White Pine 2009 Winner and more

TORONTO, ON – On May 13th at Harbourfront, a crowd of more than 3,000 readers aged 5 – 18 cheered for their favourite authors and illustrators at the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Forest of Reading®, Festival of Trees award event.

And the winners are ….
The Red Maple Fiction Award: Out of the Cold by Norah McClintock

The Red Maple Non-Fiction Award: Royal Murder: The Deadly Intrigue of the Ten Sovereigns by Elizabeth MacLeod

The White Pine Award:Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

A book review written by a teen like you!

Review of: The Demon’s Lexicon
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
4/5 Stars
REVIEW: This book was very good and enjoyable. The story was well written with a great suspense to keep my interest. The story has interesting characters and even the villains are captivating. The book grabbed my attention right away and this is great because I find I usually have trouble getting into a book.
The story is in a genre that I really like. The story is in 3rd person and focuses on Nick most of the time, which seems to fit this book well. I found that the way the demons and magicians were done was very interesting, mainly because I have not seen it depicted that way before. Although, there was one twist that I felt I could see coming.
Overall the book was great and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys books about the paranormal.
Review written by: Christopher P.

Celebrate Energy Conservation Week!

It’s Energy Conservation Week in Ontario. To help celebrate, Oshawa is hosting a special double launch at City Hall on Wednesday, May 20, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

The Community Centre Conservation Challenge will run from June 1 to August 31st. Eight of the City’s recreational facilities will challenge each other to reduce their energy use!

The launch of the City’s Smart Commute Ride-Matching program.

Join us in front of City Hall for a chance to win a beautiful Raleigh bicycle and a host of energy and water efficient prizes!!!


Displays will include:

Smart Commute Durham
Drop by the Smart Commute Durham display to find out how you can find the ideal "ride match" on the program's website - - and enter for a chance to win a great prize pack!

As an added bonus, registered carpools will be given a FREE designated indoor parking space at City Hall.

Durham Region Transit
Information on public transit rates and routes.

Ontario Power Authority
Energy Conservation Week tips & information

Oshawa Power and Utility Corporation
Information about local programs to help reduce the juice!
A reminder that the library loans WATT readers, in partnership with OPUC.

Book Review by a teen like you!

Whistle Vol. 18
Daisuke Higchi
5/5 Stars
REVIEW: Iwa team are facing off in soccer and the score is 1 to 2. Now there is 15 mins on the clock and the super sub is out on the field, so he score an amazing goal so now its tied up. But now the home team gave a foul so we will find out if the visiting team makes the goal. I like this book because it’s about soccer and I love soccer. I also like this book because it has lots of action and it stops at a good part so I want to read more.
Kevin P. (Grade 6)

Teen Novel Sets

Click here to find out more information about our NEW Teen Novel Sets!

A Book Review by a Teen! How to Ditch Your Fairy

Here is a book review for teens, written by a teen:

How to Ditch Your Fairy
Book by: Justine Larbalestier
Review by: Spencer, age 16

3/5 Stars

Charlie is fourteen years old and current possessor of a parking fairy. The premise of the book, which starts before the reader enters the story, is Charlie’s never ending attempts to get rid of her fairy and find a new and improved one. As story concepts go, the ideas of invisible (and controversial) fairies giving people special talents was definitely interesting enough to hook me, but never seemed to really reach its full potential. New Avalon, Charlie’s home, was similarly underdeveloped. The boy whose affections she’s trying to win, Steffi, is from out of town and lends new perspective to our narrator’s insistence that New Avalon is the center of everything, but though this point weaves throughout the story it never really makes it to the foreground. So too with the touched-on idea of fairies being peoples’ natural talents and not fairies at all, which I though could have taken some interesting turns.
Aside from some unfortunate sub-plots though, the story and characters in “How to Ditch Your Fairy” were realistic and the world well created, from new slang to intense Art and Sports schools. Charlie is convincing basketball loving fourteen year old who wishes she was taller, and her relationship with Fiorenze, her every-boy-loves-you fairy possessing arch-enemy, is easy to follow on its course from hostile to friendly. I gave the book 3/5 stars because it was entertaining and highly original, but certainly not flawless in its execution.