2019 Forest of Reading® nominees announced: Blue Spruce and Silver Birch

Yesterday, the Ontario Library Association announced the nominated titles for the 2018-2019 Forest of Reading® readers' choice awards. This popular literacy program which is designed to cultivate a love of reading for people of all ages certainly got everyone's attention. This is BIG news in schools as teachers and school librarians start organizing their young readers to help select winners next spring.

In a series of three posts, I'll list the nominees for the following programs that were announced:

• Blue Spruce™: K to Grade 2 reading level
• Silver Birch® Express: Grades 3-4 reading level
• Silver Birch® Fiction: Grades 5-6 reading level
• Silver Birch® Non-fiction: Grades 5-6 reading level
• Red Maple™ Fiction: Grades 7-8 reading level
• Red Maple™ Non-fiction: Grades 7-8 reading level
• White Pine™ Fiction: Grades 9-12 reading level
• Le Prix Tamarac: les titres en français
• Le Prix Tamarac Express: les titres en français
• Le Prix Peuplier: les albums français

Barnaby Never Forgets
Written and illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby
Candlewick Press

The Better Tree Fort
Written by Jessica Scott Kerrin
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

Harry's Hiccups

Written by Jean Little
Illustrated by Joe Weissmann
Orca

I Love My Purse

Written by Belle DeMont
Illustrated by Sonja Wimmer
Annick Press
Reviewed here

I Love Sharks, Too!
Written by Leanne Shirtliffe
Illustrated by Lorenzo Montatore
Sky Pony Press

The Magician's Secret
Written by Zachary Hyman
Illustrated by Joe Bluhm
Tundra Books

Sun Dog
Written by Deborah Kerbel
Illustrated by Suzanne del Rizzo
Pajama Press
Reviewed here

Tricky
Written and illustrated by Kari Rust
Owlkids Books

What's My Superpower?
Written by Aviaq Johnston
Illustrated by Tim Mack
Inhabit Media
Reviewed here

Where Oliver Fits
Written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson
Tundra Books

A Bear's Life

Written by Nicholas Read
Illustrated by Ian McAllister
Orca

 

Bloom - A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli
Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Tundra Books

The Elephant Keeper: Caring For Orphaned Elephants in Zambia
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Pedro Covo
Kids Can Press

Heartwood Hotel #2: The Greatest Gift
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
HarperCollins Canada

The Hollow Under the Tree
Written by Cary Fagan
Groundwood Books

Meet Viola Desmond
Written by Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Scholastic Canada
Reviewed here

  

Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Firebane's Folly
Written by Liam O'Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca

The Theory of Hummingbirds
Written by Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press

Reviewed here

 
What Makes a Monster? Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures
Written by Jess Keating
Illustrated by David DeGrand
Alfred A. Knopf

Where's Burgess?
Written by Laurie Elmquist
Illustrated by David Parkins
Orca

The Almost Epic Squad: Mucus Mayhem
Written by Kevin Sylvester
Illustrated by Britt Wilson
Scholastic Canada

Chase
Written by Linwood Barclay
Puffin

Ebb and Flow
Written by Heather Smith
Kids Can Press
Reviewed here

Elephant Secret
Written by Eric Walters
Puffin Canada

Falcon Wild
Written by Terry Lynn Johnson
Charlesbridge

Holly Farb and the Princess of the Galaxy
Written by Gareth Wronski
Aladdin Books

Mine!
Written by Natalie Hyde
Scholastic Canada

Missing Mike
Written by Shari Green
Pajama Press
Reviewed here 

Sit
Written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

The Train of Lost Things
Written by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Philomel Books

Basketballogy: Super Cool Facts You Never Knew
Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester
Annick Press

Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night
Written by Rob Laidlaw
Pajama Press
Reviewed here

Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security
Written by Maria Birmingham
Illustrated by Ian Turner
Owlkids Books

Broken Pieces: An Orphan of the Halifax Explosion
Written by Allison Lawlor
Nimbus Publishing

Carey Price: How a First Nations Kid Became a Superstar Goaltender
Written by Catherine Rondina
James Lorimer & Company







Engineered!: Engineering Design at Work
Written by Shannon Hunt
Illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
Kids Can Press

A Fair Deal: Shopping For Social Justice
Written by Kari Jones
Orca

New Hands, New Life: Robots, Prostheses and Innovation
Written by Alex Mihailidis and Jan Andrysek
Firefly Books

Rising Seas: Flooding, Climate Change And Our New World
Written by Keltie Thomas
Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich and Kath Boake W.
Firefly Books

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here








Remaining nominees will be listed here:

Red Maple and White Pine

Le Prix Tamarac and Le Prix Peuplier

Festival of Trees May 16, 2012

The second day of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading's Festival of Trees will take place Wednesday, May 16 at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.

Another great day of activities are scheduled for readers in the Silver Birch reading programs.  Attendees are encouraged to get maps, schedules of workshops and other events, author signing schedules, etc. at the OLA Festival of Trees link.

Here's just a capsule of who and what will be at the Festival this day, organized by Reading Programs:

 
SILVER BIRCH® EXPRESS

AUTHORS / ILLUSTRATORS in attendance
Monica Kulling - All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine

Cary Fagan - Banjo of Destiny
Ian Wallace - Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Philippa Dowding - The Gargoyle Overhead
Rebecca Upjohn - The Last Loon
Janet Wilson - Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet
Natalie Hyde - Saving Arm Pit
Don Gillmor - The Time Time Stopped
Anna Ziegler - Uumajut: Learn About Arctic Wildlife!
Jan Andrews - When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean

ACTIVITIES

• Silver Birch Express Awards Ceremony

• Workshop with Philippa Dowding (The Gargoyle Overhead)

• "First Steps in Storytelling" Workshop with Jan Andrews (When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean)

• Q & A with Natalie Hyde (Saving Arm Pit) and Rebecca Upjohn (The Last Loon)

• "Inspiration in Everyday Things: How a broken chair led to the writing of Banjo of Destiny" Workshop with Cary Fagan (Banjo of Destiny)

• "The Railway that Built a Nation" Workshop with Ian Wallace (Canadian Railroad Trilogy)

• Workshop with Don Gillmor (The Time Time Stopped)

• Workshop with Janet Wilson (Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet)

SILVER BIRCH FICTION

AUTHORS / ILLUSTRATORS in attendance

Anna Kerz - Better Than Weird
Jacqueline Guest - Ghost Messages
Julie Lawson - Ghosts of the Titanic

Valerie Sherrard - The Glory Wind
Colleen Sydor - The McGuillicuddy Book of Personal Records
Alan Silberberg - Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze
Kevin Sylvester - Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction
David Skuy - Undergrounders 

ACTIVITIES

• Silver Birch Fiction Awards Ceremony

• Workshop with Anna Kerz (Better Than Weird) and Colleen Sydor (The McGuillicuddy Book of Personal Records)

• "Ghost Messages: Voyage with the Author" Workshop with Jacqueline Guest (Ghost Messages)

• "Dueling Illustrators on Centre Stage" with Kevin Sylvester (Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction) and Alan Silberberg (Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze)

• "Fact or Fiction" Workshop with Julie Lawson (Ghosts of the Titanic)

• Workshop with David Skuy (Undergrounders)

SILVER BIRCH NON-FICTION

NON-FICTION AUTHORS / ILLUSTRATORS in attendance 

Richard B. Lee - Africans Thought of It: Amazing Innovations 

Keltie Thomas - Animals That Changed the World 

Susan Hughes - Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science 

Catherine Rondina - Don't Touch That Toad & Other Strange Things Adults Tell You 

Kevin Sylvester - Game Day: Meet the People Who Make It Happen 

Kathy Stinson - Highway of Heroes 

Lynda Colgan - Mathemagic! Number Tricks 

Cynthia Pratt Nicolson - Totally Human: Why We Look and Act the Way We Do 

Jan Thornhill - Who Wants Pizza? The Kids' Guide to the History, Science & Culture of Food 

ACTIVITIES

• Silver Birch Non-Fiction Awards Ceremony

• Workshop with Jan Thornhill (Who Wants Pizza) This workshop is limited to 45 persons so get there early.

• "Dueling Illustrators on Centre Stage" with Kevin Sylvester (Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction) and Alan Silberberg (Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze)

• ALOUD A Celebration for Young Readers with Karen Levine (Hana's Suitcase) 

LE PRIX TAMARAC
 

AUTEURS / ILLUSTRATEURS seront présents

Sylviane Thibault - Peur, voleur et film d'horreur 

Karine Gottot et Maxim Cyr - Les Dragouilles: Les Rouges de Tokyo 

Marie-Pierre Meunier - Le Zaillemeur 

ACTIVITIES

• Le Prix Tamarac Awards Ceremony

• Atelier avec Syliane Thibault (Peur, voleur et film d'horreur)

• Atelier avex Karine Gottot et Maxim Cyr (Les Dragouilles: Les Rouges de Tokyo)

LE PRIX TAMARAC EXPRESS

AUTEURS / ILLUSTRATEURS seront présents

Marie Sylvie Legault - Anne Frank: une jeune écrivaine juive 

Nadya Larouche - L'étrange affaire du 413 

Stéphanie Hurtubise - La Zone: Les Adventures D'Edwin Robi 

Mireille Messier - Coup de théâtre à Stratford

ACTIVITIES

• Le Prix Tamarac Express Awards Ceremony

• Atelier avec  Nadya Larouche (L'étrange affaire du 413)

ACTIVITIES FOR EVERYONE
• Forest® Bookstore (S&B Books Ltd.)
• Forest of Reading® 2012 Illustrator Exhibit celebrating 10 years of Blue Spruce
• magician, circus performers, games for book prizes, etc.
• The Toronto Zoo
• Toronto Police Services
• button-making station
• graffiti sheets for authors/illustrators
• PAWSWAY
• book-making workshops
• Kajama boat tours
• TVOntario tent
• canoeing on the pond
• games to win prizes

See you Wednesday!