CanLit for LittleCanadians: Yellow Cedar

Showing posts with label Yellow Cedar. 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: 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

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

Reviewed here

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

Reviewed here

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

Reviewed here

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

Written by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

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

Reviewed here

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!

🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲

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