The Forest of Reading overflowed my word nerd heart with SO MUCH JOY! Celebrating exceptional books from across Canada by authors @tboteju , @cherylparisienauthor , @emilyvargabooks , @pauljcoccia , @evansvictoria , @cherisaacs has been everything baby writer Léa dreamed of and more. I still can’t believe A Drop in the Ocean was a WHITE PINE HONOUR BOOK 😭🥹🤩🥰🥳in the best of company with The History of Everything by @evansvictoria and well-deserved winning novel For She is Wrath by @emilyvargabooks !!!! Some highlights included getting a handmade angry avocado 🥑 keychain that makes hilarious sense if you read the book, meeting readers who shared that Mira’s story made them feel less alone with their own OCD experiences, listening to my writing prompt presentation attendees’ work (so many future authors are gonna take Canlit by storm in the next generation) meeting @luxmy.quackquack and @cherylparisienauthor who I did the hardship and resilience panel with IRL just as we’d promised, discovering @99.9neo also wore a gorgeous shell necklace like the one I wear to match my book’s ocean theme, having one of my dearest friends, Madelaine come to visit with me and celebrating later via pizza feast with some fellow nominees, Madelaine and my effervescent agent @alimcdme Shout out to all the staff and volunteers who made the festival possible including my guide Kara who has been a white pine volunteer for around 10 years and @m_the_bookdragon for taking such great pics! Image Descriptions in next comment!

Every spring, students across Canada from kindergarten to high school vote on their favourite books to win at the Forest of Reading, the largest annual recreational reading program! Tap through to see this year’s English category winners selected by about 154,000 readers ➡️ #ForestOfReading #CBCBooks #IReadYA

A round of applause to: Yellow Cedar Award Winner: A Sick History of Medicine: A Warts-And-All Book Full of Fun Facts and Disgusting Discoveries written by psychistorydoc and illustrated by @ellastrated ! @neonsquidbooks Yellow Cedar honour books: Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet written by @geodesaurus & Octopus Ocean: Geniuses of the Deep written by @leirenyoung ! @abramskids @orcabook #ForestofReading

A round of applause to: Blue Spruce Award Winner: The Great Dinosaur Sleepover, written by @lindabaileyink and illustrated by @joebluhm ! @tundrabooks Blue Spruce honour books: Fox and the Mystery Letter written and illustrated by @alexggriffiths & The Weedflower, written by @edavaze and illustrated by @marianneferrer.jpg ! @flcbooks @owlkidspublishing #ForestofReading

Une salve d’applaudissements pour : Le lauréat du prix Peuplier : Les mal-aimés, écrit et illustré par @magalie_element et publié par Éditions Alaska ! Mention d’honneur du prix Peuplier aux livres : Mon pire cauchemar: c'est elle / c'est lui écrit par @arkdeslivres et illustré par @mikagenevieve et Comme toi et moi écrit par @priskapoirier et illustré par @sab.gendron ! @editionsalaska @editionsdruide

The 🇨🇦📚❤️was on full display at this year’s Forest of Reading celebration at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. My “Zoom in On Zombies” co-author Kari-Lynn Winters and I had a jam packed day celebrating with young readers, teachers, librarians, authors and illustrators. Thank you Ontario Library Association for all you do!

And just like that, our second day of the Festival is in the books!!! WOW. What an incredible day spent celebrating our nominated authors and illustrators in the Red Maple, White Pine, Le prix Mélèze Award and Le prix Tamarac #ForestofReading programs. A huge shout out to our award ceremony hosts Ainara Alleyne of @ainarasbookshelf and @jozee84 who kept the energy going all day long. We had jam-packed author signings, excellent nominee workshops, 23 exhibitors on site sharing their programming and interactive games with our attendees AND incredible entertainment from Amy Tepperman of @moveedge @isabellahoops @lyricdubee Mike Ford, and NNOC Drumming Group. Readers, you blew us away with your love for reading - just look at the photos! To everyone who helped us make this year’s Festival the best one yet, thank you.

A round of applause to: White Pine Award Winner: For She is Wrath by @emilyvargabooks ! @raincoastbooks @stmartinspress White Pine honour books: The History of Everything by @evansvictoria and A Drop in the Ocean by @leatarantowrites ! @harpercollinsca @arsenalpulp #ForestofReading

Nous tenons à féliciter : Le lauréat du prix Tamarac : L'affaire Buddy Bussières écrit par François-Martine Bergeron-Mercier et illustré par @mathilde.filippi et publié par @editionslacourteechelle Mention d’honneur du prix Tamarac aux livres L'Oracle écrit par @juliechamp2003 et publié par @editionslacourteechelle et Quand ils sont venus écrit par @poulin.andree et illustré par @sophie.casson et publié par @editions_isatis ! 🎉 Bien mérité !

A round of applause to: Red Maple Award Winner: If We Tell You, written by @dahlinwords ! @kidscanpress Red Maple honour books: Finding Harmony by @ericwaltersauthor and The Factory by @bycatherineegan ! @orcabook @scholasticcda #ForestofReading

Nos félicitations au : Le lauréat du prix Mélèze : La bibliothèque enchantée 01 Le livre aspirateur écrit par Jocelyn Boisvert et illustré par @enzolordmariano et publié par @editionsmichelquintin ! Mention d’honneur du prix Mélèze aux livres Comment sauver des chevaux sauvages écrit par @poulin.andree et illustré par @carolinedessine et Croki écrit par Jacques Goldstyn ! @bayardjeunessecanada @editionspasteque

Welcome to Day 2 of the Forest of Reading Festival! Readers, are you ready to make some noise for books? We sure hope so, because we have so much in store for you today. But before we get started, the Forest of Reading team would like to share a sincere thank you to each of our partners and sponsors, through whom this year’s Festival has been made possible. Reaching more young readers is important to us, and their support makes it possible. Thank you to @tinlids.books @harbourfrontcentre governmentofcanada @firstbookcanada @canada.council @ontarioartscouncil @ongov @ipc.ontario @torontoartscouncil and @accesscopyright 💚 And of course, thank you to our Access Partner @indigo Love of Reading Foundation and Dear School Library Program Partner @scholasticcda Now let’s get out there and take part in the largest literary event for young readers in Canada! #ForestofReading #poweredbyTAC