Through the generosity of IODE member, the late Mrs. Violet Downey, IODE established The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award in 1984. The first award was presented in 1985. This award is offered annually for the best English-language book containing at least 500 words of text, preferably with Canadian content, in a category suitable for children aged 13 and under. A panel composed of IODE members and specialists in the field of children’s literature selects the award-winning book each year."

Five Canadian Books on the 2026 Short List
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A Promise to Protect
Written by Nikki Bergstresser 
Published by Published by Wandering Fox (a division of Heritage House Publishing)

Thirteen-year-old Sidney finds purpose and healing following the death of her aunt when she joins an effort to save an old-growth forest. 

While Sidney grieves the loss of her beloved aunt, she discovers that the old-growth forest along her Pacific Northwest coastal town is at risk of being destroyed. Losing Aunt Jess has created a hole in the heart of her family, and Sidney doesn’t want to imagine the possibility of also losing the place that meant so much to both of them. Yet, she feels as though her parents are ready to give up on the forest without a fight, and the only member of her family that cares as much as Sidney is her youngest brother, Riley. 

​Just when things start to seem hopeless, a class project provides Sidney, her best friend, and an unexpected ally with the chance to bring awareness to the importance of Cedar Grove’s old-growth forest. With the help of Elders in the community, the trio relies on stories from the past to bring memories to the present, in hopes of protecting the future. But will it all be enough to save the forest and keep Sidney from losing what matters most?

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Benny on the Case
Written by Wesley King
Published by Published by Beach Lane Books (a division of Simon & Schuster)

A boy with Mosaic Down syndrome navigates entering a mainstream classroom, making new friends, and standing up to bullies all while trying to catch a thief and save his home in this thrilling middle grade mystery from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Wesley King. 

Benny isn’t your average boy from Newfoundland. He lives in a retirement home that his mother runs, he has an eighty-six-year-old best friend named Mr. Tom, he knows more about fixing boats than video games, and he has Mosaic Down syndrome. When Benny transitions to a mainstream classroom for the first time, the other students tease him for his differences…except for Salma. She’s new, too, and not your typical Newfoundland girl: she’s tech savvy, speaks Arabic, plays basketball, and isn’t afraid to eat lunch with Benny.

​So when Salma’s grandmother and several other residents in the retirement home are robbed, Benny asks Salma to help him catch the thief. Time is not on their side as an inspector threatens to close the home. And to make matters worse, Benny and Salma must crack the case while working on a class assignment with their bullies. Can Benny save his home and take a stand against the bullies once and for all? He’s about to find out, b’ys.

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Robot Island
Written by Cary Fagan
Published by Tundra Books (a division of Penguin Random House Canada)

Forced into stealing valuable books from a rich widow, Willis takes refuge on an abandoned island populated by robots in this new middle-grade novel by acclaimed writer Cary Fagan. For fans of The Wild Robot. 

It isn't bad enough that Willis has to live with his cold uncle Tod in a dusty old house of used books. He can't even spend time with his friends Harrison and Galaxi because of the nasty after-school jobs his uncle makes him take on. But then his uncle asks him to visit an old widow lady in the mansion on the hill. 

​To his surprise, Willis likes Mrs. Shorthouse and even the books they read together (Little Women, Great Expectations). Meanwhile, taking a rowboat ride, Willis discovers an abandoned town from the 1950s populated by square-headed robots. What is the connection between Mrs. Shorthouse and Robot Island? What will happen after the police find out that Willis has been stealing rare books from the mansion? And when Willis turns on the electricity and the robots of Robot Island come to life, will they turn out to be friends or enemies?

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Finnegan Wilde
Written by Caroline Pignat
Published by Thistledown Press

A thrilling novel of self-discovery that is part adventure, part mystery, and part Celtic myth, set in Dublin in 1913.

Fifteen-year-old Finnegan Wilde steals to survive. Always on the run from gangs and police, Finn is also fleeing her own mysterious past, glimpsed only through nightmares and an unusual Celtic mark on her arm. When, in a chance encounter outside the museum, she scores a journal filled with strange diagrams, maps, and a drawing identical to her mark, Finn hungers for more than the next meal. She wants answers, and more than anything, she wants to find her family.

Eddie Moore, a young apprentice archaeologist, has spent months trying to decipher an ancient manuscript he and his father excavated from a bog. The Moores believe it was written by Tomas, a 9th century monk, and that it holds the clue to finding the legendary Cauldron of Plenty, one of four Treasures of Ireland. But when Eddie’s father is seriously injured by a gang in an attempted robbery, Eddie alone must find the Cauldron.

When their search brings them together, Finn and Eddie realize the mark on her arm and his ancient manuscript are connected. Finn doesn’t trust this awkward scholar from the rich side of town. Eddie is just as suspicious of this wild girl with no home, no past, and no rules. But if they can work together, perhaps, as Tomas hoped, they will make the greatest discovery of all.

Three voices - those of Finnegan, Eddie and Tomas, intertwine like a Celtic knot that readers will delight in unravelling to the very last page.

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Touching Grass
Written by Kristy Jackson
Published by Published by HarperCollins Canada

From the author of the Governor General’s Award–shortlisted, Silver Birch Award finalist Mortified, a funny, heartfelt middle-grade novel about a young gamer who is sent to “touch grass” at a Dene First Nation culture camp.

Tristen would do anything to avoid going outside. The bugs sting, the snakes are poisonous, the heat will kill you if the cold doesn’t, and bodies of water? Forget it. Tristen likes it best indoors, deep in his online world where it’s safe, with his online friends. Something he has a hard time with IRL.

But Tristen is in trouble at school again, and the principal is threatening to kick him out of this third school in two years. His mom believes the answer is to get Tristen off the games and in touch with nature and his Dene roots. This means Tristen has to spend a week at a culture camp in the wilderness. It’s his worst nightmare!

And at first it is a nightmare - no internet, no phone reception, no Bepsi! and Tristen has no idea how to do any of the skills the other kids seem to do easily. But soon, with some surprising new friends, a few patient teachers and a little help from technology, Tristen begins to think he might be able to hack this nature stuff after all.