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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book of Jupiter

Written by Robin Stevenson

Kids Can Press

978-1525313028

220 pp.

Ages 10–14

June 2026 

 

Thirteen-year-old Ara lives with Father Jupiter, Mothers Io, Amalthea, Callisto, Elara, and Dia, and more than half a dozen Star Children at Jupiter Station. When three auspicious things happen, Father Jupiter takes it as a sign. First, it is Ara's birthday. Secondly, Mother Io becomes stardust, the first of their "family" to Ascend to Jupiter. Third, baby Nova is born to new member Dia, whom Father Jupiter had brought from the city. To honour this trifecta, Father Jupiter gives Ara baby Nova to care for. Ara takes this honour very seriously, believing that Father Jupiter is wise and wants to ensure they all Ascend.

 

But then Ara's brother Leo expresses Doubts—capitalized because of their significance—to her, remembering things before they came to Jupiter Station. And then Ara, who often skirts the outside of their rural property, meets a girl, Hazel, who is visiting her grandfather across the river. She knows she shouldn't engage with Hazel but, with Leo questioning their lives at Jupiter Station, Ara is ready to divulge all to Father Jupiter. But then they are told that Leo has Ascended. Leo was only 16. This raises more Questions for Ara, and Questions are verboten. 

 

When Ara finds a letter from Leo, she learns some uncomfortable truths. Now she must decide whether she should question Father Jupiter about his decisions and teachings from the Book of Jupiter, or whether she will continue to accept his words as truth and authority and remain within a community that may not be what it purports to be.

 

A story based in a cult has the potential to be disquieting at best or frightening at worst. But Robin Stevenson, who can tell any story with nuance—from YA stories of mental health (e.g., The World Without Us, 2015), to middle-grade stories of grief (e.g., Record Breaker, 2013), and even non-fiction about LGBTQ+ activism (e.g., Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism, 2024)—tells the story of Jupiter Station with sensitivity. From Ara's perspective, Jupiter Station is home. It is where she lives with her brother, their father (and other fathers), mothers, and children, and she receives food and shelter. For many children, this would be more than enough. But perception is everything, and when Leo tells her stuff that they'd been cautioned to never speak of, and Ara has her own Questions and Doubts, her perspective is affected. For Ara, the story becomes a coming-of-age story, as she transitions from blind obedience to attentiveness and finally enlightenment. She begins to truly see. And Ara sees with a good heart, ensuring that she will protect others as she challenges what she is living.

 

The Book of Jupiter, currently a nominee for the Forest of Reading's Red Maple readers' choice book award, is a story about a girl who happily lives within a familial construct until she sees something different there. Her loyalty to her brother and her consideration of what she feels and see and hears give her the courage to face what was always there. Ara can't deal with the megalomaniac himself—nor should she—but she can step outside the familiar to do what is right for herself and others. As such, Robin Stevenson gives us a happy-enough ending, showing that Ara ascended in her own maturity and personal growth, far better than becoming stardust.

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

 

Go

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:

 

Blue Spruce

Silver Birch Express

Silver Birch Fiction

Le prix Peuplier

Le prix Mézèle

Le prix Tamarac