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Books for Keeps 121 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 121 - March 2000

Cover Story
This issue's cover is from Colin McNaughton's Hmm... Colin McNaughton discusses the thinking behind his book in Windows into Illustration. Thanks to Collins Children's Books for their help in producing this cover.

BfK No. 121 Articles

Editorial - March 2000

News and comment from the Editor.
Giving a Free Rein to Invention

Joanna Carey on new picture books.
Children's Book Illustration: A Separate Story?

Quentin Blake on the history of children's books in illustration.
Windows into Illustration: Colin McNaughton

Colin McNaughton on his picture book, Hmm...
Authorgraph No.121: Alison Uttley

Alison Uttley by Denis Judd.
Speech and the Silencing of Speech

Salman Rushdie interviewed by Farrukh Dhondy about writing for children.
BfK Briefing - March 2000

News * Letters to the Editor * Events * Obituary
I Wish I’d Written… The Last Giants

Michael Morpurgo chooses Francois Place's The Last Giants.
Good Reads: Trafalgar Junior School, Twickenham

Reviews from pupils of Trafalgar Junior School, Twickenham.
Classics in Short No.20: The Squirrel, the Hare and the Little Grey Rabbit

Brian Alderson on Alison Uttley's The Squirrel, the Hare and the Little Grey Rabbit.

Editor's Choice

Jenny Angel
Margaret Wild
(Viking Children's Books)
4

Jenny believes herself to be a guardian angel who can keep her dying younger brother safe if she is vigilant enough. She wills Davy to live, working hard to bring the world to him as he gradually slips farther away. But magical thinking cannot...

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New Talent

Running Out of Time
Margaret Peterson Haddix
(Bodley Head Children's Books)
3

A diptheria outbreak threatens the small rural community of Clifton and now Jessie's little sister, Katie, has fallen ill. There is no cure for diptheria in 1840 but is it really 1840? Desperate to save Katie, Jessie's mum finally tells Jessie...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 121

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

Under 5s

  • The Little Red Engine and the Rocket; The Little Red Engine Goes to Town; The Story of the Little Red Engine
    Diana Ross
    3

  • Growing up in South Africa; Toads and Their Young
    Siphe Neate
    Bobbie Neate
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Jenny Angel
    Margaret Wild
    4

  • Peg; Clumsy Clumps and the Baby Moon; Happy Sad; Promise You Won’t be Cross
    Maddie Stewart
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Oxford First Book of Art
    Gillian Wolfe
    5

  • Britannia, 100 Great Stories from British History
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5

  • Marguerite Makes a Book
    Bruce Robertson
    5

  • Read Me 2: A Poem for Every Day of the Year
    5

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
    J K Rowling
    5

  • Cliffhanger
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Atlas in the Round
    Keith Lye
    Alastair Campbell
    4

  • In a Children's Hospital
    Deborah Fox
    4

  • Reference Book of Water and Weather; Tudor Homes
    Bobbie Neate
    3

  • Why the Whales Came
    Michael Morpurgo
    3

  • Well Done, The Naughtiest Girl!; The Naughtiest Girl Keeps a Secret; The Naughtiest Girl Helps a Friend; The Naughtiest Girl Saves the Day; Here’s The Naughtiest Girl!; The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor; The Naughtiest Girl Again; The Naughtiest Girl in

    Anne Digby
    3

  • The Big Book of Little Poems
    Roger McGough
    Gyles Brandreth
    1

  • Oxford First Book of Science
    Nina Morgan
    1

Ages 10-14

  • Chinese Cinderella
    Adeline Yen Mah
    5

  • Telling Tales
    Susan Price
    5

  • Exploring World Art
    Andrea Belloli
    5

  • Absolutely Best Cross-Sections Book Ever
    Stephen Biesty
    Richard Platt
    5

  • King of Shadows
    Susan Cooper
    5

  • Kit's Wilderness; Heaven Eyes
    David Almond
    4

  • Family Tree Stories about the family
    4

  • Frenchtown Summer
    Robert Cormier
    4

  • The Stones are Hatching
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    4

  • Sheep Don't Go to School: Mad and Magical Children's Poetry
    4

  • The DK Space Encyclopedia
    Heather Couper
    Nigel Henbest
    4

  • Vinegar Street
    Philip Ridley
    4

  • The Perfect Love Story?
    3

  • Blind Beauty
    K M Peyton
    3

  • The Kidnapping of Suzie Q
    Martin Waddell
    3

  • The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science
    Corinne Stockley
    Chris Oxlade
    Jane Wertheim
    3

  • The Candle House
    Pauline Fisk
    3

  • Paulina
    Lesley Howarth
    3

  • Running Out of Time
    Margaret Peterson Haddix
    3

  • The Usborne Encyclopedia of Planet Earth
    Anna Claybourne
    Gillian Doherty
    Rebecca Treays
    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

read more...
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

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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.

read more...
TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

read more...
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