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Books for Keeps 196 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 196 - September 2012
BfK 196 September 2012

This issue’s cover illustration by Rodrigo Adolfo (http://deviantart.com) is from The Obsidian Mirror. Thanks to Hodder for their help with this September cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 196 September 2012 .

BfK No. 196 Articles

Editorial 196

Editorial
Dads in Prison

Karin Littlewood discusses When Dad Was Away.
CLPE Poetry Prize 2012

Fiona Waters comments on this year's winners.
Simon Bartram: Windows into Illustration

Windows into Illustration: Simon Bartram on how he went about illustrating The Man on the Moon.
Picture Book Apps: Ten of the Best

Ten of the Best: Picture Book Apps Lucy Russell chooses her top ten.
Maurice Sendak: an appreciation

Maurice Sendak: An appreciation. Brian Alderson assesses Maurice Sendak's contribution to illustration.
Boneland: the continuing story

Boneland: the continuing story. Geoff Fox reads and rereads Alan Garner's new novel.
Authorgraph 196: Catherine Fisher

Authorgraph No.196 Catherine Fisher interviewed by Clive Barnes
Willesden Bookshop

BfK's Brilliant Children's Bookshops Willesden Bookshop, London
Briefing 196

Briefing Awards, Obituaries
Hal's Reading Diary 196

Hal's Reading Diary Roger Mills on Hal's lack of enthusiasm for reading.
Sarah Crossan: I Wish I'd Written

I Wish I'd Written Sarah Crossan chooses Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls.
Good Reads 196

Good Reads Reviews from Highdown School and Sixth Form College, Reading, Berks.
Classics in Short No. 95

Brian Alderson on The Juniper Tree by the Brothers Grimm.
Q & A with Christopher William Hill

Q & A with Christopher William Hill
The Children's Bookshow at Ten

Sian Williams describes the work and excitement of The Children’s Bookshow for Books for Keeps.
Daniel Morden on The Children’s Bookshow

Daniel Morden on The Children’s Bookshow
Youth Crime

Teenagers turn to crime (fiction that is)
Ghost Knight at Salisbury Cathedral

Cornelia Funke’s latest novel Ghost Knight has just been launched at Salisbury cathedral. Clive Barnes reports for Books for Keeps.
A Viking’s Guide to Deadly Dragons – Cressida Cowell Exhibition

A new exhibition has opened at Seven Stories, all about Cressida Cowell and her series, How to Train Your Dragon

Editor's Choice

Toys in Space
Mini Grey
(Jonathan Cape)
5

‘That summer night for the first time the toys were left outside.’ This engaging opening sentence to Mini Grey’s latest picture book creates instant drama and a feeling of anxiety and tension. For the first time the toys experience the...

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New Talent

Turf
John Lucas
(Bodley Head)
4

15-year-old Jaylon is a junior member of the Blake Street Boyz gang on a Hackney estate. As his 16th birthday approaches he is to be initiated into the ‘olders’ – his task to stab a member of a rival gang. What could have been a...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 196

  • Under 5s
  • Ages 5-8
  • Ages 8-10
  • Ages 10-14
  • Ages 14+

Under 5s

  • Matilda's Cat
    Emily Gravett
    5

  • The Snuggle Sandwich
    Malachy Doyle
    5

  • Toys in Space
    Mini Grey
    5

  • My Grandpa
    Marta Altés
    5

  • Dinosaur Zoom!
    Penny Dale
    4

  • Me and My Cat
    Ekaterina Trukhan
    4

  • Who Loves Baby?
    Julia Hubery
    4

  • A Safe Place for Rufus
    Jill Seeney
    4

  • A Home for Hermit
    Ruth Martin
    4

  • Creepy Crawlies
    4

  • The Perfect Present
    Fiona Roberton
    3

  • Bear and Bird
    Gwen Millward
    3

  • Lollipop and Grandpa and the Wobbly Tooth
    Penelope Harper
    3

  • Farmer Clegg's Night Out
    Peter Bently
    3

  • The Giant’s Loo Roll
    Nicholas Allan
    3

  • The Last Tiger
    Rebecca Elliott
    3

Ages 5-8

  • The Twelve Dancing Princesses
    Brothers Grimm
    5

  • Paddington Races Ahead
    Michael Bond
    5

  • It’s Not Fairy

    Ros Asquith
    4

  • My Granny is a Pirate
    Val McDermid
    4

  • Leave Me Alone
    Kes Gray
    4

  • Christmas Surprise
    Hilary Robinson
    3

  • The Stone of Destiny: Tales from Turkey
    Elspeth Tavaci
    3

  • Skeleton Island
    Jan Burchett
    Sara Vogler
    3

  • Chester and Daisy Move On
    Angela Lidster
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Trouble in Toadpool
    Anne Fine
    5

  • Space Lizards Ate My Sister
    Mark Griffiths
    5

  • Body Invaders
    Richard Spilsbury
    5

  • Ho We Make Stuff
    Christiane Dorion
    5

  • Wolfie
    Emma Barnes
    4

  • Kentucky Thriller
    Lauren St John
    4

  • Shrunk!
    F.R.Hitchcock
    4

  • Under the Skin
    Catherine MacPhail
    4

  • You, Me and Thing: The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo
    Karen McCombie
    4

  • Om Shanti, Babe
    Helen Limon
    4

  • Operation Bunny
    Sally Gardner
    4

  • Kentucky Thriller
    Lauren St John
    4

  • I’m Dougal Trump… And it’s Not My Fault!
    Dougal Trump
    Jackie Marchant
    4

  • The Black Phone
    James Lovegrove
    3

  • The Black Cat Detectives
    Wendy Meddour
    3

  • Loose Connections
    Rosemary Hayes
    3

  • Atticus Claw Breaks the Law
    Jennifer Gray
    3

  • Boudica: The Story of the Fearless Iceni Queen
    Gaby Halberslam
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Silenced
    Simon Packham
    5

  • Johnny Delgado- Private Detective
    Kevin Brooks
    5

  • Ribblestrop Forever

    Andy Mulligan
    5

  • Gods and Warriors
    Michelle Paver
    5

  • Maggot Moon
    Sally Gardner
    5

  • Missing Me
    Sophie McKenzie
    5

  • I Am Grimalkin
    Joseph Delaney
    5

  • Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian
    Eoin Colfer
    5

  • The Unforgotten Coat
    Frank Cottrell Boyce
    5

  • The Wolf Princess
    Cathryn Constable
    4

  • A World Between Us
    Lydia Syson
    4

  • Butterfly Summer
    Anne-Marie Conway
    4

  • 2Die4
    Nigel Hinton
    4

  • Partners in Crime
    Nigel Hinton
    4

  • Throne of Glass

    Sarah J Maas
    3

  • The Demon Notebook
    Erika McGann
    3

  • Spy for the Queen of Scots
    Theresa Breslin
    3

  • The Nightmare Factory
    L A Jones
    3

  • The Chronicles of Egg: Deadweather and Sunrise
    Geoff Rodkey
    3

  • The Terrible Thing that Happened to Barnaby Brocket
    John Boyne
    3

  • Stupid Cupid
    Melody James
    3

  • The Hex Factor
    Harriet Goodwin
    3

Ages 14+

  • Turf
    John Lucas
    4

  • Hollow Pike
    James Dawson
    4

  • The Probability of Miracles
    Wendy Wunder
    4

  • Pushing the Limits
    Katie McGarry
    4

  • The Blessed
    Tonya Hurley
    4

  • Losing Control
    Henrietta Bond
    3

  • Witch Crag
    Kate Cann
    3

  • The Glimpse
    Claire Merle
    3

  • Shattered Dreams
    Ellie James
    2

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

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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.

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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.’

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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.

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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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