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Books for Keeps 131 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 131 - November 2001

Cover Story
This issue's cover is from Andrew Matthews' and Angela Barrett's The Orchard Book of Shakespeare Stories. Angela Barrett is interviewed by Quentin Blake. Thanks to Orchard Books for their help with this November cover.

BfK No. 131 Articles

Editorial - November 2001

News and comment from the Editor.
Treats at Christmas

Joanna Carey on books for giving.
Finding the Real Shakespeare

Michael Rosen on his new book Shakespeare: His Work and His World.
Fairy Tales in the New Millennium

Brian Alderson on authenticity and the storyteller's art.
BfK Profile: Lynne Markham

Julia Eccleshare on the novels of Lynne Markham.
Inspiring 'Reluctant' Readers

Arthur Shenton on how reading for a purpose hits the spot.
Jack's First Books - November 2001

Gary McKeone concludes his baby son's reading diary.
Authorgraph No.131: Angela Barrett

Angela Barrett interviewed by Quentin Blake.
BfK Briefing - November 2001

News * Events * Publications * Awards * Obituary * Letters to the Editor
Useful Organisations No.18: The Book Art Project

Encouraging the teaching of writing through the book arts.
Good Reads: Fernwood Comprehensive School

Reviews of the Carnegie shortlisted titles from Fernwood Comprehensive School, Nottingham.

Classics in Short No.30: Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales

Brian Alderson on the tales of Hans Christian Andersen.

Editor's Choice

The Boy Who Was Brought Up by Teddy Bears
Jeanne Willis
(Andersen Press Ltd)
4

Believing him to be ‘all alone in the world’, three teddy bears adopt a baby they find in the woods and bring him up. In the tradition of feral children of legend, the baby grows up believing himself to be a teddy bear (he walks like one and...

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New Talent

Crazy
Benjamin Lebert
(Puffin Books)
5

An autobiographical novel by the then 16-year-old Lebert, Crazy opens with his arrival at Castle Neuseelen boarding school, his fifth school and one on which his parents are pinning hopes for improved grades. Benjamin introduces himself as...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 131

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

Under 5s

  • Blue Horse and Tilly
    Helen Stephens
    5

  • Good Dog, Daisy
    Lisa Kopper
    4

  • The Boy Who Was Brought Up by Teddy Bears
    Jeanne Willis
    4

  • One Too Many Tigers ¦ Squeak! Squeak!
    Cressida Cowell
    3

  • Let's Go, Anna!
    Vivian French
    3

  • What Does Teddy Like to Wear?
    Prue Theobalds
    3

  • The Three Billy Goats Gruff
    Henriette Barkow
    3

  • Humphrey's Playtime; Humphrey's Garden
    Sally Hunter
    3

  • Farmer George and the New Piglet; Farmer George and the Snowstorm
    Nick Ward
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Ug
    Raymond Briggs
    5

  • Katje the Windmill Cat
    Gretchen Woelfle
    5

  • Nii Kwei's Day; Cassio's Day; Yikang's Day; Polina's Day
    Francis Provencal
    Catherine McNamara
    4

  • Kevin and the Pirate Test; Smudger and the Smelly Fish; Doris's Brilliant Birthday; Captain Motley and the Pirate's Gold
    Margaret Ryan
    4

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    C S Lewis
    4

  • One Hot Penguin
    Jamie Rix
    3

  • The Sorcerer's Apprentice
    Sally Grindley
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Acid Rain
    Sally Morgan
    5

  • Friendly Matches
    Allan Ahlberg
    5

  • The Lost Thing
    Shaun Tan
    5

  • The Birth of the Earth; Life Finds its Feet; The Day of the Dinosaurs; The Stick and Stone Age
    Jacqui Bailey
    4

  • The Yellow House
    Susan Goldman Rubin
    4

  • Swings and Shadows: A Childhood in Poetry
    4

  • All About Bullying
    Lesley Ely
    3

  • Favourite Writers
    Kate Jones
    3

  • Brooksie; Sudden Death
    Neil Arksey
    3

  • What Howls at the Moon in Frilly Knickers?
    E F Smith
    3

  • Pony in the Dark
    K M Peyton
    3

  • Polly's Running Away Book
    Frances Thomas
    3

  • The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space
    Paul Dowswell
    3

  • Tom's Midnight Garden
    Philippa Pearce
    2

  • The Wonderful Thursday Club: Animal Poems
    Gordon Snell
    2

Ages 10-14

  • The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
    Terry Pratchett
    5

  • Crazy
    Benjamin Lebert
    5

  • Elske
    Cynthia Voigt
    5

  • Baldur's Bones
    Mary Arrigan
    4

  • Oranges and Murder
    Alison Prince
    4

  • Cleopatra: The Queen of Kings; Crusades: The Struggle for the Holy Lands
    Fiona Macdonald
    4

  • Out of the Shadows
    Sue Hines
    4

  • United Nations; UNICEF; NATO
    Linda Melvern
    4

  • In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid
    Penelope Lively
    4

  • Wolf Summer
    Andrew Matthews
    3

  • Bad Company
    Catherine MacPhail
    3

  • The Skin I'm In
    Sharon G Flake
    3

  • The If Game
    Catherine Storr
    3

  • The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle
    Julia Jarman
    3

  • Drugs
    Emma Haughton
    Jon Rees
    3

  • G.S.O.H.
    Andrew Matthews
    3

  • Genetics; Racism
    Robert Snedden
    3

  • The Bottle-top King
    Jonathan Kebbe
    3

  • The Adventures of Jimmy Scar
    Jeanne Willis
    3

  • Christina's Face
    Penny Kendal
    3

  • Sebastian's Quest
    C A Jefferies
    3

  • One Mum Too Many! (Step-Chain 1); You Can't Fancy Your Stepsister (Step-Chain 2)
    Ann Bryant
    2

  • Fiesta
    Kate Cann
    2

  • Dinosaurs; Inside the Internet
    Eric Buffetaut
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Creating Writers: a creative writing manual for schools
    James Carter
    4

  • Reading Series Fiction: From Arthur Ransome to Gene Kemp
    Victor Watson
    3

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

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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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