2022 Forest of Reading® nominees: Yellow Cedar, Red Maple™, White Pine™

Here is the second grouping of nominated titles from the nine 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

111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl
Written by Rina Singh 

Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer
Kids Can Press

Reviewed here

Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities
Written by Cylita Guy 

Illustrated by Cornelia Li

Annick Presss

 

Finding Home: The Journey of Immigrants and Refugees
Written by Jen Sookfong Lee 

Illustrated by Drew Shannon

Orca Book Publishers

 

In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night
Written by Lisa Deresti Betik 

Illustrated by Josh Holinaty

Kids Can Press

The International Day of the Girl: Celebrating Girls Around the World
Written by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Rona Ambrose

Illustrated by Simone Shin

Kids Can Press

It Takes Guts: How Your Body Turns Food Into Fuel (And Poop)
Written by Dr. Jennifer Gardy 

Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich

Greystone Kids

 

Mad for Ads: How Advertising Gets (And Stays) in Our Heads
Written by Erica Fyvie 

Illustrated by Ian Turner

Kids Can Press

 

The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures
Written by Christian Allaire

Annick Press

 

This Is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science is Tackling Unconscious Bias
Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi 

Illustrated by Drew Shannon

Kids Can Press 

Wild Outside: Around the World with Survivorman
Written by Les Stroud and Andrew P. Barr

Photographs by Laura Bombier

Annick Press

 RED MAPLE™

 

Birdspell
Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB

 

The Coming Storm
Written by Regina M. Hansen

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Firefly
Written by Philippa Dowding

DCB

Reviewed here

 

The King of Jam Sandwiches
Written by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

Reviewed here

Linked
Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

Sisters of the Snake
Written by Sasha and Sarena Nanua

Harper Teen

Sisters of the Wolf
Written by Patricia Miller-Schroeder

Dundurn Press

From the Roots Up (Surviving the City #2)
Written by Tasha Spillett 

Illustrated by Natasha Donovan

Highwater Press

Tremendous Things
Written by Susin Nielsen

Penguin Teen

Under Amelia’s Wing (Ginny Ross #2)
Written by Heather Stemp

Nimbus Publishing  

WHITE PINE™

Blood Like Magic
Written by Liselle Sambury

Margaret K. McElderry Books

Bruised
Written by Tanya Boteju

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Don’t Breathe a Word
Written by Jordyn Taylor

Harper Teen

Fight Like a Girl
Written by Sheena Kamal

Penguin Teen

The Forest of Stolen Girls
Written by June Hur

Feiwel & Friends
Reviewed here

Gutter Child
Written by Jael Richardson

HarperCollins

The Montague Twins: The Witch’s Hand
Written by Nathan Page 

Illustrated by Drew Shannon

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Nothing but Life
Written by Brent van Staalduinen

Dundurn Press

Reviewed here

 

What Unbreakable Looks Like
Written by Kate McLaughlin

Wednesday Books 

 

The Wild
Written by Owen Laukkanen

Underlined Paperbacks

•••••••••••••••••••

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

2022 Forest of Reading® nominees: Blue Spruce™, Silver Birch®

Here is the first grouping of 2022 nominees from the nine Forest of Reading® awards of the Ontario Library Association:

• Blue Spruce: picture books for JK to Grade 2
  
• Silver Birch Express: fiction and non-fiction for Grades 3 and 4
  
• Silver Birch Fiction: fiction for Grades 3 to 6
  

BLUE SPRUCE™

 

48 Grasshopper Estates
Written by Sara de Waal

Illustrated by Erika Medina

Annick Press
Reviewed here

 

Beep Beep Bubbie
Written by Bonnie Sherr Klein
Illustrated by Élisabeth Eudes-Pascal

Tradewind Books

 

The Doll
Written by Nhung N. Tran-Davies 

Illustrated by Ravy Puth

Second Story Press

 

Harley the Hero
Written and Illustrated by Peggy Collins

Pajama Press 

Reviewed here

 

The Library Bus
Written by Bahram Rahman 

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Pajama Press 

Reviewed here

Malaika’s Surprise
Written by Nadia L. Hohn 

Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher

Groundwood Books

Reviewed here

No More Plastic
Written and Illustrated by Alma Fullerton

Pajama Press

The Sorry Life of Timothy Shmoe
Written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan 

Illustrated by Zoe Si

Owlkids Books

Reviewed here

Thunder and the Noise Storms
Written by Jeffrey Ansloos and Shezza Ansloos

Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley

Annick Press

SILVER BIRCH EXPRESS

 

Duck Days
Written by Sarah Leach 

Illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Published by Pajama Press

Reviewed here

 

Hockey Night in Kenya
Written by Danson Mutinda and Eric Walters

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila

Orca Book Publishers 

How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice
Written by Serapio Ittusardjuat 

Illustrated by Matthew K. Hoddy

Inhabit Media

Mellybean and the Giant Monster
Written and illustrated by Mike White

Razorbill

Race with Me!
Written by Andre De Grasse and Robert Budd

Illustrated by Joseph Osei Bonsu

Scholastic Canada

Raymond the Buffalo
Written by Lou Beauchesne 

Illustrated by Kate Chappell
Translated by Susan Ouriou and Christelle Morelli

Orca Book Publishers

Snooze-O-Rama: The Strange Ways That Animals Sleep
Written by Maria Birmingham 

Illustrated by Kyle Reed

Owlkids Books

 

That’s No Dino!: Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur
Written by Helaine Becker 

Illustrated by Marie-Ѐve Tremblay

Kids Can Press 

Walking for Water: How One Boy Stood Up For Gender Equality
Written by Susan Hughes 

Illustrated by Nicole Miles

Second Story Press

Wednesday Wilson Gets Down to Business
Written by Bree Galbraith 

Illustrated by Morgan Goble

Kids Can Press

SILVER BIRCH FICTION

 

 

 

 

 

Alice Fleck’s Recipes for Disaster
Written by Rachelle Delaney

Puffin Canada

 

Deadman’s Castle
Written by Iain Lawrence
Holiday House 

 

Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer
Written by Leslie Gentile 

DCB

 

The Fabulous Zed Watson!
Written by Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester 

HarperCollins

 

The Great Bear (The Misewa Saga, Book 2)
Written by David A. Robertson 

Puffin Canada

Harvey Holds His Own
Written by Colleen Nelson 

Illustrated by Tara Anderson

Pajama Press 

Reviewed here

 

The Language of Ghosts
Written by Heather Fawcett 

HarperCollins

No Vacancy
Written by Tziporah Cohen

Groundwood Books

 

ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse
Written by Stephanie Cooke 

Illustrated by Mari Costa

Etch/Clarion Books 

Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field
Written by Angela Ahn

Illustrated by Julie Kwon

Tundra

 

 

 

 

 

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Nominees for the other programs can be linked from below:

Yellow Cedar

Red Maple

White Pine

Le prix Peuplier

Le prix Mézèle

Le prix Tamarac

 

2022 Forest of Reading: Nominees announced

On October 15, the Ontario Library Association announced its 2022 nominated titles for the Forest of Reading book award programs.  For months, teachers and librarians on selection committees have been reading submitted books by Canadian creators to compile these exceptional lists from which young readers will choose winners next spring. 

The lists of all nominated books are available on the OLA website here. Young readers from JK through high school have the opportunity to read and vote on their favourite books in nine different categories:

• Blue Spruce: JK-Grade 2, picture books
• Silver Birch Express: Grades 3-4, fiction and non-fiction
• Silver Birch Fiction: Grades 3-6, fiction
• Yellow Cedar: Grades 4-8, non-fiction
• Red Maple: Grades 7-8, fiction
• White Pine: Grades 9-12, fiction
• Le prix Peuplier: French-language picture books, less text, simpler subject matters, perfect for read-alouds
• Le prix Mélèze: shorter French-language chapter books with maximum 100 pages or more mature picture books, larger text with pictures, simpler vocabulary and verb tenses
• Le prix Tamarac: French-language chapter books from 100 to 250 pages, smaller text with little or no illustrations, more complicated verb tenses and vocabulary

Because there are ninety nominated titles, I will break up the posts listing them in three groupings, all which can be accessed from this page.

Do check out how to register for this fabulous reading program. All young readers are welcome. Just select the right program for your young readers.  

Congratulations to all nominees

and

Happy reading to Forest of Reading participants!

🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌲

Blue Spruce Award™
(JK-Grade 2, English-language picture books)
 Current nominees posted here

Silver Birch Express Award®
(Grades 3-4, English-language fiction and non-fiction)
Current nominees posted here

Silver Birch Fiction Award®
(Grades 3-6, English-language fiction)
Current nominees posted here

Yellow Cedar Award
(Grades 4-8, English-language non-fiction)
Current nominees posted here
   

Red Maple Award™
(Grades 7-8, English-language fiction)
Current nominees posted here

White Pine Award™
(Grades 9-12, English-language fiction)
Current nominees posted here

Le prix Peuplier
(French-language picture books, less text, simpler subject matters, perfect for read alouds)
Current nominees posted here
   

Le prix Mélèze
(shorter French-language chapter books maximum 100 pages or more mature picture books, larger text with pictures,  simpler vocabulary and verb tenses)
Current nominees posted here
 

Le prix Tamarac
(French-language chapter books from 100 to 250 pages, smaller text with little or no illustrations, more complicated verb tenses and vocabulary)
Current nominees posted here

 

Let the Forest begin! 

Everybody!

Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-9167-8

44 pp.

Ages 3-8

October 2021

 

Want a cheeky way to share with kids how human they are and just like everybody else? Then let a plethora of very different–multi-coloured, multi-shaped, multi-sized–creatures help them see how everybody is the same in Elise Gravel's newest picture book Everybody!

From Everybody! by Elise Gravel

With her first double-spread, Elise Gravel makes sure that kids know that "Everybody is unique and different" as an opener to how we are still very similar in so many ways. From feeling joy and sadness and experiencing fears, to making mistakes and learning, we are all the same.

From Everybody! by Elise Gravel

It's important to reassure kids that everybody feels what they might feel, even if they think that they alone are experiencing that emotion. Everybody wants to fit in and be liked and loved and not be embarrassed. They need to know that everybody needs help sometime and can offer help too.

From Everybody! by Elise Gravel

Everybody just wants to be accepted and respected, and Elise Gravel's final message sums it up best.

We are each unique,

but we have so much 

in common.

We are all 

HUMAN.

Who better to learn about being human than from a variety of colourful and amorphous beings who look so different but are just like everybody else in what they feel and do and experience? Elise Gravel's message about recognizing that we, as humans, have many commonalities but that it's still okay to be different is as inclusive as it can get. Everybody! emphasizes the richness of diversity and the comfort of likeness, reassuring those who are or want to be different that they are deserving of respect and acceptance as much those who are or find relief and even happiness in being part of a big "everybody." And with her quirky menagerie of characters, Elise Gravel makes sure that everybody can be seen and included even if they're not orange or turquoise or lacking in a nose.

For some fun printables and colouring pages related to her books, Elise Gravel offers sheets on a variety of themes like "Everyone can like" and "It's OK to be different" on her website and I encourage everybody to partake in these. While being unique is pretty cool, being part of something greater can feel pretty good too and, thanks to Elise Gravel, young readers will now know that they are just like everybody and keeping very good company.