2019 Forest of Reading® nominees announced: Blue Spruce and Silver Birch

Yesterday, the Ontario Library Association announced the nominated titles for the 2018-2019 Forest of Reading® readers' choice awards. This popular literacy program which is designed to cultivate a love of reading for people of all ages certainly got everyone's attention. This is BIG news in schools as teachers and school librarians start organizing their young readers to help select winners next spring.

In a series of three posts, I'll list the nominees for the following programs that were announced:

• Blue Spruce™: K to Grade 2 reading level
• Silver Birch® Express: Grades 3-4 reading level
• Silver Birch® Fiction: Grades 5-6 reading level
• Silver Birch® Non-fiction: Grades 5-6 reading level
• Red Maple™ Fiction: Grades 7-8 reading level
• Red Maple™ Non-fiction: Grades 7-8 reading level
• White Pine™ Fiction: Grades 9-12 reading level
• Le Prix Tamarac: les titres en français
• Le Prix Tamarac Express: les titres en français
• Le Prix Peuplier: les albums français

Barnaby Never Forgets
Written and illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby
Candlewick Press

The Better Tree Fort
Written by Jessica Scott Kerrin
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

Harry's Hiccups

Written by Jean Little
Illustrated by Joe Weissmann
Orca

I Love My Purse

Written by Belle DeMont
Illustrated by Sonja Wimmer
Annick Press
Reviewed here

I Love Sharks, Too!
Written by Leanne Shirtliffe
Illustrated by Lorenzo Montatore
Sky Pony Press

The Magician's Secret
Written by Zachary Hyman
Illustrated by Joe Bluhm
Tundra Books

Sun Dog
Written by Deborah Kerbel
Illustrated by Suzanne del Rizzo
Pajama Press
Reviewed here

Tricky
Written and illustrated by Kari Rust
Owlkids Books

What's My Superpower?
Written by Aviaq Johnston
Illustrated by Tim Mack
Inhabit Media
Reviewed here

Where Oliver Fits
Written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson
Tundra Books

A Bear's Life

Written by Nicholas Read
Illustrated by Ian McAllister
Orca

 

Bloom - A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli
Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Tundra Books

The Elephant Keeper: Caring For Orphaned Elephants in Zambia
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Pedro Covo
Kids Can Press

Heartwood Hotel #2: The Greatest Gift
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
HarperCollins Canada

The Hollow Under the Tree
Written by Cary Fagan
Groundwood Books

Meet Viola Desmond
Written by Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Scholastic Canada
Reviewed here

  

Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Firebane's Folly
Written by Liam O'Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca

The Theory of Hummingbirds
Written by Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press

Reviewed here

 
What Makes a Monster? Discovering the World's Scariest Creatures
Written by Jess Keating
Illustrated by David DeGrand
Alfred A. Knopf

Where's Burgess?
Written by Laurie Elmquist
Illustrated by David Parkins
Orca

The Almost Epic Squad: Mucus Mayhem
Written by Kevin Sylvester
Illustrated by Britt Wilson
Scholastic Canada

Chase
Written by Linwood Barclay
Puffin

Ebb and Flow
Written by Heather Smith
Kids Can Press
Reviewed here

Elephant Secret
Written by Eric Walters
Puffin Canada

Falcon Wild
Written by Terry Lynn Johnson
Charlesbridge

Holly Farb and the Princess of the Galaxy
Written by Gareth Wronski
Aladdin Books

Mine!
Written by Natalie Hyde
Scholastic Canada

Missing Mike
Written by Shari Green
Pajama Press
Reviewed here 

Sit
Written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here

The Train of Lost Things
Written by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Philomel Books

Basketballogy: Super Cool Facts You Never Knew
Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester
Annick Press

Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night
Written by Rob Laidlaw
Pajama Press
Reviewed here

Biometrics: Your Body and the Science of Security
Written by Maria Birmingham
Illustrated by Ian Turner
Owlkids Books

Broken Pieces: An Orphan of the Halifax Explosion
Written by Allison Lawlor
Nimbus Publishing

Carey Price: How a First Nations Kid Became a Superstar Goaltender
Written by Catherine Rondina
James Lorimer & Company







Engineered!: Engineering Design at Work
Written by Shannon Hunt
Illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
Kids Can Press

A Fair Deal: Shopping For Social Justice
Written by Kari Jones
Orca

New Hands, New Life: Robots, Prostheses and Innovation
Written by Alex Mihailidis and Jan Andrysek
Firefly Books

Rising Seas: Flooding, Climate Change And Our New World
Written by Keltie Thomas
Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich and Kath Boake W.
Firefly Books

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Groundwood Books
Reviewed here








Remaining nominees will be listed here:

Red Maple and White Pine

Le Prix Tamarac and Le Prix Peuplier

Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

Share your feelings with Ira Crumb as

author Naseem Hrab and illustrator Josh Holinaty

From https://toronto.carpe-diem.events/calendar/8085013-book-launch-for-ira-crumb-feels-the-feelings-at-/

 

launch their newest collaboration

Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings

Written by Naseem Hrab

Illustrated by Josh Holinaty

Owlkids Books

978-1-771472982

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

October 2018
Reviewed here yesterday

on

Saturday, October 20, 2018

10 a.m. to 12 p.m. 

at

Little Island Comics

323 College Street

Toronto, ON 

••••••••••••••••

The fun will include:

• a reading
• activities for kids
• books for sale; and
• Naseem Hrab and Josh Holinaty signing copies.

Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings

Written by Naseem Hrab

Illustrated by Josh Holinaty

Owlkids Books

978-1-771472982

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

October 2018

In Ira Crumb's first book, Ira Crumb Makes a Pretty Good Friend (Owlkids, 2017), author Naseem Hrab and illustrator Josh Holinaty introduced new kid Ira as he endeavoured to make a friend and start feeling like he belonged at his new school and neighbourhood. Malcolm became that friend to Ira. But now that friendship becomes the source of feelings that confuse Ira and overwhelm him. Feelings can be that way.

Though Ira and Malcolm love telling jokes, sharing pickles and playing together, when Ira wants to play hide and seek and Malcolm prefers to play tag, the two friends seem at an impasse. What's worse is that loads of other kids and even a pickle, a dog and a snail want to play tag and they carry Malcolm off for a game. Being the good friend he is, Malcolm still asks Ira to come but accepts his decline.

From Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Josh Holinaty

Poor Ira.  Now his tummy hurts, his chin is wibbling and his eyes are leaking. There are those who admonish him for his feelings:

Chin up, kid. No one likes a wibbler.

and others who seek to distract him:

Forget your problems and just feel the music.

Even inanimate objects like houses, a hydrant and a car seem to be trying to cheer him up. But Ira's feelings are fully in control, evolving from sadness to explosive anger.  It's only when Malcolm reconnects with Ira, telling Ira he'd missed him and offers to be sad with him that the friendship is rekindled into a laughing extravaganza of fart jokes.

From Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Josh Holinaty

While that which distresses Ira may seem insignificant to older readers, Naseem Hrab understands that being excluded or not having your game chosen is a very big deal for Ira and very young children. (Reminds me of a great folk song called Blues is Like Shoes.) Ira tries to understand his feelings but feelings are often incomprehensible except in hindsight. When feelings have you in their hold, it's tough to have perspective. And the vocabulary Naseem Hrab uses, like leaking eyes and wibbling chins, is so appropriate for the very young. The message is that feelings, though not always welcome, are normal. In fact, an engaging poster that came with the book shows Ira in all his feelings, good and bad and in-between.

Portion of poster accompanying Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Josh Holinaty

Josh Holinaty's illustrations are more than appropriate for the very young who would benefit from reading a story about feelings. His artwork is emotive and still fun. Josh Holinaty, who illustrated Troy Wilson's Liam Takes a Stand (Owlkids, 2017), makes Ira effusive in his emotions from joy at play to overwhelmed with sadness and blistering with rage. Ira and his feelings are the stars of the book and Josh Holinaty ensures that, through colour, line and shape, nothing gets in the way of that focus.

I know that Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings is a fun but realistic take on friendship but I think teachers of preschoolers and kindergartners will appreciate its lessons on emotions, for children to recognize feelings in themselves and in others, to help everyone get along a little bit better.

•••••••••••••••
Look for the news tomorrow about the Toronto book launch for Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings for a chance to purchase your own copy, have some fun and nibble on a few cookies. (I heard there would be cookies though, if there aren't, disappointment is a feeling we can all accept as normal.)

Will Ladybug Hug?

Written and illustrated by Hilary Leung

Cartwheel Books (Scholastic)

978-1-338-21560-1

37 pp.

Ages 2-5

October 2018

Will Ladybug Hug? Well, she sure wants to, especially as she loves to use hugs to say hello and goodbye. And now that she's packing up for her trip, she wants to say goodbye with hugs. But are all Ladybug's friends willing to let her hug them?

In one of a new series of board books, author-illustrator Hilary Leung handles the touchy subject of hugs with sensitivity and humour. His new sextet of friends–Ladybug, Crocodile, Bear, Sheep, Frog, and Giraffe–are as different in morphology as they are in behaviour and it's these differences that help them reflect the differences in all of us.

From Will Ladybug Hug? by Hilary Leung

Ever polite, Ladybug approaches each of her friends for permission to hug them. Crocodile looks reluctant but is happy to allow her a side hug.  

Side hugs are cool.  

Bear gives a warm hug and Frog a jumping hug while Ladybug gives a flying jump hug to Giraffe. Sheep declines a hug and Ladybug accepts this, evident in both her demeanour and her words.  

Sheep does not want to hug and that's okay.  

Even when Ladybug asks about a group hug, all but Sheep agree and Ladybug can still find a way to include her friend with an enthusiastic high five. (Note: Ladybug still asks,"And is Sheep ready for a high five?") Everyone is a little different and that makes their friendships all the more special.

From Will Ladybug Hug? by Hilary Leung

I've loved Hilary Leung's artwork since his Ninja Cowboy Bear series with David Bruins (Kids Can Press, 2009-2011) though it is especially well suited to concept books such as Will Ladybug Hug? With bold shapes that are easily recognizable to young children, though unique in expression and manner, Hilary Leung takes on the idea of consent from a wholly unique while educational direction. Hugs can be heart-warming and non-threatening but they can be unwanted and recognizing this without taking offence demonstrates Ladybug's acceptance of differences amongst others without judgement. She does not insist on giving hugs to those who do not want them. She amends her need for hugs by giving side hugs, high fives and just respecting the needs of others. Oh, that everyone could learn this lesson as amicably as Ladybug extends it.

I think Hilary Leung has a hit series on his hands here. His digital illustrations of a diverse collection of animal friends will speak to children about a variety of important but distinct concepts–consent, compromise and emotions–while delighting them with cheerful illustrations in vivid colours used to tell charming stories appropriate for our youngest readers.

Will Bear Share? (May, 2018)

Will Sheep Sleep? (May, 2018)

Will Ladybug Hug? (October, 2018)

Will Giraffe Laugh? (January, 2019)