Showing posts with label Forest Teen Committee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forest Teen Committee. Show all posts

May 23, 2026

2026 Forest Teen Committee Summer Reading List

 

Recently, the Forest of Reading announced their summer reading lists for Silver Birch readers in Grades 3–6, (ages 8–12), and one for Red Maple readers in Grades 7 and 8 (ages 12–14). Now there's a summer reading list for teens ages 14–18 (Grades 9–12) who would be in the White Pine program of the Forest of Reading.
 
This list which came together after a teen committee met to discuss recently published books by Canadian creators is a fabulous list of titles teens might consider reading this summer. 
 
Congratulations to the young people who worked so diligently to champion Canadian books for their peers and to prepare such stellar lists. 
 
Here are their selections for 2026:
  


White Pine
(Ages 14–18, Grades 9–12)
 

Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter 
Written by Heather Fawcett 
Del Rey
368 pp.
Ages 18+
2026 
 

Bad in The Blood 
Written by Matteo L. Cerilli
Tundra Books
392 pp.
Ages 14–17
2025 
 

The Beauty of Us 
Written by Farzana Doctor 
ECW Press
304 pp.
Ages 15–18 
2024 
 

Behind Five Willows 
Written by June Hur 
Feiwel & Friends
336 pp.
Ages 13–18
2026 
 

A Deadly Inheritance 
Written by Kelley Armstrong 
Tundra Books
424 pp.
Ages 14+
2026  
 

Here for a Good Time 
Written by Kim Spencer 
Swift Water Books
256 pp.
Ages 14+
2026 
 

Like a Bird 
Written by Becky Citra 
Second Story Press
250 pp.
Age 12–18
2025 
 

The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue 
Written by Zoulfa Katouh
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
368 pp.
Ages 12+
2026 
 

Other Worlds: Stories 
Written by André Alexis 
McClelland & Stewart
288 pp.
Ages 17+
2025 
 

Red Flags and Butterflies 
Written by Sheryl Azzam 
DCB Young Readers
258 pp.
Ages 12–17
2025 
 

Small Ceremonies 
Written by Kyle Edwards
McClelland & Stewart
368 pp.
Ages 18+
2025 
 

This Place Kills Me 
Written by Mariko Tamaki 
Illustrated by Nicole Goux 
Harry N. Abrams
272 pp.
Ages 14–18
2025
 

A Treachery of Swans 
Written by A. B. Poranek 
Margaret K. McElderry Books
368 pp.
Ages 14+ 
2025 
 

What Wakes the Bells 
Written by Elle Tesch
Feiwel & Friends 
331 pp.
Ages 13–18
2025 
 
 
 
 
The downloadable list and poster are available at the Forest of Reading website here:







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May 25, 2025

2025 Forest Teen Committee Summer Reading List

 
While young readers in Grades 3 to 8 were working on the Forest Kid Committees to select summer reading lists for their peers, so too were high school readers of the White Pine Teen Committee. Here are their selections for their 2025 Summer Reading List:

WHITE PINE
 

Curious Tides (The Drowned Gods, 1)
Written by Pascale Lacelle 
Simon and Schuster Canada
560 pp.
Ages 14+
2024
 

The Lady of Rapture (Bones of Ruin, 3)
Written by Sarah Raughley 
Margaret K. McElderry Books
512 pp.
Ages 14+
2025


Wicked Darlings 
Written by Jordyn Taylor 
Delacorte Press
277 pp.
Ages 12+
2025
 

The Queen’s Spade 
Written by Sarah Raughley 
HarperCollins
416 pp.
Ages 14-17
2025
 

Defy 
Written by Sara de Waard 
DCB Young Readers
208 pp.
Ages 12-18
2024
 

Meet Me at Blue Hour 
Written by Sarah Suk 
Quill Tree Books
288 pp.
Ages 13-17
2025
 

Messy Perfect 
Written by Tanya Boteju 
Quill Tree Books
400 pp.
Ages 13-17
2025
 

Bad Cree 
Written by Jessica Johns 
HarperCollins  
304 pp.
Ages 18+
2023


Untethered Sky 
Written by Fonda Lee 
Tordotcom
160 pp.
Ages 18+
2023
 

To Steal from Thieves (Thieves and Kings, 1)
Written by M.K. Lobb 
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 
400 pp.
Ages 14+
2025 


 
 
A downloadable list and a printable poster are available from the Forest of Reading® Committees' page:
             


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March 01, 2024

2024 Forest of Reading® Kid and Teen Committees: Applications now being accepted

 

Do you love books?
🍁
Do you know Canadian books and authors?
 🍁
Are you in Grade 3-12?
🍁
Would you like to talk about books with your peers?
🍁
Would you like to contribute recommendations to a summer reading list?
🍁
If you answered "Yes" to these questions, 
then have I got an activity for you!


Applications are now being accepted for the Forest of Reading®'s Forest Kid and Teen Committees. These committees bring young readers together for one morning to talk Canadian books and prepare summer reading lists for their peers. 
 
 
Who can apply?
There are three committees, based on grade level, who will meet on Zoom on different days in May. They are:
  • Silver Birch Kid Committee (for Grades 3-6)
  • Red Maple Kid Committee (for Grades 7-8)
  • White Pine Teen Committee (for Grades 9-12)
 
When will they meet?
  • Silver Birch Kid Committee: May 7, 2024 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
  • Red Maple Kid Committee: May 8, 2024 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
  • White Pine Teen Committee: May 4, 2024 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
(n.b. times may be amended if there are members who do not reside in the Eastern Time Zone) 
 
 
What happens during these meetings?
Young readers will meet on Zoom and share their opinions about Canadian books which they have read and enjoyed. 
 
These books must be:
  • written by Canadian authors (Canadian by birth or residency)
  • published in the last two years
  • appropriate for their age groups 
  • not already included on Forest of Reading nominated lists of titles
  • not already on previously published Forest Kid or Teen Committee Summer Reading Lists
Under the guidance of Meredith Tutching, Director of the Forest of Reading®, and a facilitator, readers will recommend titles, discuss the stories and the writing, and then vote on which titles, usually between 10 and 20 books, to include on the 2024 summer reading list. (Here's a pdf of a sample, the Silver Birch reading list from 2023.)

In addition to talking books, there are always special guests that drop in to speak to the committee and share their own recommendations. Past guests have included Angela Ahn,
S. K. Ali, Kelley Armstrong, Paul Coccia, Zetta Elliott, Melanie Florence, Natasha Deen, Kathy Kacer, Gordon Korman, Colleen Nelson, Kenneth Oppel, David A. Robertson, Kevin Sylvester, Vikki VanSickle and Eric Walters.


How to apply?
Submit your application via Google form here.
Deadline for applying is April 1, 2024.

Readers will be asked to provide contact information, and information about favourite Canadian books and recently read Canadian books. (The key here is that the books must be Canadian, written by Canadian citizens or residents.)

Full details are available at the Forest of Reading® website here.

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March 06, 2023

Forest of Reading Kid and Teen Committees: 2023 Applications now being accepted

 

Do you love books?
 
Do you know Canadian books and authors?
 
Would you like to talk about books with other young readers?
 
How about contributing your recommendations to a summer reading list?
 
If you answered "Yes" to these questions, then have I got an activity for you!


Applications are now being accepted for the Forest of Reading's Forest Kid and Teen Committees. These committees bring young readers together to talk Canadian books and prepare summer reading lists for their peers. 
 
 
Who can apply?
There are three committees, based on grade level, who will meet on Zoom on different days in May. They are:
  • Silver Birch Kid Committee (for Grades 3-6)
  • Red Maple Kid Committee (for Grades 7-8)
  • White Pine Teen Committee (for Grades 9-12)
 
When will they meet?
  • Silver Birch Kid Committee: May 1, 2023 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
  • Red Maple Kid Committee: May 2, 2023 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
  • White Pine Teen Committee: May 4, 2023 (9 AM- 12:30 PM EST)
 
What happens during these meetings?
Young readers will meet on Zoom and share their opinions about recently published (from the last two years) Canadian books that they have read and enjoyed. These books should be appropriate for their age groups and not already been included on Forest of Reading nominated lists of titles. Under the guidance of Meredith Tutching, Director of the Forest of Reading, and a facilitator, readers will recommend titles, discuss their stories and the writing, and then vote on which titles, usually between 10 and 20 books, to include on the 2023 summer reading list. (Here's a pdf of a sample reading list from 2021.)

There are always special guests that drop in to speak to the committee and share their own recommendations. Past guests have included Kevin Sylvester, S. K. Ali, Kenneth Oppel, Kelley Armstrong, Eric Walters, David A. Robertson, Colleen Nelson, Zetta Elliott, Natasha Deen, Angela Ahn, Melanie Florence, and Gordon Korman.


How to apply?
Submit your application via Google form here.
Deadline for applying is April 1, 2023.

Readers will be asked to provide contact information, and information about favourite Canadian books and recently read Canadian books. (The key here is that the books must be Canadian, written by Canadian citizens or residents.)

Full details are available at the Forest of Reading website here.

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May 25, 2022

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  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 


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 


Valley of the Rats 
Written by Mahtab Narsimhan
DCB 
Ages 9-12








 
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
 

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
 

The Red Palace
Written by June Hur
Feiwel & Friends 
Ages 13-18
 

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
 

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+
 

The Red Palace
Written by June Hur
Feiwel & Friends 
Ages 13-18
 

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:

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.




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