Red Cedar and Salmonberry Book Awards: 2026/2027 Nominees announced

Readers' choice awards are a very special kind of book award. There are juries or selection committees that chose nominees or shortlists, but it's young readers who choose the winners. In British Columbia, the readers' choice awards are the Red Cedar Book Award, and now also the Salmonberry Book Award. As 2027 is the 30th Anniversary of the creation of B.C.’s Red Cedar Book Award which was designed to award books of fiction and non-fiction for readers in Grades 5–7. To celebrate this anniversary, they've expanded their awards to include an award for book aimed at younger readers, those in Grades 3–5. It's named the Salmonberry Book Award and has its own new logo.

 

 

Red Cedar Book Award for Fiction

Way Off Track    

Written by Carl Brundtland  

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila  

Kids Can Press

Saving Wolfgang

Written by Gregor Craigie    

Orca Book Publishers

Maggie Lou Meets Her Match    

Written by Arnolda Dufour Bowes    

Groundwood Books

 

Go

Written by Deborah Ellis    

Groundwood Books

Reviewed here 

 

Robot Island    

Written by Cary Fagan    

Tundra Books

 

Briarwood    

Written by Natalie Hyde    

DCB Young Readers

Reviewed here 

 

Touching Grass    

Written by Kristy Jackson  

Illustrated by Rhael McGregor  

HarperCollins

 

The City of Lost Cats    

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi    

Tundra Books

 

The Setback    

Written by Lynn Leitch    

Pajama Press

 

No Purchase Necessary    

Written by Maria Marianayagam    

HarperCollins

Reviewed here
    

The Anxious Exile of Sara Salt    

Written by Gabrielle Prendergast    

Orca Book Publishers

The Book of Jupiter    

Written by Robin Stevenson    

Kids Can Press

Reviewed here 

 

Time Surfers 

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester

HarperCollins 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Cedar Book Award for Information 

Bison: Community Builders and Grassland Caretakers    

Written by Frances Backhouse    

Orca Book Publishers
    

Green Cities: How Green Infrastructure Helps Urban Centers Thrive

Written by Sheila Boudreau  

Illustrated by Katie Dockrill  

Owlkids Books
    

Sticking to the Facts: 10 ways to Fight Misinformation    

Written by Gregor Craigie 

Illustrated by Bithi Sutradhar   

Orca Book Publishers
    

The Sustainable School: A Journey Through Time and Energy    

Written by Erica Fyvie

Illustrated by Scot Ritchie    

Kids Can Press

Reviewed here
    

Feeling Your Feelings: The Head-to-Toe Science of Emotions    

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi  

Illustrated by Phil Nicholls   

Kids Can Press
    

Octopus Ocean: Geniuses of the Deep    

Written by Mark Leiren-Young    

Orca Book Publishers
    

All About Us: 20 True Tales of Courage and Disability    

Written by Hannalora Leavitt 

Illustrated by Stef Wong   

Orca Book Publishers
    

Why Communities Need Engineers: Helping Humans Live Together    Written by Helen Liang   

Illustrated by Arden Taylor 

Orca Book Publishers
    

Making a Splash: How Humans Consume, Control and Care for Water 

Written by Colleen Nelson 

Illustrated by Sophie Dubé   

Orca Book Publishers
    

Microbes to the Rescue: Using Bacteria, Algae and Fungi to Clean Up the Planet    

Written by Yolanda Ridge    

Orca Book Publishers
    

You Were Made For This World: Celebrated Indigenous Voices Speak to Young People    

Edited by Stephanie Sinclair and Sara Sinclair    

Tundra Books
    

Soccerology: Unbelievable Facts and Stories about the Beautiful Game  

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester    

Annick Press

Reviewed here
    

Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Story    

Written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger   

Illustrated by Michelle Theodore 

Annick Press

Reviewed here 

 

 

 

Salmonberry Book Award

Julia on the Go!: The Big Splash    

Written by Angela Ahn 

Illustrated by Julie Kim    

Tundra Books

 

Two Tricksters Find Friendship    

Written by Johnny Aitken and Jess Willows

Illustrated by Alyssa Koski    

Orca Book Publishers
    

One Goal: How Soccer can Save the Planet    

Written by Heather Camlot

Illustrated by Drew Shannon    

Groundwood Books

 

Star Sailor, the Story of Words    

Written by Sara Cassidy

Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin    

Orca Book Publishers

Reviewed here 

 

Shy Cat and the Stuff-the-Bus Challenge    

Written by Dian Day

Illustrated by Amanda White    

Second Story Press

 

Howler Reef (Sueño Bay Adventures)    

Written by Nancy Deas

Illustrated by Mike Deas    

Orca Book Publishers

 

The Cedar Mother (Mothers of Xsan)    

Written by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw

Illustrated by Natasha Donovan    

Highwater Press

Reviewed here 

 

The Burrowing Owls of the Prairie Grasslands    

Written by Deborah Hodge

Illustrated by Karen Reczuch    

Groundwood Books

 

The Land Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom

Written by Leigh Joseph 

Illustrated by Natalie Schnitter    

becker&mayer! kids

 

How to Save a Library    

Written by Colleen Nelson    

Pajama Press

 

The Man in Motion: How Rick Hansen’s World Tour Helped Break Down Barriers for People with Disabilities

Written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson with Rick Hansen 

Illustrated by Emma Fitzgerald    

Owlkids Books

Reviewed here  

 

Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story    

Written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn  

Second Story Press

Reviewed here 

 

One Beaded Earring    

Written by Pat Lamondin Skene

Illustrated by Natalie Laurin    

Orca Book Publishers

 

Springtime in Kitkatla    

Written by Kim Spencer

Illustrated by Karlene Harvey    

Orca Book Publishers

 

The Three Wolves    

Written by Eric Walters

Illustrated by Olga Barinova 

Orca Book Publishers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burst Your Bubble!: Outsmart the Algorithms and See What You're Missing

Written by Joyce Grant

Illustrated by Jan Dolby

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-712-3

48 pp.

Ages 8–12

November 2025 

 

Many young people today are very tech savvy. They've grown up using computers, googling everything from reviews about restaurants to info for an essay, and getting their news through social media. And while we all need to be more vigilant about what information is presented to us and how we get it, I suspect that those who've grown up with the technology may be more comfortable accepting it at face value. Joyce Grant's latest book will enlighten every one of us to the power and perils of algorithms in framing our interactions online.

From Burst Your Bubble!, written by Joyce Grant, illustrated by Jan Dolby

Burst Your Bubble! begins with an explanation of information bubbles which can also refer to filters, information silos, echo chambers, or personalization that reflects your age, background, hobbies, and more. No matter the term, bubbles cut us off from a richness and diversity of points of view and information that might never enter our bubbles. To understand how these bubbles arise, Joyce Grant discusses how algorithms gather information about us using digital cookies and tracking the sites we visit; why they are used; how they can benefit us and why they are dangerous; and why we need to burst out of our bubbles. 

From Burst Your Bubble!, written by Joyce Grant, illustrated by Jan Dolby

There's a lot of fabulous information about how algorithms work but most importantly Joyce Grant advises readers how to take control back from those algorithms. While it's not unusual to feel vulnerable when using the internet—and there are so many things beyond our control when we use digital media—Burst Your Bubble! informs about so much that which is in our influence, whether it is retraining our brains to think differently, being aware of what reinforces those bubbles, or setting up opportunities to change the algorithms.

While I've reviewed a number of books created from the collaboration of Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby (e.g., Gabby, Wonder Girl, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2016), this is my first that is non-fiction, and it doesn't disappoint. In fact, it's an astonishingly fresh look at the power of online algorithms and how to protect ourselves and even manage them. Jan Dolby's illustrations give Joyce Grant's text some of the freshness with lively artwork. Jan Dolby gives both colour and depth to what could have been dry content. She even finds innovative ways to illustrate the power of algorithms to pick up on our interests and grab our attention.

From Burst Your Bubble!, written by Joyce Grant, illustrated by Jan Dolby

Information is a powerful thing, whether it is something used against us or something that we control. With the right information, courtesy of Burst Your Bubble!: Outsmart the Algorithms and See What You're Missing, young readers will be able to get beyond those manipulations and see a broader online world that is diverse, rich, and open.

 

 🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

 

If you're near Burlington, Ontario today, you might want to check out the book launch for Burst Your Bubble! Author Joyce Grant will be in attendance, and there will be books for purchase as well as signing. Here are the details:

 

Date:          Saturday, November 8, 2025

 

Time:         1 p.m. EST

 

Location:    A Different Drummer Books

                    513 Locust Street

                    Burlington, ON

                    L7S 1V3 

                    (905) 639-0925

N.B. I saw that there will be cupcakes!