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Books for Keeps 114 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 114 - January 1999

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Michael Foreman and Michael Morpurgo’s Joan of Arc. Thanks to Pavilion for their help in producing this January cover.

BfK No. 114 Articles

Editorial – January 1999

News and comment from the Editor.

A Creative Collaboration

Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman on their Joan of Arc.

Trolley Power?

Julia Eccleshare on children's supermarket books.

The Centre for the Children’s Book

Elizabeth Hammill on why we need one.

What is a Literary Agent?

 Liz Attenborough on their role in children's publishing.

Authorgraph No.114: Michael Cadnum

Michael Cadnum interviewed by Val Randall.

Ted Hughes 1930-1998

Morag Styles pays tribute to the Poet Laureate.

BfK Briefing - January 1999

News * Awards * Best Seller Charts * Obituaries * Letters to the Editor

Useful Organisations No.4: The Federation of Children's Book Groups

National charity promoting the reading habit among young people.

I Wish I’d Written... Clockwork

Terry Deary chooses Philip Pullman’s Clockwork.

Good Reads: Dover Grammar School for Boys

Reviews from pupils of Dover Grammar School for Boys, Kent.

Classics in Short No.13: The Little Prince

Brian Alderson on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.

Editor's Choice

The Frog Princess

Laura Cecil
(Red Fox)
5

A delightfully told variant of The Frog Prince, this witty picture book version has three princes (one very plump who likes his food, one very thin who loves fashionable clothes and the youngest who likes to lie in the grass looking at...

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New Talent

Hunting Gumnor

Stephen Potts
(Mammoth)
3

In this adventure story set on the coast, Rarty and her friend Lionel must find Gumnor, the whale-type creature whose cry acts as a warning to ships on foggy nights. She has escaped from her chains and her disappearance threatens the livelihood...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 114

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

Under 5s

  • Pumpkin Soup

    Helen Cooper
    5
  • Hmm... A Preston Pig story

    Colin McNaughton
    5
  • I Love You, Blue Kangaroo!

    Emma Chichester Clark
    5
  • The Selfish Crocodile

    Faustin Charles
    5
  • Daisy Knows Best

    Lisa Kopper
    5
  • Ebb's New Friend

    Jane Simmons
    4
  • The Puffin Book of Five-minute Stories

    4
  • What!

    Kate Lum
    4
  • Ragged Bear

    Brigitte Weninger
    3
  • Scaredy Cat

    Joan Rankin
    3
  • The Great Ball Play

    Joanna Troughton
    3
  • Mockingbird

    Allan Ahlberg
    3
  • Wake Up/Sleep Tight

    Ken Wilson-Max
    3
  • The Gotcha Smile

    Rita Phillips Mitchell
    2
  • My Ladybird Treasury of Stories & Rhymes

    2

Ages 5-8

  • Think of an Eel

    Karen Wallace
    5
  • Big Blue Whale

    Nicola Davies
    5
  • W is for World

    Kathryn Cave
    5
  • Care of Henry ¦ Taking the Cat's Way Home

    Anne Fine
    5
  • Michael Rosen's Book of Nonsense

    Michael Rosen
    5
  • The Frog Princess

    Laura Cecil
    5
  • Tell Me Why Planes Have Wings; Tell Me Why Rain is Wet

    Shirley Willis
    4
  • Zoo in the Sky

    Jacqueline Mitton
    4
  • My Amazing Journey; My Family's Changing

    Pat Thomas
    4
  • Scary Stories for Seven Year Olds; Scary Stories for Eight Year Olds; Funny Stories for Seven Year Olds; Funny Stories for Eight Year Olds; Animal Stories for Seven Year Olds; Animal Stories for Eight Year Olds

    4
  • A Walk with Granny

    Nigel Gray
    4
  • The Busy Body Book

    Anne Civardi
    Ruth Thomson
    4
  • Just Grandpa and Me

    Sally Grindley
    4
  • Katie and the Mona Lisa

    James Mayhew
    4
  • What Do We Think About Death?

    Karen Bryant-Mole
    3
  • A Bed full of Night-time Stories

    3
  • Read Me a Story, Please

    3
  • From a Distance

    Julie Gold
    2
  • Vulca, the Etruscan; Nefertari, Princess of Egypt

    Roberta Angeletti
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Footprints on the Page: Poetry Collection 1; Dark as a Midnight Dream: Poetry Collection 2

    5
  • Famine; War

    Paul Bennett
    5
  • Enchantment in the Garden; The Lion and the Unicorn

    Shirley Hughes
    5
  • Never Let Go

    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5
  • Count Karlstein or The Ride of the Demon Huntsman; Spring-Heeled Jack -- A Story of Bravery and Evil

    Philip Pullman
    4
  • Living with Asthma; Living with Diabetes

    Peta Bee
    4
  • The Adventures of Robin Hood and Marian

    4
  • Growing Up: From Child to Adult; Wedding Days: Celebrations of Marriage; Journey's End: Death and Mourning; New Beginnings: Celebrating Birth

    Anita Ganeri
    3
  • Robot

    Clive Gifford
    3
  • Future

    Michael Tambini
    2
  • Lost Property Box; An Odd Kettle of Fish; Elephant Dreams

    Peter Dixon
    Wes Magee
    Matt Simpson
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Hannah Goslar Remembers: a childhood friend of Anne Frank

    Alison Leslie Gold
    5
  • Dark Shadows

    Joan Lingard
    4
  • The World of Islam: Before 1700; India under the Mughal Empire: 1526-1858

    Hazel Mary Martell
    4
  • A Victorian House; A Shakespearean Theatre

    Richard Wood
    4
  • The Hutchinson Treasury of Children's Poetry; Puffin Book of Utterly Brilliant Poetry; Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection

    4
  • The Dream Master

    Theresa Breslin
    4
  • Postcards from No Man's Land

    Aidan Chambers
    4
  • Witchy

    Ann Phillips
    4
  • The Scavenger's Tale

    Rachel Anderson
    4
  • Under the Cat's Eye

    Gillian Rubinstein
    4
  • Sweet Clarinet

    James Riordan
    4
  • White Wolf

    Henrietta Branford
    4
  • My Sister - the Superbitch; I Slept with My Best Friend's Boyfriend; They Think I'm Too Easy; My Boyfriend's Older than My Dad

    Rosie Corrigan
    3
  • Heroes

    Robert Cormier
    3
  • Hello? Is Anybody There?

    Jostein Gaarder
    3
  • Fighting Back

    Catherine MacPhail
    3
  • Shakespeare's Stories

    3
  • The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Romance; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Families; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Mind & Body; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Success

    Ros Asquith
    3
  • Hunting Gumnor

    Stephen Potts
    3
  • With a Friend Like You

    Jo Noble
    2
  • Victorians

    Ann Kramer
    2

BfK News

DANIEL MORDEN WINS 2013 TIR NA N-OG ENGLISH AWARD

The Welsh Books Council has announced Daniel Morden as winner of the 2013 Tir na n-Og English Award for his collection of stories Tree of Leaf and Flame (Pont Books).

Morden’s first book, Weird Tales from the  Storyteller, was shortlisted for the Tir
na n-Og English-language award in 2004 and he won the award in 2007 for Dark Tales from the Woods.

read more...
ROYAL SOCIETY YOUNG PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE 2013 SHORTLIST

The Royal Society has announced the shortlist for their 2013 Young People’s Book Prize, naming the six books the judges consider best communicate science to young people.

Professor John Goodby FRS, Chair of the judges described the shortlist as eclectic, but enthralling.

The six books shortlisted by the judges are:

Build the Human Body by Richard Walker (Templar Publishing)

In the judges’ words: ‘A hands on, fun kit to help learn about the human body, accompanied by a well-illustrated, concise, clear book.’

read more...
SARAH GARLAND WINS INAUGURAL LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Sarah Garland has won the first Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Azzi in Between, which tells the story of a family forced to fell their homeland and settle in a strange and unfamiliar country. The book is based on the author’s own experience of working among refugee families and is endorsed by Amnesty International.

read more...
2013 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD: THE SHORTLIST

‘Seven outstanding debuts, eight really interesting authors, doing really interesting things’

The shortlist for the 2013 Branford Boase Award has been announced. The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children. Uniquely, it also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.

read more...
2013 CLPE Poetry Award: Winner

CLPE AwardThe 2013 CLPE Poetry Award has been won by George Szirtes for  In the Land of the Giants, illustrated by Helen Szirtes (Salt Publishing). Szirtes was presented with the award by last year’s winner Rachel Rooney at a ceremony at CLPE on the evening of Tuesday 30 April.

read more...
THE 2013 CLPE POETRY AWARD SHORTLIST

Weight of WaterFour outstanding poetry books are shortlisted for the 2013 CLPE Poetry Award. Established in 2003, the annual Poetry Award encourages and celebrates outstanding new children’s poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

The four books on the shortlist are:

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2013 ENGLISH 4 – 11 PICTURE BOOK AWARDS: THE WINNERS

The winners of the 2013 English 4 – 11 Picture Book Awards have been announced. Established in 1995, the awards are presented annually to the best picture books of the previous year, in four categories, Fiction 4 – 7 and 7 – 11 years, and Non-Fiction 4 – 7 and 7 – 11 years.

From a 15 strong shortlist, the winners are:

Fiction 4 – 7 years

Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis illustrated by Tony Ross (Andersen Press)

Fiction 7 – 11 years

read more...
IBBY Announces the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award have been announced.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books. Awarded every other year by IBBY, the award recognizes lifelong achievement and is given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature.

For the 2014 Awards 29 authors and 31 illustrators have been nominated from 34 countries. They are:

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New Little Rebels Children’s Book Award: Shortlist Announced

The shortlist has been announced for The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award, a new award for radical children’s fiction.

The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award recognises fiction for ages 0-12 which promotes or celebrates social justice and equality. It is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) and administered by Letterbox Library. Wendy Cooling, Bookstart co-founder & editor and author Elizabeth Laird are both judges.

The four books on the inaugural shortlist are:

read more...
School Library Association Information Book Award 2013 Short List Announcement

The School Library Association has announce the shortlist for the 2013 prize. The Information Book Award is an annual event, in its third year its aim is to reinforce the importance of non-fiction whilst highlighting the high standard of resources available.

The judges - a panel of experienced librarians, SLA board members and a member of Peters Bookselling Services - have produced what they describe as ‘a strong and very varied selection of titles for the shortlist’. These are

Under 7s

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