2019 Forest of Reading® nominees announced: Le Prix Tamarac and Le Prix Peuplier

This listing completes the posting of the nominees for the school-aged programs of Ontario Library Association's 2018-2019 Forest of Reading® awards which were just announced yesterday. The two categories and three award programs for French language readers are included here.

 

Centgrillons
Écrit par Daniel Laverdure
Illustré par Annie Rodrigue
Soulières Éditeur





 

D'où viens-tu, Aya?
Écrit par Danielle Charland
Illustré par Caroline Merola
Éditions Pierre Tisseyre





 
Dominic et le hérisson
Écrit par Alain M. Bergeron
Illustré par Sampar
Soulières Éditeur





 

Le fan club des champignons
Écrit et illustré par Élise Gravel
Les 400 coups

L’homme de la cave
Écrit par Alexandre Côté-Fournier
Illustré par Enzo
La Courte Échelle 

Une infirmière du tonnerre
Écrit par Dominique Demers
Illustré par Fabio Pellegrino
Québec Amérique






 
La longue histoire de la petite vache
Écrit par Daniel Marchildon
Illustré par Caroline Merola
Soulières Éditeur





 
Mammouth rock
Écrit par Eveline Payette
Illustré par Guillaume Perreault
La Courte Échelle






Perdue sans elle
Écrit par Marie-Hélène Jarry
Illustré par Geneviève Côté
Soulières Éditeur

Pow Pow, t'es mort!
Écrit par Marie-Francine Hébert
Illustré par Jean-Luc Trude
Les 400 coups

L'Acadie en baratte: Petit guide inusité des Maritimes
Écrit par Diane Carmel Léger
Illustré par Raynald Basque
Bouton d’or Acadie

Baie-des-Corbeaux
Écrit par Sonia Sarfati
Illustré par Jared KarnasLa Courte Échelle

Le dernier camelot
Écrit par Marie-Renée Lavoie
Éditions Hurtubise

Gladiateurs virtuels
Écrit par Paul Roux
Bayard Canada

Jimmy Tornado: Atlas ne répond plus
Écrit par Frédéric Antoine
Illustré par Jean-François Vachon
Presses Aventure

Joujou Turenne raconte Mandela
Écrit par Joujou Turenne
Illustré par Patrick Noze
Éditions Planète Rebelle

Le livre où la poule meurt à la fin
Écrit par François Blais
Illustré par Valérie Boivin
Les 400 coups

Les poissons électriques
Écrit par Erik Harvey-Girard
Illustré par Stéphane Poirier
La Pasteque

La princesse qui voulait devenir générale
Écrit par Sophie Bienvenu
Illustré par Camille Pomerlo
Les Éditions de la Bagnole

Rohingyas
Écrit par Élizabeth Turgeon
Éditions du Boréal

La doudou qui aimait trop le chocolat
Écrit par Claudia Larochelle
Illustré par Maira Chiodi
Les Éditions de la Bagnole

Le grand coeur de madame Lili
Écrit par Gilles Tibo
Illustré par Irene Luxbacher
Scholastic

Lapin perdu - Lapin trouvé
Écrit par Janou-Ève LeGuerrier
Illustré par Amélie Dubois
Les 400 coups

Lila et la corneille
Écrit et illustré par Gabrielle Grimard
Scholastic

Ma tête en l’air
Écrit par Danielle Chaperon
Illustré par Josée Bisaillon
Fonfon

Mémé à la plage
Écrit par Rhéa Dufresne
Illustré par Aurélie Grand
Les 400 coups

Moi aussi! Moi aussi!
Écrit par Mireille Messier
Illustré par Yves Dumont
Les Éditions de la Bagnole

Parfois je suis un renard
Écrit et illustré par Danielle Daniel
Scholastic

Qui va bercer Zoé?
Écrit par Andrée Poulin
Illustré par Mathieu Lampron
Les 400 coups

Une visite inattendue
Écrit par Anne-Marie Rioux
Illustré par Yves Dumont
Les 400 coups

Remaining nominees are listed here:

Blue Spruce and Silver Birch

Red Maple and White Pine

What Happened in July

Written by Margaret J. McMaster
Mansbridge Dunn Publishers
978-0-981-052540
57 pp.
Ages 7-9
2012


What Happened in July, the fourth book in Margaret J. McMaster's Babysitter Out of Control! early reader series, has our young narrator, Stewart, again in the care of his babysitter, the elderly Mrs. Chairbottom, while his detective parents are working.

Behind one of the kitchen cupboards which Mrs. Chairbottom is having replaced, they find an old newspaper from July 1932. The cover page of the newspaper has four different words circled in red with several combinations of numbers and letters written beside them.  With the help of Mrs. Chairbottom's friend, Colonel Alfred Peabody, they discover the secret code that ultimately leads them to an old mystery of stolen diamonds.

Reminiscent of the Horrible Harry (by Suzy Kline) and Nate the Great (by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat) series of mysteries for young readers, What Happened in July presents a simple mystery that gives readers a chance to try out some new skills, here code-breaking.  While the nature of early readers generally precludes multi-layered plotting and characterizations, What Happened in July provides more than just a linear mystery plot i.e., discovering a mystery and directly finding the solution.  Because of the addition of the code-breaking and help needed to discover information not readily accessible, young readers will experience the more complicated plotting of a true mystery.

Books for early readers are at a severe disadvantage compared to picture books, longer fiction and nonfiction.  While picture books can use incredible graphics to support and add meaning to the sparse text, as can non-fiction, and middle-grade and YA literature has the opportunity and word count to extend all elements of the story to enhance its telling, early readers must rely on simple plots and easy vocabulary, perhaps with the occasional graphic, to convey a complete story.  For that reason, I feel that reading the first three books in the series would have enhanced my understanding of the characters' relationships and the history of Mrs. Chairbottom's babysitting of Stewart.  It must be difficult for authors such as Margaret J. McMaster to restrain themselves from elaborating on their plots and setting and characters to ensure that they don't lose their readership.  And too much of anything in an early chapter book is sure to turn off a new reader.  So, kudos to those authors such as Margaret J. McMaster who accept the challenge of penning a story for the youngest readers and can still tell a good solid story.

You can check out Margaret J. McMaster's blog here http://margaretmcmaster.blogspot.ca/ to see the other volumes in her Babysitter Out of Control series and her other children's book, Carried Away on Licorice Days (Mansbridge Dunn, 2008).

Cats, Cats, More Cats: Book List

Yes, there is a day dedicated to my favourite furry companion. (Although if you ask a cat, every day should be World Cat Day.  And if you ask a cat person, every day becomes World Cat Day.)

There are so many books by Canadian authors and illustrators that feature felines that I can only provide a limited (!) number of titles and specs here.  Sorry, no room for even the briefest of synopses.

PICTURE BOOKS

The Baritone Cat
By Mora Skelton
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
Lester Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 4-6
1994

Caramba

By Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4+
2005

Caramba and Henry

By Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 4+
2011

The Cat and the Wizard
By Dennis Lee
Illustrated by Gillian Johnson
Key Porter Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2001

The Cat Came Back

By Fred Penner 

Illustrated by Renee Reichert

Roaring Brook Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2005

The Cat Came Back

By Bill Slavin

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

1992

A Cat in a Kayak

By Maria Coffey

Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Annick Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

1998

A Cat Adrift

By Maria Coffey

Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

Annick Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2002

 

The Cat's Pajamas

By Wallace Edwards

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2010

Chester

By Mélanie Watt

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2007

Chester’s Back!

By Mélanie Watt

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2008

Chester’s Masterpiece

By Mélanie Watt

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2010

The Chicken Cat
By Stephanie Simpson McLellan
Illustrated by Sean Cassidy
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2000

Give Maggie a Chance

By Frieda Wishinsky

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

32 pp.

Ages 5-7

2002

Maggie Can't Wait

By Frieda Wishinsky

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

32 pp.

Ages 2-6

2009

The Klondike Cat

By Julie Lawson

Illustrated by Paul Mombourquette

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

2002

Lucy Maud and the Cavendish Cat

By Lynn Manuel

Illustrated by Janet Wilson

Tundra

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

1997

 

Miss Meow Pageant

By Ricardo Keens-Douglas

Illustrated by Marie laFrance

Annick Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

1998

Mister Got To Go: The Cat That Wouldn't Leave

By Lois Simmie

Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent

Red Deer College Press

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

1995

Mister Got To Go and Arnie

By Lois Simmie

Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent

Red Deer Press

32 pp.

Ages 4+

2012

Mister Got To Go, Where Are You?

By Lois Simmie

Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent

Red Deer Press

32 pp.

Ages 4+

2014

My Cat Isis

By Catherine Austen

Illustrated by Virginie Egger

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2011

Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That

By Victoria Allenby

Illustrated by Tara Anderson

Pajama Press

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

2013

 

Pounce de Leon

By Tim Wynne-Jones

Illustrated by Alfredo Tapia

Red Deer Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2009

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?

By Dan Bar-el

Illustrated by Rae Maté

Simply Read Books

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2011

The Sleeping Porch 

By Ian Wallace

Groundwood Books

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2008

The Snow Cat

By Dayal Kaur Khalsa

Tundra

24 pp.

Ages 4-8

1992

Stanley’s Little Sister

By Linda Bailey

Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 2-8

2010

True Story

By Marty Chan

Illustrated by Lorna Bennett

Ink Jockey

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

2009

Wellington’s Rainy Day

By Carolyn Beck 

Illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan

Orca Book Publishers

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2011

Where's That Cat?
(previous title: Have You Seen Josephine?)
By Stéphane Poulin
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
2003

Catch That Cat!  
(previous title: Can You Catch Josephine?)
By Stéphane Poulin
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
2003

Could You Stop Josephine?
By Stéphane Poulin
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
1986

You Can’t Rush a Cat

By Karleen Bradford 

Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts

Orca Book Publishers

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

2003

Zoom

By Tim Wynne-Jones 

Illustrated by Eric Beddows

Groundwood Books

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2009

Zoom at Sea 

By Tim Wynne-Jones 

Illustrated by Eric Beddows

House of Anansi

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

1990

Zoom Upstream 

By Tim Wynne-Jones 

Illustrated by Eric Beddows

Groundwood Books

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

1992

Zoom Away

By Tim Wynne-Jones 

Illustrated by Eric Beddows 

Groundwood Books

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

1993

EASY READERS, GRAPHIC NOVELS and NOVELS

 

Andrew, Catch that Cat!

By Deanne Lee Bingham 

Illustrated by Kim LaFave

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

46 pp.

Ages 6-9

1999

Any Pet Will Do           

By Nancy Shouse             

Orca Book Publishers

106 pp.  

Ages 8-11

2005        

Binky the Space Cat

By Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press
64 pp.
Ages 7-10
2009

Binky to the Rescue

By Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press
64 pp.
Ages 7-10
2010

Binky Under Pressure

By Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press
64 pp.
Ages 7-10
2011

The Birthday Girl 

By Jean Little 

Illustrated by June Lawrason 

Orca Book Publishers

64 pp.

Ages 7-8

2004

Catboy 

By Eric Walters 

Orca Book Publishers

229 pp.

Ages 9-11

2011

Hunter 

By Eric Walters 

Orca Book Publishers

208 pp.

Ages 9-11

September 2012

Cat’s Eye Corner

By Terry Griggs

Raincoast Books

168 pp.

Ages 9-12

2002

The Circus Dogs of Prague

By Rachel Delaney

Puffin Canada

192 pp.

Ages 8+

2014

Feral

By Bev Cooke

Orca Book Publishers

197 pp.

Ages 13-15

2008

Fred's Dream Cat

By Marie-Danielle Croteau

Illustrated by Bruno St-Aubin

Translated by Sarah Cummins

Formac Publishing

61 pp.

Ages 8-9

1995

The Nine Lives of Travis Keating

By Jill MacLean

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

217 pp.

Ages 8-12

2008

The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy     

By Jill MacLean

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

217 pp.

Ages 8-12

2009

Nutz!
By Virginia Frances Schwartz
Illustrated by Christina Leist
Tradewind Books
120 pp.
Ages 8-11
2011

Plain Kate

By Erin Bow

Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic Canada

314 pp.

Ages 12-15

2010

TJ and the Cats

By Hazel Hutchins

Orca Book Publishers

108 pp.

Ages 8-11

2002

TJ and the Rockets

By Hazel Hutchins

Orca Book Publishers

105 pp.

Ages 8-11

2004

TJ and the Quiz Kids

By Hazel Hutchins    

Orca Book Publishers

128 pp.

Ages 8-11

2007

Apologies to those authors and illustrators whose books I missed including in this list, but my little one is calling for her tuna juice and I shouldn't keep her waiting, ever.

HAPPY  WORLD  CAT  DAY!