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

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BfK No. 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.
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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)

‘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...

Mold and the Poison Plot

Lorraine Gregory

(OUP Oxford)

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...

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.’

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.

IBBY UK has announced that Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee will be the UK nominations for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

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)

CLPE Reflecting Realities Report 2020

The six books shortlisted for the 2021 Blue Peter Book Awards have been announced.

Blue Peter Book Award logo

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.

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.

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.

Tom Palmer

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

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 224 Articles

Editor's Choice

Virginia Wolf

New Talent

Mold and the Poison Plot

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 224

Under 5s

Sunk

A Perfect Day

Quiet!

Bedtime with Ted

Mouse’s Big Day (Twit Twoo School)

Tiger Tiger

Ages 5-8

Virginia Wolf

Rabbit & Bear The Pest in the Nest

Town is by the Sea

The Treasure of Pirate Frank

Little Lemur Laughing

The Street Beneath My Feet

All About Ella

Ages 8-10

Mold and the Poison Plot

A Song for Will - The Lost Gardeners of Heligan

The Little Book of Wetland Bird Sounds

Ella Queen of Jazz

The Lotterys Plus One

A Story Like the Wind

The Ravenmaster's Boy

Goodly and Grave In a Bad Case of Kidnap

Ages 10-14

Small Things

The Pavee and the Buffer Girl

The Little Book of Wetland Bird Sounds

Where the World Ends

See How They Lie

Out of Heart

The Ravenmaster's Boy

Anglo-Saxon Boy

Wave me Goodbye

See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan

#Help, my cat’s a vlogging superstar!

Reaching the Stars

Ages 14+

The Memory Book

Release

The Hate U Give

Where the World Ends

Every Hidden Thing

Out of Heart

Troublemakers

The Girl In Between

I Have No Secrets

Beyond the Wall

Books About Children's Books

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

BfK News