Dundurn Press is excited to announce that two of its books have been nominated for the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program. The Jigsaw Puzzle King by Gina McMurchy-Barber has been nominated for the Forest of Reading Silver Birch Award 2021 and Christina Kilbourne’s Safe Harbour has been nominated for the Forest of Reading Red Maple Award 2021!

The Jigsaw Puzzle King sensitively tells the tale of eleven-year-old Warren who is flip-flopping between trying to fit in at a new school and being the protective brother of Bennie, who has Down syndrome. Lost Boy author Shelley Hrdlitschka calls this “a beautiful, engaging story about loving people exactly the way they are.”

Praised by Quill and Quire as “beautifully constructed and written,” Safe Harbour by Christina Kilbourne is the compelling story of fourteen-year-old Harbour who must learn how to navigate life on the streets when her father doesn’t return for her on their sailboat.

Congratulations, Gina and Christina!

The Forest of Reading Award Programs allow children and young adults to pick the winner from a pre-selected list of ten Canadian books. This aims to encourage a genuine and life-long love of reading among readers of all ages. The 2021 Forest of Reading Award winners will be announced on June 16, 2021. Learn more about the Forest of Reading Awards here.