The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the
Ontario Library Association
The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada and among the 10 largest library associ ...
(OLA).
Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve, but do also include programs targeting adult readers and ESL learners. The Forest awards are selected by readers themselves, who choose the winning titles for each award by voting for their favourite books.
Forest of Reading award winners are announced annually at the Forest of Reading Festival (previously The Festival of Trees), which is Canada's largest annual literary event for children, attracting as many as 15,000 youth annually. In addition to award ceremonies, the Festival also includes many author and illustrator events, including hands-on workshops.
History
In the early 1990s, the OLA conducted a small survey about recreational reading programs being offered by school libraries and concluded that more needed to be done to encourage reading for pleasure in school-aged children.
Inspired by the success of the
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
Bluebonnet Awards, a reading award program that was selected through reader votes, OLA representatives adapted the program for Ontario to re-stimulate school library interest in reading through the promotion of reading for pleasure.
The program was also intended to increase awareness for Canadian books and authors.
The first Forest of Reading Awards program, the Silver Birch Awards program, was launched in 1994. It targeted children in grades 4–6 and focused on both fiction and non-fiction books. As the program gained traction, the Silver Birch Award attracted the attention of principals and teachers who encouraged its adoption in ever-widening circles, providing teacher-librarians with much needed support. Five years later, in 1999, the Red Maple Awards program was established for Grades 7–9 in response to growing school demand.
Today, the Forest of Reading has expanded to include eight additional reading programs and is the largest program of its kind in the country.
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Objectives
The stated objectives of the Forest of Reading are:
* fostering a love of reading
* encouraging academic and social success in children through reading
* emphasizes the importance of libraries
* supports Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators.
Award programs
The Forest of Reading consists of ten reading programs:
* Blue Spruce Award™ - ages 4-7 (JK–Grade 2), English, picture books
* Silver Birch Express Award® - ages 8-10 (Grades 3–4), English, fiction/non-fiction
* Silver Birch Fiction Award® - ages 8-12 (Grades 3–6 ), English, fiction
* Yellow Cedar Award - ages 9-14 (Grades 4–8), English, non-fiction
* Red Maple Award The Red Maple Award is an award in the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Forest of Reading Awards. The Red Maple Award celebrates fiction (since 1998) and non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in ...
™ - ages 12-14 (Grades 7–8), English, fiction
* White Pine Award
The ''White Pine Award'' is one of the annual literature Forest of Reading awards sponsored by the Ontario Library Association (OLA).
Every year, 10 books are nominated for the award and students vote their favourite book.
The White Pine Nonfi ...
™ - high school (Grades 9–12), English, fiction
* Le prix Peuplier - ages vary, simple stories that can be read aloud, French, picture books
* Le prix Mélèze (formerly Le prix Tamarac Express) - ages vary, short chapter books, less than 100 pages, or advanced picture books, French, fiction/nonfiction
* Le prix Tamarac - ages vary, chapter books, 100-250 pages, French, fiction/nonfiction
* Evergreen Award™ - adult, fiction/non-fiction
The Forest of Reading retired awards are:
* Golden Oak Award (2003-2018)
Festivals and ceremonies
The school-aged programs have one large award ceremony in the spring, which is delivered at the Forest of Reading Festival (formerly the Festival of Trees) at the Harbourfront Centre
Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...
, Toronto. The festival take place over three days and includes workshops, author signings, and the awards ceremonies themselves. In 2012, the Festival began touring with Satellite Festivals, which have been held in Thunder Bay, North Bay, Parry Sound, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Kitchener and London. 2014 also saw the addition of a French festival in Toronto.
The Evergreen Award winner is announced in November and the award is presented during the OLA's Super Conference in Toronto.
References
{{Reflist
External links
OLA siteForest of Reading Festival site
Literary festivals in Ontario
Organizations based in Ontario
Organizations promoting literacy
Literacy-related awards
Picture book awards
Library-related organizations
Canadian literary awards
Organizations established in 1994