MANUALS FOR RUNNING THE PROGRAM

Whether you are a seasoned veteran of running the Forest of Reading or this is your first year, these manuals can help you with your program and spark ideas and help guide you.

• School Library Manual (English)
• Public Libray Manual (English)

How to Participate

So you’re ready to start your Forest of Reading Program? Excellent! Remember that you can run your program any way you would like! Some people start their programs as soon as the list of nominated titles are released on October 15, while some prefer to wait until the new year to launch. Either way works!

Where To Begin?

1. Register for the program! The low one-time annual fee allows you to run all 10 Forest of Reading programs with as many readers as you want – whether you have six readers, or 600.
2. Order your books! The lists of nominated titles are released on October 15, and all books can be ordered from Tinlids Inc., the official wholesaler of the Forest of Reading, at the time of registration, or throughout the year directly from Tinlids.
3. Become familiar with our website:
4. Visit the Programs for Kids or Programs for Adults webpage to see the books you’ll be reading in the program!
5. Visit the Resources webpage to download informational flyers and posters for teachers and parents, as well as promotional materials to share with others.
6. Visit the Alternate Formats webpage if you have a reader with a print disability.
7. Log into the password-protected portion of the website after November 15th to get access to over 500+ activities and virtual content. This is the most important part of the Forest program – only Forest registrants have exclusive access. There’s so much great stuff on here, you will be amazed at how easy it is to run an amazing Forest of Reading program! This includes:
8. Nominee biographies, bibliographies and contact information 
9. Synopses/Annotations of the books
10. Downloadable book covers
11. Resources to use with your readers specific to the books (at least four per book)
12. Templates of resources that you can use and cater to your own readers
13. Virtual opportunities (author visits, illustrator activities etc.)
14. Resources to use with your readers for the overall Forest of Reading
15. Voting information and materials
16. Plan out your program. Take the time to mark your calendar with some important dates. Remember that voting begins April 1, and closes April 30. See below for a suggested timeline and visit the Important Dates webpage.
17. Want Forest of Reading merchandise? Visit The Library Marketplace today to buy your swag, bookmarks and certificates!
18. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. We share updates in the Forest and Festival, so it’s a great way to see what’s happening in the Forest.
19. Be an ambassador for the Forest of Reading and tell others to register and run the program! You can use the promotional materials on the website to share.

Suggested Timeline

For School-Aged Programs (Excluding Evergreen)

October/November

• Assemble a committee with staff/parents/volunteers
• Register for the program after October 1
• Purchase at least one copy of each nominated book as soon as the lists are posted on October 15
• Decide when you are going to run your program
• Promote the program around the school/library
• Engage other teachers and library staff so that there is a “buzz” built around when the program will start

December

• Kick off your Forest program
• Visit the password-protected portion of the website for registered users to access resources, manuals and so much more
• Post details and timelines about the Forest of Reading on your website and notify teachers/staff about important dates
• Send home letters explaining the program to parents
• Set up displays and begin motivational activities
• Start reading

January-March

• Keep on reading! Involve classroom teachers, administrators and/or library staff in the fun, sharing some of the amazing, ready to go resources on our website that can be used in the classroom/library
• Begin planning your field trip to Forest of Reading® Festival

February

• Organize special “connecting” events to get the readers to connect about the books
• Consider having a nominee visit your readers in person or either virtually
• Collaborate with staff and organize a book club
• Use resources from the password-protected portion of the website with your readers

March

• Let your readers know that voting is in April!
• Use the tracking sheets to track your readers’ progress and to ensure they have read the minimum number of books to quality to vote

April

• Voting! Only registrants can vote
• Voting is open for the entire month and closes on April 30
• The Official Voting Day is April 23 – WORLD BOOK DAY

May

• Attend the Forest of Reading® Festival! We have satellite and virtual celebrations, as well as the massive Festival in Toronto, where the Forest of Reading Award winners are announced
• The winners for the school-aged programs (Blue Spruce, Silver Birch, Yellow Cedar, Red Maple, White Pine, prix Peuplier, prix Mélèze, and prix Tamarac) are announced at the Forest of Reading Festival (English and French) in Toronto

Recommended Program Length

• Blue Spruce: 4-6 weeks
• The shorter timeframe for Blue Spruce™ helps younger readers remember all titles for voting
• Silver Birch, Yellow Cedar, Red Maple, White Pine, Peuplier, Mélèze and Tamarac: 4-6 months

Ordering Books

• Purchase at least one copy of each of the titles in a book set from the official wholesaler, Tinlids Inc. Be sure to get them catalogued and processed. Books can be purchased at the same time as registration for your convenience
• When you purchase a bookset from Tinlids Inc. you will receive a Forest poster for your school or library, plus spine labels
• We suggest ordering 1 bookset per 15 students. The quantity is dependent upon how many readers you have participating in the programs

Try to gather colleagues to read the books prior to launching the Forest in your school or library, as your knowledge and expertise will help sell the books to the participants and also help engage the readers in conversation.

Have Any Questions?

Visit our FAQs webpage to help you if you have any questions. You can also email us!