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Books for Keeps 166 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 166 - September 2007

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Kev Walker is from William Nicholson’s Noman. William Nicholson is interviewed by Clive Barnes. Thanks to Egmont for their help with this September cover.

BfK No. 166 Articles

Editorial – September 2007

News and comment from the Editor.
The Depiction of the Slave Trade in Children’s Books

Brycchan Carey discusses recent titles.
Reading in the Middle Years (9-11): What do digikids read? Seeing the books for the texts

Prue Goodwin on the role of visual texts.
The CLPE Poetry Award 2007

Fiona Waters reveals the judges' thinking.
The New Children’s Laureate: Michael Rosen

Morag Styles in conversation with Michael Rosen.
Authorgraph No.166: William Nicholson

William Nicholson interviewed by Clive Barnes.
Letter to the Editor - September 2007

Lynne Reid Banks on her books about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Hal’s Reading Diary - September 2007

Roger Mills introduces Hal to a favourite book.
Good Reads: York Steiner School

Reviews from York Steiner School.
Classics in Short No.65: Kidnapped and Catriona

Brian Alderson on Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped and Catriona.

Editor's Choice

King Pom and the Fox
Jessica Souhami
(Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
5

A storyteller, a shadow puppeteer, and an expert in folk tales from around the world with many picture book versions of the same to her credit, Jessica Souhami’s latest title offers a Chinese variant of the tale we know as Puss-in-Boots. In this...

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New Talent

Oswald and the End of the World
Andrew Strong
(Scholastic)
3

Having a dad who is a ‘bearded, batty fraud, a liar, a cheat and full of nonsense’ lands the long suffering Oswald in all kinds of difficult situations. After being chased off the island of Greater Fury, the pair are to be found treading water...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 166

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

Under 5s

  • King Pom and the Fox
    Jessica Souhami
    5

  • Here's a Little Poem
    5

  • Giants
    Mij Kelly
    5

  • Play With Me! A Dottie Duck Book
    Satoshi Kitamura
    4

  • Melrose and Croc Go to Town
    Emma Chichester Clark
    4

  • Look Out, He's Behind You
    Tony Bradman
    4

  • Growl, Growl, On The Prowl!; Squeak,Squeak, Take A Peek!
    Michael Terry
    3

  • Snappy Green
    Jo Lodge
    3

  • Doctor Miaow's Big Emergency
    Sam Lloyd
    3

  • Captain Wag the Pirate Dog
    Michael Terry
    3

  • The Boy on the Bus
    Penny Dale
    3

  • To market! To market!
    Anushka Ravishankar
    2

Ages 5-8

  • White Owl, Barn Owl
    Nicola Davies
    4

  • Terry Deary's Greek Tales: The Boy Who Cried Horse; Terry Deary's Greek Tales: The Tortoise and the Dare
    Terry Deary
    4

  • Ghaddar the Ghoul and other Palestinian Stories
    Sonia Nimr
    4

  • A Place in the Middle
    Angela McAllister
    4

  • Squeak Street: Old Bun and the Burglar; Squeak Street: One-Shoe's Wishes
    Emily Rodda
    3

  • Princess Pigsty
    Cornelia Funke
    3

  • The Opposite
    Tom MacRae
    3

  • Dino Doggy; Mouldylocks and the Three Clares
    Tony De Saulles
    3

  • The Elves and the Shoemaker; Lion Fables
    3

  • The Elephant's Child
    Rudyard Kipling
    3

  • Damian Drooth Supersleuth
    Barbara Mitchelhill
    3

  • Creaky Castle: Tom's Dragon Trouble
    Tony Bradman
    3

  • Count Your Way through Afghanistan; Count Your Way through Iran
    Jim Haskins
    Kathleen Benson
    3

  • The Boy in the Biscuit Tin
    Heather Dyer
    3

  • Princess Poppy: Friends Together; Princess Poppy: The Baby Twins
    Janey Louise Jones
    2

Ages 8-10

  • The Hat
    Carol Ann Duffy
    5

  • Ask Dr K Fisher about Animals
    Claire Llewellyn
    5

  • The Last of the High Kings
    Kate Thompson
    4

  • The Cats in Krasinski Square
    Karen Hesse
    4

  • Buzz
    Caroline Bingham
    Ben Morgan
    Matthew Robertson
    4

  • Spy Dog Unleashed
    Andrew Cope
    3

  • Oswald and the End of the World
    Andrew Strong
    3

  • The Legend of the Worst Boy in the World
    Eoin Colfer
    3

  • Inside You
    Richard Walker
    3

  • Forever Family
    Gill Lobel
    3

  • Agent Amelia: Ghost Diamond!
    Michael Broad
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Tamburlaine's Elephants
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5

  • The Road of Bones
    Anne Fine
    5

  • Global Debt: The impact on our lives
    Teresa Garlake
    5

  • The Underground Reporters
    Kathy Kacer
    4

  • Snowbone
    Cat Weatherill
    4

  • Slavery: From Africa to the Americas
    Christine Hatt
    4

  • Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You
    Hanna Jansen
    4

  • Hunky Dory
    Jean Ure
    4

  • The Earth and its Moon
    Chris Oxlade
    4

  • City of Bones
    Cassandra Clare
    4

  • Ten Things I Hate About Me
    Randa Abdel-Fattah
    3

  • Skulduggery Pleasant
    Derek Landy
    3

  • Shamanka
    Jeanne Willis
    3

  • Pride and Penalties
    Chris Higgins
    3

  • Orphan of the Sun
    Gill Harvey
    3

  • New World
    Chris Priestley
    3

  • The Medici Curse
    Matt Chamings
    3

  • The Lion Encyclopedia of Christianity
    David Self
    3

  • Girl, 15 - Flirting for England
    Sue Limb
    3

  • The Falconer's Knot
    Mary Hoffman
    3

  • Crusade
    Elizabeth Laird
    3

  • Abela
    Berlie Doherty
    3

Ages 14+

  • What I Was
    Meg Rosoff
    5

  • Voices
    Ursula Le Guin
    5

  • Good Girls
    Laura Ruby
    5

  • Dark Alchemy: Magical Tales from Masters of Modern Fantasy
    5

  • Apache
    Tanya Landman
    5

  • Careless
    Anne Cassidy
    4

  • Two Friends, One Summer
    Kate Le Vann
    3

  • The Strawberry Picker
    Monika Feth
    3

  • The Angel Collector
    Bali Rai
    3

  • Immigration
    Cath Senker
    2

  • High Jinx
    Sara Lawrence
    1

Books About Children's Books

  • Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion; Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre
    Jack Zipes
    5

  • Children's Literature: Some Marxist Perspectives
    3

BfK News

NATASHA FARRANT WINS 2020 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Natasha Farrant

Writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant has won the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, a book which the judges described as ‘pure heavenly escapism and a purely joyful read.’

read more...
ROBIN WALKER WINS THE 2020 ALCS EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD FOR BLACK HISTORY MATTERS

The winner of the 2020 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award is Black History Matters: The Story of Black History, From African Kingdoms to Black Lives Matter. Written by acclaimed Black historian, Robin Walker, the 2020 judges praised this accessible, comprehensive and inspiring book which provides a timely introduction both to Black history and the Black Lives Matter movement.

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IBBY UK nominate Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2022

IBBY UK has announced that Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee will be the UK nominations for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

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SHORTLIST FOR THE COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Debut authors Darren Charlton and Jenny Pearson join Natasha Farrant and Meg Rosoff on the shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award.

The shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award has been announced. No less than 146 books were submitted and from those the judges have chosen a shortlist of four. They are:

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Little Tiger)

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BOOKTRUST’S REPRESENTS INTERIM RESEARCH & CLPE REFLECTING REALITIES SURVEY 2020

CLPE Reflecting Realities Report 2020

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SHORTLIST FOR THE 2021 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS REVEALED

The six books shortlisted for the 2021 Blue Peter Book Awards have been announced.

Blue Peter Book Award logo

read more...
Happy National Non-Fiction November 2020

It’s National Non-Fiction November! Organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, National Non-Fiction November is an annual celebration of the power of non-fiction to inspire children and celebrate readers who have a passion for information and facts. 2020 is the 10th anniversary of National Non-Fiction November.

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JANE PORTER AND MAISIE PARADISE SHEARRING 2020 LITTLE REBELS AWARD WINNERS

Jane Porter and Maisie Paradise Shearring have won the 2020 Little Rebels Award for their picture book The Boy who Loved Everyone. They will share the £2000 prize.

Little Rebels logo 2020

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OU AND MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S BOOKS LAUNCH BOOK CHAT SCHEME

The Open University (OU) is launching Book Chat: Reading with your Child, a resource which comprises three short films and support materials to help parents, families and carers read books conversationally and creatively to children. Working with Macmillan Children’s Books, the films use a selection of their picture books and a poetry collection to support families with reading to different ages of children.

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TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

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