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Books for Keeps 114 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 114 - January 1999

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Michael Foreman and Michael Morpurgo’s Joan of Arc. Thanks to Pavilion for their help in producing this January cover.

BfK No. 114 Articles

Editorial – January 1999

News and comment from the Editor.
A Creative Collaboration

Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman on their Joan of Arc.
Trolley Power?

Julia Eccleshare on children's supermarket books.
The Centre for the Children’s Book

Elizabeth Hammill on why we need one.
What is a Literary Agent?

 Liz Attenborough on their role in children's publishing.
Authorgraph No.114: Michael Cadnum

Michael Cadnum interviewed by Val Randall.
Ted Hughes 1930-1998

Morag Styles pays tribute to the Poet Laureate.
BfK Briefing - January 1999

News * Awards * Best Seller Charts * Obituaries * Letters to the Editor
Useful Organisations No.4: The Federation of Children's Book Groups

National charity promoting the reading habit among young people.
I Wish I’d Written... Clockwork

Terry Deary chooses Philip Pullman’s Clockwork.
Good Reads: Dover Grammar School for Boys

Reviews from pupils of Dover Grammar School for Boys, Kent.
Classics in Short No.13: The Little Prince

Brian Alderson on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.

Editor's Choice

The Frog Princess
Laura Cecil
(Red Fox)
5

A delightfully told variant of The Frog Prince, this witty picture book version has three princes (one very plump who likes his food, one very thin who loves fashionable clothes and the youngest who likes to lie in the grass looking at...

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New Talent

Hunting Gumnor
Stephen Potts
(Mammoth)
3

In this adventure story set on the coast, Rarty and her friend Lionel must find Gumnor, the whale-type creature whose cry acts as a warning to ships on foggy nights. She has escaped from her chains and her disappearance threatens the livelihood...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 114

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

Under 5s

  • Pumpkin Soup
    Helen Cooper
    5

  • Hmm... A Preston Pig story
    Colin McNaughton
    5

  • I Love You, Blue Kangaroo!
    Emma Chichester Clark
    5

  • The Selfish Crocodile
    Faustin Charles
    5

  • Daisy Knows Best
    Lisa Kopper
    5

  • Ebb's New Friend
    Jane Simmons
    4

  • The Puffin Book of Five-minute Stories
    4

  • What!
    Kate Lum
    4

  • Ragged Bear
    Brigitte Weninger
    3

  • Scaredy Cat
    Joan Rankin
    3

  • The Great Ball Play
    Joanna Troughton
    3

  • Mockingbird
    Allan Ahlberg
    3

  • Wake Up/Sleep Tight
    Ken Wilson-Max
    3

  • The Gotcha Smile
    Rita Phillips Mitchell
    2

  • My Ladybird Treasury of Stories & Rhymes
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Think of an Eel
    Karen Wallace
    5

  • Big Blue Whale
    Nicola Davies
    5

  • W is for World
    Kathryn Cave
    5

  • Care of Henry ¦ Taking the Cat's Way Home
    Anne Fine
    5

  • Michael Rosen's Book of Nonsense
    Michael Rosen
    5

  • The Frog Princess
    Laura Cecil
    5

  • Tell Me Why Planes Have Wings; Tell Me Why Rain is Wet
    Shirley Willis
    4

  • Zoo in the Sky
    Jacqueline Mitton
    4

  • My Amazing Journey; My Family's Changing
    Pat Thomas
    4

  • Scary Stories for Seven Year Olds; Scary Stories for Eight Year Olds; Funny Stories for Seven Year Olds; Funny Stories for Eight Year Olds; Animal Stories for Seven Year Olds; Animal Stories for Eight Year Olds
    4

  • A Walk with Granny
    Nigel Gray
    4

  • The Busy Body Book
    Anne Civardi
    Ruth Thomson
    4

  • Just Grandpa and Me
    Sally Grindley
    4

  • Katie and the Mona Lisa
    James Mayhew
    4

  • What Do We Think About Death?
    Karen Bryant-Mole
    3

  • A Bed full of Night-time Stories
    3

  • Read Me a Story, Please
    3

  • From a Distance
    Julie Gold
    2

  • Vulca, the Etruscan; Nefertari, Princess of Egypt
    Roberta Angeletti
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Footprints on the Page: Poetry Collection 1; Dark as a Midnight Dream: Poetry Collection 2
    5

  • Famine; War
    Paul Bennett
    5

  • Enchantment in the Garden; The Lion and the Unicorn
    Shirley Hughes
    5

  • Never Let Go
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    5

  • Count Karlstein or The Ride of the Demon Huntsman; Spring-Heeled Jack -- A Story of Bravery and Evil
    Philip Pullman
    4

  • Living with Asthma; Living with Diabetes
    Peta Bee
    4

  • The Adventures of Robin Hood and Marian
    4

  • Growing Up: From Child to Adult; Wedding Days: Celebrations of Marriage; Journey's End: Death and Mourning; New Beginnings: Celebrating Birth
    Anita Ganeri
    3

  • Robot
    Clive Gifford
    3

  • Future
    Michael Tambini
    2

  • Lost Property Box; An Odd Kettle of Fish; Elephant Dreams
    Peter Dixon
    Wes Magee
    Matt Simpson
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Hannah Goslar Remembers: a childhood friend of Anne Frank
    Alison Leslie Gold
    5

  • Dark Shadows
    Joan Lingard
    4

  • The World of Islam: Before 1700; India under the Mughal Empire: 1526-1858
    Hazel Mary Martell
    4

  • A Victorian House; A Shakespearean Theatre
    Richard Wood
    4

  • The Hutchinson Treasury of Children's Poetry; Puffin Book of Utterly Brilliant Poetry; Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection
    4

  • The Dream Master
    Theresa Breslin
    4

  • Postcards from No Man's Land
    Aidan Chambers
    4

  • Witchy
    Ann Phillips
    4

  • The Scavenger's Tale
    Rachel Anderson
    4

  • Under the Cat's Eye
    Gillian Rubinstein
    4

  • Sweet Clarinet
    James Riordan
    4

  • White Wolf
    Henrietta Branford
    4

  • My Sister - the Superbitch; I Slept with My Best Friend's Boyfriend; They Think I'm Too Easy; My Boyfriend's Older than My Dad
    Rosie Corrigan
    3

  • Heroes
    Robert Cormier
    3

  • Hello? Is Anybody There?
    Jostein Gaarder
    3

  • Fighting Back
    Catherine MacPhail
    3

  • Shakespeare's Stories
    3

  • The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Romance; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Families; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Mind & Body; The Teenage Worrier's Pocket Guide to: Success
    Ros Asquith
    3

  • Hunting Gumnor
    Stephen Potts
    3

  • With a Friend Like You
    Jo Noble
    2

  • Victorians
    Ann Kramer
    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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