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Books for Keeps 149 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 149 - November 2004

Cover Story
This issue's cover illustration is from Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo's Child, illustrated by Axel Sheffler. Axel Scheffler is interviewed by Martin Salisbury. Thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for their help with this November cover.

BfK No. 149 Articles

Editorial - November 2004

News and comment from the Editor.
Stringing Words Together

Jennifer Donnelly on the influence of family storytelling.
Books for Giving

Rosemary Stones picks out some of the best offerings and invites experts in the field to choose something very special to them.
Authorgraph No.149: Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler interviewed by Martin Salisbury.
Larks and Liberation

Mary Cadogan and Patricia Craig on the evolution of the school story.
Bfk Profile: Louis Sachar

Julia Eccleshare meets Louis Sachar.
Hal's Reading Diary - November 2004

Roger Mills on Hal's memory for sounds.
BfK Briefing - November 2004

News * Events * Awards * Publications * Letter to the Editor * Obituaries
I Wish I'd Written... Abarat

Cornelia Funke chooses Clive Barker's Abarat.
Good Reads: Wells Cathedral School, Somerset

Reviews from pupils of Wells Cathedral School, Somerset.
Classics in Short No.48: Lavender's Blue

Brian Alderson on Kathleen Lines and Harold Jones's Lavender's Blue.

Editor's Choice

Jasper's Bath
Anna Currey
(OUP Oxford)
5

Selfish and aggressive, Jasper the rhinoceros wants the watering hole all to himself. He is rude to the birds, he glares at the gazelles and he even chases Whiskers the rat far into the bush when he asks if he can join Jasper in the water. But on...

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New Talent

Poolboy
Michael Simmons
(Scholastic Press)
4

When Brett’s stockbroker father is convicted of insider trading and jailed, family life changes dramatically. Gone are the cars, large house and luxury lifestyle. No longer able to spend his holidays lounging by the family pool, 16-year-old Brett...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 149

  • Under 5s
  • Ages 5-8
  • Ages 8-10
  • Ages 10-14
  • Ages 14+
  • Books About Children's Books

Under 5s

  • I am a Diplodocus; I am a Quetzalcoatlus
    Karen Wallace
    5

  • Little Rabbit Goes to School
    Harry Horse
    5

  • Jasper's Bath
    Anna Currey
    5

  • Dog Blue
    Polly Dunbar
    5

  • One to Ten and Back Again
    Sue Heap
    Nick Sharratt
    5

  • The Gruffalo's Child
    Julia Donaldson
    5

  • My Daddy is a Giant
    Carl Norac
    4

  • Wanda's First Day
    Mark Sperring
    4

  • Who Will Sing My Puff-a-bye?
    Charlotte Hudson
    4

  • The Beatles Yellow Submarine
    3

  • Pooh! Is That You, Bertie?
    David Roberts
    3

  • Teddybear Blue
    Malachy Doyle
    3

  • The Very Ugly Bug
    Liz Pichon
    3

  • How Do You Feel?
    Gillian Liu
    3

  • Numbers and Shapes Discovery Cards; Van Gogh's World of Colour
    Julie Aigner-Clark
    0

Ages 5-8

  • Yakov and the Seven Thieves
    Madonna
    5

  • The Human Body; Babies; Safari Animals; Whales and Dolphins; Dinosaurs; Knights and Castles
    Agnès Vandewiele
    Michèle Lancina
    4

  • Donald and the...; Donald Has a Difficulty
    Peter F Neumeyer
    4

  • Those Messy Hempels
    Brigitte Luciani
    4

  • Is it Because?
    Tony Ross
    4

  • How to be a Detective
    Barbara Mitchelhill
    3

  • How to Conker the World
    Kathy Ashford
    3

  • Dogs Don't Do Dishes
    Rebecca Lisle
    3

  • The Boat
    Helen Ward
    3

  • Jill and the Beanstalk
    Manju Gregory
    3

  • Abel and the Wolf
    Sergio Lairla
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Roman Fort
    Mick Manning
    5

  • Once Upon a Poem: Favourite Poems that Tell Stories
    5

  • The Invisible Detective: Web of Anubis
    Justin Richards
    4

  • Cosmo and the Magic Sneeze
    Gwyneth Rees
    4

  • Thora
    4

  • The Giants and the Joneses
    Julia Donaldson
    4

  • Measle and the Wrathmonk
    Ian Ogilvy
    4

  • How to be a Pirate
    Cressida Cowell
    3

  • The Secret Life of Jamie B, Superspy
    Ceri Worman
    3

  • Sugar Bag Baby
    Susan Gates
    3

  • Iron Town Boy
    Anne Ahmed
    2

  • Smile!
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    2

  • Our Teacher's Gone Bananas
    John Foster
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Cities of Blood; Kingdom of the Dead
    Peter Ackroyd
    5

  • Night Sky Atlas
    Robin Scagell
    5

  • Web of Lies
    Beverley Naidoo
    5

  • The Looking Glass Wars
    Frank Beddor
    4

  • Where Mermaids Sing
    Brian Keaney
    4

  • Poolboy
    Michael Simmons
    4

  • Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
    Adeline Yen Mah
    3

  • Tread Softly
    Kate Pennington
    3

  • The Dark Flight Down
    Marcus Sedgwick
    3

  • Phosphorescence
    Raffaella Barker
    3

  • The Battle for Radio: Marconi's Story; Adventures with Electricity: Benjamin Franklin's Story; The Fight against Microbes: Pasteur's Story; The Search for Radium: Marie Curie's Story
    Beverley Birch
    2

  • Jammy Dodgers on the Run
    Bowering Sivers
    2

Ages 14+

  • How I Live Now
    Meg Rosoff
    5

  • Sharp North
    Patrick Cave
    3

  • Apocalypse
    Tim Bowler
    3

  • Gangsta Rap
    Benjamin Zephaniah
    3

  • Lost and Found
    Valerie Mendes
    3

  • Sugar Rush
    Julie Burchill
    3

  • Fat Kid Rules the World
    K L Going
    3

  • Dunno
    Peter Inson
    3

  • Crash
    Andrew Fusek Peters
    Polly Peters
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Darkness Visible: Inside the World of Philip Pullman
    Nicholas Tucker
    4

  • Mother Goose's Melody: or, sonnets for the cradle
    4

  • Coming of Age in Children's Literature
    Margaret Meek
    Victor Watson
    3

BfK News

LONGLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The longlist for the 2021 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.

CKG Logo

read more...
LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

Klaus Flugge Prize logo

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NOW OPEN: 2021 HENRIETTA BRANFORD WRITING COMPETITION

Finish a story started by Branford Boase Award winner Liz Hyder

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is now open.

read more...
TWO UK ENTRIES ON IBBY LIST OF OUTSTANDING BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Every two years, IBBY invites nominations for its international List of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. Nominations are made by IBBY national sections and the final list is selected from these by the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Young People with Disabilities, based in Toronto. Because of its international content, the list is unique in the children’s book world. It is a huge voluntary undertaking as every country is encouraged to submit up to twelve titles across the three categories.

read more...
LONGLIST FOR THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The longlist for the 2021 Branford Boase Award has been announced. Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children.

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NATASHA FARRANT WINS 2020 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Natasha Farrant

Writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant has won the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, a book which the judges described as ‘pure heavenly escapism and a purely joyful read.’

read more...
ROBIN WALKER WINS THE 2020 ALCS EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD FOR BLACK HISTORY MATTERS

The winner of the 2020 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award is Black History Matters: The Story of Black History, From African Kingdoms to Black Lives Matter. Written by acclaimed Black historian, Robin Walker, the 2020 judges praised this accessible, comprehensive and inspiring book which provides a timely introduction both to Black history and the Black Lives Matter movement.

read more...
IBBY UK nominate Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2022

IBBY UK has announced that Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee will be the UK nominations for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

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SHORTLIST FOR THE COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Debut authors Darren Charlton and Jenny Pearson join Natasha Farrant and Meg Rosoff on the shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award.

The shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award has been announced. No less than 146 books were submitted and from those the judges have chosen a shortlist of four. They are:

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Little Tiger)

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BOOKTRUST’S REPRESENTS INTERIM RESEARCH & CLPE REFLECTING REALITIES SURVEY 2020

CLPE Reflecting Realities Report 2020

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