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Books for Keeps 161 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 161 - November 2006

Cover Story
This issue’s cover shows Neil Gaiman (photo © Kelli Bickman) with his book The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr Punch illustrated by Dave McKean. Neil Gaiman is interviewed by Nicholas Tucker. Thanks to Bloomsbury for their help with this November cover.

BfK No. 161 Articles

Editorial - November 2006

News and comment from the Editor.

BfK Profile: Kevin Crossley-Holland

Colin Mills discusses Kevin Crossley-Holland’s sequel to his ‘Arthur’ trilogy, Gatty’s Tale.

Can children learn to love punctuation?

Lynne Truss on her junior version of Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Windows into Illustration: Chris Riddell

Chris Riddell explains his approach to The Emperor of Absurdia.

Hal’s Reading Diary - November 2006

Roger Mills on how Hal finds list of words boring.

Diversity matters - Multi-cultural Publishing: What it took to get to where we are

Rosemary Stones on the history of multi-cultural publishing.

Take 3: Father Christmases

The Santas of Clement C Moore, J R R Tolkien and Raymond Briggs.

Authorgraph No.161: Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman interviewed by Nicholas Tucker.

BfK Briefing – November 2006

Letters to the Editor * Publications * Obituary

Useful Organisations No.47: Just One More Book!

A thrice-weekly audio on demand broadcast discussing children’s books.

I Wish I’d Written… The Homeward Bounders

Margaret Mahy chooses Diana Wynne Jones' The Homeward Bounders.

Good Reads: The King’s School, Worcester

Reviews from
The King’s School, Worcester.

Classics in Short No.60: The Stone Book Quartet

Brian Alderson on Alan Garner's The Stone Book Quartet.

Editor's Choice

Just in Case

Meg Rosoff
(Puffin)
5

The precariousness of existence is driven home to the reader from the opening pages of Rosoff’s stonking new novel when 15-year-old David only just catches hold of his baby brother in time as Charlie launches himself out of an upstairs window in...

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New Talent

Breathe

Anne-Sophie Brasme
(W&N)
4

Told in a lucidly reflective style, this first person narrative is recounted by a 19-year-old Parisian, Charlene, who murdered her best friend when she was 16. Brasme takes us back to the time when the lonely, suicidal 13-year-old Charlene first...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 161

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

Under 5s

  • Uan the Little Lamb

    Sandra Klaassen
    5
  • Melrose and Croc: Friends for Life

    Emma Chichester Clark
    5
  • Lettice: The Birthday Party

    Mandy Stanley
    4
  • The Lamb Who Came for Dinner

    Steve Smallman
    4
  • Hello Twins

    Charlotte Voake
    4
  • Harry and the Dinosaurs Go To School

    Ian Whybrow
    4
  • Happy Birthday to You, Blue Kangaroo!

    Emma Chichester Clark
    4
  • Alphabet Ice Cream

    Sue Heap
    Nick Sharratt
    4
  • Very Interesting!

    Yokococo
    3
  • Together

    Jane Simmons
    3
  • There once was a boy called Tashi

    Anna Fienberg
    Barbara Fienberg
    3
  • A Tale of Two Kitties

    Liz Pichon
    3
  • Chunky, bumpy, dumpy Trucks

    Dawn Sirett
    3
  • Mama's Going to Heaven Soon

    Kathe Martin Copeland
    2

Ages 5-8

  • My Body Book

    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    4
  • Minnie Piper: Undercover Puzzler

    Caroline Juskus
    4
  • Mia's Story: A Sketchbook of Hopes and Dreams

    Michael Foreman
    4
  • Mario's Angels

    Mary Arrigan
    4
  • J is for Jamaica

    Benjamin Zephaniah
    4
  • The Cowgirl Aunt of Harriet Bean; The Five Lost Aunts of Harriet Bean; Harriet Bean and the League of Cheats

    Alexander McCall Smith
    4
  • The Hair Scare

    Jeffrey Fisher
    4
  • Dirty Bertie: Worms!

    Alan MacDonald
    4
  • Dino-Dinners

    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    4
  • Wizzbang Wizard: Super Splosh

    Scoular Anderson
    3
  • Witch-in-Training: The Last Task

    Maeve Friel
    3
  • The Magic Wand; When Anna Slept Over

    Ursula Dubosarsky
    3
  • The Deep Blue Sea

    Jakki Wood
    3

Ages 8-10

  • You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!

    Andy Stanton
    4
  • The Tail of The Trinosaur

    Charles Causley
    4
  • The Picture History of Great Explorers

    Gillian Clements
    4
  • Breathe: A Ghost Story

    Cliff McNish
    4
  • Tiger

    Joanna Skipwith
    3
  • Sam stars at Shakespeare's Globe

    Pauline Francis
    3
  • Id-ul-Fitr

    Saviour Pirotta
    3
  • Hurricane Wills

    Sally Grindley
    3
  • Emily Windsnap and the Castle in the Mist

    Liz Kessler
    3
  • The Dog in the Diamond Collar

    Rebecca Lisle
    3
  • Blart - The Boy Who Didn't Want to Save the World

    Dominic Barker
    3
  • Araminta Spook Book 1: My Haunted House; Araminta Spook Book 2: The Sword in the Grotto

    Angie Sage
    3
  • Purple Class and the Skelington

    Sean Taylor
    2
  • The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless

    Ahmet Zappa
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Wintersmith: A Story of Discworld

    Terry Pratchett
    5
  • Soul Eater

    Michelle Paver
    5
  • The Dragon's Eye

    Durgald Steer
    5
  • The Duke of Wellington: The Gentleman Soldier; William the Conqueror: The Norman King

    Joshua Doder
    4
  • Vampirates: Tide of Terror

    Justin Somper
    4
  • The Story of Costume

    John Peacock
    4
  • The Penalty

    Mal Peet
    4
  • Martin Luther King: Father of the Civil Rights Movement

    Liz Gogerly
    4
  • Iraq

    Simon Ponsford
    4
  • H.I.V.E.

    Mark Walden
    4
  • The Curse of the Toads

    Rebecca Lisle
    4
  • Attica

    Garry Kilworth
    4
  • Stormbreaker - the graphic novel

    Anthony Horowitz
    3
  • The Princess and the Captain

    Anne-Laure Bondoux
    3
  • The Pig Who Saved the World by Gryllus the Pig

    Paul Shipton
    3
  • The Moneylender's Daughter

    V A Richardson
    3
  • Kat Got Your Tongue

    Lee Weatherly
    3
  • How nearly everthing was invented by the Brainwaves

    Jilly MacLeod
    3
  • Fur

    Meg Harper
    3
  • Dream Chaser

    Joan O'Neill
    3
  • Do the Creepy Thing

    Graham Joyce
    3
  • The Coming of Dragons

    A J Lake
    3
  • Will Shakespeare and the Pirate's Fire

    Robert J Harris
    2

Ages 14+

  • Just in Case

    Meg Rosoff
    5
  • Innocent

    Anne Cassidy
    5
  • The Hollow People

    Brian Keaney
    5
  • Song for Eloise

    Leigh Sauerwein
    4
  • Inexcusable

    Chris Lynch
    4
  • The Earth, My Butt and Other BIG Round Things

    Carolyn Mackler
    4
  • Breathe

    Anne-Sophie Brasme
    4
  • The Story of my Life

    Anne Cassidy
    3
  • 32C, That's Me

    Chris Higgins
    3
  • A Nicer Way to Die

    Sam Mills
    2

BfK News

DANIEL MORDEN WINS 2013 TIR NA N-OG ENGLISH AWARD

The Welsh Books Council has announced Daniel Morden as winner of the 2013 Tir na n-Og English Award for his collection of stories Tree of Leaf and Flame (Pont Books).

Morden’s first book, Weird Tales from the  Storyteller, was shortlisted for the Tir
na n-Og English-language award in 2004 and he won the award in 2007 for Dark Tales from the Woods.

read more...
ROYAL SOCIETY YOUNG PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE 2013 SHORTLIST

The Royal Society has announced the shortlist for their 2013 Young People’s Book Prize, naming the six books the judges consider best communicate science to young people.

Professor John Goodby FRS, Chair of the judges described the shortlist as eclectic, but enthralling.

The six books shortlisted by the judges are:

Build the Human Body by Richard Walker (Templar Publishing)

In the judges’ words: ‘A hands on, fun kit to help learn about the human body, accompanied by a well-illustrated, concise, clear book.’

read more...
SARAH GARLAND WINS INAUGURAL LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Sarah Garland has won the first Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Azzi in Between, which tells the story of a family forced to fell their homeland and settle in a strange and unfamiliar country. The book is based on the author’s own experience of working among refugee families and is endorsed by Amnesty International.

read more...
2013 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD: THE SHORTLIST

‘Seven outstanding debuts, eight really interesting authors, doing really interesting things’

The shortlist for the 2013 Branford Boase Award has been announced. The Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children. Uniquely, it also honours the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.

read more...
2013 CLPE Poetry Award: Winner

CLPE AwardThe 2013 CLPE Poetry Award has been won by George Szirtes for  In the Land of the Giants, illustrated by Helen Szirtes (Salt Publishing). Szirtes was presented with the award by last year’s winner Rachel Rooney at a ceremony at CLPE on the evening of Tuesday 30 April.

read more...
THE 2013 CLPE POETRY AWARD SHORTLIST

Weight of WaterFour outstanding poetry books are shortlisted for the 2013 CLPE Poetry Award. Established in 2003, the annual Poetry Award encourages and celebrates outstanding new children’s poetry.

 

 

 

 

 

The four books on the shortlist are:

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2013 ENGLISH 4 – 11 PICTURE BOOK AWARDS: THE WINNERS

The winners of the 2013 English 4 – 11 Picture Book Awards have been announced. Established in 1995, the awards are presented annually to the best picture books of the previous year, in four categories, Fiction 4 – 7 and 7 – 11 years, and Non-Fiction 4 – 7 and 7 – 11 years.

From a 15 strong shortlist, the winners are:

Fiction 4 – 7 years

Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis illustrated by Tony Ross (Andersen Press)

Fiction 7 – 11 years

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IBBY Announces the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award have been announced.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books. Awarded every other year by IBBY, the award recognizes lifelong achievement and is given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature.

For the 2014 Awards 29 authors and 31 illustrators have been nominated from 34 countries. They are:

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New Little Rebels Children’s Book Award: Shortlist Announced

The shortlist has been announced for The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award, a new award for radical children’s fiction.

The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award recognises fiction for ages 0-12 which promotes or celebrates social justice and equality. It is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) and administered by Letterbox Library. Wendy Cooling, Bookstart co-founder & editor and author Elizabeth Laird are both judges.

The four books on the inaugural shortlist are:

read more...
School Library Association Information Book Award 2013 Short List Announcement

The School Library Association has announce the shortlist for the 2013 prize. The Information Book Award is an annual event, in its third year its aim is to reinforce the importance of non-fiction whilst highlighting the high standard of resources available.

The judges - a panel of experienced librarians, SLA board members and a member of Peters Bookselling Services - have produced what they describe as ‘a strong and very varied selection of titles for the shortlist’. These are

Under 7s

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