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Through the generosity of an IODE member, the late Mrs. Violet Downey, IODE Canada established The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award in 1984. The first award was presented in 1985.
The award is offered annually for the best English language book containing at least 500 words of text (preferably with Canadian content) in any category, suitable for children aged 13 and under. To be eligible, the book must have been written by a Canadian citizen and must have been distributed in Canada during the calendar year immediately preceding the National Chapter Annual Meeting held in May. Fairy tales, anthologies and books adapted from another source are not eligible. |
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Members and specialists made up the panel of judges, including IODE members and specialists in the field of children’s literature, annually select the award-winning book. Winning authors are presented with The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award of $5,000.
All books submitted by publishers become the property of IODE Canada. These books are sorted and shipped to school libraries in Labrador, that are part of the IODE Adopt-a-Class Program. Other books are distributed to school and public libraries in Toronto, New Brunswick and British Columbia.
All books submitted by publishers become the property of IODE Canada. These books are sorted and shipped to school libraries in Labrador, that are part of the IODE Adopt-a-Class Program. Other books are distributed to school and public libraries in Toronto, New Brunswick and British Columbia.
Out of the Dark by Julie Lawson
Published by Nimbus Publishing Limited
A follow-up of the bestselling, Geoffrey Bilson Award and Victoria Book Prize nominated A Blinding Light, focusing on the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion and the onset of the Great Influenza Pandemic.
When Jane Mooney’s older brother Connor lies about his age and enlists in the Great War at age fifteen, she can’t imagine ever being more devastated. But on December 6, 1917, when two ships collide in Halifax Harbour, the resulting explosion proves her wrong.
An injured Jane awakes to discover that the North End of Halifax, including her home, has been destroyed; her father and three of her brothers have been killed; her mother, recovering from a head injury, has been left confused and forgetful; and her two surviving brothers are looking to her for guidance. Like so many Explosion survivors, Jane and her family are forced to start over. This means accommodation in a newly-constructed apartment block, clothing and furniture from donation centres, and a new school. Unfortunately for Jane, the school she must now attend is in the prosperous South End. How will she fit in with her uppity classmates?
The only bright light is that Jane now lives closer to her best friend, Livy Schneider. Livy’s older brother, Will, a student at the same school, gives Jane a job at the school newspaper. The start of the 1918 school year appears more hopeful until Jane hears rumblings of a new enemy at their door and this one is contagious. The Great Influenza Pandemic has reached Halifax’s vulnerable shores. In a time of financial and emotional strain, and with this terrifying new threat, how will Jane keep her family safe? And why hasn’t Connor written to her? Will he ever return from the trenches?
Julie Lawson is the award-winning author of many books for young people. No Safe Harbour, also about the Halifax Explosion, won the Hackmatack Award. Julie has a personal connection with the tragic event and writing this novel allowed Julie to delve into the history behind many of the stories she’d heard as a child. A former elementary teacher, she balances her time between presenting in schools and libraries throughout the country, travelling the world, and writing from her home in Victoria, BC.
IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2024.
Published by Nimbus Publishing Limited
A follow-up of the bestselling, Geoffrey Bilson Award and Victoria Book Prize nominated A Blinding Light, focusing on the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion and the onset of the Great Influenza Pandemic.
When Jane Mooney’s older brother Connor lies about his age and enlists in the Great War at age fifteen, she can’t imagine ever being more devastated. But on December 6, 1917, when two ships collide in Halifax Harbour, the resulting explosion proves her wrong.
An injured Jane awakes to discover that the North End of Halifax, including her home, has been destroyed; her father and three of her brothers have been killed; her mother, recovering from a head injury, has been left confused and forgetful; and her two surviving brothers are looking to her for guidance. Like so many Explosion survivors, Jane and her family are forced to start over. This means accommodation in a newly-constructed apartment block, clothing and furniture from donation centres, and a new school. Unfortunately for Jane, the school she must now attend is in the prosperous South End. How will she fit in with her uppity classmates?
The only bright light is that Jane now lives closer to her best friend, Livy Schneider. Livy’s older brother, Will, a student at the same school, gives Jane a job at the school newspaper. The start of the 1918 school year appears more hopeful until Jane hears rumblings of a new enemy at their door and this one is contagious. The Great Influenza Pandemic has reached Halifax’s vulnerable shores. In a time of financial and emotional strain, and with this terrifying new threat, how will Jane keep her family safe? And why hasn’t Connor written to her? Will he ever return from the trenches?
Julie Lawson is the award-winning author of many books for young people. No Safe Harbour, also about the Halifax Explosion, won the Hackmatack Award. Julie has a personal connection with the tragic event and writing this novel allowed Julie to delve into the history behind many of the stories she’d heard as a child. A former elementary teacher, she balances her time between presenting in schools and libraries throughout the country, travelling the world, and writing from her home in Victoria, BC.
IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2024.
Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer
Published by Orca Book Publishers
Growing up is tough. Crushes, hormones, and the expectations that come with going from child to “preteen” are difficult to navigate. Add to that racial tensions, and growing up as an Indigenous girl in the 80s is really tough. And that’s right where readers are introduced to Mia Douglas, an Indigenous girl in her preteens growing up in 1980s Prince Rupert.
Weird Rules to Follow takes readers through scenes in Mia’s life, starting from the time she’s in Grade 5 to the time she goes into Grade 8, with some flashbacks to earlier days mixed in. This slice of life includes scenes of her home life, school days, and time spent with her best friend Lara. Lara is a Mexican Hungarian girl who lives on the same street as Mia, and the girls spend the bulk of their time together. Whether it’s biking around the neighbourhood, playing Barbies at Lara’s house, or prank calling their crushes, they go through it all together.
Although the novel is made up of brief vignettes of Mia’s experiences, each chapter also probes at deeper issues. Topics of racism, fatherlessness, residential schools, and alcoholism all make an appearance in Weird Rules to Follow. Much of Mia’s story is also contrasted with Lara’s home life. Although both girls are visible minorities, they lead very different lives. Mia’s mother is an alcoholic, and Mia has no idea who her father is. She lives in a little house with her mother, grandmother, and a revolving door of family members. Lara lives with her parents and younger brother in the biggest and nicest house in the cul-de-sac. As the girls grow up, the differences that once didn’t matter seem to become more pronounced.
The book also deals honestly with alcoholism and how it affects children. Mia and her cousins are “all experts in gauging the state of [their parents’] soberness.” By the time Mia was eight she’d “seen people drunk many times. [She’d] seen fights as well.” and she already she knows that “you don’t talk openly about shameful things like that. You hide them”.
Another thing I appreciated in the story was how issues of racism were handled. This was not a story about “the only Indigenous girl in an otherwise white community.” This was a story about one Indigenous girl’s experience in a relatively diverse town dealing with people of many different backgrounds and walks of life. The stories from Mia’s preteen years are an unfortunate reminder that visible minorities can be just as racist, ignorant, and unkind as anyone else. Mia’s experiences remind us that people can say hurtful things, even if they’re not trying to be hurtful. People can be insensitive, and offensive, and obtuse: and that’s just how people are. But her story also reminds us that we all play a part in breaking down the barriers that divide us.
IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2023.
Published by Orca Book Publishers
Growing up is tough. Crushes, hormones, and the expectations that come with going from child to “preteen” are difficult to navigate. Add to that racial tensions, and growing up as an Indigenous girl in the 80s is really tough. And that’s right where readers are introduced to Mia Douglas, an Indigenous girl in her preteens growing up in 1980s Prince Rupert.
Weird Rules to Follow takes readers through scenes in Mia’s life, starting from the time she’s in Grade 5 to the time she goes into Grade 8, with some flashbacks to earlier days mixed in. This slice of life includes scenes of her home life, school days, and time spent with her best friend Lara. Lara is a Mexican Hungarian girl who lives on the same street as Mia, and the girls spend the bulk of their time together. Whether it’s biking around the neighbourhood, playing Barbies at Lara’s house, or prank calling their crushes, they go through it all together.
Although the novel is made up of brief vignettes of Mia’s experiences, each chapter also probes at deeper issues. Topics of racism, fatherlessness, residential schools, and alcoholism all make an appearance in Weird Rules to Follow. Much of Mia’s story is also contrasted with Lara’s home life. Although both girls are visible minorities, they lead very different lives. Mia’s mother is an alcoholic, and Mia has no idea who her father is. She lives in a little house with her mother, grandmother, and a revolving door of family members. Lara lives with her parents and younger brother in the biggest and nicest house in the cul-de-sac. As the girls grow up, the differences that once didn’t matter seem to become more pronounced.
The book also deals honestly with alcoholism and how it affects children. Mia and her cousins are “all experts in gauging the state of [their parents’] soberness.” By the time Mia was eight she’d “seen people drunk many times. [She’d] seen fights as well.” and she already she knows that “you don’t talk openly about shameful things like that. You hide them”.
Another thing I appreciated in the story was how issues of racism were handled. This was not a story about “the only Indigenous girl in an otherwise white community.” This was a story about one Indigenous girl’s experience in a relatively diverse town dealing with people of many different backgrounds and walks of life. The stories from Mia’s preteen years are an unfortunate reminder that visible minorities can be just as racist, ignorant, and unkind as anyone else. Mia’s experiences remind us that people can say hurtful things, even if they’re not trying to be hurtful. People can be insensitive, and offensive, and obtuse: and that’s just how people are. But her story also reminds us that we all play a part in breaking down the barriers that divide us.
IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2023.
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TREMENDOUS THINGS by Susin Nielsen
Penguin Random House We all have moments that define us. For the comically clueless Wilbur, his moment happened on the first day of middle school, when someone shared his private letter with the entire student body. It revealed some of Wilbur's innermost embarrassing thoughts that no one else should ever know. Now it's the start of ninth grade and Wilbur hasn't been able to escape that major humiliation. His good friend Alex stuck by him, but Alex doesn't have as much time since he started dating Fabrizio. Luckily, Wil can confide in his best friend: his elderly neighbor Sal. Also, Wil's in the school band, where he plays the triangle. They're doing an exchange program with students from Paris, and Wilbur's billet, Charlie, a tall, chic young woman who plays the ukulele and burps with abandon, captures his heart. Charlie likes him, but only as a friend. So Alex, Fabrizio and Sal host a Queer Eye-style intervention to get Wil in shape and to build his confidence so he can impress Charlie when their band visits Paris, and just maybe replace humiliation with true romance in the City of Love. No Fixed Address came out in September, 2018 and won the 2019 IODE Violet Downey Book Award. IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2022 |
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Sara and the Search for Normal by Wesley King
Simon & Schuster In this prequel to the Edgar Award-winning OCDaniel, fan-favorite Sara quests for “normal” and finds something even better along the way. Sara’s Rules to be Normal 1. Stop taking your pills 19. Make a friend 137. Don’t put mayonnaise on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sara wants one thing: to be normal. What she has instead are multiple diagnoses from Dr. Ring. Sara’s constant battle with False Alarm - what she calls panic attacks and other episodes cause her to isolate herself. She rarely speaks, especially not at school, and so she doesn’t have any friends. But when she starts group therapy she meets someone new. Talkative and outgoing Erin doesn’t believe in “normal,” and Sara finds herself in unfamiliar territory: at the movies, at a birthday party and with someone to tell about her crush—in short, with a friend. But, there’s more to Erin than her cheerful exterior and Sara begins to wonder if helping Erin will mean sacrificing their friendship. IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2021 |
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Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Dog Driven centres on a 14-year-old girl named McKenna Barney who enters a commemorative dogsled race at the request of her 6-year-old sister who is blind. Emily hopes that if McKenna wins, she will bring attention to the cause of her blindness, Stargardt disease. The book is filled with quick-paced adventure and shows how qualities of courage, bravery and trust can grow. McKenna is a determined musher with eight dogs in her team who is carrying her own secret, the knowledge that she is losing her sight. IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2020 |
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No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen Penguin Random House It’s never easy for a kid to start at a new school. It’s especially difficult for Felix, the 12-year-old protagonist of No Fixed Address. Felix has a place in the prestigious French immersion program at Blenheim Public School in Vancouver’s tony Kitsilano neighbourhood. On the first day of school he runs into Dylan Brinkerhoff, his “old best friend” from a previous school. And he’s just met the high-octane Winnie, who quickly forms the third element in this tween triumvirate. Felix has got a head for trivia, and when a junior edition of the show Who, What, Where, When – is announced – complete with a cash prize – he sees his chance to change his life, save his mother, and pay back all the places she has stolen from (he maintains a ledger of her thefts). All he has to do is keep their living situation a secret, dodge the Ministry of Children and Family Development and win the game. IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2019 |
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Laura Monster Crusher by Wesley King
Penguin Random House Canada "Laura Ledwick is ... well ... large. The kids at school don't let her forget it, and call her by various names: Laura Large bottom, Laura Lardo, lots of Laura - you get the idea. When Laura's family moves to the next town over before eighth grade, she expects more of the same. What she doesn't expect are the snake-like yellow eyes watching her from the forest. Or the mysterious rattling in her closet. Or finally making real friends for the first time. Or handsome uber-nerd Liam R. Kelp, who might just be the cutest boy to ever wear a Science Is Cool T-shirt. But when Laura finally discovers the source of the rattling, things take on a whole new level of weird. It turns out Laura has just been given the most important job in the world: Monster Crusher. Her role is simple: protect the earth from the horrors beneath their feet. Eighth grade is about to get a lot more interesting." IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2018 |
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Sea Change by Frank Viva Tundra Books "One summer can change your whole life. As soon as school lets out, Eliot's parents send him to the very edge of the world: a fishing village in a remote part of Nova Scotia. And what does the small town of Point Aconi have to offer? Bugs, bullies and grumpy old men. But along the way, Eliot discovers much more - a hidden library, starry nights and a mysterious girl named Mary Beth. Critically acclaimed author and artist Frank Viva (Outstanding in the Rain) brings us this warm, funny and innovatively designed coming-of-age story. See Point Aconi through Eliot's eyes, as he finds that this place he never wanted to visit is becoming a home he doesn't want to leave." IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner 2017 |
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The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands Simon and Schuster "Tell no one what I've given you.' Until he got that cryptic warning, Christopher Rowe was happy, learning how to solve complex codes and puzzles and creating powerful medicines, poisons and weapons as an apprentice to Master Benedict Blackthorn - with maybe an explosion or two along the way. But when a mysterious cult begins to prey on London's apothecaries, the trail of murders grows closer and closer to Blackthorn's shop. With time running out, Christopher must use every skill he's learned to discover the key to a terrible secret with the power to tear the world apart. In his stunning debut novel, Kevin Sands brings readers on a heart-stopping adventure rich with suspense, mystery and unforgettable characters." 2016 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter Tundra Books This spooky gothic novel, set in Cabbagetown, Toronto, in 1963, is partially based on the author’s childhood experiences living behind the Necropolis Cemetery. Rose and Polly are two young girls, who upon their first meeting, each believe the other to be a ghost. The two girls of very different life circumstances and personalities become fast friends once they manage to convince each other they are alive. 2015 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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An Infidel in Paradise by S.J. Laidlaw Tundra Books The book tells the story of sixteen year-old Emma who is no stranger to moving. The daughter of a Canadian diplomat, her life has been a series of changing landscapes, cultures and friendships. But when her parents split up and she and her siblings are forced to move to Pakistan with her mother, her feelings of loss and culture shock are overwhelming. Add to that rising political tensions and her attraction to a local boy who has been promised to someone else, Emma’s life very quickly spirals out of control putting herself and those she loves in mortal danger. 2014 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Green Man by Michael Bedard Tundra Books The book is about a teenage girl named O – never call her Ophelia – who spends the summer with her aunt Emily. Emily is a poet and the owner of an antiquarian bookstore, The Green Man. A proud, independent woman, Emily’s been made frail by a heart attack and O will be here to help her. Just how crucial that help will be unfolds as O first tackles Emily’s badly neglected home, then the chaotic shop, but soon she discovers that there are mysteries and long-buried dark forces that she cannot sweep away, though they threaten to awaken once more. 2013 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Dragon Seer's Gift by Janet McNaughton Harper Collins Canada "Bored by homework and bullied at school, twelve-year-old Gwyn Rae reluctantly takes on a Heritage Fair project to boost his history mark. He begins to investigate the papers of his ancestor Daniel Rae with help from his older sister, Maddie. Together they discover a notebook filled with writing only they can see and an iron key that seems to react to their touch. When the key unlocks a secret door in an old church, Gwyn and Maddie are launched into the adventure of their lives in this compelling sequel to Dragon Seer." 2012 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Crossing to Freedom by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Scholastic Canada "Eleven-year-old Solomon is a fugitive slave on a dangerous journey north to Canada, and to freedom. His young life has seen many losses: his mother was sold in a slave auction when he was a baby; his father escaped from the plantation and hasn't been seen in five years; and now his grandfather, who has been injured during the last leg of their journey to freedom, and is forced to stay behind. Solomon continues with their group leader, but his feelings of loss and isolation haunt him, as he attempts to forge a new home in Canada. It soon becomes apparent that racial prejudices know no borders, and while Solomon works hard and begins to experience some newfound freedoms, he faces discrimination and segregation and lives with the ongoing fear of being caught by slavecatchers and dragged back to the South." 2011 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Vanishing Girl: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case by Shane Peacock
Tundra Books "When a wealthy young girl vanishes as if by magic in Hyde Park, Sherlock is once again driven to prove himself. In a heart-stopping race against time, an innocent boy’s survival depends on Sherlock’s ability to solve the mysterious puzzle of the Vanishing Girl. As complex as the maze that protects the missing girl’s hiding place, this case takes Sherlock racing to the countryside, the coast, and into the lair of a menagerie of exotic, dangerous creatures. Haunted by memories of his shattered family, goaded by his enemies, driven to heal the fragile relationship between him and the beautiful Irene Doyle, Sherlock makes an almost fatal mistake. In the end, his brilliant powers of deduction and the steadfast eccentric Sigerson Bell save the day. Soon, very soon, the world will come to know him as the master detective of all time." 2010 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson Penguin Group "For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistible treat; the account of how one of literature’s most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world." 2009 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock
Tundra Books "Sherlock Holmes, just thirteen, is a misfit. His highborn mother is the daughter of an aristocratic family, his father a poor Jew. Their marriage flouts tradition and makes them social pariahs in the London of the 1860s; and their son, Sherlock, bears the burden of their rebellion. Friendless, bullied at school, he belongs nowhere and has only his wits to help him make his way. But what wits they are! His keen powers of observation are already apparent, though he is still a boy. He loves to amuse himself by constructing histories from the smallest detail for everyone he meets. Partly for fun, he focuses his attention on a sensational murder to see if he can solve it. But his game turns deadly serious when he finds himself the accused and in London, they hang boys of thirteen." 2008 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Shattered by Eric Walters
Viking Canada "In order to pass social studies, fifteen year old Ian must complete community volunteer service. Choosing to work at the "The Club", sounds like fun, until he arrives at what turns out to be a soup kitchen for the homeless in an unsafe part of the city. After a near-mugging, from which he's saved by a fierce, pipe-wielding homeless man, Ian figures this will probably be as depressing and scary an assignment as he's ever had to complete. When the man who saved him shows up at the soup kitchen. looking far less fierce and known to all as "Sarge", Ian begins to get to know him. Jacques was a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, and his last tour of duty was as a peacekeeper stationed in Rwanda, an African nation Ian knows nothing about. In this gripping tale, Ian begins to learn truths not only about Rwanda, but about the world, for which he is not prepared." 2007 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Sower of Tales by Rachna Gilmore
Fitzhenry & Whiteside "All her life, Calantha has wanted only one thing: to apprentice with the Gatherer, and dedicate herself entirely to the Story Pods and the Tales. She dreams and muddles her way through her days, bumbling her chores and exasperating her mother. But when evening comes, and with it the Talemeet, Calantha comes to life. She is open and attentive to everything: the Gathering, the words of release, the Tale itself, and the harmony after, when the villagers, their worries put away for a while, peacefully watch the seeds waft way. And then something dreadful happens. In every field, in every ditch across the Plains where Story Pods used to grow, there is no new growth. Calantha is sickened, and not just by thinking about the end of the Tales. She can't stand that no one else seems to care: the threat from the northern king is worry enough, they believe. So she decides it's up to her to do what's necessary: to seek the legendary Sower of Tales, and find out what's really happening on the Plains." 2006 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Bobbie Rosenfeld the Olympian Who Could Do Anything by Anne Dublin
Second Story Press "A Sports Hall of Famer, Bobbie was born in 1904 in a small Russian town and came to Canada with her immigrant parents when she was less than a month old. Her love for all sports showed itself early. As a young girl she excelled in track and field, ice hockey, tennis, basketball and softball. At the 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam, she won both gold and silver medals. But Bobbie Rosenfeld's popularity was due to more than her athletic brilliance, or later, her skills as a sportswriter with the Globe & Mail; she was admired for her strength of character - her decency, honesty and sense of fair play." 2005 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Several Lives of Orphan Jack by Sarah Ellis Groundwood Books / Douglas and McIntyre "For young Jack, life is tough at the Opportunities School for Orphans and Foundlings. But Jack is good at staying out of trouble. In all his years at the school he has skipped over trouble, danced around trouble, slid under trouble, melted away from trouble, talked his way out of trouble and slipped between two close troubles like a cat through a picket fence. When Jack turns twelve, he is given the biggest opportunity of all, and suddenly his life is nothing but trouble. Still, he’s a clever and resilient boy, and eventually he makes his way into the big world." 2004 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Hana's Suitcase by Karen Levine
Second Story Press "In the spring of 2000, Fumiko Ishioka, the curator of a small Holocaust education centre for children in Tokyo, received a very special shipment for an exhibit she was planning. She had asked the curators at the Auschwitz museum if she could borrow some artifacts connected to the experience of children at the camp. Among the items she received was an empty suitcase. From the moment she saw it, Fumiko was captivated by the writing on the outside that identified its owner - Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, Waisenkind (the German word for orphan). Children visiting the centre were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? Where did she come from? What was she like? How did Hana become an orphan? What happened to her? Fueled by the children’s curiosity and her own need to know, Fumiko began a year of detective work, scouring the world for clues to the story of Hana Brady." 2003 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Mary Ann Alice by Brian Doyle Groundwood Books / Douglas & McIntyre "Mary Ann Alice McCrank was named for the pretty church bell in the steeple of St. Martin's Church in the Martindale. She has the soul of a poet and Mickey McGuire Jr. is in love with her. Mary Ann Alice is passionately interested in many things, especially the geology of her part of the world. Her teacher, the wonderful Patchy Drizzle, shares her passion for rocks and fossils, many of which can be found along the river and in caves under the famous Paugan Falls.But a new project to dam the river at Low places rocks, fossils, falls as well as many farms in danger. The dam must go ahead. And, as with much technological change, it brings both benefits and tragedies to the community." 2002 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Charlie Wilcox by Sharon E. McKay
Stoddart Kids "An interesting blend of fact (Charlie Wilcox is the author's great-uncle) and fiction, Sharon E. McKay's novel tells the story. Charlie Wilcox is a Newfoundlander, born into a family of sailors and sealers. But, a club foot and the constant reminder that "He's not made for the ice" make it unlikely that he'll follow the tradition. As a result, his family sends him off to St. John's for a higher education than the local school can provide, and that trip provides an opportunity that changes everything. Finding his way down to the harbour, he boards a boat, believing it to be a sealing vessel. In fact, Charlie is on his way to Europe with other Newfoundland soldiers heading for the front. Barely fourteen, he is far too young to be fighting, and arrangements are made for him to be sent home. In the meantime, Charlie becomes a medic, begins searching for Lily Mackenzie, aka Mac, the beautiful young nurse who cared for him when he was in hospital in St. John's, and is exposed to the horrors and heroism of war." 2001 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Alone at Ninety Foot by Katherine Holubitsky
Orca Books "Fourteen year old Pamela Collins is struggling to come to terms with her mother's death. Somewhat shy, Pamela is thoughtful, full of passion, often funny and sometimes tearful as she learns to cope with the emotional overload the tragedy has brought to her life. Her favourite things include walking alone in Lynn Canyon Park, the art of Emily Carr, and a certain boy with a "wicked grin." At the moment she dislikes her English teacher, shopping and being singled out for special treatment because of her mother’s death. Pamela is tall and slim and mostly uncomfortable with her rapidly changing body. She is unsure of herself and unsure of the loyalty of her friends. In Alone at Ninety Foot Katherine Holubitsky has created a realistic portrait of a young woman's fight to gain the strength and courage to face up to the obstacles that life has thrown her way. This is a novel that will make readers both laugh and cry." 2000 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Janey's Girl by Gayle Friesen Kids Can Press "Fourteen-year-old Claire and her mother, Jane, are on their way across the country to visit Claire's grandmother. As they approach the family farm, Claire watches her mother become more and more anxious. Until now, she thought they had an open relationship with a healthy respect for each other's privacy. This trip unlocks the key to the many questions Claire has about their past - including the identity of her father and the reason her mother never went back home until now. Gayle Friesen's novel Janey's Girl is a coming-of-age story with a twist: Claire's mother is the one who reaches maturity." 1999 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Wings to Fly by Celia Barker Lottridge Groundwood Books / Douglas & McIntyre "This sequel to Ticket to Curlew finds eleven-year-old Josie well settled in her new home, but she's never had a friend her own age. So when a girl named Margaret moves to the area from England, Josie is glad to have someone with whom she can ride to school, explore the mysterious, abandoned silver house and dream about the future. But what does the future hold for a young girl in 1918? Could Josie fly airplanes like Katherine Stinson, her heroine? Will she be a teacher like Miss Barnett? What would it be like to be Margaret's sad mother, who can't bear to unpack her fine English china in the crude sod house that is her new prairie home?" 1998 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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To Dance at the Palais Royale by Janet McNaughton Tuckamore Press "Aggie knows that when she turns 17 on February 15, 1928, she must leave everything that is dear to her in the coal mining town of Loughlinter, Scotland - her large family, Davy (her young man), and Mrs. MacDougall (the kindly widow for whom she works) - to seek work as a domestic servant in Toronto, Canada. The money she sends home will finance the family's only chance to escape the dust, drudgery, and disease endemic to the coal pits. A colourful and authentic portrait of life on both sides of the Atlantic emerges in this coming-of-age novel about an engaging young woman seeking a new life for herself and her family in Canada in the early part of the 20th century." 1997 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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His Banner Over Me by Jean Little
Penguin Random House Canada "Flora "Gorrie" Gaud, the child of missionaries, knows only Taiwan as home until the age of five, when her family returns to Canada. No sooner does she get her bearings than her parents return to Taiwan, leaving her and her siblings in the care of an aunt and uncle. The children do not see their parents again for many years, during which time an older brother is killed in World War I. Gorrie attends the university to study medicine and befriends a lonely, terminally ill young woman who dramatically shapes Gorrie's future, making her even more determined to serve others as a doctor. Little bases her poignant novel loosely on the life of her mother, and she takes as her story's themes the nature of family and the "banner of love" that sustained her family through triumph and struggle." 1996 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Out of the Blue by Sarah Ellis Groundwood Books / Douglas & McIntyre "When Megan finds out why her mother is acting so odd, she is shocked and overwhelmed. Suddenly she is expected to welcome a new half-sister as part of the family. This is a beautiful, compassionate novel that is both poignant and funny." 1995 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson Penguin Random House Canada "As 1945 approaches, the war is finally ending and Norah and Gavin will soon be going back to England. Fifteen-year-old Norah is eager to see her parents again, but ten-year-old Gavin barely remembers them. He doesn't want to leave his Canadian family, his two best friends and his dog. Feeling guilty and confused, he falls under the influence of a bully at school and gets into a lot of trouble. Then something happens that forces Gavin to make the most difficult decision of his life." 1994 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Hero of Lesser Causes by Julie Johnston
Lester Publishing Limited "World War II has just been won, and everything seems possible to young Keely Connor. She sees herself as a hero on a white charger, able to conquer the world, even though in reality her charger is Lola, the placid horse that lives in the field behind her house. One fateful summer day her brother Patrick is stricken with polio. Here is an enemy Keely cannot conquer. With all the will in the world, she cannot pass on to Patrick her zest or her energy or her own good health. Keely’s battle to save Patrick has become one of the classics of Canadian children’s literature and, in translations, around the world. This beautifully redesigned edition will capture the hearts of a whole new generation of readers." 1993 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Waiting for the Whales by Sheryl McFarlane
Orca Books "In this timeless story set on the West Coast, an old man lives alone on a bluff overlooking the sea and tends his garden. And waits. Only when the whales return each year to the bay in front of his cottage is his loneliness eased. One day, his daughter and her baby return home to live with the old man, bringing a renewed sense of purpose to his life. As his granddaughter grows, the old man passes on a wealth for knowledge and wisdom as well as his passion for the whales. And each year they wait together for the whales to appear. A gentle story that illuminates the unique friendship between grandparent and child, Waiting for the Whales also suggests that aging and death are only part of a greater cycle of rebirth and continuity." 1992 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Redwork by Michael Bedard Lester & Orpen Dennys "Teenage Cass feels an inescapable psychic link with his incredibly old landlord Mr. Magus, whose secret experiments in the garage reflect his preoccupation with finding the wholeness of life." 1991 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Incredible Jumbo by Barbara Smucker Viking / Penguin Books Canada Limited "This is the true story of Jumbo, once the star attraction at London Zoo, but it is also the fictional story of Tod Tolliver, a lonely boy who helps take care of Jumbo and loves him. When the zoo sells Jumbo to Barnum's circus in New York, Tod decides to stow away on the ship and join him." 1991 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee
Groundwood Books / Douglas & McIntyre "Drawing on the real background of the Chinese role in the gold rush, the building of the railway and the settling of the west coast in the nineteenth century, noted historian and children's author Paul Yee has created eight original stories that combine the rough-and-tumble adventure of frontier life with the rich folk traditions that these immigrants brought from China. These tales are funny, sad, romantic and earthy, but ultimately, as a collection, they reflect the gritty optimism of the Chinese who overcame prejudice and adversity to build a unique place for themselves in North America." 1990 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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No award was presented in 1989 |
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A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner Macmillan of Canada "Nonesuch, the last in a line of dragons, uses his unique ability to change in size to survive for six centuries, during which time he observes such different humans as a medieval monk, an eighteenth-century London chemist, and a modern American bookseller." 1988 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Shadow in Hawthorn Bay by Janet Lunn Lester & Orpen Dennys "Shadow in Hawthorn Bay introduces fifteen-year-old Mary Urquhart, a Scottish girl with a special gift – the gift of “second sight”. One morning, in the spring of 1815, Mary hears her beloved cousin Duncan calling desperately for her help. But Duncan is 3,000 miles away in Upper Canada, and to journey to him means leaving the safety and comfort of home for an unknown wilderness. Answering the call, Mary finds herself battling dark forces in a foreign land. But as she struggles for her survival and independence, she unexpectedly finds friendship – with cheerful Yankee Patty, with Owena, the quiet Indian who recognizes the healing powers in her, and with Luke – so different from “Duncan the black.” 1987 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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The Quarter-Pie Window by Marianne Brandis The Porcupine's Quill Inc. "Thirteen-year-old Emma watches with horrified fascination as they consume the family’s log cabin, leaving her and her younger brother orphaned. These three books are set in the early 1830s. Emma’s grief and shock, and her bravery in building a new life, are timeless. Marianne Brandis’s vivid evocation of pioneer life in Upper Canada – the texture of the log cabin, the sights and smells of harvest, the raw cold of outdoor chores at dawn – has been delighting readers since the first book was first published in 1982." 1986 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
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Winners by Mary Ellen Lang Collura Prairie Books "At fifteen Jordy Threebears had seen enough foster homes. Now he was returning to the Ash Creek Reserve, to live with a grandfather he hardly knows, with no idea of the trouble ahead of him. For Jordy, the years of resentment and anger prove difficult to overcome until he receives the gift of a wild mare. With his horse Siksika, Jordy gains a companion as well as the determination to beat the odds. But Fred Brady's unexplainable hatred of Jordy threatens the boy's chance for happiness." 1985 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner |
