The Ontario Library Association has announced its shortlists for its 2012 Forest of Reading program. The winners, as chosen by Ontario school children, will be announced during the Forest of Reading Festival, May 15“16, 2012.

Here are the English-language nominees:

Blue Spruce (Grades K“2)

• A Flock of Shoes, Sarah Tsiang; Qin Leng, illus. (Annick Press)
• Giraffe and Bird, Rebecca Bender (Dancing Cat Books)
• Kiss Me! (I’m a Prince!), Heather McLeod; Brooke Kerrigan, illus. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• The Little Hummingbird, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Greystone Books)
• Making the Moose Out of Life, Nicholas Oldland (Kids Can Press)
• Noni Says No, Heather Hartt-Sussman; Geneviève Côté, illus. (Tundra Books)
• One Hockey Night, David Ward; Brian Deines, illus. (North Winds Press)
• Rosyln Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth!, Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood Books)
• Small Saul, Ashley Spires (Kids Can)
• Stanley’s Little Sister, Linda Bailey and Bill Slavin, illus. (Kids Can)

Silver Birch Fiction (Grades 3“6)

• Better Than Weird, Anna Kerz (Orca Book Publishers)
• Crossing to Freedom, Virginia Frances Schwartz (Scholastic Canada)
• Ghost Messages, Jacqueline Guest (Coteau Books)
• Ghosts of the Titanic, Julie Lawson (Scholastic Canada)
• The Glory Wind, Valerie Sherrard (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• The McGuillicuddy Book of Personal Records, Colleen Sydor (Red Deer Press)
• Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze, Alan Silberberg (Simon & Schuster)
• Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction, Kevin Sylvester (Simon and Schuster/HarperCollins Canada)
• That Boy Red, Rachna Gilmore (Simon and Schuster/HarperCollins Canada)
• Undergrounders, David Skuy (Scholastic Canada)

Silver Birch Non-fiction (Grades 3“6)

• 50 Poisonous Questions: A Book With Bite, Tanya Lloyd Kyi; Ross Kinnaird, illus. (Annick)
• Africans Thought of It: Amazing Innovations, Bathseba Opini; Richard B. Lee (Annick)
• Animals That Changed the World, Keltie Thomas (Annick)
• Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science, Susan Hughes; Michael Wandelmaier, illus. (Kids Can)
• Don’t Touch That Toad & Other Strange Things Adults Tell You, Catherine Rondina; Kevin Sylvester, illus. (Kids Can)
• Game Day: Meet the People Who Make It Happen, Kevin Sylvester (Annick)
• Highway of Heroes, Kathy Stinson (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• Mathemagic! Number Tricks, Lynda Colgan; Jane Kurisu, illus. (Kids Can)
• Totally Human: Why We Look and Act the Way We Do, Cynthia Pratt Nicolson;Dianne Eastman, illus. (Kids Can)
• Who Wants Pizza? The Kids’ Guide to the History, Science & Culture of Food, Jan Thornhill (Maple Tree Press)

Silver Birch Express (Grades 3“6)

• All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine, Monica Kulling; Bill Slavin, illus. (Tundra)
• Banjo of Destiny, Cary Fagan; Selçuk Demirel, illus. (Groundwood)
• Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Gordon Lightfoot; Ian Wallace, illus. (Groundwood)
• The Gargoyle Overhead, Philippa Dowding (Napoleon & Company)
• The Last Loon, Rebecca Upjohn (Orca)
• Our Earth: How Kids are Saving the Planet, Janet Wilson (Second Story Press)
• Saving Arm Pit, Natalie Hyde (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• The Time Time Stopped, Don Gillmor (Scholastic Canada)
• Uumajut: Learn About Arctic Wildlife! Simon Awa; Anna Ziegler; Stephanie McDonald; Leah Otak, trans.; Romi Caron, illus. (Inhabit Media)
• When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean, Jan Andrews; DuÅ¡an Petričić, illus. (Groundwood)

Red Maple (Grades 7-8)

• Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom, Susin Nielsen (Tundra)
• Dust City, Robert Paul Weston (Puffin Canada)
• Fanatics, William Bell (Doubleday Canada)
• Fly Boy, Eric Walters (Puffin canada)
• Half Brother, Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins Canada)
• Haunting Violet, Alyxandra Harvey (Bloomsbury)
• Home Truths, Jill MacLean (Dancing Cat)
• No Safe Place, Deborah Ellis (Groundwood)
• Thunder Over Kandahar, Sharon E. McKay; Rafal Gerszak, photog. (Annick)
• Torn from Troy, Patrick Bowman (Ronsdale Press)

White Pine Fiction (Grades 9“12)

• Ashes, Ashes, Jo Treggiari (Scholastic Canada)
• Beat the Band, Don Calame (Candlewick Press)
• Blood Red Road, Moira Young (Doubleday)
• Chance to Dance for You, Gail Sidonie Sobat (Great Plains Publications)
• Death Benefits, Sarah N. Harvey (Orca)
• The Fifth Rule, Don Aker (HarperCollins Canada)
• The Gathering, Kelley Armstrong (Doubleday Canada)
• Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, Drew Hayden Taylor (Vintage Canada)
• Something Wicked, Lesley Anne Cowan (Puffin Canada)
• The Way It Is, Donalda Reid (Second Story)

White Pine Non-fiction (Grades 9“12)

• The Book of Awesome, Neil Pasricha (Penguin)
• Call Me Russell, Russell Peters (Doubleday Canada)
• Wars: An Illustrated History, Jonathan Webb; J.L. Granatstein, illus. (Scholastic)
• Hockey Now! Mike Leonetti (Firefly Books)
• I.D.: Stuff that Happens to Define Us, Kate Scowen; Peter Mitchell, illus. (Annick)
• Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit: 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World, Tom Rand; Dave Clark, eds. (Eco Ten Publishing)
• Nice Recovery, Susan Juby (Viking)
• Stick to Your Vision: How to Get Past the Hurdles and Haters to Get Where You Want to Be, Wes Maestro Williams  (McClelland & Stewart)
• Two Generals, Scott Chantler (M&S)
• Will to Live: Dispatches from the Edge of Survival, Les Stroud (Collins Canada)

Golden Oak (adult)

• Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Gordon Lightfoot (Groundwood)
• Fatty Legs: A True Story, Christy Jordan-Fendon and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton; Liz Amini-Holmes, illus. (Annick)
• Highway of Heroes, Kathy Stinson (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
• No Safe Place, Deborah Ellis (Groundwood)
• Our Earth: How Kids Are Saving the Planet, Janet Wilson (Second Story)
• Out of Darkness: The Jeff Healey Story, Cindy Watson (Dundurn Press)
• Second Wife, Brenda Chapman (Raven Books/Orca)
• Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged, Jody Nyasha Warner; Richard Rudnicki, illus. (Groundwood)