Here are the 2022 Silver Birch Fiction Award finalists: 10 great Canadian books for readers in Grades 3-6
CBC Books | | Posted: October 21, 2021 2:47 PM | Last Updated: October 21, 2021
Ten Canadian books are finalists for the 2022 Silver Birch Fiction Award, which celebrates fiction books for readers in Grades 3-6.
The Silver Birch Fiction Award is part of the Forest of Reading program, in which students from kindergarten to high school are encouraged to read from a selection of shortlisted books and vote for their favourites over several months.
The Forest of Reading program is organized by the Ontario Library Association. The 10 finalists in each category are chosen by a committee of library practitioners.
More than 270,000 students across Canada participate each year through their schools, public libraries, literacy centres and at home. Those with a subscription can tune in through Curio, CBC's educational service. The awards will also be available at CBC Books.
On Day Two of the festival (May 18, 2022), the Yellow Cedar Award (10 a.m. ET), Silver Birch Fiction Award (11:30 a.m. ET) and the Silver Birch Express Award (1:00 p.m ET) are announced. You can see the complete schedule here.
Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster by Rachelle Delaney
In Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster, Alice appears on a popular reality cooking show with her dad and finds herself caught up in a case of mystery and sabotage.
Alice and her father are contestants on Culinary Combat, a new reality TV show hosted by Tom Truffleman — but the cooking competition forces Alice to work with new friends and find out who is trying to ruin the show before it's too late.
Rachelle Delaney is a Canadian author of several middle-grade novels. Her debut novel, The Ship of Lost Souls, was shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Red Cedar Award.
Deadman's Castle by Iain Lawrence
Deadman's Castle is a middle-grade novel about a boy named Igor who has been on the run with his family for as long as he can remember. He's followed his father's strict rules all his life but when Igor starts testing those boundaries, strange things start happening and he begins to wonder if the "Lizard Man" has finally caught up with them.
Iain Lawrence is a bestselling author of books for children of all ages. The B.C.-based writer won the 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature — text for the novel Gemini Summer.
Elvis, Me and the Lemonade Stand Summer by Leslie Gentile
In Elvis, Me and the Lemonade Stand Summer, it's summer in the late 1970s and Truly Bateman is a young girl who believes that Elvis Presley is still alive and lives next door in her reservation on Vancouver Island. While dealing with an absent mother, Truly supports herself by running a lemonade stand. She finds comfort with the Salish woman who runs the trailer park — all while trying to convince others that the cool new person on the rez is actually Elvis himself.
Leslie Gentile is an author and singer-songwriter of Northern Salish, Tuscarora and Scottish heritage. Based on Vancouver Island, she performs with her children in The Leslie Gentile Band. Elvis, Me, and the Lemonade Stand Summer is her debut book.
The Fabulous Zed Watson! by Kevin Sylvester & Basil Sylvester
The Fabulous Zed Watson! features a non-binary lead character named Zed who discovers a mystery surrounding an unpublished novel called The Monster's Castle. Zed joins a small but dedicated legion devoted to finding the long-buried text. When a breakthrough discovery leads Zed to the route that they are sure will take them to the treasure, they embark on a road trip with their shy, flora-loving neighbour, Gabe, and his sister, Sam, a geologist who is driving back to college in Arizona.
Basil Sylvester is a non-binary writer based in Toronto. Their father, Kevin Sylvester, is a broadcaster and the award-winning illustrator and writer of middle-grade books such as the Neil Flambé Capers series and the MiNRS space adventure series.
The Great Bear by David A. Robertson
The Great Bear is the second book in David A. Robertson's Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series. Eli and Morgan journey once more to visit their animal friends in Misewa. Each struggling with personal issues, Eli and Morgan turn to Misewa for comfort and guidance, but are faced with personal, physical and emotional challenges that will force them to find the resolve to save themselves and everything they care for.
Robertson is an author and graphic novelist based in Winnipeg. He has published several books across a variety of genres, including the graphic novels Will I See? and Sugar Falls, a Governor General's Literary Award-winning picture book called When We Were Alone, illustrated by Julie Flett and the YA book Strangers and the memoir Black Water.
Harvey Holds His Own by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Tara Anderson
Harvey Holds His Own is the follow-up to Harvey Comes Home. Harvey and his human, Maggie, are back to volunteering at the Brayside retirement home with their friend Austin. Harvey is a hero when he finds an abandoned puppy in a pile of trash. Harvey gets praised for his bravery, while the puppy heals. Austin really wants a dog of his own, even though his mom says no. Will this scared new puppy become Austin's new best friend?
Colleen Nelson is a YA author based in Winnipeg. Her other books include Pulse Point, Spin, Blood Brothers and Finding Hope.
Tara Anderson in award-winning illustrator and folk artist from Tweed, Ont. Her other books include Harvey Comes Home and Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That.
The Language of Ghosts by Heather Fawcett
The Language of Ghosts follows Noa Marchena, an ex-princess forced into exile on and enchanted moving island with her older brother Julian and younger sister Mite. When the siblings hear about a weapon that can defeat Julian's dark magic, they embark on a journey to get it first and discover the key to reclaiming their family's throne is a long-lost language only Noa can speak.
Heather Fawcett is the Vancouver author of the middle-grade novels Ember and the Ice Dragons and The School Between Winter and Fairyland, as well as the young adult series Even the Darkest Stars.
No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen
No Vacancy is a story about two girls, Miriam and Kate, who decide to team up and help save an old run-down motel one summer. When Miriam's Jewish family purchases and moves into the Jewel Motor Inn, she finds a friend in a Catholic girl named Kate. They soon realize that it might just take a miracle to prevent the motel from closing down forever.
Tziporah (Tzippy) Cohen is an American-born author and oncology/palliative care psychiatrist based in Canada.
ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse by Stephanie Cooke, illustrated by Mari Costa
ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse is the story of a witch named Abby and her band of friends — a pumpkinhead, a ghost and a wolf-girl. Together they must defend their supernatural town of North Haven from an invasion of rabid chaos bunnies.
Stephanie Cooke is a comic book writer and editor living in Toronto. Her writing work is featured in Mark Millar's Millarworld Annual, Wayward Sisters: A Monstrous Anthology, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls and the Toronto Comics Anthology.
Mari Costa is a character animator, designer and story artist from Brazil. She is the creator of the Life Of Melody graphic novel.
Peter Lee's Notes from the Field by Angela Ahn, illustrated by Julie Kwon
Peter Lee's Notes from the Field is a middle-grade book about an 11-year-old who dreams of a paleontologist. But when he embarks on a real-life dinosaur expedition that ends up in failure, he discovers that making his dream a reality just might be harder than he first thought. On top of it all, his grandmother falls ill and no one in his family will talk to him about it. Peter Lee's Notes from the Field is a tale of family, perseverance and how the power of observation and experimentation can save the day.
Angela Ahn is a writer and former teacher and librarian who lives in Vancouver. She is also the author of the children's book Krista Kim-Bap. Peter Lee's Notes from the Field is also a finalist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text.
Julie Kwon is an artist, animator and illustrator based in Philadelphia. Her other books include Little Messy Marcy Su and The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee.