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Books for Keeps 245 - the children's book magazine online

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Books for Keeps is packed with articles, interviews comment and, of course, reviews.

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BfK No. 245 - November 2020
BfK 245 November 2020

This issue’s cover illustration is from The Day I Fell into a Fairytale by Ben Miller, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Books for their help with this November cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of The BfK Poetry Guide October 2020 .

BfK No. 245 Articles

Fairytale Adventures

Michelle Pauli interviews Ben Miller about his new book.

Christmas Gift Guide

The best books to give this year selected by Urmi Merchant of Pickled Pepper Books

Changing The World One Book At A Time

Onjali Q Ráuf interviewed by Clare Zinkin

Windows into Illustration: Thiago de Moraes

Windows into Illustration: Thiago de Moraes.

Ten Books Every Child Should Read

Selected by James Mayhew

Authorgraph Jennifer Donnelly

Jennifer Donnelly interviewed by Joy Court

Happy Blooming Christmas

An extract from Nicolette Jones' new book about Raymond Briggs.

Beyond the Secret Garden: Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Tidings of Comfort and Joy a seasonal round upfrom Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O'Connor

Christmas Present: A New Dogger

Shirley Hughes interviewed by Nicolette Jones

Books of the Year 2020

Books of the Year: our panel’s choice

I Wish I’d Written: Sarah Lean

Sarah Lean chooses a book that transcends fashion

Obituary Jill Paton Walsh

Jill Paton Walsh remembered by Jon Appleton

Classics in Short: Hebridean Treasures on the Isle of Mist

Hebridean Treasures on the Isle of Mist

The Long Song of the Nightingale

The creation story of The Song of the Nightingale by Tanya Landman.

Obituary: Alec Davis 1944-2020

Books for Keeps founder Richard Hill remembers his friend, Alec Davis, the original Books for Keeps designer.

AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED DARREN CHARLTON

John McLay meets Darren Charlton, author of Wranglestone.

AN INTERVIEW WITH NATASHA FARRANT

Michelle Pauli talks to Natasha Farrant about her new book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, which is now shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award.

AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED AUTHOR JENNY PEARSON

Part of our spotlight on the authors shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award, Clare Zinkin interviews Jenny Pearson.

Summer with Meg

Meg Rosoff interviewed by Nicolette Jones

Editor's Choice

The Midnight Guardians

Ross Montgomery
5

Col is miserable. He has been separated from his beloved older sister, evacuated to stay with an aunt who does not welcome him- and treats him accordingly. When, as a final straw, he learns that the longed-for Christmas promised by Rose is not...

read more

New Talent

A Clock of Stars The Shadow Moth

Francesca Gibbons
4

It’s always worth celebrating fresh new voices in fantasy writing and Francesca Gibbons’s debut novel A Clock of Stars reveals her to be an accomplished world builder, a dab hand at controlling plot and action, and the creator of...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 245

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

Under 5s

  • Julian at the Wedding

    Jessica Love
    5
  • The Hospital Dog

    Julia Donaldson
    5
  • It’s Only Stanley

    Jon Agee
    5
  • Special Delivery

    Elliot Kruszynski
    5
  • The World Made A Rainbow

    Michelle Robinson
    4
  • All Sorts

    Pippa Goodhart
    4
  • The Leaf Thief

    Alice Hemming
    4
  • Today I'm Strong

    Nadiya Hussain
    4
  • Will You Be My Friend?

    Sam McBratney
    4

Ages 5-8

  • Julian at the Wedding

    Jessica Love
    5
  • It’s Only Stanley

    Jon Agee
    5
  • While You’re Sleeping

    Mick Jackson
    5
  • Who’s Your Real Mum?

    Bernadette Green
    5
  • Vampire Peter

    Ben Manley
    5
  • The Song of the Nightingale

    Tanya Landman
    5
  • Pirate Stew

    Neil Gaiman
    5
  • Dog Gone

    Rob Biddulph
    5
  • Coming to England

    Floella Benjamin
    4
  • The Little War Cat

    Hiba Noor Khan
    4
  • The Tindims of Rubbish Island

    Sally Gardner
    4
  • An Engineer Like Me

    Shini Somara
    Catherine Coe
    4
  • Jeremy Worried About The Wind

    Pamela Butchart
    4
  • Last: The Story of a White Rhino

    Nicola Davies
    4
  • Bibbit Jumps

    Bei Lynn
    3
  • The North Pole Picnic

    Emma Beswetherick
    3
  • My Shadow is Pink

    Scott Stuart
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Lori and Max and the Book Thieves

    Catherine O Flynn
    5
  • The Midnight Guardians

    Ross Montgomery
    5
  • The Song of the Nightingale

    Tanya Landman
    5
  • Pirate Stew

    Neil Gaiman
    5
  • Migrants

    Issa Watanabe
    5
  • Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia

    Gattaldo
    5
  • My Life As A Cat

    Carlie Sorosiak
    5
  • Voyage of the Sparrowhawk

    Natasha Farrant
    5
  • Owl Or Pussycat?

    Michael Morpurgo
    5
  • Victoria Stitch: Bad and Glittering

    Harriet Muncaster
    5
  • Jungledrop

    Abi Elphinstone
    5
  • Fearless Fairy Tales

    Konnie Huq
    James Kay
    4
  • The Tindims of Rubbish Island

    Sally Gardner
    4
  • Cally and Jimmy: Twins in Trouble

    Zoe Antoniades
    4
  • The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat

    Philip Ardagh
    4
  • The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat

    Philip Ardagh
    4
  • The Silver Arrow

    Lev Grossman
    4
  • Skunk and Badger

    Amy Timberlake
    4
  • Tinsel

    Sibéal Pounder
    4
  • Mary Seacole: Bound for the Battlefield

    Susan Goldman Rubin
    4
  • The Wolf's Secret

    Myriam Dahman
    Nicolas Digard
    4
  • Eco Warrior: Understand, Persuade, Change, Campaign, Act!

    Catherine Barr
    4
  • A Life Story: David Attenborough

    Lizzie Huxley-Jones
    3
  • Ballet Bunnies: The New Class

    Swapna Reddy
    3
  • Boot: The Creaky Creatures

    Shane Hegarty
    3

Ages 10-14

  • The Tigers in the Tower

    Julia Golding
    5
  • The Midnight Guardians

    Ross Montgomery
    5
  • Boy, Everywhere

    A.M. Dassu
    5
  • Wuthering Heights: A Retelling

    Tanya Landman
    5
  • Pages & Co: Tilly and the Map of Stories

    Anna James
    5
  • The Ghost of Gosswater

    Lucy Strange
    5
  • The Haunting of Aveline Jones

    Phil Hickes
    5
  • The Lost Spells

    Robert Macfarlane
    5
  • A Clock of Stars The Shadow Moth

    Francesca Gibbons
    4
  • A Secret of Birds & Bone

    Kiran Millwood Hargrave
    4
  • Elsetime

    Eve McDonnell
    4
  • The Silent Stars Go By

    Sally Nicholls
    4
  • Kicking Off!

    Eve Ainsworth
    4
  • The Castle of Tangled Magic

    Sophie Anderson
    4
  • Rescue

    David Long
    4

Ages 14+

  • Cane Warriors

    Alex Wheatle
    5
  • Witch

    Finbar Hawkins
    5
  • Just Another Little Lie

    Eve Ainsworth
    5
  • The Wolf Road

    Richard Lambert
    5
  • The Bridge

    Bill Koningsberg
    5
  • Reynard the Fox

    Anne Louise Avery
    4
  • Love Frankie

    Jacqueline Wilson
    4
  • Poisoned Jennifer Donnelly

    Jennifer Donnelly
    4
  • Breathless

    Jennifer Niven
    4
  • The Deep Blue Between

    Ayesha Harruna Attah
    4
  • A Snowfall of Silver

    Laura Wood
    4
  • A Telling of Stones

    Neil Rackham
    4

BfK News

SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2021 UKLA BOOK AWARDS

UKLA Book Awards logo

read more...
ALL STORIES, A NEW MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME FOR UNDERREPRESENTED CHILDREN’S BOOK WRITERS

A new mentorship scheme for underrepresented authors launches today, 30 March. All Stories offers fourteen mentorships delivered by expert children’s book editors.

All Stories logo

read more...
2021 SHORTLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

CKG Logo

The shortlists for the prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are announced today, 18 March. The awards are the UK’s oldest for children and young people.

This year’s judges praised their shortlists for ‘offering hope and escapism during lockdown’ through explorations of freedom, the great outdoors and journeys through the natural world.

read more...
INAUGURAL LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE JHALAK CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT PRIZE

The Jhalak Prize has announced the longlist for the inaugural Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize.

Jhalak Prize logo

read more...
ONJALI RAÚF BECOMES WRITER IN RESIDENCE FOR BOOKTRUST

Award-winning author and activist, Onjali Raúf takes up the post as the new Writer in Residence for BookTrust, today, International Women’s Day. She takes over from Smriti Halls.

Onjali Q Raúf

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LONGLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The longlist for the 2021 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced.

CKG Logo

read more...
LONGLIST ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

Klaus Flugge Prize logo

read more...
NOW OPEN: 2021 HENRIETTA BRANFORD WRITING COMPETITION

Finish a story started by Branford Boase Award winner Liz Hyder

The Henrietta Branford Writing Competition, the annual competition for young people which runs in conjunction with the Branford Boase Award, is now open.

read more...
TWO UK ENTRIES ON IBBY LIST OF OUTSTANDING BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Every two years, IBBY invites nominations for its international List of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. Nominations are made by IBBY national sections and the final list is selected from these by the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Young People with Disabilities, based in Toronto. Because of its international content, the list is unique in the children’s book world. It is a huge voluntary undertaking as every country is encouraged to submit up to twelve titles across the three categories.

read more...
LONGLIST FOR THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The longlist for the 2021 Branford Boase Award has been announced. Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children.

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