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Books for Keeps 182 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 182 - May 2010
BfK 182 May 2010

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Mary Hooper’s latest book, Fallen Grace, to be published on 7 June (978 0 7475 9913 5, £8.99 hbk). Mary Hooper is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare. Thanks to Bloomsbury for their help with this May cover.

BfK No. 182 Articles

Editorial – May 2010

News and comment from the Editor.
Once bitten: the fang bang fiction of Stephenie Meyer

Nicholas Tucker analyses the appeal of the vampire.
Ten of the Best Poetry Books for Children

Morag Styles chooses her top ten titles.
Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne on appreciating picture books

Anthony Browne discusses Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.
The Catcher in the Rye

Clive Barnes assesses the influence of Salinger's classic novel.
Authorgraph No.182: Mary Hooper

Mary Hooper interviewed by Julia Eccleshare
Hal’s Reading Diary – May 2010

Roger Mills tries to avoid being a pushy parent.
BfK Briefing – May 2010

* Awards * Letter * Events
Obituary: William Mayne

William Mayne: 1928 – 2010
I wish I’d written… The Hidden Adult – Defining Children’s Literature

Peter Hunt chooses Perry Nodelman’s The Hidden Adult – Defining Children’s Literature.
Good Reads: Truro School, Cornwall

Reviews from pupils of Truro School, Cornwall.
Classics in Short: The Sword in the Stone

Brian Alderson on T H White’s The Sword in the Stone.

Editor's Choice

Everybody was a baby once and other poems
Allan Ahlberg
(Walker)
5

In his discussion of single poet collections in BfK No 179, Brian Alderson talked about the importance for such compilations to be ‘what might be called “shaped units” existing as a complete reading experience in themselves...

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New Talent

Montacute House
Lucy Jago
(Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)
3

As an illegitimate child, 13-year-old poultry maid Cess is lucky to have a job at all. Life is hard for her and her mother who are shunned by their prosperous and ‘respectable’ relatives – but rebellious Cess finds it hard to accept being...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 182

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

Under 5s

  • Don't Want to Go!
    Shirley Hughes
    5

  • Six Dinner Sid: A Highland Adventure
    Inga Moore
    5

  • Let's Save the Animals
    Frances Barry
    5

  • Love-a-Duck
    Alan James Brown
    4

  • I'm the Best
    Lucy Cousins
    4

  • Little Rex
    Ruth Symes
    4

  • The Fox and the Hen
    Eric Battut
    3

  • Don't Let the Aliens Get My Marvellous Mum!
    Gillian Shields
    3

  • Rhino's Great Big Itch!
    Natalie Chivers
    3

  • The Giant Carrot
    Allan Manham
    3

  • Big Noisy Book of Animals
    Harriet Blackford
    3

Ages 5-8

  • When Daddy's Truck Picks Me Up
    Jana Novotny Hunter
    5

  • Catherine's Story
    Genevieve Moore
    5

  • Everybody was a baby once and other poems
    Allan Ahlberg
    5

  • Cloud Tea Monkeys
    Mal Peet
    Elspeth Graham
    4

  • The Most Precious Present in the World ¦ Dad David, Baba Chris and ME
    Becky Edwards
    4

  • Frightfully Friendly Ghosties
    Daren King
    4

  • The Snake King of the Kalinago
    Children - Atkinson School - Dominica
    3

  • The Twelve Dancing Princesses
    3

  • Why the Animals Came to Town
    Michael Foreman
    3

  • Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle
    Sophie Smallwood
    3

  • The Knight of Swords and Spooks
    Terry Deary
    3

  • What's Ukrainian for Football?
    Helena Pielichaty
    3

  • Pigs in Planes: The Chicken Egg-splosion
    Paul Cooper
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Calamity Jack
    Shannon Hale
    Dean Hale
    5

  • No Way Out
    Gene Kemp
    4

  • Lob
    Linda Newbery
    4

  • The Raven Mysteries: Book 3: Lunatics and Luck
    Marcus Sedgwick
    4

  • Beswitched
    Kate Saunders
    4

  • Enchanted Glass
    Diana Wynne Jones
    4

  • The Greatest Intergalactic Guide to Space Ever… by the Brainwaves
    Carole Stott
    4

  • The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon
    David Almond
    3

  • Rose and the Lost Princess
    Holly Webb
    3

  • Nobody's Horse
    Jane Smiley
    3

  • Tassie and the Black Baron
    Katie Roy
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Bone by Bone by Bone
    Tony Johnston
    5

  • Where I Belong
    Gillian Cross
    5

  • Leon - Spit on the Mic
    Ola Laniyan-Amoako
    4

  • The Legionary from Londinium and Other Mini-mysteries
    Caroline Lawrence
    4

  • Drawing With Light
    Julia Green
    4

  • Crawlers
    Sam Enthoven
    4

  • Rebel
    R J Anderson
    4

  • Flyaway
    Lucy Christopher
    4

  • Geronimo ¦ The Perfect Rebel: The Life and Death of Emily Davison
    Tanya Landman
    4

  • Montacute House
    Lucy Jago
    3

  • Striker Boy
    Jonny Zucker
    3

  • The Stone Crown
    Malcolm Walker
    3

  • The History Book
    Samone Bos
    Laura Buller
    others
    3

  • The Way We Work
    David Macaulay
    Richard Walker
    3

  • Gaia Warriors
    Nicola Davies
    2

Ages 14+

  • No and Me
    Delphine de Vigan
    5

  • The Carbon Diaries 2017
    Saci Lloyd
    5

  • My Love Lies Bleeding
    Alyxandra Harvey
    4

  • Koh Tabu
    Ann Kelley
    4

  • The Worst of Me
    Kate Le Vann
    3

  • Guilt Trip
    Anne Cassidy
    3

  • Stolen
    Lucy Christopher
    3

  • Need
    Carrie Jones
    3

  • Prisoner of the Inquisition
    Theresa Breslin
    3

  • When I Was Joe
    Keren David
    3

  • Pretties
    Scott Westerfeld
    3

  • The Left Hand of God
    Paul Hoffman
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Reading the Novels of Aidan Chambers: Seven Essays
    Nancy Chambers
    5

  • Poetry - From Reading to Writing: A Classroom Guide for Ages 7-11
    Robert Hull
    5

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.’

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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

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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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