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Books for Keeps 183 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 183 - July 2010
BfK 183 July 2010

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Richard Jones is from Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid, the first in ‘The Kane Chronicles’ series. Rick Riordan is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare (see Authorgraph). Thanks to Puffin Books for their help with this July cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 183 July 2010.

BfK No. 183 Articles

Editorial – July 2010

News and comment from the Editor.
Mary Hoffman - Featured Author, August 2010

Bloomsbury launch Troubadour in paperback
Rhyme with Reason: Why Nursery Rhymes Matter

Caroline Sanderson discusses their importance.
Ten of the Best Nursery Rhymes

Rosemary Stones chooses her top ten titles.
BfK Basics: Helping your child enjoy books and reading

Jake Hope explains what libraries offer the very young.
25 years of Journey to Jo’burg

Beverley Naidoo on the publishing history of a now classic title.
Windows into Illustration: Leigh Hodgkinson

Leigh Hodgkinson on how she went about illustrating Scrummy!
Authorgraph No.183: Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.
BfK Briefing – July 2010

Awards * News * Events
Hal’s Reading Diary - July 2010

Roger Mills on the appeal of war stories to boy readers.
I wish I’d written… The Secret Garden

Cathy Hopkins chooses Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.
Good Reads: Fernwood School, Nottingham

Reviews from pupils of Fernwood School, Nottingham.
Classics in Short No.82: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Brian Alderson on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Editor's Choice

Me and You
Anthony Browne
(Doubleday Childrens)
5

Reminiscent of John Burningham’s 1977 Come away from the water, Shirley in which the world inhabited by her cautious and unimaginative parents in their deckchairs on the beach contrasts with the adventurous world of their...

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New Talent

Tall Story
Candy Gourlay
(David Fickling Books)
4

Tall Story is told in turn by Londoner Andi who is a mean basketball player despite her short stature and her 16-year-old big brother Bernardo who lives in the Philippines. The two don’t know each other because it has taken years...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 183

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

Under 5s

  • Angelica Sprocket’s Pockets
    Quentin Blake
    5

  • The Sleep Sheep
    Anna McQuinn
    5

  • Dog Loves Books
    Louise Yates
    5

  • It’s a Dog’s Life
    Michael Morpurgo
    5

  • Bedtime
    Maureen Roffey
    4

  • Piglet’s Picnic: A Story about Food and Counting
    Jessica Souhami
    4

  • Blue Chameleon
    Emily Gravett
    4

  • I’m not Sleepy!
    Jonathan Allen
    4

  • My Green Day
    Melanie Walsh
    4

  • Caterpillar Dreams
    Jeanne Willis
    3

  • Bugs in a Blanket
    Beatrice Alemagna
    3

  • Errol and his Extraordinary Nose
    David Conway
    3

  • The Ugly Duckling
    Sebastien Braun
    3

  • That’s Not Funny!
    Jeanne Willis
    3

  • My Village: Rhymes from around the World
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Me and You
    Anthony Browne
    5

  • The Nanny Goat’s Kid
    Jeanne Willis
    4

  • Every Dog
    William Mayne
    4

  • Over the Hills and Far Away: Stories of Dwarfs, Fairies, Gnomes and Elves from Around Europe
    4

  • Our Baby Inside!
    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    4

  • Denver
    David McKee
    3

  • My Dads
    Kelly Bennett
    3

  • The Sorely Trying Day
    Russell Hoban
    3

  • Morris MacMillipede
    Mick Fitzmaurice
    3

  • Hooey Higgins and the Shark
    Steve Voake
    3

  • The Girl Who Married a Ghost and other tales from Nigeria
    Ifeoma Onyefulu
    3

  • Oi, Caveboy!
    Alan MacDonald
    3

  • Let’s Read a Book ¦ Let’s Bake a Cake
    Ruth Walton
    3

  • Tales of Princes and Princesses
    Various Authors
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Danger by Moonlight
    Jamila Gavin
    4

  • The Pasta Detectives
    Andreas Steinhöfel
    4

  • Adam and the Arkonauts
    Dominic Barker
    4

  • Little Darlings
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • Tall Story
    Candy Gourlay
    4

  • Not Bad for a Bad Lad
    Michael Morpurgo
    3

  • Clover Twig and the Perilous Path
    Kaye Stearman
    3

  • Mission Telemark
    Amanda Mitchison
    3

  • Johnny Swanson
    Eleanor Updale
    3

  • At home
    Sue Barraclough
    3

  • The Ice Age Tracker’s Guide
    Adrian Lister
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Sparks
    Ally Kennen
    5

  • The Fool’s Girl
    Celia Rees
    5

  • Kisses for Lula
    Samantha Mackintosh
    4

  • Ice Lolly
    Jean Ure
    4

  • White Crow
    Marcus Sedgwick
    4

  • The Truth About Leo
    David Yelland
    4

  • The Island
    Sarah Singleton
    4

  • The Liberators
    Philip Womack
    4

  • Mortlock
    Jon Mayhew
    4

  • Lord Sunday
    Garth Nix
    4

  • Alien Storm
    A G Taylor
    4

  • This Book is Not Good for You
    Pseudonymous Bosch
    4

  • Campaigners
    Philip Steele
    4

  • Biomass Power ¦ Fossil Fuels ¦ Geothermal Power ¦ Nuclear Power ¦ Solar Power ¦ Water Power ¦ Wind Power ¦ The Energy Mix
    Neil Morris
    4

  • Beads, Boys and Bangles
    Sophia Bennett
    3

  • Me, Myself and I: All About Sex and Puberty
    Louise Spilsbury
    3

  • The Lambton Curse
    Malachy Doyle
    3

  • Troubadour
    Mary Hoffman
    3

  • A Million Shades of Grey
    Cynthia Kadohata
    3

  • The Chosen One
    Carol Lynch Williams
    3

  • The Prince of Mist
    Carlos Ruiz Zafon
    3

  • Alice in Time
    Penelope Bush
    3

  • Autopsies: Pathologist at Work
    Gary Jeffrey
    3

  • Africa and the Slave Trade
    Dan Lyndon
    3

Ages 14+

  • Losing It
    5

  • The Last Summer of the Death Warriors
    Francisco X Stork
    5

  • The Sky is Everywhere
    Jandy Nelson
    5

  • Girl, 16: Five-Star Fiasco
    Sue Limb
    4

  • Luke and Jon
    Robert Williams
    4

  • Fighting Ruben Wolfe
    Markus Zusak
    4

  • The Adoration of Jenna Fox
    Mary E Pearson
    4

  • The Diary of a Dr Who Addict
    Paul Magrs
    4

  • My Summer on the Shelf
    T S Easton
    4

  • Inside My Head
    Jim Carrington
    4

  • Beautiful Malice
    Rebecca James
    3

  • The Glass Demon
    Helen Grant
    3

  • Lies
    Michael Grant
    3

  • The Medusa Project: The Hostage
    Sophie McKenzie
    3

  • The Returners
    Gemma Malley
    3

  • Drop Zone
    Andy McNab
    3

  • Out of Shadows
    Jason Wallace
    2

  • Who’s in Charge?
    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.’

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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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

read more...
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.

read more...
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

read more...
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

read more...
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