Books for Keeps 190 - the children's book magazine online

Digital version – browse, print or download

Can't see the preview?
Click here!

How to print the digital edition of Books for Keeps: click on this PDF file link - click on the printer icon in the top right of the screen to print.

BfK Newsletter

Receive the latest news & reviews direct to your inbox!

BfK No. 190 - September 2011

This issue's cover illustration by Tony Ross is from Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire. Thanks to Orion Children's Books for their help with this September cover.

By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 190 September 2011.

BfK No. 190 Articles

Ian Beck on The Haunting of Charity Delafield

Ian Beck on The
Haunting of Charity Delafield

Editorial - September 2011

News and comment from the Editor.

Tomi Ungerer: A Life of Contrasts

Brian Alderson assesses Ungerer’s career as a picture book creator.

Ten of the Best: 'Lyrical' Non-Fiction Books

Margaret Mallett chooses her top ten ‘lyrical’ non-fiction
books.

BfK Basics: Buying Reference Books for Your Child

Sue Unstead makes recommendations.

Uncle Tom's Cabin Reassessed

Clive Barnes determines the relevance to today's young readers

BfK's Brilliant Bookshops: The Main Street Trading Company

The Main Street Trading Company

Windows into Illustration: John Fardell

John Fardell on how he went about illustrating The Day Louis Got Eaten.

Authorgraph No. 190: Francesca Simon

Francesca Simon interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.

BfK Briefing - September 2011

Awards * news

Hal's Reading Diary - September 2011

Roger Mills on reading versus writing.

I Wish I'd Written... The Iron Man

Andy Stanton chooses Ted Hughes' The Iron Man.

Good Reads: The Stephen Perse Foundation

Reviews from the pupils of The Stephen Perse Foundation, Cambridge.

Classics in Short No. 89: Black Beauty

Brian Alderson on Anna Sewell's Black Beauty

K.M.Peyton by Meg Rosoff

The winner of the Carnegie Award in 1969 with The Edge of the Cloud , the second part of the ‘Flambards’ trilogy, K M Peyton had her first book published while she was still at school. Her friend Meg Rosoff pays tribute to K M Peyton’s long and distinguished career.

Dredging the Past: Sally Gardner’s new novel

Sally Gardner delves into uncharted waters for her new novel, The Double Shadow. Damian Kelleher gets his toes wet for Books for Keeps.

Christopher Paolini: Growing up with dragons

Melissa Hyder caught up with Christopher Paolini for Books for Keeps at the beginning of a hectic four-day UK visit.

Tony DiTerliz interviewed

Graham Marks talks to Tony DiTerlizzi

Editor's Choice

Wonderstruck

Brian Selznick

(Scholastic)

Brian Selznick won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for his first book, www.scholastic.com/hugocabret/">The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a novel that broke new ground with its dual visual...

Good Little Wolf

Nadia Shireen

(Jonathan Cape (PB))

First picture books are so often let down by a story that doesn’t really work but Nadia Shireen’s debut picture book which she wrote and illustrated, is wittily and tightly constructed and perfectly pitched to engage young readers.

Rolf is...

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

Under 5s

Good Little Wolf

Nadia Shireen

5
The Animal Bop Won't Stop

Jan Ormerod

4
My Dad is Beautiful

Jessica Spanyol

4
The Rhyming Rabbit

Julia Donaldson

4
The Queen of France

Tim Wadham

4
What Will You Be Grandma?

Nanette Newman

4
Silly Doggy

Adam Stower

3

Ages 5-8

Painting Out the Stars

Elspeth Graham

4
When Chico went fishing

Robin Tzannes

3
Grub's Pups

Abi Burlingham

3
Detective Brother: Jamie’s Amazing Cape Adventure

Pete Johnson

3
Queen of the Falls

Chris Van Allsburg

3
Fetlocks Hall: The Curse of the Pony Vampires

Babette Cole

3
Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble

Tracey Corderoy

3
Dear Fairy Godmother

Michael Rosen

2

Ages 8-10

Wonderstruck

Brian Selznick

5
The Sleeping Army

Francesca Simon

4
Secret Horse

Jane Smiley

4
The Filth Licker

Cristy Burne

4
Stitch Head

Guy Bass

3
My Name is Rose

Sally Grindley

3
For the Record

Ellie Irving

3
The Deeping Secrets

Victor Watson

2

Ages 10-14

Immortal War

Justin Somper

5
A Monster Calls

Patrick Ness

5
How to be a boy

Tony Bradman

4
Siz Words and a Wish

Karen McCombie

4
Undead

Kirsty McKay

4
Edda

Conor Kostick

4
Caddy’s World

Hilary McKay

4
Trapped

Isla Whitcroft

3
Outlaw

Stephen Davies

3
An Act of Love

Alan Gibbons

3
Angel's Fury

Bryony Pearce

3
A Year without Autumn

Liz Kessler

3
Muhammad Ali – fifteen rounds with the greatest ¦ Charles Dickens – Hard Times and Great Expectations ¦ John Lennon- the story of the original Beatle ¦ J.K. Rowling – the mystery of fiction

Hugh MacDonald

3

Ages 14+

Strings Attached

Judy Blundell

5
Paradise

Joanna Nadin

5
Salem Brownstone: All Along the Watchtowers

John Harris Dunning

4
Closer

Maxine Linnell

4
Shift

Jeri Smith Ready

4
Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Jill Wolfson

4
Belle's Song

K M Grant

4
Pretty Twisted

Gina Blaxill

4
Legend

Marie Lu

4
Out of Towners

Dan Tunstall

3
Marcelo in the Real World

Francisco X Stork

3
Unearthly

Cynthia Hand

3
Here Lies Bridget

Paige Harbison

3

BfK News

THE LITTLE REBELS AWARD SHORTLIST 2019

The shortlist for the 2019 Little Rebels Award has been announced. Seven books have made the list with war and conflict recurring themes.

The shortlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced. Selected by volunteer Youth Librarians from longlists of 20 books per medal, there are eight on each shortlist.

Alongside previously shortlisted authors and illustrators, there are newcomers on each shortlist, and as the poetry boom for young readers continues, three verse novels make the Carnegie shortlist by US authors Elizabeth Acevedo, Kwame Alexander and Jason Reynolds.

The 2019 shortlists are as follows:

BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf and The Colours of History by Clive Gifford, illustrated by Marc-Etienne Peintre, have been revealed as the 2019 Blue Peter Book Award winners.

The longlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced. Members of YLG have selected 20 books for each list from no less than 254 nominations.

Funny Women win the Lollies!

Lollies winners 2019

Elys Dolan, Emer Stamp and Tom Gates creator Liz Pichon have been named the winners of the 2019 Laugh Out Loud Awards, or Lollies.

Hilary McKay has won the Costa Children’s Book Award for the second time for The Skylarks’ War, a story following the loves and losses of a family growing up against the backdrop of World War One. The judges described The Skylarks’ War as ‘as perfect a novel as you could ever want to read’. She receives £5,000 and her book is now eligible for the ultimate prize - the 2018 Costa Book of the Year.

The winner of the 2018 Educational Writers’ Award, the UK’s sole award for creative educational writing, is Far From Home: Refugees and Migrants Fleeing War, Persecution and Poverty by Cath Senker, a topical and richly illustrated book which sensitively examines the root causes of mass migrations of people in the 21^st century.

Cath Senker wins EWA 2018

Canvases, Codes, Clean Water & Empathy

Costa have announced the shortlist for the 2018 Costa Children’s Book Award. In a record year for submissions, four novels have made it onto a strong shortlist.

The shortlists have been announced for the 2019 Blue Peter Book Awards. They are:

Best book with facts

The Element in the Room by Mike Barfield and illustrated by Lauren Humphry, Laurence King Publishing

The Colours of History by Clive Gifford and Marc-Etienne Peintre, QED Publishing

Professor Astro Cat's Human Body Odyssey by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman, Flying Eye Books

Books for Keeps 190 - the children's book magazine online

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 190 Articles

Editor's Choice

Wonderstruck

New Talent

Good Little Wolf

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 190

Under 5s

Good Little Wolf

The Animal Bop Won't Stop

My Dad is Beautiful

The Rhyming Rabbit

The Queen of France

What Will You Be Grandma?

Silly Doggy

Ages 5-8

Painting Out the Stars

When Chico went fishing

Grub's Pups

Detective Brother: Jamie’s Amazing Cape Adventure

Queen of the Falls

Fetlocks Hall: The Curse of the Pony Vampires

Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble

Dear Fairy Godmother

Ages 8-10

Wonderstruck

The Sleeping Army

Secret Horse

The Filth Licker

Stitch Head

My Name is Rose

For the Record

The Deeping Secrets

Ages 10-14

Immortal War

A Monster Calls

How to be a boy

Siz Words and a Wish

Undead

Edda

Caddy’s World

Trapped

Outlaw

An Act of Love

Angel's Fury

A Year without Autumn

Muhammad Ali – fifteen rounds with the greatest ¦ Charles Dickens – Hard Times and Great Expectations ¦ John Lennon- the story of the original Beatle ¦ J.K. Rowling – the mystery of fiction

Ages 14+

Strings Attached

Paradise

Salem Brownstone: All Along the Watchtowers

Closer

Shift

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Belle's Song

Pretty Twisted

Legend

Out of Towners

Marcelo in the Real World

Unearthly

Here Lies Bridget

BfK News