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Books for Keeps 224 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 224 - May 2017
BfK 224 May 2017

This issue’s cover illustration features The Pavee and the Buffer Girl by Siobhan Dowd and Emma Shoard. Thanks to Barrington Stoke for their help with this May cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 224 May 2017.

BfK No. 224 Articles

Editorial 224

Editorial comment

The story of The Pavee and the Buffer Girl

Tony Bradman on the commission that launched the career of Siobhan Dowd.

Celebrating poetry: with the CLiPPA and in the classroom

The CLiPPA 2017

Windows into Illustration: Steve Lenton

Steve Lenton on Let's Find Fred

Authorgraph 224 Elizabeth Wein

Elizabeth Wein interviewed by Anna James

Ten of the Best Books to Introduce Children to Politics

Chosen by author and bookseller Catherine Barter

Rewarding Reads: celebrating the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals

Jake Hope looks back over the celebrated children's book awards

Magic, mother-daughter bonds, and feeling ‘oustiderish’

Michelle Pauli talks to Irena Brignull about The Hawkweed Prophecy

The Mizielinskis under the microscope

Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński in the spotlight

Two children tell: Nicholas and Grendel

Nicholas encounters monsters

I Wish I’d Written: Jason Wallace

Jason Wallace declares Lord of the Flies by far and away the book he wishes he’d written

Good Reads 224

Good Reads chosen by young people at the Hemel Hempstead School, Hemel Hempstead

Classics in Short No. 123: a child’s introduction to The Pilgrim's Progress

Isaac Taylor's Bunyan Explained to a Child

AN INTERVIEW WITH EMMA DONOGHUE

The author of Room interviewed about her debut children's book.

AN INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL

An interview with the author of Spellslinger

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2017 KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER LANE SMITH

Exclusive Books for Keeps interview

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE 2017 CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER RUTA SEPETYS

An exclusive Books for Keeps interview

AN INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL HICKMAN

Andrea Reece talks to Rachel Hickman about her book One Silver Summer.

Editor's Choice

Virginia Wolf

Kyo Maclear
(AVA Publishing SA)
5

‘One day my sister Virginia woke up feeling wolfish’. Nothing can change her mood, though sister Vanessa tries and tries. When Virginia finally admits there is something – or rather a somewhere – that will make her feel better, it is up to...

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New Talent

Mold and the Poison Plot

Lorraine Gregory
(OUP Oxford)
5

In Mold and the Poison Plot we meet a wonderful new hero with a distinctive voice and an amazing ability to smell out danger. Mold is small and puny, but he has an enormous nose and a big heart.  As a baby, he was found in a...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 224

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

Under 5s

  • Sunk

    Rob Biddulph
    5
  • A Perfect Day

    Lane Smith
    5
  • Quiet!

    Kate Alizadeh
    5
  • Bedtime with Ted

    Sophy Henn
    4
  • Mouse’s Big Day (Twit Twoo School)

    Lydia Monks
    4
  • Tiger Tiger

    Jonny Lambert
    4

Ages 5-8

  • Virginia Wolf

    Kyo Maclear
    5
  • Rabbit & Bear The Pest in the Nest

    5
  • Town is by the Sea

    Joanne Schwartz
    5
  • The Treasure of Pirate Frank

    Mal Peet
    Elspeth Graham
    5
  • Little Lemur Laughing

    Joshua Seigel
    4
  • The Street Beneath My Feet

    Charlotte Guillain
    4
  • All About Ella

    Sally Nicholls
    4

Ages 8-10

  • Mold and the Poison Plot

    Lorraine Gregory
    5
  • A Song for Will - The Lost Gardeners of Heligan

    Hilary Robinson
    5
  • The Little Book of Wetland Bird Sounds

    Andrea Pinnington
    Caz Buckingham
    5
  • Ella Queen of Jazz

    Helen Hancocks
    5
  • The Lotterys Plus One

    Emma Donoghue
    4
  • A Story Like the Wind

    Gill Lewis
    4
  • The Ravenmaster's Boy

    Mary Hoffman
    4
  • Goodly and Grave In a Bad Case of Kidnap

    Justine Windsor
    4

Ages 10-14

  • Small Things

    Mel Tregonning
    5
  • The Pavee and the Buffer Girl

    Siobhan Dowd
    5
  • The Little Book of Wetland Bird Sounds

    Andrea Pinnington
    Caz Buckingham
    5
  • Where the World Ends

    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5
  • See How They Lie

    Sue Wallman
    5
  • Out of Heart

    Irfan Master
    4
  • The Ravenmaster's Boy

    Mary Hoffman
    4
  • Anglo-Saxon Boy

    Tony Bradman
    4
  • Wave me Goodbye

    Jacqueline Wilson
    4
  • See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan

    Jack Cheng
    4
  • #Help, my cat’s a vlogging superstar!

    Rae Earl
    4
  • Reaching the Stars

    Jan Dean
    Michaela Morgan
    Liz Brownlee
    3

Ages 14+

  • The Memory Book

    Lara Avery
    5
  • Release

    Patrick Ness
    5
  • The Hate U Give

    Angie Thomas
    5
  • Where the World Ends

    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5
  • Every Hidden Thing

    Kenneth Oppel
    5
  • Out of Heart

    Irfan Master
    4
  • Troublemakers

    Catherine Barter
    4
  • The Girl In Between

    Sarah Carroll
    4
  • I Have No Secrets

    Penny Joelson
    4
  • Beyond the Wall

    Tanya Landman
    4

Books About Children's Books

  • 'Over the Hills and Far Away'; the life of Beatrix Potter

    Matthew Dennison
    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.’

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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.

read more...
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.

read more...
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

read more...
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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