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Books for Keeps 229 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 229 - March 2018
BfK 229 March 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for their help with this March cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 229 March 2018.

BfK No. 229 Articles

World Book Day – keep up the momentum!

Ideas for keeping the magic going through the year
Crying In the Classroom

or How author Ali Sparkes was introduced to World Book Day
You're just one click away from an author

Says Tony Bradman
Authorgraph 229 Guy Bass

Guy Bass interviewed by Damian Kelleher
Windows into Illustration: Matt Carr

A signature 'graphicness'
Ten of the Best: books by Helen Oxenbury and John Burningham

Chosen by Nicolette Jones
Beyond the Secret Garden: England’s White and Pleasant Land

Part two in a new series by Darren Chetty and Karen Sands O’Connor

Beetle Mania! An interview with MG Leonard

M.G. Leonard interviewed by Michelle Pauli
Two Children Tell: Adventures as Sparrowhawk

Adventures as Sparrowhawk
The Wind in the Willows – Is it a Classic?

Peter Hunt considers
Night Kitchen Magic

An extract from Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan
I Wish I’d Written: Kate Pankhurst

Kate Pankhurst chooses
Good Reads 229

Chosen by pupils at Glenthorne High School, Sutton
Island Settings and Adventures

Julia Green describes her love affair with islands, real and fictional.
Classics in short No 128: From Palace to Mineshaft with The Princess and the Goblin

The Princess and the Goblin
AN INTERVIEW WITH MAZ EVANS

Philip Womack catches up with the author of the Who Let the Gods Out series, as book three, Beyond the Odyssey is published.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KAREN GREGORY

An interview with the author of Countless and Skylarks.

Editor's Choice

Read the book, Lemmings!
Ame Dyckman
(Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
5

Foxy has a book on lemmings. It tells him that lemmings don’t jump off cliffs. But someone clearly hasn’t told the three little lemmings. On hearing the word jump, they enthusiastically throw themselves into the water. It is almost disastrous –...

read more

New Talent

Brightstorm
Vashti Hardy
(Scholastic)
4

Arthur and Maudie are twins, they are Brightstorms, their father a famous explorer. He has died in an attempt to be the first at South Polaris and evidence suggests he was involved in criminal activities. His reputation is ruined; the Brightstorm...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 229

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

Under 5s

  • Once Upon a Star A Poetic Journey Through Space
    James Carter
    4

  • Spyder
    Matt Carr
    4

  • Dino Duckling
    Alison Murray
    4

  • 15 Things not to do with a puppy
    Margaret McAllister
    4

  • Look Out, It’s a Dragon!
    Jonny Lambert
    4

  • Erik The Lone Wolf
    Sarah Finan
    4

Ages 5-8

  • Read the book, Lemmings!
    Ame Dyckman
    5

  • Peace Lily
    Hilary Robinson
    4

  • Erik The Lone Wolf
    Sarah Finan
    4

  • We're Going to the Zoo
    Sarah Bowie
    4

  • The Red Dread
    Tom Morgan-Jones
    4

  • The Waggiest Tails
    Brian Moses
    Roger Stevens
    4

Ages 8-10

  • Brightstorm
    Vashti Hardy
    4

  • Peace Lily
    Hilary Robinson
    4

  • A Different Dog
    Paul Jennings
    4

  • The Children of Castle Rock
    Natasha Farrant
    4

  • The Chocolate Factory Ghost
    David O’Connell
    4

  • To the Edge of the World
    Julia Green
    3

  • Mollie on the March
    Anna Carey
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Truly Wildly Deeply
    Jenny McLachlan
    4

  • Running on Empty
    S.E.Durrant
    4

  • A Different Dog
    Paul Jennings
    4

  • Lady Mary
    Lucy Worsley
    4

  • Rocking the System
    Siobhan Parkinson
    4

  • Twister
    Juliette Forrest
    3

  • Twelve Nights
    Andrew Zurcher
    2

Ages 14+

  • Clean
    Juno Dawson
    5

  • The Unpredictability of Being Human
    Linni Ingemundsen
    4

  • The Wren Hunt
    Mary Watson
    4

  • Truly Wildly Deeply
    Jenny McLachlan
    4

  • Children of Blood and Bone
    Tomi Adeyemi
    4

  • Twelve Nights
    Andrew Zurcher
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading
    Lucy Mangan
    4

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.’

read more...
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.

read more...
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.

read more...
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

read more...
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

read more...
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.

read more...
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

read more...
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.

read more...
TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

read more...
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