safe.

The Three Spartans: Book launch (Vancouver, BC)

New publisher Crwth Press

is launching its newest middle-grade novel

praised by

 youngCanLit authors

 Eric Walters as
"A great read! You’ll feel like you’re with them in the battle. Go Spartans Go!"

and

 Arthur Slade as
"This is a smart, funny story that cleverly sneaks in a history lesson. The action scenes are epic and the characters really shine."

The Three Spartans

Written by James McCann

Crwth Press

978-1-7753515-4-2

160 pp.

Ages 9-12

October 2019

It launches on

Thursday, November 7, 2019

7 p.m.

at

Kidsbooks

2557 West Broadway

Vancouver, BC

From the publisher's website at https://www.crwth.ca/thethreespartans/:

Twelve-year-old Arthur loves his summers in Birch Bay, a quirky seaside village where he spends all of his time with his best friend Lea. They play video games together, hang out at the beach and explore on their bikes.

This year is different, though. First, Arthur learns it will be Lea’s last summer in Birch Bay. Then their freedom is threatened by the Immortals, the swim team who torments all the local kids.

Lea and Arthur decide to take a stand. Using their video-game network, they gather a small army of kids who’ve had enough of the Immortals.

Armed with paintball guns and shields made of garbage can lids, the Spartan army takes on the Immortals. Their goal is control of a treehouse, but the prize is knowing they stood up for themselves.

A humorous retelling of the Greek battle of Thermopylae, The Three Spartans is a story of friendship and belonging and of standing up for what’s right—even when the odds are against you.

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue

Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers

Text by Robert Budd

Harbour Publishing

978-1-55017-870-8

20 pp.

Ages 2-6

May 2019

By their very nature, concept books i.e. those that teach concepts such as letters, numbers and colours must be simple in order for very young children to grasp the concept being highlighted. By simple, I mean straightforward and transparent, though some concept books embrace the idea of simplicity by being meagre and plain. Not Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue.  It may focus on presenting a basic palette to children but it proclaims its artistry in a brilliance of sophistication and heritage.

The colours of silver, blue, yellow, purple, red, orange, grey, black, white and green are clearly identified in each illustration but they are so much more than "just" a colour. They are part of the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Its flora and fauna, its mountains and ocean, and its seasons become part of the art. From the "sockeye silver" of the adult salmon at sea, glorious under a silver moon, to the blue of the saltchuck waters flowing into a river and the yellow of the spring salmonberries, Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue becomes a journey of place and seasons. Young readers will spot the purple sea stars resting on a rock, the red of the sunset, the sandhill cranes flying across an orange sky, and the whales in the grey mist of heavy rains. There are ravens black and a white ptarmigan in the snow, and the finale spread of "green lights aglow on a wintry night."

From Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers, words by Robert Budd

 

The words are those of Robert Budd, accomplished author and champion of British Columbia's stories and history. They are concise but impactful, and any child living far from the BC coast will want to visit.

But the art makes Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue the masterpiece it is. There is movement and richness in the colours, and the spot-gloss art is significant and memorable. Sometimes the glossy entity is bold and unmistakable, as in the black of the raven or the wolves howling beneath the northern lights. Other times, however, it almost can only be discerned by touch such as the thunderbird against the white snow or the totem poles hugging the coast of the saltchuck.

Roy Henry Vickers is a multi-talented Tsimshian artist who has excelled at printmaking, carving, music and leadership. His accomplishments have earned him many honours and even more accolades at home in British Columbia and around the world. With his gorgeous prints providing the art for Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue, this concept book is elevated from teaching tool to showpiece.

From Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers, words by Robert Budd

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Look for my next post which will highlight the earlier two books in this series, Hello Humpback! and One Eagle Soaring.

First West Coast Books