By Wendy Burch Jones, Karen Devonish-Mazzotta, Maria Martella & Meredith Tutching
Building Excitement for the Forest of Reading Festival: #readingjoy In Our School Communities
The Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program transforms individual reading experiences into vibrant community celebrations, offering students, teacher-librarians and library professionals a comprehensive pathway from classroom engagement to festival participation. With both French and English programs, this bilingual program creates inclusive literary experiences that build lasting connections across a variety of student populations.
At the school level, Forest of Reading implementation offers remarkable flexibility through various participation formats. Individual classes engage in large group read-alouds and shared readings of the nominated texts to create collective literary experiences. Many classes circulate the ten nominated titles within their own classroom, allowing each student to experience every book before participating in culminating book experiences that celebrate a diversity of perspectives and interpretations. Some schools may choose to provide extracurricular Forest of Reading book clubs, with students from various grade levels and programs meeting at lunch or after school to discuss the program’s selected titles and engage in discussions that foster critical thinking.
The program’s reach extends beyond individual schools through innovative pen pal initiatives connecting students across different school boards, regions, and provinces. These correspondence programs allow readers to share their thinking about nominated titles, opening conversations to different lenses and significantly enlarging and making meaningful connections between the Forest of Reading community. Such exchanges particularly benefit French, French as a Second Language and English language learners, creating authentic communication opportunities that can, in turn, build intercultural understanding.
Author connections represent another powerful engagement tool. Schools can invite nominated authors for in-person visits at their school or coordinate live virtual sessions, providing students direct access to their favourite creative professionals. The Ontario Library Association enhances this experience through a password-protected online platform with content featuring read-alouds by nominated authors, drawing workshops by illustrators, and videos addressing hot topics pressing today’s young readers. These pre-festival activities build excitement while providing rich literary programming.
The journey culminates at the festival celebration at Harbourfront, where students meet many of the nominated authors simultaneously in Canada’s largest literary event for young readers. This progression from classroom discussion to provincial celebration generates tremendous excitement that fosters community building and collaboration. Interested in registering for this year’s Forest of Reading Program? Visit Forest of Reading for more information.
The Forest of Reading Festival: An Exhibitor’s Perspective
The Forest of Reading Festival (formerly the Festival of Trees) began in 2007 as a simple ceremony and has since grown into a two-day extravaganza that feels more like a rock concert than a field trip. Today, over 6 000 young readers come together to celebrate books, meet authors, and immerse themselves in activities that make reading unforgettable.
For attendees, a highlight of the day is exploring exhibitor booths—engaging in book-inspired games, conversations, and activities, as well as browsing and buying new titles from our official wholesaler, Tinlids Inc. For exhibitors, the experience is nothing short of inspiring. The festival is not a typical trade show—it’s a vibrant, joyful space where a love of reading comes alive. Booths buzz with curious students, especially those offering prizes and giveaways, while authors and illustrators stopping by add to the excitement. Organizations in publishing, literacy, and education find a rare opportunity to connect directly with the readers they aim to inspire, and with the educators who champion literacy every day. Even Toronto’s Mayor, Olivia Chow, has stopped in to share her personal connection to school libraries and her grandchildren’s love for books.
For teachers and librarians, the value of attending with students is immense. The festival transforms reading from a classroom assignment into a celebration—something students equate to a championship game for athletes. They see their peers’ enthusiasm, meet the authors behind their favourite books, and discover new resources that extend far beyond the school walls. Educators, in turn, gain access to literacy partners, fresh programming ideas, and tools to strengthen their library and classroom communities.
The Forest of Reading Festival is a reminder of the powerful role schools and libraries play in shaping a country of readers. For exhibitors, it’s a chance to support that mission directly. For educators, it’s an investment in creating lifelong readers—students who see books as gateways to curiosity, imagination, and community. Interested in exhibiting? Visit the Forest of Reading website to learn more.
The Gift of #readingjoy in Pages & Ink: Authors & Publishers at the Forest of Reading Festival
How often do authors get to see thousands of kids screaming and holding up their book? The Forest of Reading festival is a dream come true for authors and publishers, as it provides them with direct access to their readers. I think having authors speak in person can have a huge impact on students. They often say a few words about overcoming challenges, or funny experiences that inspire them. This in-person connection de-mystifies the creative process and makes students feel it is more achievable. It gives them a more personal connection with books.
The success of the author’s and publisher’s decisions is evident in the excitement and engagement of the students as they rush to purchase books before the authors arrive in the autographing area.
It’s hard to describe just how powerful this festival is, unless you have experienced it. The love of books is on full display, as students visit the Tinlids booth as well as publisher booths to learn more about the making of books and what else is new from their favourite authors, or new authors they are discovering. Publishers have a rare opportunity to ask the kids questions and learn what makes them want to read certain types of books. They have an attentive audience who will be the readers of our future.
As the official wholesaler, this is the highlight of our year. Watching kids run to our booth to buy their favourite book to have autographed – it never gets old. I love seeing the look on their faces as they clutch the book to their chest and sometimes shriek! They are adorable and so excited about having their book autographed. Sometimes a student will purchase an additional copy for a friend who doesn’t have enough money. Once I listened to a student summarize all the books he read and give his fellow classmate advice about which one they should buy. This festival is proof that connecting kids with authors (especially in-person) is an effective way to nurture a love of reading. And maybe it will also encourage some of these students to become authors, publishers or booksellers!
Embracing The Bibliophile Within: Students at the Forest of Reading Festival
One year, in conversation with Forest-nominated and Toronto-area author, Teresa Toten, she quipped that on her way to the reception being hosted after the Festival, she’d noted that participants on their way back to Union Station were floating. “I don’t get it. Aren’t kids supposed to be tired after a field trip? These kids were practically levitating off the sidewalk?!” I smiled.
“That’s the magic of the Festival,” was the reply. The students who come to the Forest of Reading Festival are just as diverse as the classrooms in which they usually learn. From all across the Greater Toronto Area, thousands of students descend upon Toronto’s Harborfront Centre in the downtown core to celebrate books. For three days, these kids get to shed their other identities and embrace their bibliophile selves. They get to be book nerds with one another in a space where reading is indeed cool. You’ll find kids antsy in line waiting to meet their favourite author, fangirl/boy-ing like they are rock stars (which, perhaps, they really ought to be). You’ll hear them chanting and cheering wildly when authors are introduced during the ceremonies, and hold on to your hats when the winners are announced – it gets loud! You’ll see them lying on the lawn reading, completely unaware of the cacophony of noise all around them, completely engrossed in a book they were just gifted from the Festival’s sponsors.
In the months leading up to the Festival, a call goes out from the Steering Committees for students to introduce authors at the awards ceremonies. They have to submit applications, explaining why they should be chosen for this honour, and some years the competition is fierce. They write speeches and rehearse. Then, many get nervous backstage, once when they meet the authors and illustrators, and again when faced with the prospect of the crowd of thousands that awaits the other side of the microphone. Some presenters even go all out and dress in costumes to match the themes or characters of the book. But the best part is that it’s all great. No matter how they do on stage, they are cheered and supported by their peers and these crowds who know they are here because they loved a book. And that is what unites them.
There is a palpable energy in the air at the Forest of Reading Festival. We all feel it. When you’re still young, it might look like levitating, chanting, or the buzz of excitement while waiting in line. When you’re older, it looks like a lot of smiling and warm feelings that you wish you could bottle. The best we can do is hold on to them until next year, when we’ll try to do it all again so more kids can have that floating feeling.
Interested in being a part of this year’s Forest of Reading Program? Looking for more information about the Festival? Visit Forest of Reading for more information.
Wendy Burch Jones, BA, BEd, OCT is an elementary teacher-librarian with the Toronto District School Board who is passionate about literacy, librarianship, and the importance of agency for students and student voice in school libraries. She works to create colourful, welcoming, safe, and student-centred spaces while ardently believing that every child has the right to see themselves reflected in story in every aspect of their intersectional identities. (Please don’t get her started on censorship and the freedom to read – it’s a hill she will die on!) She wears many hats: TDSB TL Mentor Leader & Digital Lead Learner, Forest of Reading Steering & Selection Committee member, President of the Ontario School Library Association, Canadian Children’s Book Centre Review Committee member, foster kitten rescuer, and sometimes she ekes out time to be a partner from whom she steals the covers, and mom to two teenagers that grunt at her in mono-syllabic noises she thinks might be gnomish. Above all else, you will hear Wendy loudly advocating for the key role that libraries and librarianship play in student and school community success.
Karen Devonish-Mazzotta has been teaching FSL for 28 years with the TDSB. She has an M.A. in Second Language Learning from the University of Toronto. As a reviewer for the Ministry of Education, Karen has conducted equity and bias checks for several curriculum documents in both English and French. In 2021, Karen received the McGillivray Award from CPF Ontario given to individuals who have actively promoted the development of FSL learning in Ontario. Karen has an active schedule as an AQ instructor for various providers in Ontario. Presently Karen is a Teacher-Librarian with the TDSB and serves as a Course/Director Practicum Facilitator with York University’s Faculty of Education FSL Teacher Candidate cohort.
Meredith Tutching (she/her) has been with the Ontario Library Association since 2001. As the Director of the Forest of Reading, her main responsibility is the Canada’s largest recreational program and leads a series of children’s literary programming, including Canada’s largest literary festival for young people. The Forest programs see close to 300,000 young people participate every year and is the largest driver of children and young adult book sales in Canada.
Maria Martella is the founder and owner of Tinlids Inc, a Toronto bookseller of children’s and teen books for schools and public libraries across Canada. She started Tinlids in 2003 and is known for her expertise in selecting the best books for schools and libraries. Tinlids is also the official wholesaler for the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Program and the official wholesaler for FOLD Canada (the festival of literary diversity). She has served as a juror for CCBC, chaired committees for their Best Books Catalogue, and served on their Board for several years. This year she was presented with the Claude Aubry Award for distinguished service in children’s literature.