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Books for Keeps 238 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 238 - September 2019
BfK 238 September 2019

This issue’s cover illustration is from Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World written and illustrated by Konnie Huq. Thanks to Piccadilly Press for their help with this September cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 238 September 2019 .

BfK No. 238 Articles

Guest Editorial Jill Coleman of BookTrust

Jill Coleman of BookTrust introduces BookTrust Represents
The Unsung Art of Reading Aloud

Clare Pollard stands up for the unsung art of reading aloud
Reflecting Realities – one year on

Louise Johns-Shepherd reviews CLPE's survey of ethnic representation one year after publication
Ten of the Best: Books for Coping with Anxiety

Chosen by Beth Cox and Natalie Costa
Authorgraph 238: Robert Muchamore

Robert Muchamore, up close and personal: interview by Damian Kelleher
Windows into Illustration: Grahame Baker Smith

Windows into Illustration: Grahame Baker-Smith

Taking lessons from Miss Stretchberry: poetry writing with children

Poetry writing caught not taught
Beyond the Secret Garden: Animal Fables and Dehumanization

An examination of the use of animals in children’s stories about racial and cultural diversity
I Wish I’d Written: Laura Wood Chooses Her Favourite Comfort Read

Laura Wood chooses
Good Reads 238

Chosen by chosen by pupils at The King’s School, Chester
… We All Fall Down

Sally Nicholls worries we’ve forgotten about the plague
What I think about when I think about Roald Dahl

Matt Brown explains what Roald Dahl means to him
Pictures Mean Business

Sarah McIntyre tells us why Pictures Mean Business
Classics in Short No 137: Uncle Tom’s Cabin

The origins of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL JENNINGS

The much-loved Australian author interviewed
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH SARA TROFA

Sara Trofa answers our questions on her book Taxi Ride with Victor
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH SIBÉAL POUNDER

Sibéal Pounder is inspired by an Eva Ibbotson classic.
AN INTERVIEW WITH EMMA CARROLL

A girl born lucky, a terrifying tsunami, and a terrifying witch-hunt
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH PIP JONES AND SARA OGILVIE

Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie introduce Izzy Gizmo
THE PEARL IN THE ICE A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH CATHRYN CONSTABLE

The author of The Wolf Princess and The White Tower discusses her latest book.

Editor's Choice

Moonstruck!: Poems About Our Moon
Roger Stevens
Ed Boxall
(Otter-Barry Books Ltd)
4

It is always a treat to have a new anthology from Roger Stevens. This collection certainly does not disappoint. Taking inspiration from the celebrations around the first moon landing fifty years ago, Roger has gathered together work from a galaxy...

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New Talent

The Magic Place
Chris Wormell
(David Fickling Books)
5

Clementine has never seen the outside world. She is kept shut up inside No 10 Blackstone Street, home to her aunt and uncle. When not locked in her cellar room, she must clean and tidy for them. Her only companion (when he feels like it) is the...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 238

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

Under 5s

  • My Friends
    Max Low
    5

  • Red Red Red
    Polly Dunbar
    5

  • Together We Can
    Caryl Hart
    4

  • Who's Going To Bed?
    Abie Longstaff
    4

  • Harry In A Hurry
    Timothy Knapman
    Gemma Merino
    4

  • Mr Scruff
    Simon James
    4

  • The Rabbit Listened
    Cori Doerrfeld
    4

  • Fergal in a Fix!
    Robert Starling
    4

  • Taxi Ride with Victor
    Sara Trofa
    4

  • Lulu’s First Day
    Anna McQuinn
    4

  • Oscar Seeks a Friend
    Pawel Pawlak
    4

  • Pick A Pumpkin
    Jarvis
    Patricia Toht
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Quill Soup
    Alan Durant
    Dale Blankenaar
    5

  • Small In The City
    Sydney Smith
    5

  • Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Put Astronauts on the Moon
    Helaine Becker
    Dow Phumiruk
    5

  • Uki and the Outcasts
    Kieran Larwood
    David Wyatt
    Fernando Jaurez
    5

  • Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue
    Paula Harrison
    4

  • Dave and the Tooth Fairy
    Verna Wilkins
    Carl Pearce
    4

  • The Bug Collector
    Alex G Griffiths
    4

  • Bear Out There
    Jacob Grant
    4

  • I Really Want to Win
    Simon Philip
    Lucia Gaggiotti
    4

  • Life On Mars
    John Agee
    4

  • Free
    Sam Usher
    4

  • Sam Wu Is NOT Afraid Of Spiders
    Nathan Reed
    Kevin Tsang
    Katie Tsang
    4

  • A Boy's Best Friend
    Nicola Davies
    Cathy Fisher
    4

  • Clem And Crab
    Fiona Lumbers
    4

  • Look Up!
    Nathan Bryon
    Dapa Adeola
    4

  • The Misadventures Of Frederick
    Emma Chichester Clark
    Ben Manley
    4

  • Taxi Ride with Victor
    Sara Trofa
    4

  • Izzy Gizmo and the Invention Convention
    Pip Jones
    4

  • Oscar Seeks a Friend
    Pawel Pawlak
    4

  • Everyone Can Draw
    Fifi Kuo
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Magic Place
    Chris Wormell
    5

  • Lori and Max
    Catherine O Flynn
    5

  • Lily at Lissadell
    Judi Curtin
    5

  • Moonstruck!: Poems About Our Moon
    Roger Stevens
    Ed Boxall
    4

  • What's That In Dog Years?
    Julia Christians
    Ben Davis
    4

  • Ariki and the Island of Wonders
    Nicola Davies
    Nicola Kinnear
    4

  • Stretch Your Confidence, Discover What You Can Do!
    Vicky Barker
    Beth Cox
    4

  • Oscar Seeks a Friend
    Pawel Pawlak
    4

  • My Family And Other Ghosts
    Lou Kuenzler
    3

  • The International Yeti Collective
    Paul Mason
    Katy Riddell
    3

  • The Extraordinary Life of Neil Armstrong
    Martin Howard
    Freda Chiu
    1

Ages 10-14

  • The Tzar's Curious Runaways
    Robin Scott-Elliot
    5

  • Top Marks for Murder
    Robin Stevens
    5

  • Where the River Runs Gold
    Sita Brahmachari
    5

  • Blast Off To the Moon!
    Ralph Timberlake
    5

  • The Girl with Space in Her Heart
    Lara Williamson
    5

  • Lily at Lissadell
    Judi Curtin
    5

  • A Pocketful of Stars
    Aisha Bushby
    4

  • Patina
    Jason Reynolds
    4

  • Gloves Off
    Louisa Reid
    4

  • The Bad Luck Lighthouse
    Nicki Thornton
    4

  • Max Kowalski Didn't Mean It
    Susie Day
    4

  • The Switching Hour
    Damaris Young
    4

  • Wolf Light
    Yaba Badoe
    4

  • Flember: The Secret Book
    Jamie Smart
    4

  • The Space We're In
    Laura Carlin
    Katya Balen
    4

  • Inchtinn: Island of Shadows
    Danny Weston
    Miranda Harris
    4

  • The Pearl in the Ice
    Cathryn Constable
    4

  • The Fowl Twins
    Eoin Colfer
    3

  • Beyond Platform 13
    Eva Ibbotson
    Sibéal Pounder
    3

  • The Wind in the Wall
    Sally Gardner
    Rovina Cai
    3

Ages 14+

  • The Wishing Bones
    Michelle Lovric
    5

  • Chinglish
    Sue Cheung
    5

  • Snowflake AZ
    Marcus Sedgwick
    4

  • What Magic Is This?
    Holly Bourne
    4

  • Heartstream
    Tom Pollock
    4

  • Furious Thing
    Jenny Downham
    4

  • Charcoal Boys
    Roger Mello
    Daniel Hahn
    4

  • We Hunt the Flame
    Hafsah Faizal
    3

  • I Hold Your Heart
    Karen Gregory
    3

BfK News

‘INSPIRING’: CONTENDERS FOR THE 2020 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS REVEALED

Blue Peter Book Award logo

Six books have made it onto the shortlists for the 2020 Blue Peter Book Awards. There are two categories: Best Story, and – in non-fiction November – Best Book with Facts.

read more...
NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2020 CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

And we’re off… the nominations for the 2020 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are announced today, Monday 4th November.

read more...
2020 UKLA BOOK AWARDS THE LONGLISTS

UKLA Awards

A record number of submissions and a new category to highlight information books marks the 12th longlists for the UKLA Awards, the only national awards judged by active classroom teachers.

read more...
JESSICA LOVE NAMED WINNER OF THE KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE 2019 FOR JULIAN IS A MERMAID

Jessica Love

read more...
LOLLIES 2020 SHORTLIST THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies), the awards that celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Lollies logo

read more...
HOOD, RUNDELL AND REYNOLDS UKLA BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

Morag Hood, Katherine Rundell and Jason Reynolds have been announced as the winners of the UKLA Book Awards 2019 for I Am Bat, The Explorer and Long Way Down respectively.

read more...
CATHERINE JOHNSON WINS LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Radical Fiction is Catherine Johnson for her book, Freedom (Scholastic 2018).

Catherine Johnsonn photo Andy Donohoe

read more...
CRESSIDA COWELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

‘Books are transformative because of their unique ability to develop three key magical powers: intelligence, creativity and, most important of all, empathy. Words are power; let’s take magic seriously.’ Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate

read more...
STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

read more...
SLA School Librarian of the Year 2019 Announced

Ros Harding School Librarian of the Year

Ros Harding of The King’s School Chester has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2019. 2019 YA Book Prize winner Sara Barnard presented Ros Harding with her award at a special ceremony at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London Kensington on 27 June.

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