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Books for Keeps 244 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 244 - September 2020
BfK 244 September 2020

This issue’s cover illustration is from Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!: An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year edited by Fiona Waters and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup. Thanks to Nosy Crow 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 244 September 2020.

BfK No. 244 Articles

Editorial 244

Editorial 244
Would there by a poem about a pangolin?

Editor Fiona Waters describes the joys and challenges of choosing an animal poem for every day of the year.
Ten Essential Children's Books

Ten essential books for young readers chosen by Geraldine McCaughrean
Windows into Illustration: Britta Teckentrup

Britta Teckentrup explains why she was so excited to be asked to illustration The House by the Lake
Authorgraph: Kevin Crossley-Holland

Kevin Crossley-Holland interviewed by Imogen Russell-Williams
Windows into Worlds

Jake Hope on the importance of visual representation and inclusion

Changing the world with books: an interview with Patrice Lawrence

Fen Coles interviews Patrice Lawrence about her new book Eight Pieces of Silva.
The Red Thread of Reading for Pleasure: Looking Back to Learn

Teresa Cremin looks back to her early reading
Beyond the Secret Garden: The Other Side of the Story

Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor delve into historical fiction
After the War: A Story that Needed Telling

A Story that Needed Telling: Tom Palmer talks to Clare Zinkin about his new book After the War
I Wish I'd Written: Julia Green

I Wish: Julia Green chooses a book she's loved since childhood
Good Reads 244

Good Reads at home with the Biddles
Obituary: Wendy Cooling

Wendy Cooling remembered by Anne Sarrag and friends
Classic in Short: To the Wild Sky

Go To the Wild Sky for drama and puzzlement
MAN OF ACTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS RYAN

Damian Kelleher interviews Chris Ryan about the latest in his Special Forces Cadets series.
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH PÁDRAIG KENNY

The author of The Monsters of Rookhaven answers our questions on his book.
Obituary: Emma Langley 1983 - 2020

Ground-breaking young publisher Emma Langley remembered
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH CATHERINE O’FLYNN

Catherine O'Flynn answers our questions about her Lori and Max series of children's books.
Christmas recommendations 2020

Biblio details on all the books recommended for giving this Christmas.

Editor's Choice

Luna Loves Art
Joseph Coelho
5

Luna greets us with her irrepressible smile and equally irrepressible hair. Excitement radiates from her – she is going with her class on a school trip. In fact everyone is looking forward to it – except Finn. The art gallery is impressive – and...

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New Talent

The Wild Way Home
Sophie Kirtley
4

Fans of Stig of the Dump or Michelle Paver’s Wolf Brother...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 244

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

Under 5s

  • Just One of Those Days
    Jill Murphy
    5

  • We Planted a Pumpkin
    Rob Ramsden
    5

  • The Smile Shop
    Satoshi Kitamura
    4

  • Found You
    Devon Holzwarth
    4

  • Shy Ones
    Simona Ciraolo
    4

  • My Friends and Me
    Stephanie Stansbie
    4

  • The Diddle that Dummed
    Kes Gray
    4

  • Stay, Little Seed
    Cristiana Valentini
    3

  • Duck and Penguin Do NOT Like Sleepovers
    Julia Woolf
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Luna Loves Art
    Joseph Coelho
    5

  • Clean Up!
    Nathan Bryon
    5

  • The Teeny Weeny Genie
    Julia Donaldson
    5

  • Mouse in the House
    Russell Ayto
    5

  • A Bear Named Bjorn
    Delphine Perret
    5

  • Never Show a T-Rex a Book
    Rashmi Sirdeshpande
    5

  • The Runaway Pea Washed Away
    Kjartan Poskitt
    5

  • Leap, Hare, Leap
    Dom Conlon
    4

  • The Littlest Yak
    Lu Fraser
    4

  • Teatime Around the World
    Denyse Waissbluth
    4

  • To The Island
    Patricia Forde
    4

  • King of the Swamp
    Catherine Emmett
    3

  • Paris Cat
    Dianne Hofmeyr
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Butterfly Brain
    Laura Dockrill
    5

  • The Midnight Swan

    Catherine Fisher
    5

  • Sofia the Dreamer and her Magical Afro
    Jessica Wilson
    5

  • The Wizards of Once: Never and Forever
    Cressida Cowell
    5

  • The Virus
    Ben Martynoga
    5

  • Question Everything! An Investigator's Toolkit
    Susan Martineau
    Vicky Barker
    5

  • Jefferson
    Jean-Claude Mourlevat
    5

  • The Wild Way Home
    Sophie Kirtley
    4

  • Sky Pirates Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond
    Alex English
    4

  • Season of the Witch
    Matt Ralphs
    4

  • Invisible Nature: A Secret World Beyond Our Senses

    Catherine Barr
    4

  • Zombierella Fairy Tales Gone Bad
    Joseph Coelho
    4

  • The Beast and the Bethany
    Jack Meggitt-Phillips
    4

  • A Mummy Ate My Homework
    Thiago de Moraes
    4

  • Shoe Wars
    Liz Pichon
    4

  • Pizazz

    Sophy Henn
    4

  • Children of the Benin Kingdom
    Dinah Orji
    4

  • Moon Dog
    Jane Elson
    4

  • Life of Riley: Beginner's Luck
    Simon James Green
    4

  • InvestiGators
    John Patrick Green
    3

Ages 10-14

  • The Children of Swallow Fell
    Julia Green
    5

  • The Invisible Boy

    Alyssa Hollingsworth
    5

  • The Key to Finding Jack
    Ewa Jozefkowicz
    5

  • Small Town Hero
    Patrick Neate
    5

  • The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith
    Loris Owen
    5

  • Dark Blue Rising
    Teri Terry
    5

  • The Wizard in My Shed

    Simon Farnaby
    5

  • The Monsters of Rookhaven
    Pádraig Kenny
    5

  • The Unadoptables
    Hana Tooke
    4

  • Moonchild Voyage of the Lost and Found
    Aisha Bushby
    4

  • How Jack Lost Time
    Stéphanie Lapointe
    4

  • When Life Gives You Mangoes
    Kereen Getten
    4

  • My Story: Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan
    Sufiya Ahmed
    4

  • I Am Not A Label
    Cerrie Burnell
    4

  • Happy, Healthy Minds
    The School of Life
    4

  • Macbeth United

    Michael Rosen
    3

  • Tamarind & the Star of Ishta
    Jasbinder Bilan
    2

Ages 14+

  • Punching the Air
    Ibi Zoboi
    Yusuf Salaam
    5

  • I, Ada: Ada Lovelace
    Julia Gray
    5

  • The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea

    Maggie Tokuda-Hall
    5

  • The Girl Who Became a Tree: A Story Told in Poems
    Joseph Coelho
    4

  • Again, Again
    e. lockhart
    4

  • Clementine and Rudy

    Siobhan Curham
    4

  • The Rules
    Tracy Darnton
    4

  • Loveless
    Alice Oseman
    4

  • Wrecked

    Louisa Reid
    3

  • Heartbreak Boys
    Simon James Green
    3

  • How It All Blew Up
    Arvin Ahmadi
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Seeing Sense: visual literacy as a tool for libraries, learning and reader development
    Jake Hope
    3

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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