Books for Keeps 220 - 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. 220 - September 2016

This issue’s cover illustration is from Thank You, Mr Panda by Steve Antony. Thanks to Hodder Children’s Books for their help with this cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 220 September 2016 .

BfK No. 220 Articles

Editorial 220

Comment from the editor

Am I Normal? Exploring mental health issues in YA fiction

Author Holly Bourne on the way YA fiction addresses mental health

Reading Gladiators

Nikki Gamble on a scheme to encourage high attainers

The Wonder of Wilson

Rebecca Butler in conversation with Jacqueline Wilson

Windows into Illustration: Helen Hancocks

It’s raining dogs for Helen Hancocks

Authorgraph Steve Antony

Steve Antony interviewed by Michelle Pauli

Visual Literacy: reading the signs

Piet Grobler on visual codes and symbols in picture books

Ten of the Best Heirs to Roald Dahl

chosen by Nicholas Tucker

Dig into the Story on Scoop

Introducing Scoop the new magazine for children

Independence day

Imogen Russell Williams on books for independent readers

Two Children Tell: Rebecca and Literary Language

Rebecca’s literary language

I Wish I’d Written: Katherine Rundell

The author of The Wolf Wilder chooses Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Introducing the new words & pictures list from Quarto

Quarto’s new list impresses Margaret Mallett

Classics in Short No 118 Old Possum and his Cats

If Or Perhaps Or But: Old Possum and his Cats

AN INTERVIEW WITH JANE HISSEY

Jane Hissey talks Old Bear with Ferelith Hordon.

AN INTERVIEW WITH KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE WINNER NICHOLAS JOHN FRITH

The winer of the inaugural Klaus Flugge Prize talks to Michelle Pauli

AN INTERVIEW WITH SANTA MONTEFIORE

Santa Montefiore introduces The Royal Rabbits of London.

AN INTERVIEW WITH LEIGH HOBBS, AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

Ferelith Hordon chats to the creator of Old Tom, Mr Chicken and Mr Badger

Editor's Choice

Hiding Heidi

Fiona Woodcock

(Simon & Schuster Children's UK)

Heidi has a special talent, and the young reader meeting Heidi as she lies on the sofa will quickly guess what it is; Heidi is good at hiding. Her clothes always match her background. However, always being the best can prove unsatisfactory....

Cogheart

Peter Bunzl

(Usborne Publishing Ltd)

When Lily’s deportment teacher confiscates the magazine she’s reading telling her it has no educational value at all Lily replies, ‘It teaches piracy and air combat.’ ‘And what young lady needs to know that?’ asks her teacher. Actually it turns...

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

Under 5s

There's an Owl in my Towel

Julia Donaldson

5
Animal Surprises

Nicola Davies

5
The Lonely Giant

Sophie Ambrose

5
Watch out for Muddy Puddles

Ben Faulks

4
Nothing! Yasmeen Ismail

Yasmeen Ismail

4
The Greedy Goat

Petr Horácek

4
Hiding Heidi

Fiona Woodcock

0

Ages 5-8

Oi Dog!

Kes Gray
Claire Gray

5
D is for Duck

David Melling

5
Don’t Cross the Line!

Isabel Minhós Martins

5
Billy Button: Telegram Boy

Sally Nicholls

5
The Cat and the King

Nick Sharratt

5
Paws McDraw

Connah Brecon

4
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam The Diamond Chase

Tracey Corderoy

4
The Truth According to Arthur

Tim Hopgood

4
Dog on a Digger

Kate Prendergast

3
The Secret Railway

Wendy Meddour

3

Ages 8-10

The Great Fire of London

Emma Adams

5
Cats and Curses: Marsh Road Mysteries

Elen Caldecott

4
Cogheart

Peter Bunzl

4
The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop

Clare Balding

4
Crimson Poison

Susan Moore

4
In Focus: 101 Close-ups, Cross sections, Cutaways

Libby Walden

4
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World

Kate Pankhurst

4
Invisible Inc.

Steve Cole

4
The Accidental Pirates Voyage to Magical North

Claire Fayers

4
Missing Arabella

Kathryn Siebel

3

Ages 10-14

Binny Bewitched

Hilary McKay

5
Geis: A Matter of Life and Death

Alexis Deacon

5
The Bone Sparrow

Zana Fraillon

5
The Creeping Shadow

Jonathan Stroud

5
A Very Good Chance

Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

5
Time after Time

Judi Curtin

5
A Child of Books

Oliver Jeffers
Sam Winston

4
Born Scared

Kevin Brooks

4
Swimming to the Moon

Jane Elson

4
The Wrong Train

Jeremy De Quidt

4
Lydia. The Wild Girl of Pride & Prejudice

Natasha Farrant

4
Booked

Kwame Alexander

4
Kings of the Boyne

Nicola Pierce

4

Ages 14+

The Stars at Oktober Bend

Glenda Millard

5
What’s a Girl Gotta Do?

Holly Bourne

5
Beck

Mal Peet
Meg Rosoff

5
Bad Blood: Part 1

Jane Brittan

5
Here I Stand: Stories that Speak for Freedom

Amnesty International

4
How Not To Disappear

Clare Furniss

4
Cuckoo

Keren David

4
Nothing Tastes as Good

Claire Hennessy

4

BfK News

PATRICE LAWRENCE AND DARREN CHETTY TO JUDGE 2019 LITTLE REBELS AWARD

Award-winning YA author Patrice Lawrence and Books for Keeps contributor Darren Chetty have been named as judges of the 2019 Little Rebels Award. The Little Rebels Award celebrates children’s books for readers age 0-12 which promote social equality and social justice.

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

Nominations have been published for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, the country's oldest children’s book awards.

Lauren Child WBD cover Snap by Patrice Lawrence

Kate Milner has won the 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize for the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. She won for her book My Name is Not Refugee (Barrington Stoke), which follows a young boy as he and his mother set out from their home to find somewhere safe to live.

UKLA BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2018

UKLA logos

Mitch Johnson and M G Leonard

Karl Nova at the CLiPPA Poet Karl Nova has been announced as the winner of CLiPPA 2018 (CLPE Poetry Award) for his debut collection, Rhythm and Poetry, published by Caboodle Books.

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest children’s book awards, are announced today, Monday 18^thJune.

Lollies logo Michael Rosen has announced the shortlist for the 2018 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies). This is the third year of The Lollies, created by Scholastic UK, to celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Books for Keeps 220 - the children's book magazine online

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 220 Articles

Editor's Choice

Hiding Heidi

New Talent

Cogheart

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 220

Under 5s

There's an Owl in my Towel

Animal Surprises

The Lonely Giant

Watch out for Muddy Puddles

Nothing! Yasmeen Ismail

The Greedy Goat

Hiding Heidi

Ages 5-8

Oi Dog!

D is for Duck

Don’t Cross the Line!

Billy Button: Telegram Boy

The Cat and the King

Paws McDraw

Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam The Diamond Chase

The Truth According to Arthur

Dog on a Digger

The Secret Railway

Ages 8-10

The Great Fire of London

Cats and Curses: Marsh Road Mysteries

Cogheart

The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop

Crimson Poison

In Focus: 101 Close-ups, Cross sections, Cutaways

Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World

Invisible Inc.

The Accidental Pirates Voyage to Magical North

Missing Arabella

Ages 10-14

Binny Bewitched

Geis: A Matter of Life and Death

The Bone Sparrow

The Creeping Shadow

A Very Good Chance

Time after Time

A Child of Books

Born Scared

Swimming to the Moon

The Wrong Train

Lydia. The Wild Girl of Pride & Prejudice

Booked

Kings of the Boyne

Ages 14+

The Stars at Oktober Bend

What’s a Girl Gotta Do?

Beck

Bad Blood: Part 1

Here I Stand: Stories that Speak for Freedom

How Not To Disappear

Cuckoo

Nothing Tastes as Good

BfK News