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Books for Keeps 122 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 122 - May 2000

Cover Story
This issue’s cover shows Jane Simmons’ popular character, Daisy, and her baby brother Pip. Two Daisy books with their ‘dynamic yet affectionate pictures’ full of painterly exuberance are reviewed in this issue. Thanks to Orchard Books for their help in producing this May cover.

BfK No. 122 Articles

Editorial - May 2000

News and comment from the Editor.
Books for Children with a Mathematical Focus

Sheila Ebbutt assesses recent titles.
Authorgraph No.122: Debi Gliori

Debi Gliori interviewed by Lindsey Fraser.
On the Use of Photography in Illustration

P J Lynch discusses the techniques and the issues.
Are Traditional Stories Sexist?

Rosalind Kerven looks at the role of women in traditional tales.
BfK Briefing - May 2000

News * Events * Obituaries * Awards * Letters to the Editor
Useful Organisations No.10: The Puffin Book Club

Book club aiming to make children into readers.
I Wish I’d Written… Meeting Midnight

Gene Kemp on Carol Ann Duffy’s poem collection, Meeting Midnight.
Good Reads: Aberdare Girls’ School

Reviews from pupils of Aberdare Girls' School.
Classics in Short No.21: Clever Bill

Brian Alderson on William Nicholson's Clever Bill.

Editor's Choice

Girl in Red
Gaye Hiçyilmaz
(Orion Childrens)
5

The sustained tabloid campaign against asylum seekers and the vitriol expressed, in particular, against Gypsies from Romania make Hicyilmaz's new novel eerily topical. Teenager Frankie lives in a run down council block near the sea at Dover....

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New Talent

The Wind Singer
William Nicholson
(Mammoth)
3

In the walled city of Aramath, the population is controlled by a rigid system of public examinations. Each family member is tested and accommodation and colour coded clothing provided according to which band their results fit into. The Hath...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 122

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

Under 5s

  • Little Bear's Grandad
    Nigel Gray
    4

  • Daisy and the Egg; Daisy and the Beastie
    Jane Simmons
    4

  • Floppy/Llip
    Guido Van Genechten
    3

  • Pete and Polo's Nursery School Adventure
    Adrian Reynolds
    3

  • Who's Next?
    Sally Grindley
    3

  • Teddy Bear Nursery Rhymes; Teddy Bear ABC
    Prue Theobalds
    3

  • Baby Tiger
    Susan Hellard
    3

  • The Wheels on the Bus
    Penny Dann
    3

  • Penguin goes to Playschool; Parrot goes to Playschool
    Jeanne Willis
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Who Made Me?
    Shirley Tulloch
    5

  • Jack's Big Race
    Michael Foreman
    5

  • Unicorns! Unicorns!
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5

  • Rumpelstiltskin and other Grimm Tales
    Carol Ann Duffy
    5

  • Tales from the Old World
    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    5

  • Josie Smith in Spring
    Magdalen Nabb
    4

  • The Seven Ravens
    Brian Wildsmith
    4

  • We're Going on a Bear Hunt; Little Rabbit Foo Foo
    4

  • Freaky Tales from Far and Wide; Moon Tales
    Hugh Lupton
    4

  • Please, Mr Crocodile!
    4

  • School; Pirates; Witches
    Colin Hawkins
    Jacqui Hawkins
    3

  • Just in Time - A tell-the-time story book
    Kathryn Cave
    3

  • There's More to a Banana
    Rita Phillips Mitchell
    3

  • The Leprechaun Who Wished He Wasn't
    Siobhan Parkinson
    3

  • I Spy, Pancakes and Pies; Bad Boys and Naughty Girls; Silly Sons and Dozy Daughters; Ugly Dogs and Slimy Frogs; Greedy Guts and Belly Busters; If Wishes Were Fishes
    3

  • Samira's Eid
    Nasreen Aktar
    3

  • Kitten Crowd/Puppy Puzzle/Hamster Hotel/Chick Challenge
    Lucy Daniels
    2

  • Esio Trot
    Roald Dahl
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Captain Ming and the Mermaid; Imogen and the Ark
    William Mayne
    5

  • Dare to be Different
    Elana Bergin
    Malorie Blackman
    Fiona Waters
    Henrietta Branford
    5

  • Donkey-ride to Disaster; Madness in the Mountains
    Kaye Umansky
    5

  • Electricity; Levers; Gears; Wind-ups
    Chris Ollerenshaw
    Pat Triggs
    4

  • Arthur, High King of Britain
    Michael Morpurgo
    4

  • The Roundhill
    Dick King-Smith
    4

  • The Wind Singer
    William Nicholson
    3

  • Let's Talk About Where Babies Come From
    Robie H Harris
    3

  • Shopping in Grandma's Day; Grandma's War
    Rebecca Hunter
    Angela Davies
    3

  • Blackbird Has Spoken
    3

  • Never Stare at a Grizzly Bear: Animal Poems; A Sea Creature Ate My Teacher: Fishy Poems; Let's Twist Again: More Tongue Twisters and Tonsil Twizzlers
    Nick Toczek
    2

  • Why Are You Calling Me a Barbarian?
    Birgitta Petrén
    Elisabetta Putini
    Mary Becker
    2

  • The Egg Thieves
    Joan Lingard
    2

  • All the Things I See: Selected Poems for Children; The Poet's House
    Jenny Joseph
    1

Ages 10-14

  • Truth or Dare
    Celia Rees
    5

  • Girl in Red
    Gaye Hiçyilmaz
    5

  • Shadow of the Minotaur
    Alan Gibbons
    4

  • Dear Del
    Alison Prince
    4

  • Girls Out Late
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • What Every Girl Should Know: An A-Z of Health - from Allergies to Zits!
    Dr David Bull
    3

  • What They Don't Tell You About Vikings ¦ Ancient Greeks ¦ Ancient Egyptians ¦ Romans in Britain ¦ Anglo-Saxons ¦ World War II
    Bob Fowke
    3

  • Ship of Ghosts ¦ Danny's Great Goal ¦ Nicked! ¦ Eddie and the Zedlines
    Nigel Hinton
    3

  • Maddocks, or how to discover America
    Peter Oram
    3

  • Wanted - One Body! ¦ Forbidden Game ¦ Runaway Train
    Maggie Pearson
    3

  • Winners and Losers ¦ The Cinderella Principle ¦ Guard Dog ¦ The Haunted Surfboard

    Trevor Wadlow
    3

  • Potty Politics
    Terry Deary
    3

  • The Art of Science
    Martin Jenkins
    2

  • Red Hugh
    Deborah Lisson
    2

  • Cirque du Freak
    Darren Shan
    2

Ages 14+

  • Dirty Planet: The Friends of the Earth Guide to Pollution and What You Can Do About it
    Caroline Clayton
    5

  • Dosh
    Robert Swindells
    4

  • The Raging Quiet
    Sherryl Jordan
    4

  • Future Eden
    Colin Thompson
    4

  • Two Moons
    Martha Brooks
    4

  • The Boy-free Zone
    Veronica Bennett
    4

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.’

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

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