It was a soggy two days in Toronto, but that didn’t stop more than 8,000 school-age kids from enjoying the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading festival this week at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

The annual kidlit event, which featured signings, readings, entertainment, and workshops, also included ceremonies for its signature prizes.

The winners are:

Blue Spruce Award
Dave Whamond, Oddrey (Owlkids Books)

Silver Birch Express Award
Rebecca Upjohn; Renné Benoit, illus., The Secret of the Village Fool (Second Story Press)

Silver Birch Fiction Award
Robin Stevenson, Record Breaker (Orca Book Publishers)

Silver Birch Non-fiction Award
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way (Pajama Press)

Red Maple Fiction Award
Susin Nielsen, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (Tundra Books)

White Pine Fiction Award
Lisa Harrington, Live to Tell (Dancing Cat Books)

White Pine Non-fiction Award
Lise Dion; Liedewij Hawke, trans., The Secret of the Blue Trunk (Dundurn Press)

Lauréat du Prix Tamarac
Maryse Peyskens, Une fille à l’école des gars (Dominique et Compagnie)

Lauréat du Prix Tamarac Express
Raymond Parent, Attention, j’arrive! (Boomerang)

Lauréat du Prix Peuplier
Céline Malépart, Une mouche, un chat et une patate (Boomerang)