awards

Bison In the Running For High Plains International Book Award

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Bison: Community Builders and Grasslands Caretakers is a finalist in the Youth/Middle-Grade category for the 2026 High Plains International Book Awards. This awards program celebrates literary works that examine and reflect life in the High Plains region, including seven U.S. states (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas) and three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).

Community readers worked their way through more than 200 nominated books to narrow the field in each category, and a panel of judges chose the finalists. This year’s winners will be announced on October 3rd. That day, there will be author panels and opportunities to meet the finalists and buy their books, all at the Billings Public Library. The evening awards presentation event will be held at the Montana State University Billings Glacier Room, and is free and open to the public.

Another Exciting Red Cedar Award Nomination

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Who-whoo! Owls: Who Gives a Hoot? is a nominee for the 2025/26 Red Cedar Award, making it my third children’s book to be selected for this honour by the Young Readers’ Choice Book Awards Society of British Columbia. Beavers competed for this readers’ choice award in 2022/23 and Grizzly Bears followed in 2024/25.

Each fall, the society picks a handful of Canadian fiction and nonfiction books written for grades 4-7 and invites kids to read them and vote for their favourites in the spring. Participants form reading groups, which can involve as many or as few people as they want — even just one — and group registration is free. To be eligible to vote, readers must read at least five of the nominated books in that category.

It’s a great way to encourage kids to read, talk about and think about books. If you know, or are, a young reader who would like to join in the fun, visit the Red Cedar Awards website for all the details, including the full list of 2025/26 nominees in the nonfiction category.

Owls: Who Gives a Hoot? book cover

Owls Gets a Perch in Prestigious Forest of Reading Awards Program

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Owls: Who Gives a Hoot? is a 2024/25 Yellow Cedar Award nominee in Canada’s largest recreational reading program, the Forest of Reading. Just 10 nonfiction books for grades 5-8 make it onto this list each year. Between now and next April, kids all across Canada will read the nominated books and then vote for their favourite.

Registering in this young readers’ choice program gives participants access to a multitude of book-related activities, as well as voting privileges for all 10 Forest of Reading awards categories. Participation is often organized by teachers and librarians, but homeschoolers, families and book clubs are equally welcome to join the fun. More than 270,000 readers participate each year!

The Forest of Reading nurtures a love of reading for everyone from confirmed bookworms to reluctant readers. It also celebrates and supports Canadian authors, illustrators and publishers. You can learn more about the program’s goals and history here.

 

Grizzly Bears Vies for Red Cedar Award

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Grizzly Bears: Guardians of the Wilderness has been nominated for a 2024/25 Red Cedar Award!

Each fall, the Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of British Columbia selects 24 Canadian books (half nonfiction and half fiction) written for grades 4-7. Then it invites kids to read the books and vote for their favourite in each category in the spring. Participants form reading groups, which can involve as many or as few people as they want — even just one — and group registration is free. To be eligible to vote, readers must read at least five of the nominated books in that category.

What a great way to encourage kids to read, talk about and think about books. If you know, or are, a young reader who would like to join in the fun, visit the Red Cedar Awards website for all the details, including the full list of 2024/25 nominees.