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Books for Keeps 247 - 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. 247 - March 2021
BfK 247 March 2021

This issue’s cover illustration is from The Weather Weaver by Tamsin Mori, illustration by David Dean. Thanks to Uclan Publishing for their help with this March cover.

BfK No. 247 Articles

Guest Editorial: Let Them Play

Let them Play says Piers Torday
Inclusive Storytelling

Inclusive Storytelling: author Elle McNicoll introduces the Own Voice movement
Unlock a Love of Creative Writing

Unlock a Love of Creative Writing There’s never been a better time to encourage children’s writing, says Joanne Owen
Authorgraph: Jon Agee

Authorgraph: Jon Agee interviewed by Jake Hope
Ten of the Best Books Connecting Children with Nature

Ten of the Best: books that connect children with nature, selected by Ann Lazim
Beyond the Secret Garden: East Asian Characters in British Children’s Fiction

Beyond the Secret Garden Drawing Conclusions: East Asian Characters in British Children’s Fiction by Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor
Drawn Across Borders

Drawn Across Borders introduced by George Butler
I Wish I'd Written: Em Norry

I Wish: Em Norry chooses an intensely lyrical novel
Goodreads 247

Good Reads chosen by young people at Toot Hill School, Nottingham
Telling the Story of Chernobyl

Telling the Story of Chernobyl by Helen Bate
Libraries in Lockdown

Libraries in Lockdown: secondary school librarian Kristabelle Williams describes how she’s kept her library open
Obituary: Victor Ambrus

Obituary: Victor Ambrus remembered by Nicholas Tucker
Classics in Short No 146: Nonsense Songs and Amblongus Pie

Classics in Short No. 146 Nonsense Songs and Amblongus Pie Brian Alderson reflects on one of the most original and accomplished children’s books of the 19th century
The Mindful Art of Reading a Poem: an interview with Allie Esiri

There is no time like spring to interview anthologist par excellence Allie Esiri
MAN OVERBOARD: AN INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN STROUD

Damian Kelleher interview Jonathan Stroud about his new adventure series, The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne

Editor's Choice

No! Said Rabbit
Marjoke Henrichs
5

Rabbit has an answer to all Mum’s suggestions from time to get up until bath time – “No!” But even a little rabbit can sometimes say “Yes” when the prize is as special as a cuddle from Mum.

Pitching a picture book at the very youngest is...

read more

New Talent

The Last Bear
Hannah Gold
4

The urgency of saving the Arctic is made wonderfully, magically real in Hannah Gold’s majestic debut. Eleven-year-old April escapes the miseries of school and travels with her scientist father to a remote outpost on the equally faraway Bear...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 247

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

Under 5s

  • Slug in Love
    Rachel Bright
    5

  • No! Said Rabbit
    Marjoke Henrichs
    5

  • The Dodos Did It!
    Alice McKinney
    5

  • Uncle Bobby's Wedding
    Sarah Brannen
    5

  • One Little Bird
    Sheryl Webster
    4

  • Just Like You
    Jo Loring-Fisher
    4

  • Sunny-Side Up
    Jacky Davis
    4

  • Wolf Girl
    Jo Loring-Fisher
    4

  • The Lipstick
    Laura Dockrill
    3

  • The Don't Panic Gang!
    Mark Sperring
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Milo Imagines the World
    Matt de la Pena
    5

  • HOM
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • Lionel the Lonely Monster
    Fred Blunt
    5

  • The King with Dirty Feet
    Sally Pomme Clayton
    5

  • What Did the Tree See?
    Charlotte Guillain
    4

  • What About Me? Said the Flea
    Lily Murray
    4

  • Alone!
    Barry Falls
    4

  • Howl
    Kat Patrick
    4

  • The Problem with Pierre
    C.K Smouha
    4

  • Everybody Worries
    Jon Burgerman
    4

  • Song of the River
    Joy Cowley
    4

  • Can Bears Ski?
    Raymond Antrobus
    4

  • We've Got Talent
    Hannah Whitty
    4

  • The Greatest Show Penguin
    Lucy Freegard
    4

  • Chicken Come Home
    Polly Faber
    4

  • Omar, the Bees and Me
    Helen Mortimer
    4

  • The Tale of the Whale
    Karen Swann
    4

  • My Sneezes Are Perfect
    Rakhshan Rizwan
    Yusuf Samee
    3

  • Get up, Elizabeth!
    Shirin Yin Bridges
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Veggie Power
    Annette Roeder
    5

  • A Girl Called Joy
    Jenny Valentine
    5

  • I am Every Good Thing
    Derrick Barnes
    5

  • The Hatmakers
    Tamzin Merchant
    5

  • Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls
    Atinuke
    5

  • I Talk Like a River
    Jordan Scott
    5

  • A Shelter for Sadness
    Anne Booth
    5

  • The Last Bear
    Hannah Gold
    4

  • Vi Spy Licence to Chill
    Maz Evans
    4

  • The Day the Screens went Blank
    Danny Wallace
    4

  • Weird, Wild and Wonderful: The poetry world of James Carter
    James Carter
    4

  • Stars with Flaming Tails
    Valerie Bloom
    4

  • Daydreams and Jellybeans: Poems to be Read Aloud
    Alex Wharton
    4

  • Saving Hanno
    Miriam Halahmy
    4

  • Omar, the Bees and Me
    Helen Mortimer
    4

  • The Weather Weaver
    Tamsin Mori
    4

  • What about the Tooth Fairy?
    Elys Dolan
    3

  • Space Detectives
    Mark Powers
    3

  • Flyntlock Bones: The Eye of Mogdrod
    Derek Keilty
    3

  • Everyday Magic
    Jess Kidd
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Front Desk
    Kelly Yang
    5

  • Edgar and Adolf
    Phil Earle
    Michael Wagg
    4

  • The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh
    Helen Rutter
    4

  • Maggie Blue and the Dark World
    Anna Goodall
    4

  • The Weather Weaver
    Tamsin Mori
    4

  • Show Us Who You Are
    Elle McNicholl
    4

  • Circus Maximus: Race to the Death
    Annelise Gray
    3

  • The Queen's Fool
    Ally Sherrick
    3

  • The Twisted Threads of Polly Freeman
    Pippa Goodhart
    3

Ages 14+

  • We Played With Fire
    Catherine Barter
    5

  • Firekeeper's Daughter
    Angeline Boulley
    5

  • Future Girl
    Asphyxia
    5

  • Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town
    Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
    5

  • Smashed
    Andy Robb
    5

  • Guard Your Heart
    Sue Divin
    5

  • Rat
    Patrice Lawrence
    4

  • The Girls I've Been
    Tess Sharpe
    4

  • This Can Never Not Be Real
    Sera Milano
    4

  • Talking to Alaska
    Anna Wolz
    4
  • House of Hollow

    House of Hollow
    Krystal Sutherland
    4

  • Game Changer
    Neal Shusterman
    3

BfK News

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

read more...
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.

read more...
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.’

read more...
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