The Ontario Library Association has announced the nominees for the 2023 Forest of Reading.

The 10 nominees in the Blue Spruce category (JK–Grade 2) include Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes (Annick Press) by Mahak Jain and illustrated by Anu Chouhan, and Meena’s Mindful Moment (Page Street Kids) by Tina Athaide and illustrated by Åsa Gilland.

In the Silver Birch Express category (Grades 3–4), Buffy Sainte-Marie along with illustrator Michelle Alynn Clement are nominated for Tâpwê and the Magic Hat (Greystone Kids), as are Carol Matas and newcomer Cornelia Li for Who’s Looking?: How Animals See the World (Orca Book Publishers).

For the Yellow Cedar (Grades 5–8), which is the non-fiction category, the 10 nominees touch on a variety of topics, from music in The Science of Song: How and Why We Make Music (Kids Can Press) by Alan Cross, Emme Cross, Nicole Mortillaro, and illustrated by Carl Wiens, to food in Arab Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook (Tradewind Books) by Karim Alrawi, Sobhi, Tamam al-Zobaidi, and illustrated by Nahid Kazemi.

The Red Maple category (Grades 7–8) includes Chad Lucas’s Let the Monster Out (Abrams), Wab Kinew’s Walking in Two Worlds (Tundra Books), and Joanne Levy’s Sorry for Your Loss (Orca Book Publishers).

The nominees for the White Pine category (Grades 9–12), include Deborah Falaye’s debut Blood Scion (HarperTeen) and Judy I. Lin’s A Magic Steeped in Poison (Feiwel & Friends).

The full 2023 Forest of Reading nominees are listed at forestofreading.com.