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Books for Keeps 120 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 120 - January 2000

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Edward Ardizzone’s Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain. Brian Alderson discusses this classic picture book, now reissued in a beautiful new edition by Scholastic in ‘Classics in Short’. Thanks to Scholastic Children’s Books for their help in producing this January cover.

BfK No. 120 Articles

Editorial - January 2000

News and comment from the Editor.
Young Children Growing Up in a Drug Using World

Noreen Wetton on the role of children's books in early drugs education.
Series Fiction for Young Readers

Annabel Gibb assesses recent books for 'beginner' and 'confident' readers.
Good Reads: Immanuel College, Bushey and Humphry Davy School, Penzance

Reviews from pupils of Immanuel College, Bushey, Hertfordshire, and Humphry Davy School, Penzance, Cornwall.
Authorgraph No.120: Magdalen Nabb

Magdalen Nabb interviewed by Rosemary Stones.
BfK Briefing - January 2000

News * Events * Awards * Best Seller Chart * Publications * Letter to the Editor
Useful Organisations No.9: Listening Books

Postal library for those with physical as well as print disabilities.
I Wish I'd Written... The Stones are Hatching

Linda Newbery chooses Geraldine McCaughrean's The Stones are Hatching.
Classics in Short No.19: Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain

Brian Alderson on Edward Ardizzone's Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain.

Editor's Choice

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
(Walker Books Ltd)
5

First published in 1865 and never out of print, Alice is to Tenniel as Winnie-the-Pooh is to E H Shepard. Bold the illustrators (and in Alice ’s case there have been quite a few, from...

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New Talent

Fire Bringer
David Clement-Davies
(Macmillan Children's Books)
3

When a fawn is born with a patch of white fur on its forehead in the shape of an oak leaf, it seems that an ancient prophecy has come true and Herne, the god of the deer, has sent a saviour. But Rannock, the fawn, is now in danger and must flee...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 120

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

Under 5s

  • Snore!
    Michael Rosen
    5

  • Merrymaid of Zennor, The
    Charles Causley
    5

  • Tale of the Turnip, The
    Brian Alderson
    4

  • Snow-white
    Josephine Poole
    4

  • Queen of the Night
    Ronda Armitage
    4

  • Happy Birthday, Amelia
    Nicola Moon
    4

  • Goo-Goo Gorilla
    Ian Whybrow
    4

  • Your World: A First Encyclopedia
    Angela Wilkes
    3

  • Word in Pig's Ear, A
    Nick Ward
    3

  • If You Should Meet a Crocodile; Poems about Animals
    3

  • One, Two, Three, Oops!
    Michael Coleman
    Gwyneth Williamson
    3

  • The Big Wide-Mouthed Frog; Mission Ziffoid
    Ana Martin Larranaga
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Elf Hill: Tales from Hans Christian Andersen
    Naomi Lewis
    5

  • Celtic Fairy Tales; Favourite Fairy Tales
    4

  • Christy's Dream
    Caroline Binch
    4

  • Lunch Boxes Don't Fly; Poppet; Super Molly and the Lolly Rescue
    Michael Rosen
    3

  • Injury Time; Rivals United; Soccer Secret; Striker's Boots
    Michael Hardcastle
    3

  • Shimmy with my Granny
    3

  • 'Excuse Me' Learning About Politeness; 'I'll Do It!' Taking Responsibility; 'It Wasn't Me!' Learning About Honesty
    Brian Moses
    3

  • Football
    Jason Page
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Ring of Words, The: An Anthology of Poetry for Children
    5

  • Leaf in Time, A
    David Walker
    5

  • Castle Diary: the Journal of Tobias Burgess, Page
    Richard Platt
    5

  • Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
    Lewis Carroll
    5

  • My Dear Noel: The Story of a Letter from Beatrice Potter; Quentin Blake
    Jane Johnson
    4

  • Living with Cerebral Palsy; Living with Leukaemia
    Dr Paul Pimm
    4

  • Trevor McDonald's World of Poetry
    Trevor McDonald
    3

  • Day in the Life of a World War II Evacuee, A
    Alan Childs
    3

  • Bathrooms Through the Ages; Bedrooms Through the Ages
    Richard Wood
    3

  • What Do We Know About Hinduism?; What Do We Know About Judaism?
    Anita Ganeri
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Story of the Holocaust, The
    Clive A Lawton
    5

  • Mister Spaceman
    Lesley Howarth
    5

  • Escape from Shangri-La; Kensuke's Kingdom
    Michael Morpurgo
    5

  • An Interview with Anne Fine ¦ An Interview with Gillian Cross ¦ An Interview with Jenny Nimmo ¦ An Interview with Michael Morpurgo ¦ An Interview with Michelle Magorian ¦ An Interview with Theresa Breslin

    4

  • Eating Disorders; Family Violence
    Jenny Bryan
    4

  • Day My Parents Ran Away, The
    Josephine Feeney
    4

  • Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, The
    3

  • Kingfisher Book of Religions, The
    Trevor Barnes
    3

  • Fire Bringer
    David Clement-Davies
    3

  • Survivor's Guide to School, A
    Jeanette Baker
    2

  • Kingfisher Book of Planet Earth, The
    Martin Redfern
    2

  • Hutchinson Book of Kings and Queens of England, The
    Tony Robinson
    2

Ages 14+

  • Streetlife
    5

  • The Sterkarm Handshake
    Susan Price
    5

  • Little Soldier
    Bernard Ashley
    5

  • Holes
    Louis Sachar
    5

  • What's Your Problem?
    Sherry Ashworth
    4

  • Crime and Punishment: Changing Attitudes 1900-2000; Medical Ethics: Changing Attitudes 1900-2000
    Alison Brownlie
    4

  • Breathing Fear
    Malcolm Rose
    4

  • Reality Bites Back!
    Caroline Plaisted
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Reading Otherways
    Lissa Paul
    4

  • Children's Books in England: Third Edition
    4

BfK News

GENE KEMP 1926 – 2015

Books for Keeps is saddened to hear of the death of Gene Kemp. Best known for The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler, which won both the Other Award and the Carnegie Medal, she wrote over 30 books for children. A full obituary will appear in our next issue.

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THE MARSH AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION 2015 SHORTLIST

Six books are on the 2015 shortlist for The Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation. Awarded biennially since 1996, the Award was initiated by the National Centre for Research in Children’s Literature at Roehampton University and founded by the Marsh Christian Trust to celebrate the best translation of a children’s book from a foreign language into English.

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NEW WORLD BOOK DAY AWARD: WIN CASH TO SPEND ON YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

WOBOD AwardA new World Book Day Award launches today, Friday 9 January 2015, offering schools the chance to win money to spend on books for their libraries. Bestselling author and philanthropist James Patterson has donated £50,000 to fund the prize over two years.

 

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KATE SAUNDERS WINS THE 2014 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Kate SaundersKate Saunders has won the 2014 Costa Children’s Book Award for her novel Five Children on the Western Front, a moving sequel to E Nesbit’s Five Children and It, which transplants the main characters into the trenches of World War I.

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WINDOWS INTO ILLUSTRATION 2014

Herve TulletFor each Window into Illustration feature, Books for Keeps asks an artist to choose one or two illustrations from one of their books and then to provide 500 words to explain their technique and, most importantly, to discuss the purpose and thinking behind the illustration, and the influences on style.

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2014 TEN OF THE BEST BfK ARTICLES

Each issue of Books for Keeps carries a variety of articles, regular features, interviews and one offs. Here are ten of the year’s most popular articles, a small selection of the wealth of subjects and topics covered.

Tove Jansson: an appreciation by Philip Pullman

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2014 – THE YEAR IN INTERVIEWS

Chris RiddellThere have been interviews with over two dozen top children’s authors and illustrators in 2014’s issues of Books for Keeps.

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THE WORLD IN INFOGRAPHICS: ANIMAL KINGDOM WINS 2014 EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD

The winner of the 2014 Educational Writers’ Award is The World in Infographics: Animal Kingdom by Jon Richards and Ed Simkins.

Animal Kingdom winners

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COSTA BOOK AWARDS 2014 SHORTLIST

The shortlist has been announced for the 2014 Costa Book Awards, one of the UK's most prestigious literary prizes. The shortlist for the children’s award comprises four novels:

Running Girl by Simon Mason, David Fickling Books

Listen to the Moon, Michael Morpurgo, HarperCollins Children’s Books

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Nominations Open for the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for radical children’s fiction is back for its 3rd year. The award is given by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) and is administered by specialist children’s booksellers, Letterbox Library.

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