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Books for Keeps 174 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 174 - January 2009

Cover Story

This issue’s cover illustration by Helen Oxenbury is from Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox (Walker, 978 1 4063 1592 9, £10.99 hbk). Helen Oxenbury writes about her illustration here. Thanks to Walker Books for their help with this January cover.

BfK No. 174 Articles

Editorial - January 2009

News and comment from the Editor.
Print on Demand

Brian Alderson on new technology and children's books.
Laureate Log - January 2009

Michael Rosen reports on his Laureate projects.
Windows into Illustration: Helen Oxenbury

Helen Oxenbury explains her approach to illustration.
Picture Books for Everyone

Janice Morris discusses picture books for older readers.
Authorgraph No.174: Mal Peet

Mal Peet interviewed by Geoff Fox.
Hal’s Reading Diary - January 2009

Roger Mills enjoys stories full of suspense with Hal.
Letter to the Editor - January 2009

Yukino Semizu writes about Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior.
Forum: helping the teachers of reading

Mary Sutcliffe shares good practice with trainee teachers.
I Wish I’d Written… Treasure Island

Tim Bowler chooses Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.
Good Reads: Hull Collegiate Prep School

Reviews from pupils of Hull Collegiate Prep School.
Classics in Short No.73: The Little White Horse

Brian Alderson on Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse.

Editor's Choice

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: A Pop-Up Book
(Sterling)
5

Marine biologist Professor Pierre Aronnax of France is invited by the US navy to investigate some ‘unexplained incidents’ in their waters. This leads to his capture by the crew of the Nautilus, an undersea ship, and a meeting with the...

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New Talent

The Haunted House
Kazuno Kohara
(Two Hoots)
5

A little girl and her cat are about to move into a ‘splendid’ old house but when the little girl opens the front door she is confronted by an enormous ghost trying to prevent her from entering. Fortunately, the little girl is a witch so ghosts...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 174

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

Under 5s

  • The Aliens are Coming
    Colin McNaughton
    5

  • The Haunted House
    Kazuno Kohara
    5

  • The Baby in the Hat: an early romance
    Allan Ahlberg
    5

  • Melrose and Croc: A Hero's Birthday
    Emma Chichester Clark
    5

  • I Really Want to Eat a Child
    Sylviane Donnio
    4

  • If I Were You
    Richard Hamilton
    4

  • Pirate Gran
    Geraldine Durrant
    4

  • I Want Two Birthdays!
    Tony Ross
    4

  • Mine's Bigger than Yours!
    Jeanne Willis
    3

  • Big Brave Brian
    M P Robertson
    3

  • Baby Blue Egg
    Mij Kelly
    3

  • Miffy Goes to the Zoo
    Dick Bruna
    3

Ages 5-8

  • The Great Paper Caper
    Oliver Jeffers
    5

  • Zoo-ology
    Joëlle Jolivet
    5

  • Manfred the Baddie
    John Fardell
    5

  • Kaspar, Prince of Cats
    Michael Morpurgo
    4

  • Stories from the Billabong
    4

  • Molly and her Dad
    Jan Ormerod
    4

  • Pugwash in the Pacific; Pugwash and the Buried Treasure
    John Ryan
    4

  • Johnny's Bad Day
    Edward Ardizzone
    4

  • Oscar and the Bird: A Book about Electricity; Oscar and the Snail: A Book about Things We Use
    Geoff Waring
    3

  • Kenny & the Dragon
    Tony DiTerlizzi
    3

  • Peter the Penguin Pioneer
    Daren King
    3

  • Tim and Tig
    Victor Kelleher
    3

  • Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome
    Clarabelle Von Niekerk
    Liezl Venter
    3

  • Little Blue
    Gaye Chapman
    3

  • Comings and Goings at Parrot Park
    Mary Murphy
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Teach Your Granny to Text - and Other Ways to Change the World
    Tanis Taylor
    5

  • Charles Darwin
    Alan Gibbons
    5

  • Tail-End Charlie
    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    5

  • The Wind in the Willows
    Kenneth Grahame
    5

  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: A Pop-Up Book
    5

  • Our Living Earth
    Yann Arthus-Bertrand
    4

  • Using Energy; Why Should I Switch Off the Light?
    Sally Hewitt
    4

  • Cookie
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • How to Ride a Dragon's Storm
    Cressida Cowell
    4

  • Christmas with the Savages
    Mary Clive
    4

  • The Birthday Book: An Illustrated Treasury of Stories and Poems
    3

  • The Baker Street Mysteries: The Dragon Tattoo
    Tim Piggott-Smith
    3

  • Leaving Home
    Jan Michael
    3

  • Night Flight
    Michaela Morgan
    3

  • The Goose Guards
    Terry Deary
    2

  • Moi and Marie Antoinette
    Lynn Cullen
    1

Ages 10-14

  • Runemarks
    Joanne Harris
    5

  • Mothstorm
    Philip Reeve
    5

  • Heroes of the Valley
    Jonathan Stroud
    5

  • Sylvie and the Songman
    Tim Binding
    5

  • Waterslain Angels
    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    5

  • Great Explorers
    Jim Pipe
    4

  • Inkdeath
    Cornelia Funke
    4

  • Necropolis
    Anthony Horowitz
    4

  • Running on the Cracks
    Julia Donaldson
    4

  • Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phyllis Wheatley
    Ann Rinaldi
    4

  • The Graveyard Book
    Neil Gaiman
    4

  • Inchworm
    Ann Kelley
    4

  • Then
    Morris Gleitzman
    4

  • Super Structures: Inside the World's Most Spectacular Buildings
    Samone Bos
    3

  • The Remarkable Adventures of Tom Scatterhorn: The Museum's Secret
    Henry Chancellor
    3

  • Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London
    Keith Mansfield
    3

  • Voyage across the Cosmos; Cosmic!
    Giles Sparrow
    2

Ages 14+

  • What On Earth Happened?
    Christopher Lloyd
    5

  • Double Cross
    Malorie Blackman
    4

  • Fish in the Sky
    Fridrik Erlings
    3

  • Fair Game: the Steps of Odessa
    James Watson
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Kiss Chase and Conkers: The Games We Played
    Caroline Sanderson
    5

  • Mary Carries On: Reflections on Some Favourite Girls' Stories
    Mary Cadogan
    3

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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