Forest of Reading reveals chosen books for 2025 — students across Canada to choose winners

Books by Johnnie Christmas, David A. Robertson and Heather Smith among those nominated. The program is Canada's largest annual recreational reading initiative where children and young adults pick their favourite authors and illustrators.

The program is the country's largest recreational reading initiative for kids

CBC Books · Posted: Oct 15, 2024 12:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 17, 2024

A composite image of three authors portraits. — From left: Johnnie Christmas, David A. Robertson and Heather Smith are among the nominated authors for the 2025 Forest of Reading awards. (Amanda Palmer, Amber Colours Green, heathertsmith.com)

Books written by Johnnie Christmas, David A. Robertson and Heather Smith are among the nominated titles for the Forest of Reading's 2025 award programme.

Hosted each spring, the Forest of Reading is Canada's largest annual recreational reading program where children and young adults pick their favourite authors and illustrators.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the award celebrations were presented in partnership with CBC Books in a virtual format. A hybrid event announced the winners in 2023 and 2024.

Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas. Illustrated book cover shows a young Black teen in a red jacket with many patches, looking out at a body of water.

This year, 270,000 readers across the country will participate in the program. Canadian students from kindergarten to high school are encouraged to read from a selection of shortlisted books and vote for their favourites.

A total of nine categories — six English and three French — reflecting different reading levels and genres are recognized. Each category has 10 nominated titles.

The 10 finalists in each category are chosen by a committee of library practitioners.

Bestselling children's author Johnnie Christmas is nominated in the Silver Birch category for his latest YA graphic novel Gamerville.

In Gamerville, video gamer Max is sent to Camp Reset by his parents, forcing him to miss the championship of his favourite game.

Gamerville, Johnnie Christmas's new graphic novel, explores friendship and pushing your boundaries

Christmas is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator based in Vancouver. He previously illustrated Margaret Atwood's Angel Catbird and is the creator of Swim Team.

In 2022, CBC Books named Christmas a writer to watch.

LISTEN | Johnnie Christmas on the power of unplugging:
The Next Chapter12:21Forced to unplug and reconnect with reality in Gamerville
Gamerville is the latest project from the mind of bestselling author and visual artist Johnnie Christmas, where a talented gamer named Max is reluctantly sent to summer camp by his parents.

The Kodiaks by David A. Robertson. Illustrated book cover shows three teenage hockey players on the ice.

Prolific writer David A. Robertson is nominated for his middle-grade novel The Kodiaks.

The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage follows 11-year-old Alex Robinson who moves from a close-knit community to a bigger city after his dad gets a new job.

David A. Robertson is a writer and graphic novelist based in Winnipeg. Previous books in Robertson's Misewa Saga series include The Barren Grounds, The Great Bear and The Stone Child.

Other books by Robertson include the graphic novels Will I See? and Sugar Falls, YA book Strangers, the memoir Black Water and the Governor General's Literary Award-winning picture books called When We Were Alone and On the Trapline, both illustrated by Cree-Métis artist Julie Flett.

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Award-winning children's author Heather Smith is nominated for her latest book Tig.

The book follows a young girl who is struggling to accept her new life and new family after she and her brother are forced to move in with their Uncle Scott and his partner Manny.

An illustrated book cover featuring a young girl and boy sitting back-to-back on a hill.

Heather Smith writes books for children and young adults. She is originally from Newfoundland, but now lives in Waterloo, Ont.

Smith's picture books include The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden, A Plan for Pops and Granny Left Me a Rocket Ship, and her YA books include Chicken Girl, The Agony of Bun O'Keefe and Baygirl. Smith won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award in 2019 for her YA novel in verse Ebb & Flow.

Home is where the heart is — and the stories are — for author Heather Smith

Details about voting will be announced later. The winners will be revealed in spring 2025.

The Forest of Reading program is organized by the Ontario Library Association. The program began in 1995. There is also an adult program, the Evergreen Award, which is run by libraries in the summer.

You can see all the finalists in the six English-language categories below.