Showing posts with label Yellow Cedar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yellow Cedar. Show all posts

October 16, 2025

2026 Forest of Reading® nominees: Yellow Cedar, Red Maple, White Pine

 Here is the second grouping of nominated titles from the 2026 Forest of Reading® book awards of the Ontario Library Association:
  • Yellow Cedar: non-fiction for Grades 4 to 8
  • Red Maple: fiction for Grades 7 and 8
  • White Pine: fiction for Grades 9 to 12


  

YELLOW CEDAR








Game Changers: Stories of Hijabi Athletes from Around the World

Written by Charlene Smith
Illustrated by Natayla Tariq
Orca Book Publishers
 

How to Know a Crow: The Biography of a Brainy Bird

Written by Candace Savage
Illustrated by Rachel Hudson
Greystone Kids 
 

The Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom

Written by Leigh Joseph
Illustrated by Natalie Schnitter
becker&mayer! kids 
 

Octopus Ocean: Geniuses of the Deep

Written by Mark Lieren-Young
Orca Book Publishers 
 

Salt, Pepper, Season, Spice: All the Flavors of the World

Written by Jacques Pasquet 
Translated by Ann Marie Boulanger
Illustrated by Claire Anghinolfi
Orca Book Publishers 


A Sick History of Medicine: A Warts-And-All Book Full of Fun Facts and Disgusting Discoveries

Written by Jelena Poleksic
Illustrated by Ella Kasperowicz
Neon Squid


Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet
Written and Illustrated by Geo Rutherford
Abrams Books for Young Readers
 

The True Story of Vanilla: How Edward Albius Made History

Written by Ann Richards
Illustrated by Arden Taylor
Orca Book Publishers 
 

Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains

Written by Anita Yasuda
Illustrated by Yuko Shimizu
Clarion Books 
 

Zoom in on Zombies
Written by Kari-Lynn Winters & Catherine Rondina
Fitzhenry & Whiteside 




 
RED MAPLE™


 




The Dark Won't Wait

Written by David A. Poulson
Red Deer Press
 

The Discovery of Finnegan Wilde

Written by Caroline Pignat
Thistledown Press
 

The Factory

Written by Catherine Egan
Scholastic Canada 
 

Finding Harmony

Written by Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers
 

If We Tell You

Written by Nicola Dahlin
Kids Can Press
 

Is There a Boy Like Me?

Written by Kern Carter
Scholastic Canada
 

No Purchase Necessary

Written by Maria Marianayagam
HarperCollins
 

Old School

Written by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada
 

The Time Keeper

Written by Meagan Mahoney
DCB Young Readers
 

Unsinkable Cayenne

Written by Jessica Vitalis
Greenwillow Books 


 






WHITE PINE™





Beast

Written by Richard Van Camp
Douglas & McIntyre 
 

A Drop in the Ocean
Written by Léa Taranto
Arsenal Pulp Press 
 

For She is Wrath
Written by Emily Varga
Wednesday Books
 

The History of Everything
Written and illustrated by Victoria Evans
HarperAlley  
  

Messy Perfect
Written by Tanya Boteju 
Quill Tree Books 


Recommended Reading

Written by Paul Coccia
Zando Young Readers 
Reviewed here 


Songs for Ghosts
Written by Clara Kumagai
Penguin Teen Canada 
 

Titan of the Stars
Written by E.K. Johnston
Tundra Books 
 

The Unfinished
Written by Cheryl Isaacs 
Heartdrum  
 

The Unweaving
Written by Cheryl Parisien
Tidewater Press 
 
 
 
 
 
 

•••••••••••••••••••

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



2026 Forest of Reading® nominated titles announced

 

Yesterday, the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading® announced the 2026 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 here 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 in public, private or separate schools and 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)
2026 nominees posted here

 
Silver Birch Express Award®
(Grades 3–4, English-language fiction and non-fiction)
2026 nominees posted here


 
Silver Birch Fiction Award®
(Grades 3–6, English-language fiction)
2026 nominees posted here


 
 
Yellow Cedar Award
(Grades 4–8, English-language non-fiction)
2026 nominees posted here

   

 

Red Maple Award
(Grades 7–8, English-language fiction)
2026 nominees posted here


 

White Pine Award
(Grades 9–12, English-language fiction)
2026 nominees posted here


 
Le prix Peuplier
(French-language picture books, less text, simpler subject matters, perfect for read-alouds)
2026 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)
2026 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)
2026 nominees posted here
 

 
 
Let the Forest begin! 
 
🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲

May 16, 2025

2025 Forest of Reading® winners announced

Over the past week, the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading®, a readers' choice book award program, announced the winners at its annual Festival of Trees at Harbourfront in Toronto and virtually.

Here are this year's winners and honour books for each reading program, as voted by young readers from JK to Grade 12.
 


•••••••••••••••••••••••••



Winner
The Lost Stick
Written and illustrated by Anoosha Syed
PRHC Viking Books



Honour Books:
Harold the Iceberg Melts Down
Written by Lisa Wyzlic
Illustrated by Rebecca Syracuse
RAI Feiwel and Friends
 
Mandeep's Cloudy Days
Written by Kuljinder Kaur Brar
Illustrated by Samrath Kaur
Annick Press

 








Winner
Lost and Found: Based on a True Story
Written and illustrated by Mei Yu
Union Square Kids



Honour Books:
Ghost Girl
Written by Brooke Carter
Illustrated by Alyssa Waterbury
Orca Book Publishers

Dragon on the Loose

Written by Marty Chan
Illustrated by Grace Chen
Orca Book Publishers














Winner
 
The Legendary Mo Seto
Written by A.Y. Chan
Aladdin
 


Honour Books:
Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Written and illustrated by Graham Annable
First Second

Iggy Included
Written by Deborah Kerbel
Scholastic Canada














Winner 

Four Terrifying Tales 
 (Haunted Canada: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1)
Written by Joel A. Sutherland
Illustrated by Hannah Barrett, David Bishop, Matt Salisbury, and Jenn Woodall
Scholastic Canada


Honour Books:
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey
Written by George Chiang and Chad Soon
Illustrated by Amy Qi
Orca Book Publishers
The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning
Written and illustrated by Afua Cooper
Plumleaf Press


 







Winner
40 Days in Hicksville
Written by Christina Kilbourne
DCB


Honour Books:
The Cricket War
Written by Tho Pham and Sandra McTavish
Kids Can Press




Tig

Written by Heather Smith
Tundra Books














Winner
The Space Between Here and Now
Written by Sarah Suk
Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins)


Honour Books:
Where the Dark Stands Still
Written by A. B. Poranek
Margaret K. McElderry Books
 
Sweetness in the Skin
Written by Ishi Robinson
HarperCollins










Winner/Lauréat
Hugo
Écrit et illustré par Catherine Braun-Grenier
Fonfon
 
 
 
Honour Books/Livres distingués:
Si j’avais su
Écrit et illustré par Geneviève Després
Les 400 coups


Dernière heure: La déconfiture du lièvre
Écrit par Robert Soulières
Illustré par Sans Cravate
Fonfon














Winner/Lauréat
Le cumulus machinus
Écrit par Ugo Monticone
Ilustré par Orbie
La courte echelle 
 

Honour Books/Livres distingués: 
Ntangu

Écrit par Malika Tirolien
Illustré par Kiara Thompson
Fonfon
Blanche comme un drap
Écrit par Chloé Varin
Illustré par Rémi Allen
Fonfon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Winner/Lauréat
L’homme aux araignées
Écrit par Jocelyn Boisvert
La courte échelle


Honour Books/Livres distingués:
Le manoir Hillcrest
Écrit par Sandra Dussault
Illustré par Martin Côté
La courte echelle


Lili Jade 01: Pro des animaux
Écrit par Audrée Archambault
Illustré par Simone Duchesne
Éditions de la Bagnole

 





 


Congratulations to everyone!

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