Forest of Reading
Join Canada's largest literary event for young readers!
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The Forest of Reading Festival is Canada’s largest recreational reading program – and the only one where children and young adults choose the winner! This program aims to encourage a genuine and lifelong love of reading among readers of all ages.
Did you know: Children who read for fun have higher literacy scores, have more success in science and math, and are more socially and civically engaged.
Readers aged 4-18 can participate in any or all of the reading challenges for their age/grade categories – there are 10 books in each category. Participants are encouraged to read at least five of the ten nominated titles to be eligible to vote with Oakville Public Library in April. In April, all votes are tabulated province-wide and a winning author and book is announced in May.
The challenge runs from January 1 to April 30, 2023 – voting must be complete by April 30, 2023.
How to participate
Track your reading and engage with the books
Join a challenge through our online reading tracker, Beanstack. The more you read, the more badges you get!
- Register your child through Beanstack and sign up for the Forest of Reading challenges for your age/grade group.
- Read nominated titles
- Log into Beanstack when you read a nominated title and complete activity badges!
- Participate in our free book club for kids (multiple dates)
- Vote for your book picks at your local branch (coming soon in April)
See all the nominated books here:
- Blue Spruce – Ages 4-7 (Grades JK-2)
- Silver Birch Express – Ages 8-10 (Grades 3-4)
- Silver Birch Fiction – Age 8-12 (Grades 3-6)
- Yellow Cedar – Ages 9-14 (Grades 4-8)
- Red Maple – Ages 12-14 (Grades 7-8)
- White Pine – Ages 14-18 (Grades 10-12)
Are you just learning to read? Join a Book Club!
For many children, this is their first introduction to the world of books. Participants aged 4-7 can join our Blue Spruce Book Club, where they will read nominated titles, engage in discussion and activities related to the book and at the end of the series, place their vote for the book and author they think should win the award.
OPL is encouraging participants to discover as many of the books as they can and vote on their favourites with us in April! Voting is currently closed. Check back in April!