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Books for Keeps 117 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 117 - July 1999

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book in what is already a classic new series. The first two titles were Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for their help. Cover image based on original artwork by Cliff Wright

BfK No. 117 Articles

Editorial – July 1999

News and comment from the Editor.
Life Cycles, Journeys and Historical Stories

Margaret Mallett on new narrative non-fiction.
The Harry Potter Phenomenon

Caroline Horn analyses a rip-roaring publishing success.
Giving Text a Context

Joanna Oldham and Kathryn Warder on book adaptations and print literacy.
Authorgraph No.117: Jean Adamson

Jean Adamson interviewed by Stephanie Nettell.
Single Volume Encyclopedias

John Farndon compares three new children's encyclopedias.
BfK Briefing – July 1999

News * Obituary * Publications * Events * Letters to the Editor * Best Seller Chart * Awards
Useful Organisations No.7: Film Education

Encourages the use of film and cinema in schools.
I Wish I’d Written… The Bird

Joyce Dunbar chooses Nicholas Allan's The Bird.
Good Reads: St Ronan’s National School, Dublin

Reviews from pupils of St Ronan's National School, Dublin.
Classics in Short No.16: Mistress Masham’s Repose

Brian Alderson on T H White's Mistress Masham's Repose.

Editor's Choice

Women in 19th Century America; Women in 19th Century Europe
Fiona Macdonald
(Belitha Press Ltd)
4

In 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft called on men on behalf of women to ‘snap our chains’. In 1999 there is still a dearth of books which discuss women’s contribute to history and social change. These two clearly written and well laid out books discuss...

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New Talent

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Louise Rennison
(Piccadilly Press Ltd)
3

Teenage fiction in diary form has been attempted many times but this uninhibited account of young adolescence is presented with laidback, witty veracity via its 14-year-old narrator. Jokes and plays on words abound creating the feel of an intense...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 117

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

Under 5s

  • Borka; Cloudland; Courtney; Oi! Get off our Train; Simp; Time to get out of the bath, Shirley; Would you rather…
    John Burningham
    5

  • Prince Peter and the Teddy Bear
    David McKee
    5

  • The King with Dirty Feet and other stories
    5

  • Dexter Gets Dressed!
    Ken Wilson-Max
    5

  • A Cultivated Wolf
    5

  • Where are My Chicks?
    Sally Grindley
    4

  • The Usborne Book of Everyday Words
    Jo Litchfield
    4

  • The Badger's Bath; The Hedgehog's Balloon
    Nick Butterworth
    4

  • Dizzy's Walk; Marty Monster; Mum's Late; Rainbow House; Starlight; Zia the Orchestra
    Malorie Blackman
    3

  • Sun Slices, Moon Slices; Three Cheers, Charlie Dragon!
    Adèle Geras
    3

  • The Elves and the Shoemaker; Goldilocks and the Three Bears; The Runaway Chapati
    Susan Price
    3

  • Has Anyone Seen Jack?
    Tony Bradman
    3

  • Nighty-night; Wakey-wakey
    Dawn Apperley
    2

Ages 5-8

  • The Barn Owl; The Otter
    Sally Tagholm
    5

  • Big Head; Lady Long-Legs
    Jean Ure
    5

  • Discover Great Paintings
    Lucy Micklethwait
    5

  • Wild West Willy
    Daniel Postgate
    4

  • My Brother Sammy
    Becky Edwards
    4

  • Justin and the Big Fight
    Bernard Ashley
    4

  • I Feel Bullied; I'm Special
    Jen Green
    4

  • Can We Keep It, Dad?
    Gus Clarke
    4

  • Tiny the Terrier
    Linda Kempton
    3

  • Ballet Magic
    Harriet Castor
    3

  • The Computer Wizard
    Alex Shearer
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Elephant; Tiger
    Will Travers
    5

  • Women in 19th Century America; Women in 19th Century Europe
    Fiona Macdonald
    4

  • A Villain's Night Out
    Margaret Mahy
    4

  • Britain at War - Air Raids; Britain at War - Evacuation
    Martin Parsons
    4

  • Mummies and Tombs
    Salima Ikram
    3

  • Living with Blindness; Living with Deafness
    Patsy Westcott
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Wringer
    Jerry Spinelli
    5

  • Evolve or Die; Odious Oceans; Violent Volcanoes
    Phil Gates
    5

  • The New Way Things Work
    David Macaulay
    Neil Ardley
    5

  • The Kin
    Peter Dickinson
    5

  • Walking the Maze
    Margret Shaw
    4

  • Something Rich and Strange: a Treasury of Shakespeare's Verse
    4

  • Hangman
    Julia Jarman
    4

  • Face
    Benjamin Zephaniah
    4

  • William Shakespeare
    Stewart Ross
    3

  • Tibetans, The: Life in exile
    Carol Barker
    3

  • Soccer Stars
    Rob Childs
    3

  • Goal-getter; Hero; Hot News; Rapid
    Michael Hardcastle
    3

  • Limbo Lodge
    Joan Aiken
    3

  • Hurricane Hamish - The Calypso Cricketer; Hurricane Hamish - The Cricket World Cup
    Mark Jefferson
    3

  • Breaking the Rules
    Sandra Glover
    3

  • Annie's Game
    Narinder Dhami
    3

Ages 14+

  • War Poems; War Poems Teaching Resources
    Christopher Martin
    5

  • Shadow Man
    Cynthia D Grant
    5

  • A Message for the Media: Young Women Talk
    5

  • The Kingfisher Book of Poems About Love
    5

  • Racism: Changing Attitudes 1900-2000; Slavery Today; Women's Rights: Changing Attitudes 1900-2000
    R G Grant
    4

  • Tightrope
    Gillian Cross
    4

  • Hold My Hand and Run
    Margaret McAllister
    4

  • Film Making
    James Marsh
    4

  • The Dorling Kindersley Nature Encyclopedia
    4

  • Day of the Dead
    Anthony Masters
    4

  • Charities - do they work?
    Alison Brownlie
    4

  • Megan
    Mary Hooper
    3

  • Getting Somewhere
    Jenny Pausacker
    3

  • Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
    Louise Rennison
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • A World of Women
    Rosemary Auchmuty
    4

  • Everyone is a Reader: A Handbook to help Children with Reading Difficulties
    Beverley Mathias
    4

  • A Handbook on Death and Bereavement (2)
    3

BfK News

THE LITTLE REBELS AWARD SHORTLIST 2019

Little Rebels prize logoThe shortlist for the 2019 Little Rebels Award has been announced. Seven books have made the list with war and conflict recurring themes.

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SHORTLISTS FOR 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The shortlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced. Selected by volunteer Youth Librarians from longlists of 20 books per medal, there are eight on each shortlist.

Alongside previously shortlisted authors and illustrators, there are newcomers on each shortlist, and as the poetry boom for young readers continues, three verse novels make the Carnegie shortlist by US authors Elizabeth Acevedo, Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds.

The 2019 shortlists are as follows:

read more...
BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf and The Colours of History by Clive Gifford, illustrated by Marc-Etienne Peintre, have been revealed as the 2019 Blue Peter Book Award winners.

read more...
LONGLISTS FOR 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS ANNOUNCED

The longlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced. Members of YLG have selected 20 books for each list from no less than 254 nominations.

read more...
WINNERS OF THE LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK AWARDS 2019

Funny Women win the Lollies!

Lollies winners 2019

Elys Dolan, Emer Stamp and Tom Gates creator Liz Pichon have been named the winners of the 2019 Laugh Out Loud Awards, or Lollies.

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HILARY MCKAY WINS COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD WITH ‘PERFECT’ NOVEL

Hilary McKay has won the Costa Children’s Book Award for the second time for The Skylarks’ War, a story following the loves and losses of a family growing up against the backdrop of World War One. The judges described The Skylarks’ War as ‘as perfect a novel as you could ever want to read’. She receives £5,000 and her book is now eligible for the ultimate prize - the 2018 Costa Book of the Year.

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FAR FROM HOME WINS THE 2018 EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD

The winner of the 2018 Educational Writers’ Award, the UK’s sole award for creative educational writing, is Far From Home: Refugees and Migrants Fleeing War, Persecution and Poverty by Cath Senker, a topical and richly illustrated book which sensitively examines the root causes of mass migrations of people in the 21st century.

Cath Senker wins EWA 2018

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SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2018 EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD

Canvases, Codes, Clean Water & Empathy

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COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2018: SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

Costa have announced the shortlist for the 2018 Costa Children’s Book Award. In a record year for submissions, four novels have made it onto a strong shortlist.

read more...
SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS

The shortlists have been announced for the 2019 Blue Peter Book Awards. They are:

Best book with facts

The Element in the Room by Mike Barfield and illustrated by Lauren Humphry, Laurence King Publishing

The Colours of History by Clive Gifford and Marc-Etienne Peintre, QED Publishing

Professor Astro Cat's Human Body Odyssey by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman, Flying Eye Books

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