2026 Forest of Reading winners

The Ontario Library Association (OLA) and the Forest of Reading have announced the winners of the 2026 Forest of Reading Awards.

The two-day event, which had an in-person event at Harbourfront in Toronto and a digital component, was hosted by Hamilton teen and book-club host Ainara Alleyne.

The winners are:

Blue Spruce Award
The Great Dinosaur Sleepover by Linda Bailey and Joe Bluhm, ill. (Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada)

Silver Birch Express Award
The Great Puptective 02 Purranormal Activity by Alina Tysoe (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Silver Birch Fiction Award
The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents by Nicki Pau Preto (Penguin Young Readers/Penguin Random House)

Yellow Cedar Award
A Sick History of Medicine: A Warts-And-All Book Full of Fun Facts and Disgusting Discoveries by Jelena Poleksic and Ella Kasperowicz, ill. (Neon Squid/Macmillan Publishers)

Red Maple Award
If We Tell You by Nicola Dahlin (Kids Can Press)

White Pine Award
For She is Wrath by Emily Varga ( Wednesday Books/Macmillan Publishers)

Almost 154,500 children read the nominated books, which included Canadian fiction and nonfiction books by English and French-language authors. More than 128,000 kids voted this year across nine programs.