May 2008

WINNING AUTHOR: Shane Peacock for Eye of the Crow

Eye of the Crow is the winner of The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award for Canadian children’s books published in 2007. The $3,000 prize was awarded to author Shane Peacock, the critically acclaimed author of numerous books, on 23 May 2008. In Eye of the Crow, Shane Peacock creates a background story for Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest detective, revealing his early detective skills. The reader is drawn into the street life of Victorian London in the 1860’s and the adventures of thirteen year old Sherlock. A woman is brutally murdered in a dark alley in the foggy East End of the city, and no one sees the crime … except two crows. Focusing his attention on this sensational murder to see if he can solve it, Sherlock finds himself the accused! Mystery lovers will find this book hard to put down and then hoping for future cases to be solved by this young detective.

Runners-up for the award included:

Schooled by Gordon Korman
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Curtis
Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel
Rex Zero, King of Nothing by Tim Wynne-Jones.

IODE Canada is a national women's charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals, through education support, community service and citizenship programs.

To see a list of past winners of The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award, visit www.iode.ca. For further information, please contact Linda Dennis, Chair, The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award Committee by email at iodeadmin@bellnet.ca or telephone 416-487-4416.