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Books for Keeps 169 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 169 - March 2008

Cover Story
This issue’s cover (photograph by Kamil Vojnar) is from Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child. Siobhan Dowd is remembered by Julia Eccleshare. Thanks to Random House Children’s Books for their help with this January cover.

BfK No. 169 Articles

Editorial - March 2008

News and comment from the Editor.
Don’t Take It as Read: a disturbing bedtime story

Joanna Oldham explains the research into bedtime reading

 
Laureate Log - March 2008

Michael Rosen reports on his laureateship.
Hal’s Reading Diary - March 2008

Roger Mills on how a story on tape gave Hal reading confidence.
Using Children’s Literature to Challenge Homophobia in Primary Schools

Elizabeth Atkinson and Renée DePalma report on research conducted by the No Outsiders project.
Reading in the Middle Years (9-11): Assessing the uses and quality of laughter and subversion in children’s poetry

Andrew Lambirth explores the role of subversive poetry.
What happened to England’s National Literacy Strategy?

Henrietta Dombey assesses the evidence.
Authorgraph No.169: Siobhan Dowd

Siobhan Dowd remembered by Julia Eccleshare.
I Wish I’d Written… Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sarah Garland chooses William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
Good Reads: Bookworms Club

Reviews from Bookworms Book Club,

Classics in Short No.68: Pippi Longstocking

Brian Alderson on Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking.

Editor's Choice

Emily Brown and the Thing
Cressida Cowell
(Orchard)
5

Emily Brown and her old grey rabbit Stanley first featured in That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown. In this new picture book the pair are trying to get to sleep but a Thing keeps disturbing them – first it wants its cuddly, then...

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New Talent

Alis
Naomi Rich
(Andersen)
3

When Alis, soon to be 15, is told by her parents that she is to marry the 40-year-old Minister of her church, she is horrified. But Alis’s mother is the Senior Elder of Freeborne, a small rural community with fundamentalist religious beliefs,...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 169

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

Under 5s

  • Emily Brown and the Thing
    Cressida Cowell
    5

  • The Way Back Home
    Oliver Jeffers
    5

  • Eddie's Kitchen and How to Make Good Things to Eat
    Sarah Garland
    5

  • The Bear in the Cave
    Michael Rosen
    5

  • My Two Grannies
    Floella Benjamin
    4

  • The Frog Bride
    4

  • A Bell for Ursli
    Selina Chonz
    3

  • Two Tough Teddies
    Kilmeny Niland
    3

  • The Day the Baby Blew Away
    Simon Puttock
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Voices of the Rainforest
    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    5

  • Stone Age Boy
    Satoshi Kitamura
    5

  • Tracks of a Panda
    Nick Dowson
    4

  • The Big Book of Betsey Biggalow
    Malorie Blackman
    4

  • The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
    James Riordan
    3

  • The Littlest Pirate in a Pickle
    Sherryl Clark
    3

  • Bullies and Gangs ¦ Bullying
    Julie Johnson
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Thousand Nights and One Night
    5

  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret
    Brian Selznick
    5

  • The Ice Cream Con
    Jimmy Docherty
    4

  • How to Turn Your Parents Green
    James Russell
    4

  • Greek Hero
    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    4

  • Dust 'n' Bones
    Chris Mould
    4

  • Viking
    Carrie Love
    Lorrie Mack
    3

  • Triskellion
    Will Peterson
    3

  • Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots
    Daren King
    3

  • Quest for the Lost City of Gold
    Stephen Biesty
    3

  • How the Incredible Human Body Works by the Brainwaves
    Richard Walker
    3

  • Pandora's Box ¦ Sephy's Story ¦ Wings of Icarus ¦ The Story Thief ¦ The Little Puppet Boy ¦ The Hound of Ulster
    Rose Impey
    3

  • A Good Day for Haunting
    Louise Arnold
    3

  • Elephants: a book for children
    3

  • The Cat Who Decided
    Margaret Forrester
    3

  • The Far Planets
    Ian Graham
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Starcross
    Philip Reeve
    5

  • Dragon Horse
    Peter Ward
    5

  • Shadow Web
    N M Browne
    4

  • New Materials
    Robin Kerrod
    4

  • Nevermore
    Linda Newbery
    4

  • Joe Rat
    Mark Barratt
    4

  • Black Heart of Jamaica
    Julia Golding
    4

  • Before Wings
    Beth Goobie
    4

  • Young People's History of the United States, A: Vol. 1
    Howard Zinn
    3

  • Vampirates: Blood Captain
    Justin Somper
    3

  • The Tiger's Egg
    Jon Berkeley
    3

  • The Red Necklace: a story of the French Revolution
    Sally Gardner
    3

  • Jigsaw
    Garry Kilworth
    3

  • If a Tree Falls at Lunch Break
    Gennifer Choldenko
    3

  • Hootcat Hill
    Lucy Coats
    3

  • Crowboy
    David Calcutt
    3

  • The Castle Corona
    Sharon Creech
    3

  • The Secret Garden
    Frances Hodgson Burnett
    2

  • Barnaby Grimes: Return of the Emerald Skull
    Paul Stewart
    Chris Riddell
    2

  • Energy Crisis
    Ewan McLeish
    1

Ages 14+

  • Black Rabbit Summer
    Kevin Brooks
    5

  • Between Two Seas
    Marie-Louise Jensen
    5

  • The Teenager's Guide to Money
    Jonathan Self
    4

  • Powers
    Ursula Le Guin
    4

  • Anila's Journey
    Mary Finn
    4

  • Alis
    Naomi Rich
    3

  • Wall
    Ellen Phethean
    3

  • The Stone Testament
    Celia Rees
    3

  • Blue Sky Freedom
    Gaby Halberslam
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Play Pen: New Children's Book Illustration ¦ Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Am
    Martin Salisbury
    5

BfK News

A Passion for Picture books

‘Although interest in the art of the picture book seems to have grown greatly in recent years, study of the field has remained polarised in its nature and perceptions,’ claim the authors of an important new book, Children’s Picturebooks: The art of visual storytelling.

Books for Keeps invited co-writers Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles to explain their aim to bring together ideas from the world of literature and education with ideas from the field of art and design.

read more...
BLOOD RED ROAD WINS 2011 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

For the second year in succession, a debut novel has won the Costa Children’s Book Award. The 2011 prize went to Jason Wallace for his novel Out of Shadows; this year’s prize has gone to Moira Young for her book Blood Red Road.

Set in a dystopian future world, Blood Red Road tells the story of 18-year-old Saba, a tough young woman who embarks on an epic quest to rescue her twin brother when he is kidnapped by four mysterious horsemen.

read more...
Behind the Bookshelf

A new way of bringing authors into the classroom – and a special competition for Books for Keeps readers.

read more...
2011 Educational Writers’ Award Winner Announced

The winner of the 2011 Educational Writers’ Award is Moon: Apollo 11 and Beyond…The Ultimate Guide to Our Nearest Neighbour by Stewart Ross.

The Educational Writers’ Award was established in 2008 by ALCS and The Society of Authors to celebrate educational writing that inspires creativity and encourages students to read widely and build up their understanding of a subject beyond the requirements of exam specifications.

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Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize winner announced

The winner of the 2011 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize is How the World Works, an interactive opus that uses illustrations, pop ups, flaps and more to make children think about the impact of human actions on our environment, while encouraging respect for the natural world.

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Muslim Writers Awards 2011

Na'ima B Robert's Far from Home (Frances Lincoln) has won the Published Children's Book category of the Muslim Writers Awards.

The Awards were held at the Globe Theatre on Tuesday 22nd November and acknowledged dramatists and young journalists as well as authors.

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2011 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize

After a two year gap when, due to funding issues it was not awarded, The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2011 will be awarded on Thursday 1st December, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.

The prize celebrates the books that best communicate science to young people aged up to 14 and there are six books on the shortlist. They are:

The Icky Sticky Blood and Snot Book by Steve Alton and Nick Sharratt (Bodley Head)

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Liz Pichon and Peter Bently: Roald Dahl Funny Prize Winners

Winners Roald Dahl Prize 2011 2Tuesday 8th November saw the fourth annual Roald Dahl Funny Prize ceremony, which again took place at the Unicorn Theatre. This year Chair, and instigator of the prize, Michael Rosen was joined on the judging panel by author and broadcaster Grace Dent, illustrator Tony Ross, Horrid Henry creator Francesca Simon and journalist/scriptwriter Danny Wallace.

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PIRATE CATS AND DOODLING SCHOOLBOY WIN THE 2011 ROALD DAHL FUNNY BOOK PRIZE

Roald Dahl Winners 2011Peter Bently and Liz Pichon have been announced as winners of the 2011 Roald Dahl Funny Book Prize. 

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FIRST SLA INFORMATION BOOK AWARD: WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Adrian Dingle’s book How to make a Universe with 92 Ingredients (Scholastic) and The Life and Times of William Shakespeare by Kirsten McDermott and Ari Berk (Templar) were announced winners of the first SLA Information Book Award at a celebration event in London last night, Wednesday 2nd November.

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