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Books for Keeps 233 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 233 - November 2018
BfK 233 November 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from The Afterwards by A.F. Harrold illustrated by Emily Gravett. Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for their help with this November cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 233 November 2018 .

BfK No. 233 Articles

Editorial 233

Editorial comment
Fairy Tales: holding the old stories tight by Deirdre Sullivan

Fairy Tale special

Books of the Year 2018

The best of 2018 selected by a BfK panel
Books for Giving 2018

What to put under the tree
Books for Giving Christmas 2018 book list

A list of the books we are recommending for Christmas giving 2018
Authorgraph 233: A.F. Harrold

A.F. Harrold interviewed by Charlotte Hacking
Ten of the best: films of children’s books

A celluloid special by Laura Fraine
Windows into Illustration: Fabi Santiago

Fabi Santiago

‘We English’: Nonfiction and Belonging in Children’s Literature

Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O'Connor
I Wish I’d Written: Candy Gourlay

Candy Gourlay chooses
Good Reads 233

Chosen by Saint Wilfrid’s C of E Academy in Blackburn
Two Children Tell: Growing up with John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury

By Virginia Lowe
Voices from the Past: Tom Palmer on writing the Great War

The author of Armistice Runner on creating his new book
Never Such Innocence: young people’s responses to the Great War

Review of two books published by the official First World War Centenary charity
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR HILARY MCKAY

Philip Womack interviews Hilary McKay about The Skylarks' War
Classics in Short No 132: How about spending Christmas with the Savages?

A festive special
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR DAVID ALMOND

David Almond discusses his new book, the Costa shortlisted The Colour of the Sun
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR CANDY GOURLAY

The author discusses her Costa shortlisted book Bone Talk
AN INTERVIEW WITH GARTH NIX AND SEAN WILLIAMS

The authors discuss their new fantasy series with Philip Womack
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR MATT KILLEEN

The author of Orphan Monster Spy interviewed by Michelle Pauli.
MY MUM TRACY BEAKER - THE LAUNCH

Rebecca Butler reports on the launch celebration for My Mum Tracy Beaker
AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER BROWN

Peter Brown's complete robot

Editor's Choice

The Afterwards
A.F. Harrold
(Bloomsbury Children's Books)
5

December (or as she is usually called, Ember) and Ness are the very best friends. Then Ness dies. Ember’s life has an empty hole. Ness was so alive and she should be alive. Ember decides she must rescue Ness. There will be consequences ... but...

read more

New Talent

Maybe the Moon
Frances Ives
(LOM Art)
4

Frances Ives won the 2016 LOM Art prize, and this is her debut picture book. Based on her own experience of moving to the city from the countryside, she shows the happy life of Eric in the country as he helps his mother in their...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 233

  • Under 5s
  • Ages 5-8
  • Ages 8-10
  • Ages 10-14
  • Ages 14+
  • Books About Children's Books

Under 5s

  • I Was Made For You
    David Lucas
    5

  • Little Robin Red Vest
    Jan Fearnley
    5

  • Santa Claus vs the Easter Bunny
    Fred Blunt
    5

  • The Pooka Party
    Shona Shirley Macdonald
    4

  • Maybe the Moon
    Frances Ives
    4

  • My Bed is an Air Balloon
    Julia Copus
    4

  • You're Snug with Me
    Chitra Soundar
    4

  • The Lost Property Office
    Emily Rand
    4

  • Mini Rabbit: Not Lost
    John Bond
    4

  • Counting Blessings
    Emma Dodd
    3

  • Mummy Time
    Judith Kerr
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Parents
    Lauren Child
    5

  • Me and my Fear
    Francesca Sanna
    5

  • Once Upon a Snowstorm
    Richard Johnson
    5

  • Happy: A Children’s Book of Mindfulness
    Nicola Edwards
    5

  • Santa Claus vs the Easter Bunny
    Fred Blunt
    5

  • Inside the Villains
    Clotilde Perrin
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • The Pooka Party
    Shona Shirley Macdonald
    4

  • Armadillo and Hare
    Jeremy Strong
    4

  • Two Kings
    Emma Lewis
    4

  • The Dog That Saved Christmas
    Nicola Davies
    4

  • Sonam and the Silence
    Eddie Ayres
    4

  • The Truth Pixie
    Matt Haig
    3

  • Once Upon a Magic Book
    Lily Murray
    3

  • Ten Nasty Little Toads
    Steve Cole
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Clockwork Crow
    Catherine Fisher
    5

  • The Afterwards
    A.F. Harrold
    5

  • Alastair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers
    Alastair Humphreys
    5

  • Corey’s Rock
    Sita Brahmachari
    5

  • My Mum Tracy Beaker
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • Blazing a Trail: Irish Women Who Changed the World
    Sarah Webb
    4

  • Wiggott’s Wonderful Waxworld: Terror Train
    Terry Deary
    4

  • Into the Jungle Stories for Mowgli
    Katherine Rundell
    4

  • Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon
    Sally Gardner
    4

  • A Dangerous Game
    Malorie Blackman
    4

  • Picklewitch and Jack
    Claire Barker
    4

  • Sonam and the Silence
    Eddie Ayres
    4

  • The Missing Barbegazi
    H.S. Norup
    3

  • The Pony with No Name
    Tracey Corderoy
    3

  • The Girl, the Cat and the Navigator
    Matilda Woods
    3

Ages 10-14

  • The Skylarks’ War
    Hilary McKay
    5

  • Louisiana’s Way Home
    Kate DiCamillo
    5

  • My Mum Tracy Beaker
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • Wiggott’s Wonderful Waxworld: Terror Train
    Terry Deary
    4

  • She is Fierce
    Ana Sampson
    4

  • The Blue Cat
    Ursula Dubosarsky
    4

  • Race to the Frozen North: the Matthew Henson story
    Catherine Johnson
    3

  • Firebird
    Elizabeth Wein
    3

  • The Lost Magician
    Piers Torday
    2

Ages 14+

  • The Key to Flambards
    Linda Newbery
    5

  • The Chaos of Now
    Erin Lange
    5

  • Glass Town Wars
    Celia Rees
    5

  • Only the Ocean
    Natasha Carthew
    4

  • She is Fierce
    Ana Sampson
    4

  • The Punk Factor
    Rebecca Denton
    3

  • The Price Guide to the Occult
    Leslye Walton
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Reading & Rebellion. An Anthology of Radical Writing for Children 1900-1960
    Kimberley Reynolds
    Michael Rosen
    Jane Rosen
    4

BfK News

CRESSIDA COWELL LAUNCHES NEW LAUREATE INITIATIVE IN SUPPORT OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND CALLS ON PM TO ACT

‘How can a child become a reader for pleasure if their parents or carers cannot afford books, and their primary school has no library, or that library is woefully insufficient?’

Life-changing Libraries logo

read more...
SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2021 UKLA BOOK AWARDS

UKLA Book Awards logo

read more...
ALL STORIES, A NEW MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME FOR UNDERREPRESENTED CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITERS

A new mentorship scheme for underrepresented authors launches today, 30 March. All Stories offers fourteen mentorships delivered by expert children’s book editors.

All Stories logo

read more...
2021 SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

CKG Logo

The shortlists for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are announced today, 18 March. The awards are the UK’s oldest for children and young people.

This year’s judges praised their shortlists for ‘offering hope and escapism during lockdown’ through explorations of freedom, the great outdoors and journeys through the natural world.

read more...
INAUGURAL LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE JHALAK CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT PRIZE

The Jhalak Prize has announced the longlist for the inaugural Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize.

Jhalak Prize logo

read more...
ONJALI RAÚF BECOMES WRITER IN RESIDENCE FOR BOOKTRUST

Award-winning author and activist, Onjali Raúf takes up the post as the new Writer in Residence for BookTrust, today, International Women’s Day. She takes over from Smriti Halls.

Onjali Q Raúf

read more...
LONGLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The longlist for the 2021 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.

CKG Logo

read more...
LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

Klaus Flugge Prize logo

read more...
NOW OPEN: 2021 HENRIETTA BRANFORD WRITING COMPETITION

Finish a story started by Branford Boase Award winner Liz Hyder

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is now open.

read more...
TWO UK ENTRIES ON IBBY LIST OF OUTSTANDING BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Every two years, IBBY invites nominations for its international List of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. Nominations are made by IBBY national sections and the final list is selected from these by the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Young People with Disabilities, based in Toronto. Because of its international content, the list is unique in the children’s book world. It is a huge voluntary undertaking as every country is encouraged to submit up to twelve titles across the three categories.

read more...
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