Tag: Violet Downey Book Award

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2022 IODE Violet Downey Book Award for Children’s Literature

The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award is offered annually since 1985 for the best young children’s English language book containing at least 500 words of text. We would like to congratulate Susin Nielsen who won this year’s prize for Tremendous Things!

Tremendous Things
By Susin Nielsen
272 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271203 | Penguin Teen Canada
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.

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2019 IODE Violet Downey Book Award for Children’s Literature

The National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book Award is offered annually since 1985 for the best young children’s English language book containing at least 500 words of text. Tundra Books would like to congratulate Susin Nielsen! No Fixed Address was awarded this year’s prize.

No Fixed Address
By Susin Nielsen
288 Pages | Ages 10+ | Tundra Books
ISBN 9780735262751

From beloved Governor General Literary Award–winning author Susin Nielsen comes a touching and funny middle-grade story about family, friendship and growing up when you’re one step away from homelessness.

Felix Knuttson, twelve, is an endearing kid with an incredible brain for trivia. His mom Astrid is loving but unreliable; she can’t hold onto a job, or a home. When they lose their apartment in Vancouver, they move into a camper van, just for August, till Astrid finds a job. September comes, they’re still in the van; Felix must keep “home” a secret and give a fake address in order to enroll in school. Luckily, he finds true friends. As the weeks pass and life becomes grim, he struggles not to let anyone know how precarious his situation is. When he gets to compete on a national quiz show, Felix is determined to win — the cash prize will bring them a home. Their luck is about to change! But what happens is not at all what Felix expected.

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2015 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner

The winner was announced for the 2015 IODE Violet Downey Book Award and we want to congratulate Charis Cotter, author of The Swallow: A Ghost Story.

Charis Cotter
Founded in 1900, IODE Canada is a national women’s charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals through education support, community services, and citizenship programs. For more information about their organization and charitable work, please visit www.iode.ca.

The SwallowThe Swallow: A Ghost Story
Written by Charis Cotter
Hardcover | 320 Pages | Ages 9-12
ISBN: 978-1-77049-591-3
“Spooky tension, friendship and compassion permeate this exquisitely plotted middle-grade ghost story … the story structure weaves its way in and out—riveting and tumbling with tension but never obvious, leaving the readers wondering if anything is really as it seems … readers will seesaw between chills and snorts of laughter. When Cotter delivers the final twist, it is a denouement that becomes a springboard for greater revelations that lead to even greater reader satisfaction. Middle-grade storytelling at its very best—extraordinary.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

For a look at last year’s winner, click here.

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2014 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner

The winner was announced at IODE Canada’s 114th National Annual Meeting and we want to congratulate S.J. Laidlaw, author of An Infidel in Paradise. This is the 30th anniversary of this award made available to Canadian authors.

An Infidel in ParadiseAn Infidel in Paradise
Written by S.J. Laidlaw
Hardcover | 320 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-304-9
eBook: 978-1-77049-305-6
“Laidlaw, a globetrotting social worker, puts her firsthand knowledge of faraway lands and cultures to good use in this exciting tale of a Canadian teen’s encounters with some of the best and worst features of a radically different society. Emma’s first-person, present-tense narration is realistic and compelling” — VOYA Magazine

Congratulations to the finalists:
Death of a King by Andrew H. Vanderwal
Namesake by Sue MacLeod
The Power of Harmony by Jan L. Coates
September 17th by Amanda West Lewis

Founded in 1900, IODE Canada is a national women’s charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals through education support, community services, and citizenship programs. For more information about their organization and charitable work, please visit www.iode.ca.

For a look at last year’s winner, click here.

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2013 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner

The winner was announced at IODE Canada’s 113th National Annual Meeting held at the Carriage House Inn in Calgary, Alberta. We want to congratulate Michael Bedard, The Green Man won!

The Green ManThe Green Man
Written by Michael Bedard
Hardcover | 320 Pages | Ages 10-14
ISBN: 978-1-77049-285-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-293-6
“…Bedard takes full advantage of the genre’s atmospheric creepiness and sepia-toned timelessness…. For more plot-hungry Goosebumps graduates, there are dark strangers, abandoned mansions, ghostly glowing, chilling coincidences, and otherworldly portals galore.” — Starred Review, Quill & Quire

Congratulations to the finalists:

  • Enemy Territory written by Sharon E. McKay
  • My Name is Parvana written by Deborah Ellis
  • One Year in Coal Harbour written by Polly Horvath
  • Yesterday’s Dead written by Pat Bourke

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.

For a list of past winners or for more information about IODE, please visit www.iode.ca.