Forest of Reading reveals chosen books for 2021/22 program — students across Canada will choose the winners

The Forest of Reading has announced the nominated titles for 2022.  

Students from kindergarten to high school are encouraged to read from a selection of shortlisted books and vote for their favourites.

A total of nine categories — six English and three French — reflecting different reading levels and genres are recognized. Each category has 10 nominated titles.

Forest of Reading is the largest reading award program in Canada. In 2020, more than 270,000 readers across the country participated in the program, with over 110,000 readers casting votes.

The 10 finalists in each category are chosen by a committee of library practitioners. 

Details about voting will be announced later. The winners will be revealed in spring 2022.

The Forest of Reading program is organized by the Ontario Library Association. The program began in 1995.

There is also an adult program, the Evergreen Award, which is run by libraries in the summer. The nominees for the Evergreen Award will be announced in February.

You can see all the finalists in the six English-language categories below.

Blue Spruce Award

The Blue Spruce Award is for picture books for readers in kindergarten to Grade 2.

The 2022 nominees are:

• 48 Grasshopper Estates by Sara de Waal, illustrated by Erika Medina
• Beep Beep Bubbie by Bonnie Sherr Klein, illustrated by Élisabeth Eudes-Pascal
• The Doll by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, llustrated by Ravy Puth
• Harley the Hero by Peggy Collins
• The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
• Malaika's Surprise by Nadia L. Hohn, illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
• No More Plastic by Alma Fullerton
• The Sorry Life of Timothy Shmoe by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, illustrated by Zoe Si
• Thunder and the Noise Storms by Jeffrey Ansloos & Shezza Ansloos, ilustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley
• When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith, llustrated by Nicole Neidhardt

The 2021 winner was Bad Dog by Mike Boldt.

Silver Birch Express Award

The Silver Birch Express Award is for fiction or nonfiction for readers in Grades 3-4.

The 2022 nominees are:

• Duck Days by Sara Leach, illustrated by Rebecca Bender
• Hockey Night in Kenya by Danson Mutinda & Eric Walters, illustrated by Claudia Dávila
• How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice by Serapio Ittusardjuat, llustrated by Matthew K. Hoddy
• Mellybean and the Giant Monster by Mike White
• Race With Me! by Andre De Grasse & Robert Budd, illustrated by Joseph Osei Bonsu
• Raymond the Buffalo by Lou Beauchesne, translated by Susan Ouriou & Christelle Morelli, illustrated by Kate Chappell
• Snooze-O-Rama by Maria Birmingham, illustrated by Kyle Reed
• That's No Dino!: Or Is It? by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Marie-Ève Tremblay
• Walking For Water by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Nicole Miles
• Wednesday Wilson Gets Down to Business by Bree Galbraith, illustrated by Morgan Goble

The 2021 winner was Peter & Ernesto: Sloths in the Night by Graham Annable.

Silver Birch Fiction Award

The Silver Birch Fiction Award is for fiction for readers from Grades 3-6.

The 2022 nominees are:

• Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster by Rachelle Delaney
• Deadman's Castle by Iain Lawrence
• Elvis, Me and the Lemonade Stand Summer by Leslie Gentile
• The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Kevin Sylvester & Basil Sylvester
• The Great Bear by David A. Robertson
• Harvey Holds His Own by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Tara Anderson
• The Language of Ghosts by Heather Fawcett
• No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen
• ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse by Stephanie Cooke, illustrated by Mari Costa
• Peter Lee's Notes from the Field by Angela Ahn, illustrated by Julie Kwon

The 2021 winner was The Jigsaw Puzzle King by Gina McMurchy-Barber.

Yellow Cedar Award

The Yellow Cedar Award is for nonfiction for readers in Grades 4-8.

The 2022 nominees are:

• 111 Trees by Rina Singh, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer
• Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats by Cylita Guy, illustrated by Cornelia Li
• Finding Home by Jen Sookfong Lee, illustrated by Drew Shannon
• In the Dark by Lisa Deresti Betik, illustrated by Josh Holinaty
• The International Day of the Girl by Jessica Dee Humphreys & Rona Ambrose, illustrated by Simone Shin
• It Takes Guts by Dr. Jennifer Gardy, illustrated by Belle Wuthrich
• Mad for Ads by Erica Fyvie, illustrated by Ian Turner
• The Power of Style by Christian Allaire
• This is Your Brain on Stereotypes by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illustrated by Drew Shannon
• Wild Outside by Les Stroud, illustrated by Andrew P. Barr

The 2021 winner was Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular by Kira Vermond, illustrated by Clayton Hanmer.

Red Maple Award

The Red Maple Award is for fiction for readers in Grades 7-8.

The 2022 nominees are:

• Birdspell by Valerie Sherrard
• The Coming Storm by Regina M. Hansen
• Firefly by Philippa Dowding
• The King of Jam Sandwiches by Eric Walters
• Linked by Gordon Korman
• Sisters of the Snake by Sarena & Sasha Nanua
• Sisters of the Wolf by Patricia Miller-Schroeder
• From The Roots Up by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan
• Tremendous Things by Susin Nielsen
• Under Amelia's Wing by Heather Stemp

The 2021 winner was Bloom by Kenneth Oppel.

White Pine Award

The White Pine Award is for fiction for readers in high school.

The 2022 nominees are:

• Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
• Bruised by Tanja Boteju
• Don't Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor
• Fight Like a Girl by Sheena Kamal
• The Forest of Stolen Girls by June  Hur
• Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
• The Montague Twins: The Witch's Hand by Nathan Page, illustrated by Drew Shannon
• Nothing But Life by Brent van Staalduinen
• What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin
• The Wild by Owen Laukkanen

The 2021 winner was Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena.