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Books for Keeps 103 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 103 - March 1997

Cover Story
The cover of this issue is a design incorporating illustrations from four books illustrated by the subject of our Authorgraph, Ian Beck. The top left illustration is from Five Little Ducks (Orchard), the top right from Poppy and Pip's Picnic (to be published Autumn '97 by HarperCollins), the bottom left from The Owl and the Pussy-cat (Transworld) and the bottom right from Home Before Dark (to be published September '97 by Scholastic). Ian Beck's Picture Book (Hippo) is reviewed in this issue.
Beck talks to BfK's interviewer, Julia Eccleshare, also in this issue. His distinctive decorative style with its sensitive pen line and cross hatching has a nostalgic but sometimes also a surreal quality - he describes it as 'a look that is floating, strong and wistful all at the same time'.

Thanks to Orchard, HarperCollins, Transworld and Scholastic for their help in producing this composite cover.

BfK No. 103 Articles

Editorial – March 1997

News and comment from the Editor.
At Mother’s (or Father’s) Knee

Deborah Maby on preschoolers who are ready to read.
Good? Good as? Good for...?

Peter Hunt discusses criteria for book selection.
Publishing Profiles No.2: The Production Manager

Liz Attenborough goes behind the scenes in publishing.
Authorgraph No.103: Ian Beck

Ian Beck interviewed by Julia Eccleshare
BfK Briefing – March 1997

News * Events * Awards * Obituary * Poetry Best Seller Charts * Letters to the Editor
Good Reads: Coalway Junior School, Gloucestershire

Reviews from pupils of Coalway Junior School, Gloucestershire.
Classics in Short No.2: Five Children and It

Helen Levene on E Nesbit's Five Children and It.

Editor's Choice

Disguises and Surprises
Claire Llewellyn
(Walker Books Ltd)
5

The soil is crawling with earthworms. There could easily be a million in an area the size of your school games pitch.

Although they feel rubbery, worms are actually covered with hundreds of tiny bristles. The bristles help them to...

read more

New Talent

Creepers
Keith Gray
(Mammoth)
5

I clenched and unclenched my fists, my heart was beating fast fast. I looked at my best friend and saw his freckles and characteristic grin riding high. If I could make the distance with anyone it was Jamie. I was glad he was here, I wouldn...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 103

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

Under 5s

  • What Newt Could Do for Turtle
    Jonathan London
    4

  • Cinderella
    Prue Theobalds
    4

  • Michael's Monsters
    Gus Clarke
    4

  • Ian Beck's Picture Book
    Ian Beck
    4

  • A Cheese and Tomato Spider
    Nick Sharratt
    3

  • Little Elephant Thunderfoot
    Sally Grindley
    3

  • The Bad Day ABC
    Hilda Offen
    3

  • Lottie's Letter
    Gordon Snell
    3

  • The Treasure Hunt
    Nick Butterworth
    3

  • Mrs Pig Gets Cross ¦ Wicked William
    Mary Rayner
    3

  • Chanting Rhymes ¦ Action Rhymes ¦ Finger Rhymes ¦ Counting Rhymes
    3

  • Papa, please get the moon for me
    Eric Carle
    3

  • Let's Look Inside the Yellow Truck ¦ Let's Look Inside the Red Car
    Amanda Leslie
    3

  • Charlie's Choice
    Nicola Smee
    3

  • Dem Bones
    Bob Barner
    2

  • Sweetapple Farm
    Wendy Smith
    1

Ages 5-8

  • The Orchard Book of Irish Fairy Tales and Legends
    Una Leavy
    5

  • Disguises and Surprises
    Claire Llewellyn
    5

  • Wings, Stings and Wriggly Things
    Martin Jenkins
    5

  • The Orchard Book of Stories from the Seven Seas
    Pomme Clayton
    4

  • The King of Ireland's Son
    Brendan Behan
    4

  • Mr MacMurdo's Guide to Ghostkeeping
    Gerald Hawksley
    4

  • Too Much Talk
    Angela Shelf Medearis
    4

  • The Sea of Tranquility
    Mark Haddon
    4

  • Tales of Trotter Street
    Shirley Hughes
    4

  • Food ¦ Clothes & Uniforms
    Kath Cox
    Pat Hughes
    3

  • The Five Sisters
    Margaret Mahy
    3

  • Sulky Suzy/Jittery Jack
    Joan Lingard
    3

  • Hogsel and Gruntel
    Dick King-Smith
    3

  • Minty; Freedom Child of the Sea
    Alan Schroeder
    3

  • Cloudland
    John Burningham
    3

  • Take Care On Your Own ¦ Take Care Near Water
    Carole Wale
    1

  • The Animals of Paradise
    Noura Durkee
    0

Ages 8-10

  • Clockwork or All Wound Up
    Philip Pullman
    5

  • The Terrible Trins
    Dick King-Smith
    5

  • Chuck and Danielle
    Peter Dickinson
    5

  • Secret Friends
    Elizabeth Laird
    5

  • Wayland Atlas of Threatened Cultures
    4

  • Virtual World
    Chris Westwood
    4

  • Pictures in the Dark
    Gillian Cross
    4

  • Daughter of the Sea
    Berlie Doherty
    4

  • Oxford Children's Encyclopedia
    4

  • The World of the Medieval Knight
    Christopher Gravett
    4

  • We Animals Would Like a Word with You
    John Agard
    4

  • The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog
    Jeremy Strong
    4

  • Daft Jack and the Bean Stack ¦ Cinderboy
    Laurence Anholt
    4

  • The 20th Century
    Terry Deary
    3

  • Metropolis
    Albert Lorenz
    Joy Schleh
    3

  • Bypass
    Anthony Masters
    3

  • Similon
    Kathryn Cave
    3

  • Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice?
    Paula Danziger
    3

  • Superstructures
    Mike Corbishley
    3

  • Belly Flop
    Morris Gleitzman
    3

  • Creep and Chase
    Ruth Dowley
    3

  • Crocodile Tears
    Marjorie Ann Watts
    3

  • Connie and the Water Babies
    Jacqueline Wilson
    3

  • Charlie the Champion Traveller
    Hazel Townson
    3

  • Claude Monet ¦ Emmeline Pankhurst ¦ Frederic Chopin ¦ Isambard Kingdom Brunel ¦ Vincent van Gogh
    John Malam
    2

  • Robert Burns: Maker of Rhymes
    Elisabeth Jane McNair
    2

  • What Do We Know about Plains Indians? ¦ What Do We Know about Prehistoric People?
    Colin Taylor
    1

  • The Complete Poetical Works of Phoebe Flood
    John Whitworth
    1

Ages 10-14

  • Escape
    June Oldham
    5

  • Creepers
    Keith Gray
    5

  • Death or Glory Boys ¦ Broken Bridge
    Theresa Breslin
    4

  • The Car
    Gary Paulsen
    4

  • Listen to the Dark
    Maeve Henry
    4

  • The Spark Gap
    Julie Bertagna
    4

  • Sex Matters
    Julian Cohen
    3

  • The Vision
    Pete Johnson
    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

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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.

read more...
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

read more...
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.

read more...
TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

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