2026 Forest of Reading Kid and Teen Ambassador Committees: Applications now being accepted (deadline April 1, 2026)

  

Since 2017, the Forest of Reading program has organized its Forest Kid and Teen Committees to compile summer reading lists for Silver Birch, Red Maple, and White Pine readers. These reading lists are assembled every spring by young people to help their peers find great new Canadian books to read. 

 

If you are an avid reader in Grades 4 to 12, whether in school or homeschooled, there's a committee looking for you to help by sharing your opinions on Canadian books for young people. 

 

 

How to get on a committee:

• Any Canadian student (from any province or territory) in Grades 4 to 12 (including those homeschooled) can apply. 

 

• Applications are completed online HERE

        In addition to contact details, you will be asked about your favourite Canadian authors and books. (Make sure you know whether the author is Canadian.)

 

• The deadline for applications is Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

(Note: These committees will only move forward if there are significant applications for each program. )

 

 

What the committee will do:

• Committees will meet virtually in May via ZOOM (9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. EST; times may be subject to change depending on locations of committee members) to discuss books.

• Silver Birch Kid Committee (students in Grades 4–6) will meet on Tuesday, May 5, 2026
• Red Maple Kid Committee (students in Grades 7 and 8) will meet on Wednesday, May 6, 2026
• Teen Ambassador Committee (students in Grades 9–12) will meet on Thursday, May 7, 2026

• Committee members will be sharing and championing books written by Canadian authors from the last 2 years (and not previously included on Forest of Reading lists of nominees or on Forest Kid Committee summer reading lists). 

 

If you love books, specifically Canadian books, this is your chance to talk to other readers about what you love and help others find great books to read over the summer. You can include fiction, non-fiction, short story collections, graphic novels, etc. appropriate for the age group of your committee.

 

 

Full details, including past lists, are available at https://forestofreading.com/kid-teen-committees/

You can check out earlier reading lists at the links below:

• 2019 (Silver Birch, Red Maple, White Pine)
• 2020 (Silver Birch, Red Maple, White Pine)
• 2021 (Silver Birch, Red Maple, White Pine)
• 2022 (Silver Birch, Red Maple, White Pine)
• 2023 (Silver Birch and Red Maple)
• 2024 (Silver Birch and Red Maple)
• 2025 (Silver Birch and Red Maple)
• 2025 (White Pine) 

Apply before April 1^st, 2026

for your chance to be on 

one of thse exciting and worthwhile committees

 

2025 Forest of Reading® Kid Committee: Applications now being accepted (deadline April 1, 2025)

The Forest of Reading program releases summer reading lists that are put together every spring by young people on the Forest Kid and Teen Committees. If you are an avid reader in Grades 4 to 6 or Grades 7 to 8, there are two separate committees looking for participants in 2025 to share their opinions on Canadian books with their peers.

 

 

How to get on a committee:

• Any Canadian student (from any province or territory) in Grades 4 to 8 (including those homeschooled) can apply 

 

• Application are completed online HERE

        In addition to contact details, you will be asked about your favourite Canadian authors and books.

 

• The deadline for applications is Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

(Note: These committees will only move forward if there are significant applications for each program. )

 

 

What the committee will do:

• Committees will meet virtually in May via ZOOM (9 AM - 12:30 PM EST; times may be subject to change depending on locations of committee members) to discuss books.

Silver Birch Kid Committee (students in Grades 4-6) will meet on Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Red Maple Kid Committee (students in Grades 7 and 8) will meet on Wednesday, May 7, 2025

(Teen Committee is piloting an ambassador program this year. Details will follow.)

• Committee members will be sharing, recommending, and championing books written by Canadian authors from the last 2 years (and not previously included on Forest of Reading lists of nominees or on Forest Kid Committee summer reading lists). If you love books, specifically Canadian books, this is your chance to talk to other readers about what you love and help others find great books to read over the summer. You can include fiction, non-fiction, short story collections, graphic novels, etc. appropriate for the age group of your committee.

 

 

Full details, including past lists, are available at https://forestofreading.com/kid-teen-committees/

You can check out earlier reading lists at the links below:

• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024

Apply before April 1^st, 2025

for your chance to be on 

this exciting and worthwhile committee

 

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.

2022 Forest of Reading Forest Kid and Teen Committees: Applications due by April 1

 

Just before children and teens head out for March break, get them thinking about applying to the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading's Forest Kid and Teen Committees. Young readers from Grades 3 to 12 are invited to apply to be on one of three committees who will meet via Zoom in early May to talk books and recommend Canadian titles for their peers. These summer reading lists will then be shared to inform young people's reading of recent books by Canadian authors.

 

Here's what you need to know:

 

Committees:

There are 3 committees:

    Silver Birch Kid Committee (for students in Gr. 3-6)

    Red Maple Kid Committee (for students in Gr. 7-8)

    Teen Committee (for students in Gr. 9-12)

Applications:

Applicants will be asked to fill out an application here and share favourite Canadian authors and their books, both recently published and of all time. (It is a must that readers are familiar with Canadian authors.)

 

Deadline:

April 1, 2022

 

Zoom Meetings:

Selected applicants will meet via virtual Zoom meetings from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM EST on the following dates:

    Silver Birch Kid Committee:    Monday, May 2, 2022

    Red Maple Kid Committee:      Tuesday, May 3, 2022

    Teen Committee:                       Thursday, May 5, 2022

 

Complete details are available from the Forest of Reading Kid and Teen Committees here.

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For past reading lists (always helpful for teachers and parents to suggest books to young readers), check out the Forest of Reading site at https://forestofreading.com/kid-teen-committees/. Here are images of last year's recommended titles from the Silver Birch, Red Maple and Teen Committees.

Good luck to all students who apply. 

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Forest Kid and Teen Committees 2021

It's that time again for Canadian young readers to apply for the Forest Kid and Teen Committees to develop summer reading lists for their peers. 

 

The Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading has put out the call for readers to apply for one of the three committees:

• Silver Birch (Gr. 3-6)
• Red Maple (Gr. 7-8) 
• White Pine (Gr. 9-12) 

Each committee, which will comprise of 8-10 selected individuals, will meet via Zoom in May to develop a summer reading list of recommended Canadian books for their peers to enjoy. Scheduled dates for meetings are as follows:

• Silver Birch: Tuesday, May 4, 2021
• Red Maple: Wednesday, May 5, 2021
• White Pine: Thursday, May 6, 2021

If you or a young person you know is enthusiastic, well read, and familiar with Canadian authors and their books, especially those published in the last few years, then the Forest Kid and Teen Committees offer a great opportunity to meet (virtually) with like-minded young readers and help recommend great titles of youngCanLit to others of their age group. 

 

The application, which takes between 10-15 minutes to complete online, is due April 1, 2021 and can be accessed at https://forms.gle/UxGm6wBsWkAeJVtG9.

 

Complete details, as well as links to past summer reading lists, are posted at https://accessola.com/forest/kid-teen-committees/