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Books for Keeps 177 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 177 - July 2009

Cover Story

This issue’s cover illustration features Kevin Brooks (photograph by Charles Shearn) and his latest book, Killing God. Kevin Brooks is interviewed by Brian Alderson. Thanks to Penguin Books for their help with this July cover.

BfK No. 177 Articles

Editorial – July 2009

News and comment from the Editor.
Last Laureate Log - July 2009

Michael Rosen reflects on his Laureateship.
Windows into Illustration: Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett explains the thinking behind her picture book, Dogs.
Ten of the Best Board Books for Babies

Rosemary Stones chooses ten outstanding titles.
Prehistory and the ‘Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’

Hannah Sackett on the impact of novels set in prehistoric times.
Authorgraph No.177: Kevin Brooks

Kevin Brooks interviewed by Brian Alderson

Forum: Helping the Teachers of Reading

Alison Kelly describes work with students at Roehampton University.
BfK Briefing – July 2009

Awards * Events * News.
Hal’s Reading Diary – July 2009

Roger Mills ponders on how to encourage tenacity in Hal.
I Wish I’d Written… Island of the Blue Dolphins

Caroline Lawrence chooses Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Good Reads: Woldingham School

Reviews from pupils of Woldingham School, Surrey.
Classics in Short No.76: Mind Your Own Business

Brian Alderson on Michael Rosen’s Mind Your Own Business.

Editor's Choice

John Burningham
John Burningham
(Jonathan Cape)
5

Children’s book illustration’s equivalent of the Three Tenors has long been the trio of Blake, Briggs and Burningham, three illustrators whose creative genius has been central in transforming picture books for children into works of art that...

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New Talent

Devil's Kiss
Sarwat Chadra
(Puffin)
4

Not being a fan of The Da Vinci Code I doubted whether I would enjoy a novel whose heroine, Billi SangGreal, is the first female member of the Knights Templar. Within a few pages, however, Chadda had swept me into the hidden and...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 177

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

Under 5s

  • Baby Pie
    Tom MacRae
    5

  • First the Egg
    Laura Vaccaro Seeger
    5

  • I Don't Want a Cool Cat
    Emma Dodd
    4

  • Love Your World
    Dawn Sirett
    3

  • What Shall I Make?
    Nandini Nayar
    3

  • Where's the Bus?
    Eileen Browne
    James Croft
    3

  • SNAP!
    Margaret Mayo
    3

  • One More Hug for Nutmeg
    Caroline Jayne Church
    3

  • On Our Way Home
    Sebastien Braun
    2

  • Maisy Bakes a Cake
    Lucy Cousins
    2

Ages 5-8

  • A Little Guide to Trees
    Kate Petty
    Jo Elworthy
    5

  • Tales from around the World: A Classic Collection
    5

  • Flabby Cat and Slobby Dog
    Jeanne Willis
    4

  • Are You Sad, Little Bear?
    Rachel Rivett
    4

  • Being Angry
    Julie Johnson
    3

  • Pirates Ahoy!
    Sophie Smiley
    3

  • The Littlest Pirate
    Sherryl Clark
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Clementine
    Sara Pennypacker
    5

  • George's Secret Key to the Universe; George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt
    Lucy Hawking
    Stephen Hawking
    Christophe Galfard
    4

  • The Underneath
    Kathi Appelt
    4

  • Tales from the Keep: Wag and the King
    Joan Lennon
    4

  • Moon
    Stewart Ross
    3

  • Mohammed's Journey: A Refugee Diary
    Anthony Robinson
    Annemarie Young
    3

  • Seven Sorcerers
    Caro King
    3

  • 6 Feet Deep
    Rose Impey
    3

  • The Raven Mysteries, Book 1: Flood and Fang
    Marcus Sedgwick
    3

  • Bodyswap: the Boy who was 84
    L P Howarth
    3

  • A Bit of a Hero
    Gervase Phinn
    3

  • Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
    3

  • The Easter Angels
    Bob Hartman
    3

  • Agent Amelia: Spooky Ballet!
    Michael Broad
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Greenpeace
    Sean Connolly
    5

  • Fever Crumb
    Philip Reeve
    5

  • Love Aubrey
    Suzanne LaFleur
    5

  • Evolution Revolution
    Robert Winston
    4

  • Are We Running Out of Energy?
    Christiane Dorion
    4

  • Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
    Derek Landy
    4

  • The Joshua Files: Ice Shock
    M G Harris
    4

  • The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
    Helen Grant
    4

  • Bloodline Rising
    Katy Moran
    4

  • Devil's Kiss
    Sarwat Chadra
    4

  • The Book of a Thousand Days
    Shannon Hale
    4

  • Tim, Defender of the Earth
    Sam Enthoven
    4

  • Gullstruck Island
    Frances Hardinge
    3

  • Tuck
    Stephen R Lawhead
    3

  • The Pickle King
    Rebecca Promitzer
    3

  • If You're Reading This, It's Too Late
    Pseudonymous Bosch
    3

  • Sharp Shot
    Jack Higgins
    Justin Richards
    3

  • A Lazlo Strangolov's Feather and Bone
    Lazlo Strangolov
    3

  • The Runaway
    Angela McAllister
    3

  • The Well Between the Worlds
    Sam Llewellyn
    2

  • The Secret Ministry of Frost
    Nick Lake
    2

  • Spartan Warrior: Legacy of Blood
    Michael Ford
    2

Ages 14+

  • Everything Beautiful
    Simmone Howell
    5

  • Bonechiller
    Graham McNamee
    4

  • The Forest of Hands and Teeth
    Carrie Ryan
    4

  • Dido
    Adèle Geras
    4

  • If I Stay
    Gayle Forman
    4

  • Iraq
    Geoff Barker
    3

  • The Ask and the Answer
    Patrick Ness
    3

  • Bye Bye Birdie
    Shirley Hughes
    3

  • Nicholas Dane
    Melvin Burgess
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • John Burningham
    John Burningham
    5

  • The Hidden Roads: A Memoir of Childhood
    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    3

  • Death, Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Adolescent Literature
    Kathryn James
    3

BfK News

2020 UKLA BOOK AWARDS THE LONGLISTS

UKLA Awards

A record number of submissions and a new category to highlight information books marks the 12th longlists for the UKLA Awards, the only national awards judged by active classroom teachers.

read more...
JESSICA LOVE NAMED WINNER OF THE KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE 2019 FOR JULIAN IS A MERMAID

Jessica Love

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LOLLIES 2020 SHORTLIST THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies), the awards that celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Lollies logo

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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.

read more...
CATHERINE JOHNSON WINS LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

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

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CRESSIDA COWELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

‘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

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STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

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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.

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SLA School Librarian of the Year 2019 Announced

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.

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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.

read more...
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