FernFolio

Intended for students in Grades 7, 8 and 9, the Red Maple Program is one of three Ontario Library Association reading programs in which our school participates each year. In mid-October, the OLA announces the books nominated for the Red Maple prize. This year, there are ten nominated fiction titles, and ten nominated non-fiction titles.
At our school, five copies of each novel and two copies of each non-fiction book are purchased, enough to allow any interested students to read! After I and my assistants read the nominated books, we present the books to every intermediate class through book talks designed to encourage students to read the books for themselves.
At some schools, only strong readers, or those who commit to reading the minimum of five titles needed to vote in either category, are allowed to borrow Red Maple books; not so at our school. Any student who wants to is welcome to read and enjoy a Red Maple book, and teachers, especially those who teach special education classes, are encouraged to choose one or more of the nominated titles to read aloud to their classes.
In past years, readers have been invited to attend lunch-hour book discussions, at which we have debated the relative merits of different books. Most years, student preferences are as wide ranging as the books themselves. And, generally, it is easy for the discerning reader to find something wonderful in each. Last year, Lost Goat Lane captured the hearts of many strong readers, as did The Gravesavers, The Greenies, and From Charlie’s Point of View.
Kenneth Oppel’s Skybreakers won the Red Maple prize last spring, and I, for one, thought it was a terrific book and certainly deserved the prize, but the real winners, last spring, and every spring that I have been involved with Red Maple have been those of us who read the books!
FernFolio Editor