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Books for Keeps 218 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 218 - May 2016
BfK 218 May 2016

COVER STORY
This issue’s cover illustration is from Lulu Loves Flowers by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw. Thanks to Alanna Books for their help with this cover and to Hachette Children’s Books for their support of the Authorgraph interview with Caroline Lawrence

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 218 May 2016 .

BfK No. 218 Articles

Editorial 218

Comment from the editor
Radical books for children: the Little Rebels Award

Little Rebels judge Catherine Johnson on this year’s award
Alanna Books by Anna McQuinn: an inadvertent publisher…

Ten years of child-centred publishing
Windows into Illustration: Richard Collingridge

Richard Collingridge on the cinematic Lionheart
Authorgraph 218 Caroline Lawrence

Caroline Lawrence interviewed by Philip Womack
Ten of the Best Books on space exploration

Chosen by Sue Unstead
Setting out to sea with Otter-Barry Books

Jackie Morris on the very special launch for The Seal Children
The CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016. And the winner is …

The Carnegie Medal shortlist appraised by Nicholas Tucker
The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2016. And the winner is …

The Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist appraised by Piet Grobler
What Katy did in the 21st century

Jacqueline Wilson talks to Rebecca Butler about her version of What Katy Did
Obituary: Nicholas Fisk

Clive Barnes on the taboo-breaking Sci Fi author.
Good Reads 218

chosen by pupils at Leighton Park School
I Wish I’d Written: Robin Stevens

Robin Stevens chooses a museum mystery
Two Children Tell: Ramona and Rebecca

Beverley Cleary's heroine inspires Rebecca
On Co-Authoring

When two is better than one; Prentice and Weill on co-authoring
Junk at twenty

Twenty years since publication of Junk, Geraldine Brennan assesses its impact
Classics in Short No 117

The Dolls' House by Rumer Godden
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROSALIND BEARDSHAW

The illustrator of the popular Lulu books talks to Mike Farren
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH FAYE BIRD

Faye Bird answers questions on What I Couldn't Tell You
CLASS ACT: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAMELA BUTCHART

Damian Kelleher interviews the winner of the 2016 Children's Book Award
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH C J FLOOD ON NIGHTWANDERERS

The award-winning author answers questions on her new novel Nightwanderers
AN INTERVIEW WITH TIMOTHÉE DE FOMBELLE

Timothée de Fombelle discusses his books with Joy Court

Editor's Choice

Life is Magic
Meg McLaren
(Andersen Press)
5

When his magician slips on a banana skin (literally), it is up to Houdini, the rabbit, to take over. Houdini loves magic; he is a natural. He is a great success. But life is hollow without a proper partner. Can Houdini rectify the situation?...

read more

New Talent

Why I Went Back
James Clammer
(Andersen Press)
4

Suppose your mother has died, your father seems to have lost his grip on life. Keeping everything going is up to you - but you are only fourteen. Your prized possession is that bicycle, all eighteen gears and shining frame. It is your salvation....

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 218

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

Under 5s

  • Let’s Play
    Hervé Tulley
    5

  • Tidy
    Emily Gravett
    5

  • There’s a Tiger in the Garden
    Lizzy Stewart
    5

  • A Brave Bear
    Sean Taylor
    5

  • Hiccups
    Holly Sterling
    4

  • Albert’s Tree
    Jenni Desmond
    4

  • Are You Sitting Comfortably?
    Leigh Hodgkinson
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Life is Magic
    Meg McLaren
    5

  • Little Red
    Bethan Woollvin
    5

  • Lucinda Belinda Melinda McCool
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • The Big Book of Mr Badger
    Leigh Hobbs
    5

  • The Seal Children reissue
    Jackie Morris
    5

  • There is a Tribe of Kids
    Lane Smith
    5
  • Image Not Available

    Where’s the starfish?
    Barroux
    5
  • Image Not Available

    Tufty
    Michael Foreman
    5

  • Freddie Mole: Lion Tamer
    Alexander McCall Smith
    4

  • All Aboard for the Bobo Road
    Stephen Davies
    4

  • We Are Not Frogs
    Michael Morpurgo
    4
  • Image Not Available

    The Hole Story
    Paul Bright
    4
  • Image Not Available

    Dave Pigeon
    Swapna Haddow
    4
  • Image Not Available

    The Jasmine Sneeze
    Nadine Kaadan
    4
  • Image Not Available

    Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers!
    Melanie Walsh
    4
  • Image Not Available

    Mr Moon Wakes Up
    Jemima Sharpe
    4
  • Image Not Available

    The Secret of the Kelpie
    Lari Don
    4
  • Image Not Available

    The Journey
    Francesca Sanna
    4
  • Image Not Available

    Superbot and the Terrible Toy Destroyer
    Nick Ward
    3
  • Image Not Available

    Julius Zebra: Bundle with the Britons
    Gary Northfield
    2

  • Perfect by Nicola Davies
    Nicola Davies
    2

Ages 8-10

  • The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught her to Fly
    5

  • Knitbone Pepper Ghost Dog and the Last Circus Tiger
    Claire Barker
    5

  • The Boy and the Globe
    Tony Bradman
    4
  • Image Not Available

    Spangles McNasty and the Fish of Gold
    Steve Webb
    4
  • Image Not Available

    The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily
    Dino Buzzati
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Knights of the Borrowed Dark
    Dave Rudden
    5
  • Image Not Available

    The Book of Pearl
    Timothée De Fombelle
    5

  • The House on Hummingbird Island
    Sam Angus
    5
  • Image Not Available

    The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence
    Jennifer Bell
    5

  • The Nest
    Kenneth Oppel
    4

  • Storm Weaver
    Matt Griffin
    4

  • Arrivals: How Long Can a Secret Be Kept
    Brian Gallagher
    4

  • Why I Went Back
    James Clammer
    4

  • Raymie Nightingale
    Kate DiCamillo
    4

  • A Seven Letter Word
    Kim Slater
    4

  • Sophie Someone paperback
    Hayley Long
    4

  • Devil's Blood
    Andrew Prentice
    Jonathan Weil
    3

  • Voices from the Second World War: witnesses share their stories with the children of today
    3

  • Death or Ice Cream
    Gareth P Jones
    3
  • Image Not Available

    Pax
    Sara Pennypacker
    3
  • Image Not Available

    Alone
    D J Brazier
    3

  • Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth
    Frank Cottrell Boyce
    3

Ages 14+

  • The Monstrous Child
    Francesca Simon
    5

  • The Girl in the Blue Coat
    Monica Hesse
    5

  • Plain Jane
    Kim Hood
    4

  • The Bombs that Brought Us Together
    Brian Conaghan
    4

  • The Square Root of Summer
    Harriet Reuter Hapgood
    4

  • What I Couldn't Tell You
    Faye Bird
    4

  • Rebel, Bully, Geek, Pariah
    Erin Lange
    3

  • Highly Illogical Behaviour
    John Corey Whaley
    3
  • Image Not Available

    Riverkeep
    Martin Stewart
    3

BfK News

LOLLIES 2020 SHORTLIST THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies), the awards that celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Lollies logo

read more...
HOOD, RUNDELL AND REYNOLDS UKLA BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

Morag Hood, Katherine Rundell and Jason Reynolds have been announced as the winners of the UKLA Book Awards 2019 for I Am Bat, The Explorer and Long Way Down respectively.

read more...
CATHERINE JOHNSON WINS LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Radical Fiction is Catherine Johnson for her book, Freedom (Scholastic 2018).

Catherine Johnsonn photo Andy Donohoe

read more...
CRESSIDA COWELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

‘Books are transformative because of their unique ability to develop three key magical powers: intelligence, creativity and, most important of all, empathy. Words are power; let’s take magic seriously.’ Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate

read more...
STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

read more...
MUHAMMAD KHAN WINS 20TH BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel for children is Muhammad Khan for his YA novel I Am Thunder. Set up in memory of author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase who both died in 1999, the award also recognizes his editor Lucy Pearse of Macmillan Children’s Books.

read more...
SLA School Librarian of the Year 2019 Announced

Ros Harding School Librarian of the Year

Ros Harding of The King’s School Chester has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2019. 2019 YA Book Prize winner Sara Barnard presented Ros Harding with her award at a special ceremony at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London Kensington on 27 June.

read more...
The Children's Book Award 2019

Earlier this month, Arree Chung was named overall winner of The Children’s Book Award 2019. His book Mixed, which he wrote and illustrated, also won the Books for Younger Children category before going on to win the overall prize.

read more...
WINNERS OF THE 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced at a ceremony at The British Library, hosted by broadcaster and writer Konnie Huq.

read more...
BRANFORD BOASE AWARD SHORTLIST 2019

The children’s authors to watch: shortlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award announced

Branford Boase Award shortlist 2019

read more...
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