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Books for Keeps 123 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 123 - July 2000

Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Monkey Puzzle. Written in rhyme, this agreeable story has butterfly helping little monkey to find his mum. Scheffler’s distinctive, entertaining and strongly characterised illustrations make good use of the page as little monkey meets lots of jungle inhabitants before being reunited with his mum. Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for their help in producing this July cover.

BfK No. 123 Articles

Editorial - July 2000

News and comment from the Editor.
Young and Pregnant

Lesley de Meza on sex education and children's books.
Authorgraph No.123: Jon Scieszka

Jon Scieszka interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.
Beyond Our Shores

Michael Morpurgo on the need for books in translation.
Assessing the Carnegie and Greenaway Shortlists

Rosemary Stones discusses the chosen books.
Knowing About Children’s Literature

Prue Goodwin explains the role of teacher training.
BfK Briefing - July 2000

News * Letters to the Editor * Obituary * Awards * Events

Good Reads: The King’s School, Worcester

Reviews from pupils of The King’s School, Worcester.
Classics in Short No.22: The Story of the Little Red Engine

Brian Alderson on Diana Ross's The Story of the Little Red Engine.

Editor's Choice

The Other Side of Truth
Beverley Naidoo
(Puffin)
5

When their mother is assassinated, Sade and Femi's father, an outspoken journalist highly critical of the government, decides that the children must be smuggled out of Nigeria to safety in England. That same evening they board a plane under...

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New Talent

Floodland
Marcus Sedgwick
(Orion Children's Books)
3

A new addition to the recent spate of children's novels set in dystopian future worlds, Floodland is located in a Norwich which is now cut off from the mainland, surrounded by the sea which has flooded and reclaimed the land after global warming...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 123

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

Under 5s

  • Billy Bean's Dream
    Simone Lia
    5

  • A Pig is Moving In!
    Claudia Fries
    5

  • The Orchard Nursery Story Book
    Helen Craig
    4

  • Choosy Charlie: A book for children with clever fingers; The Giant's Boot: A book for children with clever fingers
    Marion Ripley
    4

  • Frog and a Very Special Day
    Max Velthuijs
    4

  • I Want My Potty
    Tony Ross
    4

  • A Special Something
    Jan Fearnley
    3

  • Dog Days
    Dawn Bentley
    3

  • Poems about Festivals; Poems about Seasons
    3

  • Need a Trim, Jim
    Kaye Umansky
    3

  • The Katie Morag Stories
    Mairi Hedderwick
    2

  • The Elephants' Ears
    Catherine Chambers
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Dog's Night
    Meredith Hooper
    5

  • My Dad
    Anthony Browne
    5

  • Grandma Chickenlegs
    Geraldine McCaughrean
    4

  • Furaha Means Happy! A Book of Swahili Words
    Ken Wilson-Max
    4

  • Mozart: Scenes from the Childhood of the Great Composer
    Catherine Brighton
    4

  • My Cat Charlie
    Becky Edwards
    4

  • Beowulf and the Monster; The Simple Giant
    Brian Patten
    4

  • The Big Orchard Book of Funny Poems
    4

  • The Grandad Tree
    Trish Cooke
    4

  • Ghostly Goulash; Serpent Soup; Goblin Stew; Fairy Cake
    Jonathan Emmett
    3

  • The Great Divide
    Dayle Ann Dodds
    3

  • Pumpkin's Downfall
    Leon Rosselson
    3

  • Little Brother and the Cough
    Hiawyn Oram
    3

  • First Encyclopedia of Our World
    Felicity Brooks
    3

  • My Brother, My Sister and Me - a first look at sibling rivalry; Stop Picking on Me - a first look at bullying
    Pat Thomas
    3

  • Who Loves You, Billy?
    Bernard Ashley
    3

  • The Man
    Raymond Briggs
    3

  • Stories from India
    Vayu Naidu
    3

  • Two of Everything
    Babette Cole
    3

  • The Sun is Laughing
    3

  • The Living Earth
    Eleonore Schmid
    1

Ages 8-10

  • Collected Poems for Children
    Charles Causley
    5

  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
    J K Rowling
    5

  • Buried Alive!
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Juggling with Gerbils
    Brian Patten
    5

  • Pop-Up Olympics
    Robert Crowther
    4

  • My Brother's Ghost
    Allan Ahlberg
    4

  • Prehistoric World
    Fiona Chandler
    Sam Taplin
    Jane Bingham
    4

  • Robin of Sherwood
    Michael Morpurgo
    4

  • Good Sports!
    4

  • How the Whale Became and Other Stories
    Ted Hughes
    4

  • Sojourner Truth; Mary Seacole
    John Malam
    3

  • Redwall
    Brian Jacques
    3

  • Dear Diary
    Sara Fanelli
    3

  • Space Race
    Sylvia Waugh
    3

  • Killer Mushrooms Ate My Gran
    Susan Gates
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Candlefasts
    William Mayne
    5

  • The Other Side of Truth
    Beverley Naidoo
    5

  • Five Finger-Piglets
    5

  • Crossing the Line: Young Women and the Law
    4

  • The Burning
    Judy Allen
    4

  • The War in Kosovo
    Stewart Ross
    4

  • My Secret Camera
    4

  • Faraway Home
    Marilyn Taylor
    4

  • The Lammas Field
    Catherine Fisher
    4

  • The King Who Was and Will Be: The World of King Arthur and His Knights
    Kevin Crossley-Holland
    4

  • Vision of Beauty
    Kathryn Lasky
    3

  • P.S. He's Mine! (a novel in e-mail)
    Rosie Rushton
    Nina Schindler
    3

  • Flame Angels: An Anthology of Irish Writing
    3

  • The Philosophy Files
    Stephen Law
    3

  • Winge?d Chariot
    Ben Jeapes
    3

  • Law of the Wolf Tower
    Tanith Lee
    3

  • Seven Little Australians
    Ethel Turner
    3

  • Floodland
    Marcus Sedgwick
    3

  • Rhino Boy
    John Brindley
    3

  • The White Horse
    Cynthia D Grant
    1

Books About Children's Books

  • Tales, Tellers and Texts
    Gabrielle Cliff Hodges
    Mary Jane Drummond
    Morag Styles
    3

  • Hand in Hand - emotional development through literature
    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.

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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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