ola meeting space: ola meeting space -> Forest of Reading® Winners

TORONTO, ON --(May 15, 2008) Thousands of schools and libraries across Ontario came together at the Harbourfront for the annual Forest of Reading – Festival of Trees on May 13 & May 14, 2009. Over the two days, more than 7,000 Ontario school children come together for the announcement of the hotly anticipated winners of Blue Spruce, Red Maple, White Pine and Silver Birch. The winners were announced were announced over the course of the two days and they were:

Blue Spruce Award (Kindergarten–Grade 2):
Mélanie Watt, Chester (Kids Can Press/University of Toronto Press)

Silver Birch Express (Grade 3–4):
Alan Cumyn, Dear Sylvia (Groundwood Books/HarperCollins Canada)

Silver Birch Fiction (Grade 4–6):
Mahtab Narsimhan, The Third Eye (Dundurn Group/University of Toronto Press)

Silver Birch Non-fiction (Grade 4–6):
Kevin Sylvester, Gold Medal for Weird (Kids Can Press/University of Toronto Press)

Red Maple Fiction Award (Grade 7–8):
Norah McClintock, Out of the Cold (Scholastic Canada)

Red Maple Non-fiction Award (Grade 7–8):
Elizabeth MacLeod, Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of Ten Sovereigns (Annick Press/Firefly Books)

White Pine Award (Grade 9–12):
Cory Doctorow, Little Brother (Tor Books/H.B. Fenn and Company)

Honour Books - the following books were runner-up winners in each of the following categories:

Blue Spruce
Honour Book #1 - Such a Prince by Dan Bar-El illustrated by John Manders
(Clarion)
Honour Book #2 - Stanley at Sea by Linda Bailey illustrated by Bill Slavin-
(Kids Can Press)

Red Maple Fiction
Honour Book #1 - Egghead by Caroline Pignat (Red Deer Press)
Honour Book #2 - Frost by Nicole Luiken (Great Plains)

Red Maple Non-Fiction
Honour Book #1 - SOS - Stories of Survival by Ed Butts (Tundra Books)
Honour Book #2 - Fire on the Water by Wendy Lewis (James Lorimer &
Company Ltd)
White Pine
Honour Book #1 - After River by Donna Milner (HarperCollins Canada)
Honour Book #2 - Gravity Journal by Gail Sidonie Sobat (Great Plains
Publications)

Silver Birch Express
Honour Book #1 - Feather Brain by Maureen Bush (Orca Book Publishers)
Honour Book #2 - Boy in Motion - The Rick Hansen Story by Ainslie Manson
(Greystone Books)

Silver Birch Fiction
Honour Book #1 - Swindle by Gordon Korman (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)
Honour Book #2 - Eye of the Crow - The Boy Sherlock Holmes by Shane
Peacock (Tundra Books)

Silver Birch Non-Fiction
Honour Book #1 - Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Weird Stuff You Didn't
Know About Food by Frieda Wishinsky and Elizabeth MacLeod (Scholastic
Canada Ltd.)
Honour Book #2 - Brave Deeds: How One Family Saved Many by Ann Alma
(Groundwood Books)

More than 250,000 students across the province voted in seven reading categories. The complete list of nominated, award winning, and honour books are on OLA’s web site at: www.accessola.com

Authors have said that there is no other event like the Festival of Trees. The opportunity to meet with thousands of young fans in one day is unique in Canada. “The Forest of Reading Program is all about reading for fun and providing the opportunity for kids to show us what books are important to them. The festival, with all its activities and workshops is an incredible day,” commented Peggy Thomas, Festival Chairperson and Teacher-Librarian.

OLA’s Forest of Reading is a series of programs each named after a tree and geared towards a variety of age ranges. More than one hundred professionals from school and public libraries coordinate the programs across the province. Through their library, young readers vote on their favourite Canadian book. The program is designed to encourage reading for fun.