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Books for Keeps 162 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 162 - January 2007

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Peter Bailey is from Alexander McCall Smith’s Akimbo and the Snakes. Alexander McCall Smith is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare. Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for their help with this January cover.

BfK No. 162 Articles

Editorial - January 2007

News and comment from the Editor.

Toxic Childhood: Is the world damaging our children?

Nicholas Tucker discusses Sue Palmer's book on modern childhood.

On Being the Children’s Laureate

Jacqueline Wilson looks back on her Laureateship.

Early Years Reading: Francesca Simon’s ‘Horrid Henry’ series

Janet Evans explains his appeal.

Hal’s Reading Diary - January 2007

Roger Mills on Hal's discovery of Roald Dahl.

Diversity Matters: Growing markets in children’s publishing - ‘Books for All’ should include Gypsies, Roma and Travellers

Kate Evans on the lack of suitable titles for Traveller children.

Take 3: Poets

Valerie Bloom, Tony Mitton and Michael Rosen take poetic form.

Authorgraph No.162: Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.

In the Picture: The Story So Far Conference

Julia Eccleshare reports on disability issues in children's literature.

I Wish I’d Written… Tadpole’s Promise

Mick Manning chooses Jeanne Willis's Tadpole's Promise.

Good Reads: St Christina’s School, North London

Reviews from St Christina's School, North London.

BfK Briefing - January 2007

Letters to the Editor * News * Obituaries

Useful Organisations No.48: www.100greatblackbritons.com

List of contemporary and historical Black Britons

Classics in Short No.61: Old Peter’s Russian Tales

Brian Alderson on Arthur Ransome's Old Peter's Russian Tales.

Editor's Choice

The Incredible Book Eating Boy

Oliver Jeffers
(HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks)
5

From a single word, to a sentence, to a page, to a whole book, Henry the book eating boy’s appetite for books becomes insatiable and his brain smarter and smarter as the ingested information rushes to it. Until the day he begins to feel ill and...

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New Talent

Black Book of Secrets, The

F E Higgins
(Macmillan Children's Books)
3

How can Ludlow Fitch trust anyone with parents like his? This debut novel gets off to a cracking start as Ludlow’s gin-soaked parents, desperate for money to buy drink, sell his teeth and hold him down for them to be extracted by the loathsome (...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 162

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

Under 5s

  • Pretty Salma

    Niki Daly
    5
  • Daft Bat

    Jeanne Willis
    5
  • Little Bo Peep’s Library Book

    Cressida Cowell
    5
  • That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown

    Cressida Cowell
    4
  • Sausages

    Jessica Souhami
    4
  • Mother Goose Remembers

    Clare Beaton
    4
  • Lost Ears, The

    Phillida Gili
    4
  • Just Like Mr Croc!

    Jo Lodge
    4
  • Journey Home from Grandpa's, The

    Jemima Lumley
    4
  • Georgie and the Dragon

    Marion Rose
    4
  • Children: A First Art Book

    Lucy Micklethwait
    3
  • Little Red Train Goes Chuff Chuff Chuff, The

    Benedict Blathwayt
    2

Ages 5-8

  • Water Witcher

    Jan Ormerod
    5
  • George Saves the World by Lunchtime

    Jo Readman
    5
  • The Incredible Book Eating Boy

    Oliver Jeffers
    5
  • Shanyi Goes to China

    Sungwan So
    4
  • Scaredy Squirrel

    Melanie Watt
    4
  • Is it Because?

    Tony Ross
    4
  • Big Dog and Little Dog Go Flying; Who Loves Mr Tubs?

    Selina Young
    3
  • Whale

    David Lucas
    3
  • Very Important Idea, The

    Emma Dodson
    3
  • Traditional Stories from Native North America

    Linda Raczek
    3
  • Story of the Wind Children, The

    Sibylle Von Olfers
    3
  • Celebrity Cat

    Meredith Hooper
    3
  • Brains

    Kate Lennard
    3
  • Bamboo

    Paul Yee
    3
  • Isis and Osiris

    2

Ages 8-10

  • Starring Tracy Beaker

    Jacqueline Wilson
    5
  • Port Through Time, A

    Dr Anne Millard
    5
  • Dark Tales from the Woods

    Daniel Morden
    5
  • Trick and Other Stories, The

    George Layton
    4
  • Three Little Pirates, The

    Georgie Adams
    4
  • Lucy Willow

    Sally Gardner
    4
  • Don't Look Back!

    Steve Barlow
    Steve Skidmore
    4
  • Ugalabanda: The boy who got caught up in a war

    3
  • Touch of Wind! A

    Steve Barlow
    Steve Skidmore
    3
  • Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business; Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth; Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying; Junie B. Jones Is On Her Way!

    Barbara Park
    3
  • Black Book of Secrets, The

    F E Higgins
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Jango

    William Nicholson
    5
  • Alone on a Wide Wide Sea

    Michael Morpurgo
    5
  • There's More to Life

    Rachel Billington
    4
  • Stone Heart

    Charlie Fletcher
    4
  • Ruler of the Realm

    Herbie Brennan
    4
  • Nemesis: Into the Shadows

    Catherine MacPhail
    4
  • Larklight

    Philip Reeve
    4
  • Forbidden Room, The

    Sarah Wray
    4
  • Cassandra's Sister

    Veronica Bennett
    4
  • Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

    Eoin Colfer
    4
  • Angel Isle

    Peter Dickinson
    4
  • Troll Mill

    Katherine Langrish
    3
  • Sure Fire

    Jack Higgins
    Justin Richards
    3
  • Questors

    Joan Lennon
    3
  • Prisoner's Apprentice, The

    Stephen Elboz
    3
  • Prison Ship

    Paul Dowswell
    3
  • Medici Seal, The

    Theresa Breslin
    3
  • Don't Tell

    Sandra Glover
    3
  • Cat among the Pigeons

    Julia Golding
    3
  • Capture, The

    Kathryn Lasky
    3
  • Slawter

    Darren Shan
    2
  • Pick Me Up

    2
  • Maddigan's Fantasia

    Margaret Mahy
    2
  • Flight of the Fire Thief

    Terry Deary
    2
  • Riddle of the Poisoned Monk, The

    Sarah Matthias
    1

Ages 14+

  • Things I Know About Love

    Kate Le Vann
    4
  • Snakehead

    Ann Halam
    4
  • Politics: Cutting Through the Crap

    Bali Rai
    4
  • Down to the Wire

    Bernard Ashley
    4
  • Blue Skies and Gunfire

    K M Peyton
    4
  • Blowout

    Susan Vaught
    4
  • Hood

    Stephen R Lawhead
    3
  • Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose, The

    Mary Hooper
    2
  • Angel Stone, The

    Livi Michael
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Rights of the Reader, The

    Daniel Pennac
    5

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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