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Books for Keeps 217 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 217 - March 2016
BfK 217 March 2016

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration is from Love Song by Sophia Bennett. Thanks to Chicken House for their help with this cover.

Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 217 March 2016 .

BfK No. 217 Articles

Editorial 217

by Ferelith Hordon
Our (Shakespeare) revels are now just beginning…

Tony Bradman on the lasting appeal of the Bard
Prospero’s Island

Teresa Cremin reports on a fascinating experiential theatre project
Windows into Illustration: Ben Newman

Ben Newman on illustrating Professor Astro Cat
Authorgraph 217 Sophia Bennett

Sophia Bennett interviewed by Ferelith Hordon
Ten of the Best Books to Introduce Children to the Great Outdoors

Chosen by Margaret Mallett
Animal at the Story Museum

Geraldine McCaughrean on a new exhibition
The Write Course

MA courses in writing for children appraised by Geraldine Brennan
Funny Girls

Jenny McLachlan interviewed by Damian Kelleher
Louise Rennison Obituary

Louise Rennison remembered by her publisher Brenda Gardner
Good Reads 217

Chosen by members of Baring Bookworms Chatterbooks
I Wish I’d Written: Abi Elphinstone

Abi Elphinstone chooses
Two Children Tell: Rebecca and Nick And Michael

Rebecca and Nick and Michael Foreman
Classics in Short No 116

Brian Alderson on the magic saving of Racketty-Packetty House
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH KENNETH OPPEL

The author answers questions on his new book The Nest.
HOMOPHONES AND LOST DOGS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANN M MARTIN

The author of the Babysitters' Club talks about her new novel How to Look for a Lost Dog
AN INTERVIEW WITH BRITTA TECKENTRUP

Britta Teckentrup interviewed by Pam Dix

Editor's Choice

Where My Feet Go
Birgitta Sif
(Andersen Press)
5

When Little Panda wakes up in the morning, he is ready for adventure. Where will his feet take him as he travels through the day?

Birgitta Sif's endearing quirky little panda is the archetypal toddler. His world is that of the child as he...

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New Talent

The Island
Olivia Levez
(Oneworld Publications)
4

‘I am Medusa Girl. Cold as rock, hard as stone’. This is how Fran armours herself against a world that in her eyes offers nothing but betrayal. The only brightness in her life, her step-brother, Monkey. Then even he is taken away, and Fran finds...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 217

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

Under 5s

  • A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting
    Michelle Robinson
    5

  • Where My Feet Go
    Birgitta Sif
    5

  • I’ll Wait, Mr Panda
    Steve Antony
    5

  • How to Find Gold
    Viviane Schwarz
    5

  • Quick Quack Quentin
    Kes Gray
    5

  • Pass It On
    Sophy Henn
    4

  • Little Home Bird
    Jo Empson
    4

Ages 5-8

  • A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting
    Michelle Robinson
    5

  • Oscar the Guardian Cat
    Chiara Valentina Segre
    5

  • Quick Quack Quentin
    Kes Gray
    5

  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
    Helen Borten
    5

  • Before I Wake Up …
    Britta Teckentrup
    5

  • One Day on our Blue Planet in the Antartic
    Ella Bailey
    4

  • Pocket Pirates: The Great Drain Escape
    Chris Mould
    3

  • Finding Winnie
    Lindsay Mattick
    3

  • Unicorn in New York: Louie Lets Loose
    Rachel Hamilton
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Wildwitch Wildfire
    Lene Kaaberbol
    5

  • The Box of Demons
    Daniel Whelan
    5

  • Spooks and Scooters
    Elen Caldecott
    4

  • Perijee and Me
    Ross Montgomery
    4

  • Complete Bird Spotter’s Kit and National Trust Complete Bird Spotter Guide: A children’s guide to bird watching
    Robin Swift
    4

  • Beetle Boy
    M.G. Leonard
    4

  • The Secret Life of Daisy Fitzjohn
    Tania Unsworth
    4

  • Jim Reaper: Son of Grim
    Rachel Delahaye
    4

Ages 10-14

  • Rugby Flyer
    Gerard Siggins
    4

  • Perijee and Me
    Ross Montgomery
    4

  • Lois Lane Fallout
    Gwenda Bond
    4

  • The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth
    Katherine Woodfine
    4

  • Car Wash Wish
    Sita Brahmachari
    4

  • Moth Girls
    Anne Cassidy
    4

  • North Face
    Matt Dickinson
    4

  • Rebel of the Sands
    Alwyn Hamilton
    4

  • Time Travelling with a Hamster
    Ross Welford
    3

  • Trickster
    Tom Moorhouse
    3

  • A Dark Trade
    Mary Hooper
    0

Ages 14+

  • Needlework
    Deirdre Sullivan
    5

  • Crongton Knights
    Alex Wheatle
    5

  • How Hard Can Love Be?
    Holly Bourne
    5

  • Underwater
    Marisa Reichardt
    5

  • The Island
    Olivia Levez
    4

  • Salt to the Sea
    Ruta Sepetys
    4

  • More Of Me
    Kathryn Evans
    3

BfK News

ADA TWIST, SCIENTIST AND WINNER OF THE LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Little Rebels logo 2017The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) has announced that the winners of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award are Andrea Beaty and David Roberts for their book, Ada Twist, Scientist (Abrams & Chronicle Books).

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RUTA SEPETYS AND LANE SMITH NAMED WINNERS IN CARNEGIE GREENAWAY ANNIVERSARY YEAR

The winners of the 2017 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are announced today, Monday 19 June. In its 80th year, Ruta Sepetys was named winner of the Carnegie Medal for her book Salt to the Sea, while Lane Smith was awarded the 60th Kate Greenaway Medal for his picture book There is a Tribe of Kids.

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HAPPY EMPATHY DAY, 13 JUNE

EmpathyLab illus

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CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2017

Children's Book Award logoMichael Morpurgo

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LAUREN CHILD ANNOUNCED AS 10th WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

Lauren Child, artist and author and illustrator of the award-winning Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean picture books and Ruby Redfort novels, is the 10th Waterstones Children’s Laureate.

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SCHOLASTIC UK ANNOUNCE LOLLIES 2017 SHORTLIST

Lollies 2017 logoSCHOLASTIC UK ANNOUNCE LOLLIES 2017 SHORTLIST: FUNNIEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

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PATRICE LAWRENCE WINS THE BOOKSELLER’S YA BOOK PRIZE

Patrice Lawrence

Patrice Lawrence has won the Bookseller’s YA Book Prize for Orangeboy.

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UK ENTRANTS FOR BIB, THE BIENNIAL OF ILLUSTRATIONS BRATISLAVA 2107 ANNOUNCED

The International Centre for the Picture Book in Society based at Worcester University and IBBY UK (International Board of Books for Young People) are delighted to announce a collaboration to select UK illustrators for the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) 2017.

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2017 LITTLE REBELS AWARD SHORTLIST

Little Rebels logo 2017

The shortlist for the 2017 Little Rebels Award has been revealed. Now in its fifth year, the award recognises radical children’s fiction for readers aged 0-12. Andrea Beatty and David Roberts are shortlisted for the second time, joining a six-strong shortlist.

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THE CLiPPA SHORTLIST 2017

The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) has announced the 2017 shortlist for the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award (CLiPPA). Established in 2003, CLiPPA encourages and celebrates outstanding poetry published for children. 2017 is the 15th anniversary of the award, which remains the only annual award in the UK for published poetry for children.

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