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)

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...

Running Out of Time

Margaret Peterson Haddix

(Bodley Head Children's Books)

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...

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

CRESSIDA COWELL LAUNCHES NEW LAUREATE INITIATIVE IN SUPPORT OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND CALLS ON PM TO ACT

‘How can a child become a reader for pleasure if their parents or carers cannot afford books, and their primary school has no library, or that library is woefully insufficient?’

Life-changing Libraries logo

A new mentorship scheme for underrepresented authors launches today, 30 March. All Stories offers fourteen mentorships delivered by expert children’s book editors.

The shortlists for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are announced today, 18 March. The awards are the UK’s oldest for children and young people.

This year’s judges praised their shortlists for ‘offering hope and escapism during lockdown’ through explorations of freedom, the great outdoors and journeys through the natural world.

The Jhalak Prize has announced the longlist for the inaugural Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize.

Award-winning author and activist, Onjali Raúf takes up the post as the new Writer in Residence for BookTrust, today, International Women’s Day. She takes over from Smriti Halls.

Onjali Q Raúf

The longlist for the 2021 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.

CKG Logo

LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

Klaus Flugge Prize logo

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.

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.

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

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 121 Articles

Editor's Choice

Jenny Angel

New Talent

Running Out of Time

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 121

Under 5s

The Little Red Engine and the Rocket; The Little Red Engine Goes to Town; The Story of the Little Red Engine

Growing up in South Africa; Toads and Their Young

Ages 5-8

Jenny Angel

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

Ages 8-10

Oxford First Book of Art

Britannia, 100 Great Stories from British History

Marguerite Makes a Book

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

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Cliffhanger

Atlas in the Round

In a Children's Hospital

Reference Book of Water and Weather; Tudor Homes

Why the Whales Came

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

The Big Book of Little Poems

Oxford First Book of Science

Ages 10-14

Chinese Cinderella

Telling Tales

Exploring World Art

Absolutely Best Cross-Sections Book Ever

King of Shadows

Kit's Wilderness; Heaven Eyes

Family Tree Stories about the family

Frenchtown Summer

The Stones are Hatching

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

The DK Space Encyclopedia

Vinegar Street

The Perfect Love Story?

Blind Beauty

The Kidnapping of Suzie Q

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science

The Candle House

Paulina

Running Out of Time

The Usborne Encyclopedia of Planet Earth

BfK News