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Books for Keeps 187 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 187 - March 2011
BfK 187 March 2011

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Mark Owen at Arcangel is from Julie Hearn’s Wreckers. Julie Hearn is interviewed by Nicholas Tucker. Thanks to Oxford University Press for their help with this March cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 187 March 2011

BfK No. 187 Articles

Editorial - March 2011

News and comment from the Editor.
BfK Rising Talent 2011

Books for Keeps celebrates 12 stars in making.
True Grit Revisited

Geoff Fox discusses the enduring appeal of Charles Portis’s novel.
The Grimm Reader

Neil Philip explains the importance of the Grimms.
Windows into Illustration: Karin Littlewood

Karin Littlewood on the illustrations for Immi.
400 Years of the King James Bible

Michael Rosen on how it came about.
Authorgraph No.187: Julie Hearn

Julie Hearn is interviewed by Nicholas Tucker.
BfK Briefing – March 2011

Exhibition * Awards
Useful Organisations No. 54: Book a Poet

Provides poets to perform their poetry.
Hal’s Reading Diary - March 2011

Roger Mills investigates the appeal of Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Hal.
I Wish I’d Written… Freak the Mighty

Jonny Zucker chooses Rodman Philbrick’s Freak the Mighty.
Good Reads: Cockermouth School Kids Lit Quiz team

Reviews from Cockermouth School Kids Lit Quiz team.
Classics in Short No.86: Swallows and Amazons

Brian Alderson on Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons.
William Nicholson’s ‘The Wind on Fire’ trilogy

Nicholas Tucker talks to William Nicholson
Once Upon A Wartime: Classic War Stories for Children exhibition

Kate Agnew visits the exhibition for Books for Keeps.
The Emerald Atlas: a debut novel of boundless energy

Nicholas Tucker talks to John Stephens for Books for Keeps.
Enter the World of Happy! Giles Andreae's brand new series

Exclusive World of Happy competition for Books for Keeps readers
The Enchanted Country – Hampshire celebrates Ursula Moray Williams’ centenary

An exhibition on Ursula Moray Williams is touring venues in Hampshire and elsewhere
An interview with Andrew Peters

Andrea Reece interviews Andrew Peters for Books for Keeps.

Editor's Choice

Come to Me, My Chickadee!
Carol Thompson
(Child's Play (International) Ltd)
5

This large format board book with its thin card pages and rounded edges is perfect for babies from around six months and upwards. Against white backgrounds Carol Thompson depicts toddlers at different points in the day from waking up in their cot...

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New Talent

Wood Angel
Erin Bow
(Chicken House)
4

Plain Kate, as Katarina is known, has one eye the colour of river mud and the other the colour of the river; she is a skilled wood carver like her guildsman father, so skilled in fact that some people think she has magic powers and are afraid of...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 187

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

Under 5s

  • Come to Me, My Chickadee!
    Carol Thompson
    5

  • The Giant Jam Sandwich
    John Vernon Lord
    5

  • Copy Cat
    Mark Birchall
    5

  • Zog
    Julia Donaldson
    5

  • Tiny Little Fly
    Michael Rosen
    5

  • Susan Laughs
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice
    Chris Wormell
    4

  • Mole's Sunrise
    Jeanne Willis
    4

  • More, More, More!
    Dawn Casey
    4

  • Goran's Great Escape
    Astrid Lindgren
    4

  • That's Mine!
    Jennifer Northway
    3

  • Zoe and Beans: Where is Binky Boo?
    Mick Inkpen
    3

  • Rabbit Pie
    Penny Ives
    3

  • Ribbit Rabbit
    Candace Ryan
    3

  • Night, Light, Sleep Tight
    Janet Bingham
    3

  • Frank & Teddy Make Friends
    Louise Yates
    3

  • Pirate Gran Goes for Gold
    Geraldine Durrant
    3

  • The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate
    Joy Cowley
    3

  • The Sandwich Swap
    Queen Rania Al Abdullah
    Kelly DiPucchio
    2

Ages 5-8

  • The Cloud
    Hannah Cumming
    5

  • Lulu and the Brontosaurus
    Judith Viorst
    5

  • A Little Bit of Mischief
    Jenny Sullivan
    4

  • Mbobo Tree
    Glenda Millard
    4

  • Scaredy Squirrel at Night
    Melanie Watt
    4

  • Terry Deary's Viking Tales: The Hand of the Viking Warrior ¦ Terry Deary's Viking Tales: The Sword of the Viking King
    Terry Deary
    4

  • Rama and Sita: Path of Flames
    Sally Pomme Clayton
    4

  • Bumblebee
    J V Wilson
    4

  • Dodo doo-doo
    Kaye Umansky
    3

  • Roodica the Rude: Who stole the river?
    Margaret Ryan
    3

  • The Ghosts of Creakie Hall: Ace Ghosts
    Karen Wallace
    3

  • Help Me!
    Paul Geraghty
    3

  • The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt
    Megan McDonald
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Bogwoppit
    Ursula Moray Williams
    4

  • Muncle Trogg
    Janet Foxley
    4

  • Tom Trueheart and the Land of Myths and Legends
    Ian Beck
    4

  • Magicalamity
    Kate Saunders
    4

  • Hunefer and his Book of the Dead ¦ The Complete Book of the Dead of Hunefer
    Richard Parkinson
    4

  • Mutiny on the School Ship Bounty
    Jon Blake
    3

  • Macbeth ¦ Romeo and Juliet ¦ The Tempest ¦ A Midsummer Night's Dream
    William Shakespeare
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Blade: Risking All
    Tim Bowler
    5

  • Treason
    Berlie Doherty
    5

  • Eighth Grade Bites
    Heather Brewer
    4

  • Grace
    Morris Gleitzman
    4

  • Control Freak: Diary of a care leaver
    Henrietta Bond
    4

  • Wood Angel
    Erin Bow
    4

  • My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
    Annabel Pitcher
    4

  • The Real Rebecca
    Anna Carey
    4

  • The Medusa Project: Hunted
    Sophie McKenzie
    4

  • Neversuch House
    Elliot Skell
    4

  • If I Could Fly
    Jill Hucklesby
    4

  • Half Brother
    Kenneth Oppel
    4

  • Behemoth
    Scott Westerfeld
    4

  • Children’s Book of Music
    4

  • The Lion Treasury of Saints
    David Self
    4

  • Gladiator: Fight for Freedom
    Simon Scarrow
    3

  • Fugitives!
    Aubrey Flegg
    3

  • Sigrun's Secret
    Marie-Louise Jensen
    3

  • Small Blue Thing
    S C Ransom
    3

  • Tyme's End
    B R Collins
    3

  • Dragonborn
    Toby Forward
    3

  • Long Lankin
    Lindsey Barraclough
    3

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1
    John Vornholt
    Arthur Byron Cover
    Alice Henderson
    3

  • The Bad Tuesdays: Blood Alchemy
    Benjamin J Myers
    2

Ages 14+

  • Fallout
    Sandra Glover
    4

  • Whisper My Name
    Jane Eagland
    4

  • Clash
    Colin Mulhern
    3

  • Crusade
    Linda Press Wulf
    2

BfK News

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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SHORTLIST FOR THE 2021 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS REVEALED

The six books shortlisted for the 2021 Blue Peter Book Awards have been announced.

Blue Peter Book Award logo

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Happy National Non-Fiction November 2020

It’s National Non-Fiction November! Organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, National Non-Fiction November is an annual celebration of the power of non-fiction to inspire children and celebrate readers who have a passion for information and facts. 2020 is the 10th anniversary of National Non-Fiction November.

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JANE PORTER AND MAISIE PARADISE SHEARRING 2020 LITTLE REBELS AWARD WINNERS

Jane Porter and Maisie Paradise Shearring have won the 2020 Little Rebels Award for their picture book The Boy who Loved Everyone. They will share the £2000 prize.

Little Rebels logo 2020

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OU AND MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S BOOKS LAUNCH BOOK CHAT SCHEME

The Open University (OU) is launching Book Chat: Reading with your Child, a resource which comprises three short films and support materials to help parents, families and carers read books conversationally and creatively to children. Working with Macmillan Children’s Books, the films use a selection of their picture books and a poetry collection to support families with reading to different ages of children.

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TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

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