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Books for Keeps 228 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 228 - January 2018
BfK 228 January 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone. The illustrator is Daniela Terrazzini. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Books for their help with this January cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 228 January 2018 .

BfK No. 228 Articles

New Year predictions 2018

Where will 2018 take children’s books?

What to read in 2018: A (Abrams) to C (Child's Play)

The books to watch in the year ahead

What to read in 2018: C (Chronicle) to M (Macmillan)

More books to watch in the year ahead

What to read in 2018: N (Nosy Crow) to U (Usborne)

More books to watch in 2018

What to read in 2018: W (Wacky Bee) to Z (Zephyr Head of Zeus)

More books to watch in 2018

Authorgraph 228 Liz Kessler

Liz Kessler interviewed by Michelle Pauli

Ten of the Best Suffragette Stories

Suffragette stories
chosen by Nikki Gamble

Beyond the Secret Garden? Part One: The Fantasy of Story

Part one in a new series by Darren Chetty and Karen Sands O’Connor

Winnie-the-Pooh: a classic of collaboration

Curators of the V&A’s new exhibition discuss the interwoven genius of A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard

Windows into Illustration: Holly Sterling

Rising star Holly Sterling describes her illustration technique

‘The Dyslexic Novelist’ Sally Gardner

Sally Gardner introduces charity NUword

Two Children Tell: The Reality of Words

'You can't bottle words'

I Wish I’d Written: Piers Torday

Piers Torday is
lost in admiration for Skellig

Eleanor Farjeon ‘books for keeps’

A booklist by Brian Alderson

AN INTERVIEW WITH NEVERMOOR AUTHOR JESSICA TOWNSEND

Jessica Townsend talks about the fantasy adventure Nevermoor.

Classics in Short No. 127: Pauline Clarke's The Twelve and the Genii

Butter Crashey and the Young Men redivivus in Pauline Clarke's The Twelve and the Genii

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS HIGGINS

Trouble Next Door: Chris Higgins on writing for young readers

A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH HAYLEY SCOTT

The author talks about her new series Teacup House.

Editor's Choice

Animals with Tiny Cat

Viviane Schwarz
(Walker Books)
5

‘To illustrate’ – to shine a light on; traditionally this has been taken to mean that there has to be a text that requires enlightening. But this is not necessarily so and increasingly illustrators are moving away to illustrate ideas, emotions,...

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New Talent

The Eye of the North

Sinéad O’Hart
(Stripes Publishing)
4

It is always a pleasure to meet characters who immediately demand attention. Enter Emmeline Widget, daughter of scientist parents who are almost always absent. Then there is Thing, a boy with no other name and a mysterious past. Emmeline is...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 228

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

Under 5s

  • Animals with Tiny Cat

    Viviane Schwarz
    5
  • Mrs Noah’s Pockets

    Jackie Morris
    5
  • What’s Next Door?

    Nicola O’Byrne
    5
  • Grandad’s Secret Giant

    David Litchfield
    5
  • I Love You, Stick Insect

    Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
    4
  • The Stone Bird

    Jenny McCartney
    4
  • Look, there’s a TRACTOR!

    4
  • The Grotlyn

    Benji Davies
    4

Ages 5-8

  • The Bad Mood and the Stick

    Lemony Snicket
    5
  • The Rainmaker Danced

    John Agard
    5
  • I Love You, Stick Insect

    Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
    4
  • The Great Race: the story of the Chinese Zodiac

    Christopher Corr
    4
  • The Chinese Emperor’s New Clothes

    Ying Chang Compestine
    4
  • The Grotlyn

    Benji Davies
    4
  • Trouble at School

    Chris Higgins
    4
  • Teacup House Meet the Twitches

    Hayley Scott
    4

Ages 8-10

  • Sky Song

    Abi Elphinstone
    5
  • The Story of Paintings A History of Art for Children

    Mick Manning
    Brita Granström
    5
  • I’m Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense Verse for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown Ups

    Chris Harris
    5
  • The Rainmaker Danced

    John Agard
    5
  • The Light Jar

    Lisa Thompson
    4
  • Three Cheers For Women!

    Marcia Williams
    4
  • The Travels of Ermine: Trouble in New York

    Jennifer Gray
    4
  • Sky Chasers

    Emma Carroll
    4
  • Bee Boy: Clash of the Killer Queens

    Tony De Saulles
    4
  • I Swapped My Brother on the Internet

    Jo Simmons
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Norse Myths Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki

    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    5
  • The 1,000 Year Old Boy

    Ross Welford
    5
  • The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club

    Alex Bell
    4
  • The Eye of the North

    Sinéad O’Hart
    4
  • The Ice Garden

    Guy Jones
    4
  • Dog Andy Mulligan

    Andy Mulligan
    4
  • My Sweet Orange Tree

    José Mauro de Vasconcelos
    4
  • Outwalkers

    Fiona Shaw
    3

Ages 14+

  • Norse Myths Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki

    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    5
  • Star by Star

    Sheena Wilkinson
    5
  • I Am Thunder

    Mohammad Khan
    5
  • Long Way Down

    Jason Reynolds
    5
  • Goodbye, Perfect

    Sara Barnard
    5
  • Mike

    Andrew Norriss
    4
  • My Sweet Orange Tree

    José Mauro de Vasconcelos
    4
  • Love, Hate and Other Filters

    Samira Ahmed
    4
  • Landscape With Invisible Hand

    M T Anderson
    4
  • Ballad for a Mad Girl

    Vikki Wakefield
    4

BfK News

LONGLISTS FOR 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS ANNOUNCED

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.

read more...
WINNERS OF THE LAUGH OUT LOUD BOOK AWARDS 2019

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.

read more...
HILARY MCKAY WINS COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD WITH ‘PERFECT’ NOVEL

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.

read more...
FAR FROM HOME WINS THE 2018 EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD

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 21st century.

Cath Senker wins EWA 2018

read more...
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2018 EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD

Canvases, Codes, Clean Water & Empathy

read more...
COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2018: SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

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.

read more...
PATRICE LAWRENCE AND DARREN CHETTY TO JUDGE 2019 LITTLE REBELS AWARD

Little Rebels prize logoAward-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.

read more...
SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS

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

read more...
NOMINATIONS PUBLISHED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE & KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS 2019

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

read more...
‘SHARE A STORY’ AT THE HEART OF WORLD BOOK DAY 2019

Lauren Child WBD coverSnap by Patrice Lawrence

read more...
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