NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
*************************
Guelph author and journalist Kira Vermond has won the 20/21 Yellow Cedar Award. The children’s non-fiction prize is awarded by the Ontario Library Association’s (OLA) 2021 Forest of Reading program, the largest recreational reading award program in Canada.
Vermond’s win is for her book, Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, illustrated by Clayton Hanmer and published by Owlkids Books in Toronto.
“I’m amazed and so grateful,” says Vermond from her Guelph home office where she writes children’s books and freelances for national publications. “It’s one of my favourite awards because kids actually vote for the winner.”
The Forest of Reading consists of 10 programs distinguished by age group and reading level, each with 10 nominated titles. Other Forest of Reading lists include picture books for the youngest readers, to novels for teens and adults. More than 270,000 readers across Canada participate in the program through schools, public libraries, literacy centres and at home.
Vermond’s Trending decodes the frenzied world of fads, showing how they take off and spread, and how they can be crafted to lure people in. As the book explains, fads can even be dangerous and change the course of history. Vermond says she hopes the book will help kids make fad-savvy decisions for themselves.
The Forest of Reading Award ceremonies, which are free to the public this year, are presented in partnership with CBC Books online through CBC’s platform Curio.ca on May 18, 19 and 20, 2021. The ceremonies announce the winners of the Forest of Reading Awards throughout the three days, hosted by Ali Hassan. The virtual ceremony can be seen here.
*************************
