Books for Keeps 155 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 155 - November 2005

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration features Anthony Horowitz’s Raven’s Gate. Anthony Horowitz is interviewed by Nicholas Tucker. Thanks to Walker Books for their help with this November cover.

BfK No. 155 Articles

Editorial - November 2005

News and comment from the Editor.

Books as Gifts at Christmas

Rosemary Stones suggests books for giving.

Counting Books

Sheila Ebbutt on books that count.

The CLPE Poetry Prize 2005

Tony Mitton explains the judging process.

BfK Briefing - November 2005

Awards * News * Letter to the Editor * Obituary

Useful Organisations No.41: National Centre for Language & Literacy

Extensive collection of children's books and resources, plus conferences, courses, publications and membership scheme.

Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

Andrew Bailey discusses Haf Davies' 'Beans, Babes?'

Good Reads: Ballyclare High School, County Antrim

Reviews from Ballyclare High School, County Antrim.

Authorgraph No.155: Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz interviewed by Nicholas Tucker.

I Wish I'd Written... Le Grand Meaulnes

Sally Gardner chooses Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes.

Hal's Reading Diary - November 2005

Roger Mills has more thoughts on the nature of humour.

Classics in Short No.54: Selected Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Brian Alderson on the Brothers Grimm's Selected Tales.

Editor's Choice

Killer Gorilla

Jeanne Willis

(Andersen Press)

When mouse loses her baby it seems that things couldn’t get any worse – that is until a huge, scary gorilla starts chasing after her. Mouse runs and runs – to China, to America, to Australia – with the gorilla in hot pursuit. Finally she reaches...

Elsewhere

Gabrielle Zevin

(Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)

15-year-old Liz is ‘just a girl who forgot to look both ways before she crossed the street’. It comes as a shock to her that she is in fact dead and that everyone else on the SS Nile cruising towards the land of Elsewhere is also dead. Liz is met...

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

Under 5s

Piglet and Mama

Margaret Wild

5
Big Blue Engine ¦ Big Red Fire Engine ¦ Big Yellow Taxi ¦ Little Red Plane

Ken Wilson-Max

5
Killer Gorilla

Jeanne Willis

5
for sure! for sure! ¦ Winnie at the Seaside

Hans Christian Andersen

4
Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound, A

John Irving

4
Otter's First Swim, An

Adrienne Kennaway

4
Joe's Dog

Angela Joy

4
Bears

Ruth Krauss

4
Where's My Darling Daughter?

Mij Kelly

3
Princess and the Rainbow Coat, The

3
Me and My Brother

Caroline Uff

3
Little, Little House, The

Jessica Souhami

3
I Love My Daddy; I Love My Mummy

Sebastien Braun

3
Buzz Bumble to the Rescue

Lynn E Hazen

3
Baby Finds; Baby Goes; Baby Noises; Baby Plays

Derek Brazell

3

Ages 5-8

We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road

Laurie Krebs

5
Pigs Might Fly!

Steve Cox
Jonathan Emmett

4
Night-time Tale

Ruth Brown

4
Materials

Clive Gifford

4
Dog Called Whatnot, A; Mummy Family Find Fame, The

Linda Newbery

3
Just Like Sisters

Angela McAllister

3
Birds; Reptiles

Sue Malyan

2

Ages 8-10

Girl Who Married a Lion, The (Folk Tales from Africa)

Alexander McCall Smith

5
Action Jackson

Jan Greenberg
Sandra Jordan

5
Tree House, The

Gillian Cross

4
Runny Babbit

Shel Silverstein

4
Old Tom; Old Tom at the Beach

Leigh Hobbs

4
Itching for a Fight

Joel Snape

4
Corydon and the Island of Monsters

Tobias Druitt

4
Come Christmas

Eleanor Farjeon

4
Beasts of Clawstone Castle, The

Eva Ibbotson

4
Ancient Rome

Stewart Ross

4
Marie Antoinette

Katie Daynes

3
Cal and the Amazing Anti-Gravity Machine

Richard Hamilton

3

Ages 10-14

Zip's Apollo

Philip Ridley

5
White Darkness, The

Geraldine McCaughrean

5
Martin Luther King, Jr

Amy Pastan

5
How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare

Paul Jennings

5
Whitaker's World of Facts

Russell Ash

4
War: Stories of Conflict

4
Usborne Introduction to the Second World War, The

Paul Dowswell

4
Spy Force Revealed; Time and Space Machine, The

Deborah Abela

4
Seeker

William Nicholson

4
I, Coriander

Sally Gardner

4
How Cool Stuff Works

Chris Woodford

4
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

J K Rowling

4
Gladiatrix

Frances Hendry

4
Flowing Queen, The

Kai Meyer

4
Fire Pony

Rodman Philbrick

4
The Bull Raid

Carlo Gébler

4
Breakfast at Sadie's

Lee Weatherly

4
Ten Days to Zero

Bernard Ashley

3
So Below: Key to the City

Matt Whyman

3
Shadewell Shenanigans, The

David Lee Stone

3
Rainbow Opera, The

Elizabeth Knox

3
Lord Loss

Darren Shan

3
Leonardo and the Death Machine

Robert J Harris

3
Bridge to the Stars, A

Henning Mankell

3
Saint of Dragons, The

Jason Hightman

2
Burying Beetle, The

Ann Kelley

2

Ages 14+

Elsewhere

Gabrielle Zevin

5
Scientists Anonymous

Patricia Fara

4
Ithaka

Adèle Geras

4
The Drowning

Valerie Mendes

4
Does Snogging Count as Exercise?

Helen Salter

4
Spiked!

Sandra Glover

3
Chanda's Secrets

Allan Stratton

3

BfK News

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.

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

‘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

STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

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.

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.

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.

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.

BRANFORD BOASE AWARD SHORTLIST 2019

The children’s authors to watch: shortlist for the 2019 Branford Boase Award announced

Branford Boase Award shortlist 2019

The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) has announced the 2019 shortlist for their poetry award, CLiPPA (The Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award). Children’s poetry is booming and there were a record number of entries for the CLiPPA, the only award for children’s poetry.

Books for Keeps 155 - the children's book magazine online

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 155 Articles

Editor's Choice

Killer Gorilla

New Talent

Elsewhere

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 155

Under 5s

Piglet and Mama

Big Blue Engine ¦ Big Red Fire Engine ¦ Big Yellow Taxi ¦ Little Red Plane

Killer Gorilla

for sure! for sure! ¦ Winnie at the Seaside

Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound, A

Otter's First Swim, An

Joe's Dog

Bears

Where's My Darling Daughter?

Princess and the Rainbow Coat, The

Me and My Brother

Little, Little House, The

I Love My Daddy; I Love My Mummy

Buzz Bumble to the Rescue

Baby Finds; Baby Goes; Baby Noises; Baby Plays

Ages 5-8

We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road

Pigs Might Fly!

Night-time Tale

Materials

Dog Called Whatnot, A; Mummy Family Find Fame, The

Just Like Sisters

Birds; Reptiles

Ages 8-10

Girl Who Married a Lion, The (Folk Tales from Africa)

Action Jackson

Tree House, The

Runny Babbit

Old Tom; Old Tom at the Beach

Itching for a Fight

Corydon and the Island of Monsters

Come Christmas

Beasts of Clawstone Castle, The

Ancient Rome

Marie Antoinette

Cal and the Amazing Anti-Gravity Machine

Ages 10-14

Zip's Apollo

White Darkness, The

Martin Luther King, Jr

How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare

Whitaker's World of Facts

War: Stories of Conflict

Usborne Introduction to the Second World War, The

Spy Force Revealed; Time and Space Machine, The

Seeker

I, Coriander

How Cool Stuff Works

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Gladiatrix

Flowing Queen, The

Fire Pony

The Bull Raid

Breakfast at Sadie's

Ten Days to Zero

So Below: Key to the City

Shadewell Shenanigans, The

Rainbow Opera, The

Lord Loss

Leonardo and the Death Machine

Bridge to the Stars, A

Saint of Dragons, The

Burying Beetle, The

Ages 14+

Elsewhere

Scientists Anonymous

Ithaka

The Drowning

Does Snogging Count as Exercise?

Spiked!