Showing posts with label White Pine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Pine. Show all posts

October 16, 2026

2027 Forest of Reading® nominees: Yellow Cedar, Red Maple, White Pine

Here is the second grouping of nominated titles from the 2027 Forest of Reading® book awards of the Ontario Library Association:


  

YELLOW CEDAR








Bat Planet: The Mysterious Life of the Creatures of the Night

Written by Neil Griffin
Orca Book Publishers


Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions

Written by Anjali Joshi
Illustrated by Kathleen Ng
Annick Press


The Buzz on Wild Bees: The Little-Known Pollinators that Keep Our Planet Humming

Written by Kira Vermond
Illustrated by June Steube
Owlkids Books


The Cedar Mother
(Mothers of Xsan, Book 8)
Written by Brett D. Huson (Hetxw’ms Gyetxw)
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan
HighWater Press


Cracking the Code: The Human Quest to Uncover Secrets

Written by Rachel Kehoe
Illustrated by Meegan Lim
Orca Book Publishers


The Dream of an Education: How Phymean Noun Built a School
Written by Susan Hughes
Illustrated by Tida Kheav
Orca Book Publishers


Left-Handed: Getting a Grip on Handedness

Written by Maria Birmingham
Illustrated by Catherine Chan
Owlkids Books
Reviewed here


Soccerology: Unbelievable Facts and Stories About the Beautiful Game

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester
Annick Press


The Sustainable School: A Journey Through Time and Energy

Written by Erica Fyvie
Illustrated by Scot Ritchie
Kids Can Press
Reviewed here


What Is A Sculpture?

Written by Diane Borsato
Illustrated by Laura Carlin
Tundra Books






 
RED MAPLE™


 




Absolutely No Body Parts

Written by Valerie Sherrard
DCB Young Readers


Among Ghosts

Written by Rachel Hartman
Penguin Teen Canada
 

The Book of Jupiter
Written by Robin Stevenson
Kids Can Press
 

Go
Written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books


The Inbetweens 

Written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks
First Second Books


Lydia Cooper Is a Lie

Written by Meaghan McIsaac
Aladdin Books
 

Sam
Written by Eric Walters
DCB Young Readers


Skygull Calamity 
Written by Bronwyn Fairchild
Annick Press 
 

Something's Up with Arlo 
Written by Matteo L. Cerilli
HarperCollins 
 

The Vanished Ones
Written by Chad Lucas
Amulet Books 
  













WHITE PINE™



Best of All Worlds
Written by Kenneth Oppel
Penguin Teen Canada



The Free Verse Society
Written by Delali Adjoa
Peachtree Teen



He's So Possessed with Me
Written by Corey Liu
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers


Our Little Secret
Written by Edward Kay and Mikhael Klassen-Kay
DCB Young Readers



Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions
Written by Ahmad Saber
Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books



The Rebel Girls of Rome
Written by Jordyn Taylor
HarperCollins


Small Ceremonies
Written by Kyle Edwards
McClelland & Stewart


This Place Kills Me
Written by Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Nicole Goux
Abrams


Thornbird
Written by E. Kennedy
Delacorte Press


The Vacation Shift
Written by Lily Chu
Quill Tree Books

 
 
 
 
 
 

•••••••••••••••••••

Nominees for the other programs can be linked to from below:
 

2027 Forest of Reading® nominees announced

Yesterday, the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading® announced the 2027 nominated titles for its book award programs for school-aged readers. For months, teachers and librarians on selection committees have been reading submitted books by Canadian creators to compile these exceptional lists from which young readers will choose winners next spring.  

The lists of all nominated books are available on the Forest of Reading® website, and schools, parents, everyone can register to be part of the program. (The program even extends beyond Ontario and Canada's borders.) Young readers from JK through high school have the opportunity to read and vote on their favourite books in these nine different categories:
  • Blue Spruce: JK–Grade 2, picture books
  • Silver Birch Express: Grades 3–4, fiction and non-fiction
  • Silver Birch Fiction: Grades 3–6, fiction
  • Yellow Cedar: Grades 4–8, non-fiction
  • Red Maple: Grades 7–8, fiction
  • White Pine: Grades 9–12, fiction
  • Le prix Peuplier: French-language picture books, less text, simpler subject matters, perfect for read-alouds
  • Le prix Mélèze: shorter French-language chapter books with maximum 100 pages or more mature picture books, larger text with pictures, simpler vocabulary and verb tenses
  • Le prix Tamarac: French-language chapter books from 100 to 250 pages, smaller text with little or no illustrations, more complicated verb tenses and vocabulary

Because there are ninety nominated titles, I will break up the posts listing them in three groupings, all which can be accessed from this page. 

Do check out how to register for this fabulous reading program. It's very, very reasonable, and all young readers attending public or private schools, as well as those who are home-schooled, are welcome. Just select the right program for your young readers.  
 
Congratulations to all nominees

and

Happy reading to Forest of Reading participants!


🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲


 

Blue Spruce Award™
(JK–Grade 2, English-language picture books)
2027 nominees posted here

 
Silver Birch Express Award®
(Grades 3–4, English-language fiction and non-fiction)
2027 nominees posted here


 
Silver Birch Fiction Award®
(Grades 3–6, English-language fiction)
2027 nominees posted here


 
 
Yellow Cedar Award
(Grades 4–8, English-language non-fiction)
2027 nominees posted here

   

 

Red Maple Award™
(Grades 7–8, English-language fiction)
2027 nominees posted here


 

White Pine Award™
(Grades 9–12, English-language fiction)
2027 nominees posted here


 
Le prix Peuplier
(French-language picture books, less text, simpler subject matters, perfect for read-alouds)
2027 nominees posted here

   

Le prix Mélèze
(shorter French-language chapter books maximum 100 pages or more mature picture books, larger text with pictures,  simpler vocabulary and verb tenses)
2027 nominees posted here
 


Le prix Tamarac
(French-language chapter books from 100 to 250 pages, smaller text with little or no illustrations, more complicated verb tenses and vocabulary)
2027 nominees posted here
 

 
 
 
Let the Forest begin! 
 
🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲

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: