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Books for Keeps 183 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 183 - July 2010
BfK 183 July 2010

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Richard Jones is from Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid, the first in ‘The Kane Chronicles’ series. Rick Riordan is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare (see Authorgraph). Thanks to Puffin Books for their help with this July cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 183 July 2010.

BfK No. 183 Articles

Editorial – July 2010

News and comment from the Editor.

Mary Hoffman - Featured Author, August 2010

Bloomsbury launch Troubadour in paperback

Rhyme with Reason: Why Nursery Rhymes Matter

Caroline Sanderson discusses their importance.

Ten of the Best Nursery Rhymes

Rosemary Stones chooses her top ten titles.

BfK Basics: Helping your child enjoy books and reading

Jake Hope explains what libraries offer the very young.

25 years of Journey to Jo’burg

Beverley Naidoo on the publishing history of a now classic title.

Windows into Illustration: Leigh Hodgkinson

Leigh Hodgkinson on how she went about illustrating Scrummy!

Authorgraph No.183: Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.

BfK Briefing – July 2010

Awards * News * Events

Hal’s Reading Diary - July 2010

Roger Mills on the appeal of war stories to boy readers.

I wish I’d written… The Secret Garden

Cathy Hopkins chooses Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.

Good Reads: Fernwood School, Nottingham

Reviews from pupils of Fernwood School, Nottingham.

Classics in Short No.82: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Brian Alderson on Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Editor's Choice

Me and You

Anthony Browne
(Doubleday Children's Books)
5

Reminiscent of John Burningham’s 1977 Come away from the water, Shirley in which the world inhabited by her cautious and unimaginative parents in their deckchairs on the beach contrasts with the adventurous world of their...

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New Talent

Tall Story

Candy Gourlay
(David Fickling Books)
4

Tall Story is told in turn by Londoner Andi who is a mean basketball player despite her short stature and her 16-year-old big brother Bernardo who lives in the Philippines. The two don’t know each other because it has taken years...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 183

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

Under 5s

  • Angelica Sprocket’s Pockets

    Quentin Blake
    5
  • The Sleep Sheep

    Anna McQuinn
    5
  • Dog Loves Books

    Louise Yates
    5
  • It’s a Dog’s Life

    Michael Morpurgo
    5
  • Bedtime

    Maureen Roffey
    4
  • Piglet’s Picnic: A Story about Food and Counting

    Jessica Souhami
    4
  • Blue Chameleon

    Emily Gravett
    4
  • I’m not Sleepy!

    Jonathan Allen
    4
  • My Green Day

    Melanie Walsh
    4
  • Caterpillar Dreams

    Jeanne Willis
    3
  • Bugs in a Blanket

    Beatrice Alemagna
    3
  • Errol and his Extraordinary Nose

    David Conway
    3
  • The Ugly Duckling

    Sebastien Braun
    3
  • That’s Not Funny!

    Jeanne Willis
    3
  • My Village: Rhymes from around the World

    2

Ages 5-8

  • Me and You

    Anthony Browne
    5
  • The Nanny Goat’s Kid

    Jeanne Willis
    4
  • Every Dog

    William Mayne
    4
  • Over the Hills and Far Away: Stories of Dwarfs, Fairies, Gnomes and Elves from Around Europe

    4
  • Our Baby Inside!

    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    4
  • Denver

    David McKee
    3
  • My Dads

    Kelly Bennett
    3
  • The Sorely Trying Day

    Russell Hoban
    3
  • Morris MacMillipede

    Mick Fitzmaurice
    3
  • Hooey Higgins and the Shark

    Steve Voake
    3
  • The Girl Who Married a Ghost and other tales from Nigeria

    Ifeoma Onyefulu
    3
  • Oi, Caveboy!

    Alan MacDonald
    3
  • Let’s Read a Book ¦ Let’s Bake a Cake

    Ruth Walton
    3
  • Tales of Princes and Princesses

    Various Authors
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Danger by Moonlight

    Jamila Gavin
    4
  • The Pasta Detectives

    Andreas Steinhöfel
    4
  • Adam and the Arkonauts

    Dominic Barker
    4
  • Little Darlings

    Jacqueline Wilson
    4
  • Tall Story

    Candy Gourlay
    4
  • Not Bad for a Bad Lad

    Michael Morpurgo
    3
  • Clover Twig and the Perilous Path

    Kaye Stearman
    3
  • Mission Telemark

    Amanda Mitchison
    3
  • Johnny Swanson

    Eleanor Updale
    3
  • At home

    Sue Barraclough
    3
  • The Ice Age Tracker’s Guide

    Adrian Lister
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Sparks

    Ally Kennen
    5
  • The Fool’s Girl

    Celia Rees
    5
  • Kisses for Lula

    Samantha Mackintosh
    4
  • Ice Lolly

    Jean Ure
    4
  • White Crow

    Marcus Sedgwick
    4
  • The Truth About Leo

    David Yelland
    4
  • The Island

    Sarah Singleton
    4
  • The Liberators

    Philip Womack
    4
  • Mortlock

    Jon Mayhew
    4
  • Lord Sunday

    Garth Nix
    4
  • Alien Storm

    A G Taylor
    4
  • This Book is Not Good for You

    Pseudonymous Bosch
    4
  • Campaigners

    Philip Steele
    4
  • Biomass Power ¦ Fossil Fuels ¦ Geothermal Power ¦ Nuclear Power ¦ Solar Power ¦ Water Power ¦ Wind Power ¦ The Energy Mix

    Neil Morris
    4
  • The Lambton Curse

    Malachy Doyle
    3
  • Troubadour

    Mary Hoffman
    3
  • Beads, Boys and Bangles

    Sophia Bennett
    3
  • Me, Myself and I: All About Sex and Puberty

    Louise Spilsbury
    3
  • A Million Shades of Grey

    Cynthia Kadohata
    3
  • The Chosen One

    Carol Lynch Williams
    3
  • The Prince of Mist

    Carlos Ruiz Zafon
    3
  • Alice in Time

    Penelope Bush
    3
  • Autopsies: Pathologist at Work

    Gary Jeffrey
    3
  • Africa and the Slave Trade

    Dan Lyndon
    3

Ages 14+

  • Losing It

    5
  • The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

    Francisco X Stork
    5
  • The Sky is Everywhere

    Jandy Nelson
    5
  • Girl, 16: Five-Star Fiasco

    Sue Limb
    4
  • Luke and Jon

    Robert Williams
    4
  • Fighting Ruben Wolfe

    Markus Zusak
    4
  • The Adoration of Jenna Fox

    Mary E Pearson
    4
  • The Diary of a Dr Who Addict

    Paul Magrs
    4
  • My Summer on the Shelf

    T S Easton
    4
  • Inside My Head

    Jim Carrington
    4
  • Lies

    Michael Grant
    3
  • Beautiful Malice

    Rebecca James
    3
  • The Glass Demon

    Helen Grant
    3
  • The Medusa Project: The Hostage

    Sophie McKenzie
    3
  • The Returners

    Gemma Malley
    3
  • Drop Zone

    Andy McNab
    3
  • Out of Shadows

    Jason Wallace
    2
  • Who’s in Charge?

    2

BfK News

THE FRANCES LINCOLN DIVERSE VOICES CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2013

Tariq Mehmood has won the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award 2013 for You’re Not Proper. The announcement was made on 23rd May 2013 by John Nicoll, founder of the award, at Seven Stories - National Centre for Children’s Books.

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...
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.

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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

read more...
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...
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