Junior Book Awards
Forest of Reading
The Ontario Library Association offers 8 reading programs to encourage people of all ages in their love of reading. Students usually participate through their schools. All books selected must be written by a Canadian or landed resident, and be commercially available in Canada. Students vote for their favourites from the nominations for their age/Grade category. The culmination of the program is a two day awards ceremony attended by over 6,500 guests and all the nominated authors called the Festival of Trees.
Check out the list of nominated titles for this year.
Blue Spruce Awards
The Blue Spruce Award is a provincial reading program introducing Canadian children's picture books to Ontario children ages 4-7 in Kindergarten to Grade 2. Students look at 10 nominated picture books and then vote for their favourite book.
Check out the list of nominated titles for this year.
Previous winners of the Blue Spruce Award.
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Chester | Melanie Watt |
| 2008 | Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend | Melanie Watt |
| 2007 | Scaredy Squirrel | Melanie Watt |
| 2006 | The Boy Who Loved Bananas | George Elliott |
| 2005 | Drumheller Dinosaur Dance | Robert Heidbreder |
| 2004 | Stanley's Party | Linda Bailey |
| 2003 | Z is for Zamboni | Matt Napier |
| 2002 | When Pigs Fly | Valerie Coulman |
Silver Birch Awards
The Silver Birch Awards began in 1994 as a provincial reading program for students in Grades 4-6. In 2007, the program was restructured with the Silver Birch program covering Grades 3-6. The titles included fiction and non-fiction. There is a third list, combining both fiction and non-fiction, called Silver Birch Express, which is aimed aimed at Grade 3-4 readers, although students are encouraged to read from all the lists according to their abilities.
Check out the list of nominated titles for this year.
Previous winners of the Silver Birch Award.
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 Fiction Winner | The Third Eye | Mahtab Narsimhan |
| 2009 Non-Fiction Winner | Gold Medal for Weird | Kevin Sylvester |
| 2009 Express Winner | Dear Sylvia | Alan Cumyn |
| 2008 Fiction Winner | The Secret of Grim Hill | Linda DeMeulemeester |
| 2008 Non-Fiction Winner | Secret Agent Y.O.U. | Helaine Becker |
| 2008 Express Winner | Things Are Looking Grimm, Jill | Dan Bar-el |
| 2007 Fiction Winner | Walking with the Dead | L.M. Falcone |
| 2007 Non-Fiction Winner | Hiding Edith | Kathy Kacer |
| 2007 Express Winner | Any Pet Will Do | Nancy Shouse |
| 2006 Fiction Winner | Wolf Pack | Edo von Belkom |
| 2006 Non-Fiction Winner | Boredom Blasters | Helaine Becker |
| 2005 Fiction Winner | Raven Quest | Sharon Stewart |
| 2005 Non-Fiction Winner | Ask Me Anything: Strange but True Answers to 99 Wacky Questions | Marg Meikle |
| 2004 Fiction Winner | Newton and the Giant | Michael McGowan |
| 2004 Non-Fiction Winner | Survivors: True Death Defying Escapes | Larry Verstraete |
| 2003 Fiction Winner | Camp X | Eric Walters |
| 2003 Non-Fiction Winner | Hana's Suitcase | Karen Levine |
| 2002 Fiction Winner | If I Just Had Two Wings | Virginia Frances Schwartz |
| 2002 Non-Fiction Winner | Ha! Ha! Ha! | Lyn Thomas |
| 2001 Fiction Winner | After Hamelin | Bill Richardson |
| 2001 Non-Fiction Winner | Adventure in the Middle Ages | Linda Bailey |
| 2000 Fiction Winner | Secret of Gabi's Dresser | Kathy Kacer |
| 2000 Non-Fiction Winner | If You Could Wear My Sneakers | Sheree Fitch |
| 1999 Fiction Winner | Trapped in Ice | Eric Walters |
| 1999 Non-Fiction Winner | Funny You Should Ask | Marg Meikle |
| 1998 Fiction Winner | Silverwing | Kenneth Oppel |
| 1998 Non-Fiction Winner | Anastasia's Album | Hugh Brewster |
| 1997 Fiction Winner | Stars | Eric Walters |
| 1997 Non-Fiction Winner | On Board the Titanic | Shelley Tanaka |
| 1996 Fiction Winner | Bringing Up Beauty | Sylvia McNicoll |
| 1996 Non-Fiction Winner | Sho and the Demons of the Deep | Anouchka Gravel Galouchko |
| 1995 Winner | Polar the Titanic Bear | Laurie McGaw |
| 1994 Winner | Daniel's Story | Carol Matas |
Red Maple Awards
The Red Maple Award reading program is offered for the enjoyment of students in Grades 7 and 8. The program, like the Association's Silver Birch Awardsâ?˘ reading program, gives students who have read a minimum number of nominated titles the opportunity to vote with a large group of their peers for the nominated title that they feel should win the Red Maple Award each year. Students are encouraged to respond electronically, researching books and authors, posting responses on the website's bulletin board, and submitting votes via email.
Check out the list of nominated titles for this year.
Previous winners of the Red Maple Award.
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 Fiction Winner | Out of the Cold | Norah McClintock |
| Non-fiction Winner | Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of Ten Sovereigns | Elizabeth MacLeod |
| 2008 Fiction Winner | Safe as Houses | Eric Walters |
| 2007 Fiction | We All Fall Down | EricWalters |
| Nonfiction Winner | Thieves | Andreas Schroeder |
| 2006 Winner | Skybreaker | Kenneth Oppel |
| 2005 Winner | Airborne | Kenneth Oppel |
| 2005 Non-fiction Winner | Scams! | AndreasSchroeder |
| 2004 Winner | Hit and Run | Norah McClintock |
| 2003 Winner | Losing Forever | Gayle Friesen |
| 2002 Winner | Clara's War | Kathy Kacer |
| 2001 Winner | Rebound | Eric Walters |
| 2000 Winner | What They Don't Know | Anita Horrocks |
| 1999 Winner | Janey's Girl | Gayle Friesen |
| 1998 Winner | After the War | Carol Matas |
Amelia France Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Medal
The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Medal is awarded to an outstanding illustrator of a children's book published in Canada. The books selected are suitable for children up to and including age 12.
Past Winners
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Author/Illustrator |
| 2009 | Mattland | Dusan Petricic, written by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Hebert |
| 2008 | Chester | Melanie Watt |
| 2007 | Scaredy Squirrel | Melanie Watt |
| 2006 | The Baabaasheep Quartet | Leslie Elizabeth Watts |
| 2005 | Monkey Business | Wallace Edwards |
| 2004 | Stanley's Party | Bill Slavin, written by Linda Bailey |
| 2003 | The Art Room | Pascal Mileli, written by Susan Vande Griek |
| 2002 | Where I Live | Frances Wolfe |
| 2001 | The Magnificent Piano Recital | Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobsen |
| 2000 | The Dragon New Year: A Chinese Legend | Zhong-Yang Huang |
| 1999 | A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes | Kady MacDonald Denton |
| 1998 | The Party | Barbara Reid |
| 1997 | Ghost Train | Harvey Chan |
| 1996 | Just Like New | Karen Reczuch |
| 1995 | Gifts | Barbara Reid |
| 1994 | Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall | Leo Yerxa |
| 1993 | The Dragon's Pearl | Paul Morin |
| 1992 | Waiting for the Whales | Ron Lightburn |
| 1991 | Orphan Boy | Paul Morin |
| 1990 | Til All the Stars Have Fallen: Canadian Poems for Children | Kady MacDonald Denton |
Canadian Library Association book of the Year for Children Award
The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is awarded annually to a book that has been published in Canada, and whose author is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
Past Winners
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Author |
| 2009 | The Shepherd's Granddaughter | Anne Laurel Carter |
| 2008 | Elijah of Buxton | Christopher Paul Curtis |
| 2007 | Johnny Kellock Died Today | Hadley Dyer |
| 2006 | The Crazy Man | Pamela Porter |
| 2005 | Last Chance Bay | Anne Laurel Carter |
| 2004 | Boy O'Boy | Brian Doyle |
| 2003 | Hana's Suitcase | Karen Levine |
| 2002 | Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victory Cope | Jean Little |
| 2001 | Wild Girl & Gran | Nan Gregory |
| 2000 | Sunwing | Kenneth Oppel |
| 1999 | Stephen Fair | Tim Wynne-Jones |
| 1998 | Silverwing | Kenneth Oppel |
| 1997 | Uncle Ronald | Brian Doyle |
| 1996 | The Tiny Kite of Eddie Wing | Maxine Trottier |
| 1995 | Summer of the Mad Monk | Cora Taylor |
| 1994 | Some of the Kinder Planets | Tim Wynne-Jones |
| 1993 | Ticket to Curlew | Celia Barker Lottridge |
| 1992 | Eating Between the Lines | Kevin Major |
| 1991 | Redwork | Michael Bedard |
| 1990 | The Sky is Falling | Kit Pearson |
Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award
The Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award began in 1985 following the death of Elizabeth Cleaver, one of Canada's pre-eminent illustrators of books for children. Awarded annually, the winner must be a Canadian illustrator of a picture book published in Canada, in either English or French, during the previous calendar year. The book must be a first edition and contain original illustrations.
Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People
The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People was established in 1988 and is awarded annually to an outstanding work of historical fiction for young readers by a Canadian author.
TD Canadian Children's Literature Award
Established in 2004, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award is given annually to the most distinguished book of the year published in Canada the previous year by a Canadian or permanent resident and written for children ages 1-13. In case of a picture book, both the author and illustrator must be Canadian.
Governor General's Literary Awards for Children's Literature
The Governor General's Literary Award is given annually to the best works by a Canadian author, regardless of where it is published, for English-language and French-language works. A few awards were given for works for children before 1987, when the awards for the best Children's books in English and French, and for illustration were established.
| Year | Title of the Book | Author's Name |
|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Author |
| 2009 | Greener Grass: The Famine Years | Caroline Pignat |
| 2008 | The Landing | John Ibbitson |
| 2007 | Gemini Summer | Iain Lawrence |
| 2006 | Pirate's Passage | William Gilkerson |
| 2005 | The Crazy Man | Pamela Porter |
| 2004 | Airborn | Kenneth Oppel |
| 2003 | Stitches | Glen Huser |
| 2002 | True Confessions of a Heartless Girl | Martha Brooks |
| 2001 | Dust | Arthur Slade |
| 2000 | Looking for X | Deborah Ellis |
| 1999 | A Screaming Kind of Day | Rachna Gilmore |
| 1998 | The Hollow Tree | Janet Lunn |
| 1997 | Awake and Dreaming | Kit Pearson |
| 1996 | Ghost Train | Paul Yee |
| 1995 | The Maestro | Tim Wynne-Jones |
| 1994 | Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me | Julie Johnston |
| 1993 | Some of the Kinder Planets | Tim Wynne-Jones |
| 1992 | Hero of Lesser Causes | Julie Johnston |
| 1991 | Doctor Kiss Says Yes | Joan Fitzgerald |
| 1990 | The Orphan Boy | Paul Morin |
| 1989 | The Magic Paintbrush | Robin Muller |
| 1988 | Third Magic | Welwyn Wilton Katz |
| 1987 | Galahad Schwartz and the Cockroach Army | Morgan Nyberg |
| 1958 | Nkwala | Edith L. Sharp |
| 1957 | The Great Chief | Kerry Wood |
| 1956 | Lost in the Barrens | Farley Mowat |
| 1955 | The Map Maker | Kerry Wood |
| 1954 | The Nor'wester | Marjorie Wilkins Campbell |
| 1953 | Rebels Ride at Night | John F. Hayes |
| 1952 | Cargoes on the Great Lakes | Marie McPhedran |
| 1951 | A Land Divided | John F. Hayes |
| 1950 | The Great Adventure | Donald Dickie |
| 1949 | Franklin of the Arctic | R. S. Lambert |
