2019 Forest of Reading nominees: Blue Spruce and Silver Birch

Two weeks ago, 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

2018 Forest of Reading® Nominees for Blue Spruce and Silver Birch Awards

Today, the Ontario Library Association announced the nominated titles for the 2017-2018 Forest of Reading® readers' choice awards. In an extraordinary set of videos of last year's winners reading the names of this year's nominees, the Ontario Library Association put a personal spin on this auspicious announcement. This popular literacy program which is designed to cultivate a love of reading for people of all ages, certainly got everyone's attention today.

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

• 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
• 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

Announced here by Eric Fan and Terry Fan at https://youtu.be/-5_F-kB5IF0

The Branch
Written by Mirielle Messier
Illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Kids Can Press

The Darkest Dark
Written by Chris Hadfield and
Illustrated by Eric Fan and Terry Fan
Tundra

Even Superheroes Have Bad Days
by Shelly Becker
Illustrated by Eda Kaban
Sterling Publishing

French Toast
Written by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by François Thisdale
Pajama Press

Great
Written by Glen Gretzky and Lauri Holomis
Illustrated by Kevin Sylvester
Puffin Canada

The Little Boy Who Lived Down the Drain
Written by Carolyn Huizinga Mills
Illustrated by Brooke Kerridan
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Milo and Georgie
Written by Bree Galbraith
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Owlkids Books

The Owl and the Lemming
Written by Roselynn Akulukjuk
Illustrated by Amanda Sandland
Inhabit Media

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist
Written by Jess Keating
Illustrated by Marta Alvarez Magueys
Sourcebooks

A Squiggly Story
Written by Andrew Larsen
Illustrated by Mike Lowery
Kids Can Press

Read by The Biggest Poutine in the World author Andrée Poulin at https://youtu.be/tHgrILPcgIU

The Banana Leaf Ball: How Play Can Change the World
Written by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Kids Can Press

Big Blue Forever: The Story of Canada's Largest Blue Whale Skeleton
Written by Anita Miettunen
Red Deer Press

A Boy Named Queen
by Sara Cassidy
Groundwood Books

Heartwood Hotel: A True Home
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
HarperCollins

I Am Not a Number
by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Second Story Press

Pablo Finds a Treasure
by Andrée Poulin
Illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant
Annick Press

Smiley: A Journey of Love
by Joanne George
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Missing Mage
Written by Liam O'Donnell
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers

The Vimy Oaks: A Journey to Peace
Written by Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Scholastic Canada

Wolf Island
Written by Nicholas Read
Photographs by Ian McCallister
Orca Book Publishers

Nominated announced by author of OCDaniel, Wesley King at https://youtu.be/9MbQkxNPEXg

Brave
by Svetlana Chmakova
Yen Press

Cammie Takes Flight
by Laura Best
Nimbus Publishing

Clutch
by Heather Camelot
Red Deer Press

The Doll's Eye
by Marina Cohen
Roaring Brook Press

From Ant to Eagle
by Alex Lyttle
Central Avenue Publishing

The Griffin of Darkwood
by Becky Citra
Coteau Books

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess
by Shari Green
Pajama Press

Restart
by Gordon Korman
Scholastic

The Stone Heart: The Nameless City Book 2
by Faith Erin Hicks
First Second Press

Yellow Dog
by Miriam Körner
Red Deer Press

Nominees were announced by author Joel A. Sutherland at https://youtu.be/EIOe9Pre0Hk

5 Giraffes
by Anne Innis Dagg
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Eat Up: An Infographic Exploration of Food
by Antonia Banyard and Paula Ayer
Illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
Annick Press

Fight to Learn: The Struggle To Go To School
by Laura Scandiffio
Annick Press

Meatless?: A Fresh Look At What You Eat
by Sara Elton
Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin
Owlkids

Monster Science: Could Monsters Survive and Thrive in the Real World?
by Helaine Becker
Illustrated by Phil McAndrew
Kids Can Press

Pocket Change: Pitching in for a better world
by Michelle Mulder
Orca Book Publishers

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees
by Mary Beth Leatherdale
Illustrated by Eleanor Shakespeare
Annick Press

To Burp or Not to Burp: A guide to your body in space
by Dr. Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti
Illustrated by Theo Krynauw
Annick Press

Top Dogs: True Stories of Canines that Made History
by Elizabeth MacLeod
Annick Press

What a Waste: Where does garbage go?

by Claire Eamer
Illustrated by Bambi Edlund
Annick

Remaining nominees will be listed here:

Red Maple and White Pine

Le Prix Tamarac and Le Prix Peuplier