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Books for Keeps 127 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 127 - March 2001

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is Sharon Creech’s The Wanderer. Sharon Creech is interviewed by Suzanne Manczuk. Our thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for their help in producing this March cover.

BfK No. 127 Articles

Editorial - March 2001

News and comment from the Editor.
A Sailboat in the Sky

Children's Laureate, Quentin Blake, describes an unusual picture book project.
Windows into Illustration: Sara Fanelli

Sara Fanelli on her picture book, Dear Diary.
Inspiring ‘Reluctant’ Readers

Gwynneth Bailey and David Bennett on books that have worked for them.
Authorgraph No.127: Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech interviewed by Suzanne Manczuk.
Doing a School Visit

Vivian French offers some practical suggestions.
Whose History? The Atlantic Slave Trade

Errol Lloyd examines Frances Mary Hendry's Chains.
BfK Briefing - March 2001

News * Events * Obituaries * Awards
Useful Organisations No.14: Young Writer

Triennial magazine or tape providing platform for young writers aged 18 and under.
I Wish I’d Written… Mossop’s Last Chance

Ann Jungman chooses Michael Morpurgo and Shoo Rayner's Mossop's Last Chance.
Good Reads: Cwmtawe Comprehensive School

Reviews from pupils of Cwmtawe Comprehensive School, Swansea.
Classics in Short No.26: Songs of Innocence

Brian Alderson on William Blake's Songs of Innocence.

Editor's Choice

Noughts and Crosses
Malorie Blackman
(Doubleday Childrens)
5

Fifteen-year-old Callum is a Nought, a member of a despised racial group which is also an underclass. Meggie, his mother, works as a servant for the Hadleys (rich Crosses who are members of the racial elite) so Callum has grown up knowing and...

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New Talent

The Road to Somewhere
Helen Armstrong
(Orion Children's Books)
3

When Cow tells Ratty that farmer is sending her to never-come-back, action is needed. Ratty is known to be a good thinker and he comes up with a plan to leave the farm and find Somewhere-else. As the two friends escape, they are joined by Woolly...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 127

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

Under 5s

  • Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!
    Malachy Doyle
    5

  • The Kingfisher Book of Fairy Tales
    5

  • Mei Ling's Hiccups
    David Mills
    5

  • Do Little Mermaids Wet Their Beds?
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • What am I?
    Aurélie Lanchais
    Alain Crozon
    5

  • Splosh!
    Philippe Corentin
    Sarah Pakenham
    4

  • Ellie and the Butterfly Kitten
    Gill Lobel
    4

  • Good Night, Sleep Tight
    4

  • The Oxford Nursery Treasury
    Ian Beck
    4

  • Flora the Frog
    Shirley Isherwood
    3

  • The Selfish Giant
    Oscar Wilde
    3

  • Buri and the Marrow
    Henriette Barkow
    3

  • The Rabbit Who Couldn't Say No
    Elena Goldoni
    3

  • The Big White Book with <i>almost</i> nothing in it
    Mike Brownlow
    3

  • Ten Little Ladybirds
    Melanie Gerth
    Laura Huliska-Beith
    3

Ages 5-8

  • The Birdman
    Melvin Burgess
    5

  • Nanu, Penguin Chick
    Theresa Radcliffe
    4

  • Down the Dragon's Tongue
    Margaret Mahy
    4

  • Katie and the Sunflowers
    James Mayhew
    4

  • Inside Mary Elizabeth's House
    Pamela Allen
    4

  • Start Writing Adventure Stories; Start Writing About Things I Do; Start Writing Amazing Stories; Start Writing About People and Places; Teachers' Resource Book for Start Writing
    Penny King
    Ruth Thomson
    3

  • Zeus Conquers the Titans and other Greek Myths; Athena and the Olive Tree and other Greek Myths
    3

  • The Muddled Monsters; The Perfect Pizza; The Posh Party; The Potty Panto; Circle Magic; Crazy Magic; Magic Hotel; Mouse Magic
    Scoular Anderson
    3

  • Sitting Ducks
    Michael Bedard
    3

  • The Phantom Cat of the Opera
    David Wood
    3

  • The Lion Book of World Stories
    3

  • Why Be Bossy?; Why Be Unfriendly?; Why Fight?; Why Lose Your Temper?; Why Not Share?; Why Tease?
    Janine Amos
    Annabel Spenceley
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Ballet School: What it takes to make a dancer
    Camilla Jessel
    5

  • Firewords: A Book of Wordplay Poems
    5

  • The Orchard Book of Love and Friendship
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5

  • The Names Upon the Harp
    Marie Heaney
    5

  • Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
    5

  • Ice Trap! Shackleton's Incredible Expedition
    Meredith Hooper
    4

  • The Book About Books
    Chris Powling
    3

  • The Oldest Girl in the World; The Emperor's Watchmaker; Points of View with Professor Peekaboo
    Carol Ann Duffy
    3

  • The Road to Somewhere
    Helen Armstrong
    3

  • Dirty Rotten Tricks
    Simon Cheshire
    3

  • Ghost at the Window
    Margaret McAllister
    3

  • Aftershock!; Hurricane!
    Tony Bradman
    3

  • Slimy Science and Awesome Experiments
    Susan Martineau
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Noughts and Crosses
    Malorie Blackman
    5

  • In My Hands
    Irene Gut Opdyke
    Jennifer Taylor
    4

  • Causes; The Death Camps
    Pat Levy
    4

  • World War II
    Simon Adams
    4

  • The Hard Man of the Swings
    Jeanne Willis
    4

  • Missing
    Catherine MacPhail
    4

  • In Flame
    Gaye Hiçyilmaz
    4

  • The Perfect Journey: Winners of The Guardian/Piccadilly teenage writing competition
    Michael Palin
    4

  • The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
    4

  • The Kingfisher illustrated Animal Encyclopedia
    David Burnie
    4

  • Year of the Griffin
    Diana Wynne Jones
    4

  • The Lady with Iron Bones
    Jan Mark
    4

  • The Right Moment; Final Victory; Blitz Boys; Blood and Ice
    David Belbin
    4

  • In and Out the Shadows
    Sandy Brownjohn
    4

  • And Baby Makes Two
    Dyan Sheldon
    3

  • The Drop
    Anthony Masters
    3

  • River Boy
    Tim Bowler
    3

  • Control-Shift
    Nick Manns
    3

  • When the Guns Fall Silent
    James Riordan
    3

  • The Unidentified Frying Omelette
    Andrew Fusek Peters
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Picture Books Sans Frontières
    Penni Cotton
    5

  • Edward Ardizzone: Sketches for Friends
    5

BfK News

JESSICA LOVE NAMED WINNER OF THE KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE 2019 FOR JULIAN IS A MERMAID

Jessica Love

read more...
LOLLIES 2020 SHORTLIST THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies), the awards that celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Lollies logo

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HOOD, RUNDELL AND REYNOLDS UKLA BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

Morag Hood, Katherine Rundell and Jason Reynolds have been announced as the winners of the UKLA Book Awards 2019 for I Am Bat, The Explorer and Long Way Down respectively.

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CATHERINE JOHNSON WINS LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Radical Fiction is Catherine Johnson for her book, Freedom (Scholastic 2018).

Catherine Johnsonn photo Andy Donohoe

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CRESSIDA COWELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

‘Books are transformative because of their unique ability to develop three key magical powers: intelligence, creativity and, most important of all, empathy. Words are power; let’s take magic seriously.’ Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate

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STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

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SLA School Librarian of the Year 2019 Announced

Ros Harding School Librarian of the Year

Ros Harding of The King’s School Chester has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2019. 2019 YA Book Prize winner Sara Barnard presented Ros Harding with her award at a special ceremony at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London Kensington on 27 June.

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MUHAMMAD KHAN WINS 20TH BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel for children is Muhammad Khan for his YA novel I Am Thunder. Set up in memory of author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase who both died in 1999, the award also recognizes his editor Lucy Pearse of Macmillan Children’s Books.

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The Children's Book Award 2019

Earlier this month, Arree Chung was named overall winner of The Children’s Book Award 2019. His book Mixed, which he wrote and illustrated, also won the Books for Younger Children category before going on to win the overall prize.

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WINNERS OF THE 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced at a ceremony at The British Library, hosted by broadcaster and writer Konnie Huq.

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