FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TORONTO, ON (October 15, 2024)—The Forest of Reading, Canada’s largest recreational reading program, is excited to announce the English - and French-language nominees for the 2025 Awards. The Forest of Reading’s mission is to instill the love of reading in people of all ages, while supporting programming in schools and libraries and celebrating Canadian authors, illustrators, and literature.
“It is our favourite time of year as we unveil our Forest of Reading nominees! Our dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to read hundreds of books and bring these exciting titles to young readers across the country,” says Meredith Tutching, Director, Forest of Reading. “Our programs have something for everyone. Our nominated titles act as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors where the readers see reflections of themselves while exploring new worlds and experiences. This allows them to connect with a diverse array of characters in the stories they read. Canada has some of the best writers and illustrators in the world, and by participating in the Forest of Reading program, young readers gain first-hand experience of how impactful stories can be.”
The Forest of Reading consists of ten programs distinguished by age group and reading level, each with ten nominated titles, selected by committees of library practitioners. The English school-aged programs are Blue Spruce, Silver Birch (Express and Fiction), Yellow Cedar, Red Maple, and White Pine. French school-aged literature is celebrated through the Peuplier, Mélèze, and Tamarac programs. The Forest of Reading has an adult program, Evergreen, which celebrates excellence in Canadian literature as a book club (nominees for Evergreen are now announced in October). The 2025 nominees for the school-aged programs are listed below.
Blue Spruce Award (JK-Grade 2)
Asha and the Toymaker, written and illustrated by Sakshi Mangal (Kids Can Press)
The Blue Bowl, written and illustrated by Flo Leung (Owlkids Books)
Harold the Iceberg Melts Down, written by Lisa Wyzlic, illustrated by Rebecca Syracuse (Feiwel & Friends)
If You See a Bluebird, written by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard (Pajama Press)
The Little Regent, written by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade, illustrated by Ken Daley (Owlkids Books)
Lost Stick, written and illustrated by Anoosha Syed (Viking Books for Young Readers)
Mandeep's Cloudy Days, written by Kuljinder Kaur Brar, illustrated by Samrath Kaur (Annick Press)
More Than Words: So Many Ways to Say What We Mean, written and illustrated by Roz MacLean (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Still My Tessa, written by Sylv Chiang, illustrated by Mathias Ball (Scholatic Canada)
When the Stars Came Home, written by Brittany Luby, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Silver Birch Express Award (Grades 3-4)
Always Beginning: The Big Bang, the Universe, and You, written by Candace Savage, illustrated by Rachel Wada (Greystone Kids)
Birds on the Brain, written by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Julianna Swaney (Groundwood Books)
Dragon on the Loose, written by Marty Chan, illustrated by Grace Chen (Orca Book Publishers)
Ghost Girl, written by Brooke Carter, illustrated by Alyssa Waterbury (Orca Book Publishers)
Lost & Found, written and illustrated by Mei You (Union Square Kids)
Odd Couples: A Guide to Unlikely Animal Pairs, written by Maria Birmingham, illustrated by Raz Latif (Owlkids Books)
Operation Cupcake: How Simple Machines Work, written and illustrated by Bambi Edlund (Kids Can Press)
Salma Joins the Team, written by Danny Ramadan, illustrated by Anna Bron (Annick Press)
Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw's Forest Powwow, written by Sita Macmillan, illustrated by Azby Whitecalf (Annick Press)
Whales and Us: Our Shared Journey, written by India Desjardins, illustrated by Nathalie Dion, translated by David Warriner (Orca Book Publishers)
Silver Birch Fiction Award (Grades 3-6)
Asking for a Friend, written by Ronnie Riley (Scholastic Press)
Bertie Stewart is Perfectly Imperfect, written by Melanie Mosher (Nimbus Publishing)
Eerie Tales from the School of Screams, written and illustrated by Graham Annable (First Second)
Game Face, written by Shari Green (Groundwood Books)
Gamerville, written and illustrated by Johnnie Christmas (HarperAlley)
Iggy Included, written by Deborah Kerbel (Scholastic Canada)
The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage, written by David A. Robertson (HighWater Press)
The Legendary Mo Seto, written by A.Y. Chan (Aladdin)
Mortified, written by Kristy Jackson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor (HarperCollins Publishers)
Scarewaves, written and illustrated by Trevor Henderson (Scholastic Canada)
Yellow Cedar Award (Grades 4-8)
The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning, written by Afua Cooper, illustrated by Rebecca Bender (Plumleaf Press)
Haunted Canada Graphic Novel, Volume I: Four Terrifying Tales, written by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by Hannah Barrett, David Bishop, Matt Salisbury and Jenn Woodall (Scholastic Canada)
Little by Little: You Can Change the World, written by Sonya Ballantyne, illustrated by Rhael McGregor and Toben Racicot (HighWater Press)
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey, written by Chad Soon and George Chiang, illustrated by Amy Qi (Orca Book Publishers)
Owls: Who Gives A Hoot?, written by Frances Backhouse (Orca Book Publishers)
Queer History A-Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism, written by Robin Stevenson, illustrated by Vivian Rosas (Kids Can Press)
See It, Dream It, Do It: How 25 People Just Like You Found Their Dream Jobs, written by Colleen Nelson and Kathie MacIsaac, illustrated by Scot Ritchie (Pajama Press)
Think Like a Goat: The Wildly Smart Ways Animals Communicate, Cooperate and Innovate, written by Lisa Deresti Betik, illustrated by Alexander Mostov (Kids Can Press)
Trailblazing Life of Viola Desmond: A Civil Rights Icon, written by Rachel Kehoe with Wanda Robson, illustrated by Chelsea Charles (Orca Book Publishers)
Welcome to AI: What Is Artificial Intelligence and How Will It Change Our, written by Matthieu Dugal, illustrated by Owen Davey (Wide Eyed Editions/Quarto)
Red Maple Award (Grades 7-8)
40 Days in Hicksville, written by Christina Kilbourne (DCB Young Readers)
Book of Screams, written by Jeff Szpirglas, illustrated by Steven P. Hughes (Orca Book Publishers)
Call Me Al, written by Wali Shah and Eric Walters (Orca Book Publishers)
The Cricket War, written by Thọ Phạm and Sandra McTavish (Kids Can Press)
Escape to Ponti, written by Brian Slattery (Red Deer Press)
Hopeless in Hope, written by Wanda John-Kehewin (HighWater Press)
The Outsmarters, written by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books)
Tig, written by Heather Smith (Tundra Books)
Today I Am: 10 Stories of Belonging, edited by Jael Richardson (Scholastic Canada)
Why We Play With Fire, written by Giselle Vriesen, illustrated by Shin-Yeon Moon (Row House Publishing)
White Pine Award (Grades 9-12)
Gorgeous Gruesome Faces, written by Linda Cheng (Roaring Brook Press)
Little Moons, written by Jen Storms, illustrated by Ryan Howe, Nickolej Villiger and Alice RL (HighWater Press)
Lockjaw, written by Matteo L. Cerillli (Tundra Books)
Pillow Talk, written by Stephanie Cooke, illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas (HarperAlley)
The Space Between Here & Now, written by Sarah Suk (Quill Tree Books)
Sweetness in the Skin, written by Ishi Robinson (HarperCollins Publishers)
Takedown, written by Ali Bryan (DCB Young Readers)
Where the Dark Stands Still, written by A.B. Poranek (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Who We Are in Real Life, written by Victoria Koops (Groundwood Books)
Zombie Apocalypse Running Club, written by Carrie Mac (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Prix Peuplier
La coiffure d'une princesse, written by Marie-Aliette Forge, illustrated by Amélie-Anne Calmo (Éditions les Malins)
Dernière heure : la déconfiture du lièvre, written by Robert Soulières, illustrated by Sans Cravate and Éric Chouteau-Tissier (Éditions Fonfon)
Le dessin trop mignon, written by Roxane Brouillard, illustrated by Cathon (Éditions Fonfon)
Éli Labaki et les gouttes de pluie, written by Diya Lim, illustrated by Jean-Luc Trudel (Bouton d'or acadie)
Hugo, written and illustrated by Catherine Braun-Grenier (Éditions Fonfon)
Jamais trop tôt pour Arnaud, written by Liliane Boucher, illustrated by Zoë Robertson (Bayard Canada)
Lucien supersensible, written by Marie-Eve Leclerc-Dion, illustrated by Anne-Julie Dudemaine (Éditions Québec Amérique)
Les réfugiés du billot creux, written by Louie Émond, illustrated by Laurence Dechassey (Éditions de la Bagnole)
Si j'avais su..., written and illustrated by Geneviève Desprès (Éditions Les 400 coups)
Soleil et Lilou, written by Lucie Papineau, illustrated by Florence Sabatier (Gründ Québec)
Prix Méléze
Blanche comme un drap, written by Chloé Varin, illustrated by Rémi Allen (Éditions Fonfon)
Le Cumulus Machinus, written by Ugo Monticone, illustrated by Orbie (la courte échelle)
Encore une histoire de pets, written by Sarah Lalonde, illustrated by Catherin (la courte échelle)
Gros en bibitte, written by Jocelyn Boisvert, illustrated by Francis Léveillée (Bayard Canada)
La louve et l'enfant, written by Stéphanie Boyer, illustrated by Laura Vandal (Soulières éditeur)
Ntangu, written by Malika Tirolien, illustrated by Kiara Thompson (Éditions Fonfon)
Petite plante deviendra monstre, written by Émilie Rivard, illustrated by François Samson-Dunlop (Bayard Canada)
Peut-on manger ses crottes de nez? 20 faits sur le corps, written by Pierre-Alexandre Bonin, illustrated by Lucile Danis Druot (Auzon Québec)
Reste assise, Éloise, written by Nancy B.-Pilon, illustrated by Marish Papaya (Éditions Québec Amérique)
Le tiroir des bas tout seuls, written and illustrated by Orbie (Éditions Les 400 coups)
Prix Tamarac
Comme un popcorn à retardement, written by Nadine Descheneaux (Soulières éditeur)
Déménager au ciel, written by Mélodie Bujold-Henri and Jean-Guy Forget (la courte échelle)
Héros malgré lui, written by Frédérick Wolfe, illustrated by Kuizin Studio (Bayard Canada)
L'homme aux araignées, written by Jocelyn Boisvert (la courte échelle)
Je n'aurai plus jamais peur des migrations, written by Sarah Bertrand-Savard (la courte échelle)
Lili-Jade 01 Pro des animaux, written by Audrée Archambault, illustrated by Simone Duchesne (Éditions de la Bagnole)
Le manoir Hillcrest, written by Sandra Dussault, illustrated by Martin Côté (la courte échelle)
Mucha 01 Le chemin risqué de l'élue, written by Josée Bournival (Édito)
Noël à contretemps, written by Joanie Boutin (la courte échelle)
Semer des soleils, written by Andrée Poulin, illustrated by Enzo (la courte échelle)
Throughout the program year, the Forest of Reading provides quality online literacy and reading engagement resources that can be used in school and library programming or at home. In April, those who participate in the Forest have the opportunity to vote for their favourite books and select the award winners (Evergreen voting is in September).
Developing a love of reading is crucial, especially after unprecedented disruptions and closures to schools and libraries and declining reading levels over the past four years. The Forest of Reading is excited to share this year's 100 nominated titles, written and illustrated by more than 175 nominees, and to celebrate with our 270,000 participants.
All school-aged nominated titles will be available in alternate formats through Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and Alternative Education Resources of Ontario (AERO).
Follow the conversation #IReadCanadian and #ForestofReading.
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About the Ontario Library Association:
The Ontario Library Association (OLA) is a centre of excellence for the library and information sector, with 4,000 members who work in public, school, academic and special libraries. OLA enables members to advocate for the right of individuals to have free and equitable access to information. Our members research, develop and participate in educational programs designed to provide exemplary library services. Signature OLA events include the annual Super Conference and the Forest of Reading® program.
About Tinlids:
Tinlids Inc. is the official wholesaler for the 2025 Forest of Reading program.
Media and program contacts: