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Books for Keeps 126 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 126 - January 2001

Cover Story
This issue’s cover, illustrated by David Wyatt, is from Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Kite Rider (0 19 271860 6, £6.99 pbk) due to be published in March. Geraldine McCaughrean is interviewed by Stephanie Nettell. Thanks to Oxford University Press for their help in producing this January cover.

BfK No. 126 Articles

Editorial - January 2001

News and comment from the Editor.
The Proliferation of Modern ‘Classics’

Julia Eccleshare on a new publishing trend.
‘Not Dissimilar to a Folk Tale’

Head chef, Henry Harris, on cookery books for children.
Authorgraph No.126: Geraldine McCaughrean

Geraldine McCaughrean interviewed by Stephanie Nettell.
What Hope for Children’s Poetry?

Robert Hull finds limited choices.
BfK Briefing - January 2001

Awards * Events * Publication * Obituary * Letters to the Editor
Useful Organisations No.13: The Children’s Book Circle

Discussion forum for anyone involved in children's books via newsletter, events and monthly meetings.
I Wish I’d Written... Holes

Kaye Umansky chooses Louis Sachar's Holes.
Good Reads: Stanchester Community School

Reviews from pupils of Stanchester Community School, Stoke sub Hamdon, Somerset.
Classics in Short No.25: Pinocchio

Brian Alderson on Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio.

Editor's Choice

Coram Boy
Jamila Gavin
(Mammoth)
5

14-year-old Meshak is thought to be a simpleton but it is this traumastised boy's longing for love and security that leads him to save the life of one of the many illegitimate babies that his sinister father collects from desperate women,...

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New Talent

The Curse of the Dolphin
Beth Swinnerton
(Andersen Press Ltd)
4

Kept back at school to do extra homework, best friends Jack and Olly see someone they think is a burglar so they triumphantly save the environment prize - a model dolphin - from the 'burglar's clutches. They realise their mistake too late and a...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 126

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

Under 5s

  • Again!
    John Prater
    5

  • Rocket Countdown
    Nick Sharratt
    5

  • Look! There's Elmer
    David McKee
    5

  • Owen and the Mountain
    Malachy Doyle
    4

  • Once Upon an Everyday
    Toby Forward
    4

  • Harry's Home
    Catherine Anholt
    Laurence Anholt
    4

  • Max
    Bob Graham
    4

  • My Most Favourite Thing
    Nicola Moon
    4

  • Do I have to go to the dentist?
    Diane Louise Jordan
    3

  • Animals Scare Me Stiff
    Babette Cole
    2

  • Incey Wincey Spider
    Frances Cony
    Iain Smith
    2

  • Busy Babies Go to the Gym ¦ Busy Babies Go Swimming ¦ Tiny Trumpet; Ten Sleepy Bunnies ¦ Rocket to the Rescue ¦ The Piggy Race
    Jane Kemp
    Clare Walters
    2

Ages 5-8

  • A Sunday with Grandpa
    Philippe Dupasquier
    5

  • My Uncle is a Hunkle says Clarice Bean
    Lauren Child
    5

  • Ebele's Favourite: A Book of African Games
    Ifeoma Onyefulu
    4

  • Willy's Pictures
    Anthony Browne
    4

  • The Sam Pig Storybook
    Alison Uttley
    4

  • Down in the Dump with Dinsmore; The Too-Tight Tutu; No One; Ginger
    Margaret Mahy
    3

  • The Bedtime Book
    3

  • Madlenka
    Peter Sis
    3

  • little.com
    Ralph Steadman
    3

  • No Worries!
    Marcia Williams
    3

  • Tarquin the Wonder Horse; The Impossible Parents Go Green
    June Crebbin
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
    J K Rowling
    5

  • Black Maria
    Diana Wynne Jones
    4

  • The Song of Arthur
    Robert Leeson
    4

  • The Curse of the Dolphin
    Beth Swinnerton
    4

  • The Mum-Minder
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • Enchantment
    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    4

  • Charmed Life
    Diana Wynne Jones
    3

  • House of Ghosts
    Ann Turnbull
    3

  • Adventures in the Middle Ages; Adventures in Ancient Egypt
    Linda Bailey
    2

  • The Green Hawk
    Aeres Twigg
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Coram Boy
    Jamila Gavin
    5

  • Counting Stars
    David Almond
    5

  • Beyond the Bin:The Livewire Guide to Reusing and Recycling
    Jo Budd
    5

  • His Dark Materials I: Northern Lights; His Dark Materials II: The Subtle Knife
    Philip Pullman
    5

  • Billy the Kid
    Michael Morpurgo
    5

  • Born to be Wild: The Livewire Guide to Saving Animals
    Juliet Gellatley
    4

  • Stormbreaker
    Anthony Horowitz
    4

  • Where Were You, Robert?
    Hans Magnus Enzensberger
    4

  • Mahabharata
    Margaret Simpson
    4

  • The Lady and the Squire
    Terry Jones
    4

  • Vicky Angel
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • Do Not Read This Book
    Pat Moon
    4

  • The Ghost Behind the Wall
    Melvin Burgess
    4

  • Great Wonders of the World
    Russell Ash
    3

  • Dear Venny, Dear Saffron
    Gary Crew
    Libby Hathorn
    3

  • Oxford Children's History of the World
    Neil Grant
    3

  • The Romantic Poets; Thomas Hardy
    Nicola Barber
    Patrick Lee-Browne
    3

  • The Tale of Jessica Sweetapple
    Linda Kempton
    3

  • Natasha's Will
    Joan Lingard
    3

  • Silkscreen
    Caroline Pitcher
    3

  • Collins Children's Encyclopedia
    John Farndon
    2

  • How the Future Began: Everyday Life
    Clive Gifford
    2

  • Sick! Bloody Moments in the History of Medicine
    Gael Jennings
    1

Books About Children's Books

  • Words and Pictures
    Quentin Blake
    5

  • Readers Who Don't ... and how to persuade them otherwise
    Chris Powling
    4

  • Enid Blyton and the Mystery of Children's Literature
    David Rudd
    3

  • The Encyclopaedia of School Stories Vol. 1: Girls' School Stories; The Encyclopaedia of School Stories Vol. 2: Boys' School Stories
    Sue Sims
    Hilary Clare
    3

  • The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
    2

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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