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Books for Keeps 140 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 140 - May 2003

Cover Story
This issue's cover illustration is from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's A Squash and a Squeeze. Julia Donaldson is interviewed by Lindsey Fraser. Thanks to Macmillan Children's Books for their help with this May cover.

BfK No. 140 Articles

Editorial - May 2003

News and comment from the Editor.
Childbirth in Children’s Books

Sarah Hunt on how pregnancy and birth are depicted.
Hal’s Reading Diary - May 2003

Roger Mills on his son Hal at 26 months.
Picture Books with Something to Say

Joanna Carey finds titles of quality and originality.
Whose Dark Materials?

Gillian Cross on theology and Philip Pullman's trilogy.
Authorgraph No.140: Julia Donaldson

Julia Donaldson interviewed by Lindsey Fraser.
Survivors

John Rowe Townsend on the 'golden age' titles that are still in print.
BfK Briefing - May 2003

News * Awards * Events * Letters to the Editor * Obituary
Useful Organisations No.27: CustomEyes Books

Customised large print books for visually impaired children.
I Wish I’d Written... The Eclipse of the Century

Keith Gray chooses Jan Mark's The Eclipse of the Century.
Good Reads: Craigholme School

Reviews from pupils of Craigholme School, Glasgow.
Classics in Short No.39: Mr Gumpy's Outing

Brian Alderson on John Burningham's Mr Gumpy's Outing.

Editor's Choice

Hal the Highwayman
June Crebbin
(Walker Books)
5

If only more first reading books were written and illustrated with the dash and panache of this highly entertaining short tale in which the integration of text and illustration is seamless. Hal is a highwayman and at dead of night, in the Alfred...

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New Talent

A Gathering Light
Jennifer Donnelly
(Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)
5

Can you have love and books? For 17-year-old Mattie, growing up by Big Moose Lake on the edge of the Adirondack Mountains in the early 1900s, the only option appears to be marriage and life on a farm. Even her teacher, the stylish Miss Wilcox,...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 140

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

Under 5s

  • The Swirling Hijaab
    Na'ima Bint Robert
    5

  • Little Rabbit Lost
    Harry Horse
    5

  • Lullaby Lion
    Vivian French
    5

  • The River
    Nik Pollard
    4

  • The Magic Paintbrush
    Julia Donaldson
    4

  • Full, Full, Full of LOVE
    Trish Cooke
    4

  • A Bit More Bert
    Allan Ahlberg
    4

  • Hello, Sailor
    André Sollie
    3

  • Sleepyhead
    Nicola Smee
    3

  • Hamish
    Moira Munro
    2

  • Number Chains
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Hal the Highwayman
    June Crebbin
    5

  • Everybody Poos; The Holes in Your Nose
    Taro Gomi
    5

  • Our Gracie Aunt
    Jacqueline Woodson
    5

  • Death; Divorce; Hospital; Moving
    Janine Amos
    4

  • Precious Potter
    Rose Impey
    4

  • Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe; The Clever Rat and other African Tales
    4

  • Lake of Shadows
    Malachy Doyle
    4

  • Riley, Kylie and Smiley
    Malachy Doyle
    3

  • Jabberwocky
    Lewis Carroll
    3

  • Atuk
    Mischa Damjan
    3

  • Jennifer Jones won't Leave Me Alone
    Frieda Wishinsky
    3

  • Pandora's Box
    3

  • You've Got Dragons
    Kathryn Cave
    3

  • The Usborne Internet-linked First Encyclopedia of Science
    Rachel Firth
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths; Viking! Myths of Gods and Monsters
    Lucy Coats
    5

  • The Four Ugly Cats in Apartment 3D
    Marilyn Sachs
    5

  • How to Train Your Dragon
    Cressida Cowell
    4

  • Utterly Me, Clarice Bean
    Lauren Child
    4

  • Good Enough to Eat
    Roger McGough
    4

  • The Last Castaways
    Harry Horse
    4

  • Little King December
    Axel Hacke
    4

  • The Book of Books: The Bible Retold
    Trevor Dennis
    3

  • The Deadly Secret of Dorothy W.
    Jon Blake
    3

  • Pigface
    Catherine Robinson
    3

  • Way Home
    Libby Hathorn
    3

  • The Kingfisher Book of Living Worlds
    Clive Gifford
    Jerry Cadle
    2

Ages 10-14

  • A Life Like Mine
    5

  • The Merlin Conspiracy
    Diana Wynne Jones
    5

  • The Land
    Mildred D Taylor
    5

  • The Oracle
    Catherine Fisher
    5

  • Hoot
    Carl Hiaasen
    5

  • Bad Alice
    Jean Ure
    5

  • The Way the Universe Works
    Robin Kerrod
    Giles Sparrow
    4

  • Ada Lovelace
    Lucy Lethbridge
    4

  • Journey to the River Sea
    Eva Ibbotson
    4

  • The Wish List
    Eoin Colfer
    4

  • Happy
    Keith Gray
    4

  • Harvey Angell; Harvey Angell Beats Time
    Diana Hendry
    4

  • The Animal Garden
    William Mayne
    4

  • Locomotion
    Jacqueline Woodson
    4

  • Coraline
    Neil Gaiman
    3

  • The Dungeon
    Lynne Reid Banks
    3

  • Dog
    Daniel Pennac
    3

  • Dragon's Tear
    Sue Lawson
    3

  • The Magician of Samarkand
    Alan Temperley
    3

  • Wheels
    Catherine MacPhail
    2

  • Wolf Wing
    Tanith Lee
    1

Ages 14+

  • Palestine
    Joe Saccho
    5

  • Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
    Robin McKinley
    5

  • A Gathering Light
    Jennifer Donnelly
    5

  • If You Come Softly
    Jacqueline Woodson
    5

  • Abortion; Love Stings; 4 Boys; Periods; 4 Girls; Pregnancy; Is Everybody Doing It?
    4

  • Catalyst
    Laurie Halse Anderson
    4

  • Bread and Sugar; Daisy Chain Dream
    Joan O'Neill
    4

  • Can You Keep a Secret?
    Sandra Glover
    4

  • Dreamland
    Sarah Dessen
    3

  • Who The Man
    Chris Lynch
    3

  • Last Chance
    Patrick Cave
    3

  • Lucas
    Kevin Brooks
    2

  • Doll
    Nicky Singer
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature; Terry Pratchett
    4

  • Pinocchio Goes Postmodern: Perils of a Puppet in the United States
    Richard Wunderlich
    Thomas J Morrissey
    3

BfK News

CLiPPA 2018 SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) has announced the 2018 shortlist for the CLiPPA (Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award). Established in 2003, the CLiPPA encourages and celebrates outstanding poetry published for children and has done a huge amount to encourage the publishing of children’s poetry.

read more...
THE HATE U GIVE WINS WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S BOOK PRIZE 2018

Angie ThomasWCBP logo

read more...
SHORTLISTS FOR 2018 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS ANNOUNCED

CILIP CKG logo

The shortlists for the 2018 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, are announced today, Thursday 15th March.

read more...
2018 HENRIETTA BRANFORD WRITING COMPETITION NOW OPEN

Young writers invited to finish a story started by 2017 Branford Boase Award winner, Beetle Boy author M. G. Leonard

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is now open.

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BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2018

The Wizards of Once

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell and Real-Life Mysteries written by Susan Martineau, illustrated by Vicky Barker, have been revealed as this year’s Blue Peter Book Award winners.

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SHORTLIST FOR THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2018

The Children’s Book Award 2018 shortlist has been announced. Among those shortlisted are this year’s Costa Children’s Book Award winner Katherine Rundell and previously shortlisted author illustrator Jan Fearnley.

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BOOKTRUST LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR JOHN BURNINGHAM AND HELEN OXENBURY

Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award joint winners

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BOOKTRUST LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR JOHN BURNINGHAM AND HELEN OXENBURY

Iconic children’s authors John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury have jointly been presented with the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award.

Set up in 2015 the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates the body of work of an author or illustrator who has made an outstanding contribution to children's literature. Previous winners are Shirley Hughes, Judith Kerr and Raymond Briggs.

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LONGLIST FOR THE 2018 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

KFP logoFifteen debut picture books are in the running for the 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize. Now in its third year the prize was set up to honour publisher Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and a supremely influential figure in picture books.

This year more than fifty books were submitted for consideration from eleven different publishers.

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LONGLISTS FOR 2018 CILIP KATE GREENAWAY AND CARNEGIE MEDALS ANNOUNCED

The longlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, have been revealed. The 40-strong list of titles for the 2018 Medals (20 on each longlist) were selected from 237 nominations, read by a judging panel of 12 Youth Librarians from across the UK.

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