A spruce and a poplar… Sounds like the start of a nerdy tree joke or maybe a garden centre list. But it isn’t!
My picture book The Branch / Ma branche préférée is a finalist for two literary awards – the Blue Spruce (for the English version) and Prix Peuplier (for the French version). Both awards are in the Forest of Reading program of the Ontario Library Association.
Between now and May 2018, thousands of young Ontario students will read the books in their selected categories (French, English, fiction, non-fiction, picture book, chapter books & YA). They will then vote for their favourite book. The winners will be announced mid-May at a huge (and I mean HUGE!) book party at Harbourfront in Toronto with hundreds of young readers going wild for their favourite books and authors. If you ever had any doubt as to whether kids can still get excited about books, this is THE must-attend event of the year!
This is my 6th time being a finalist for the Forest of Reading but this is my FIRST TIME having one of my books in both a French and an English category simultaneously. I’m honoured… and a little stunned. This year, in the Blue Spruce finalists there is a book written by an astronaut, a book with a foreword by a hockey legend and a book that will have you running for your pencils to write your own story. And that’s just a few of the amazing books that The Branch is up against! The list is just as impressive on the French side with books that will have you laughing, rhyming, thinking and maybe even shedding a little tear! One thing is for sure – the readers will have a fantastic time discovering all these wonderful Canadian authors and illustrators!
Happy reading to all the participants and congratulations to all the finalists!