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Books for Keeps 168 - 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. 168 - January 2008

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Andy Bridge is from Sally Grindley’s Broken Glass. Sally Grindley is interviewed by Clive Barnes. Thanks to Bloomsbury for their help with this January cover.

BfK No. 168 Articles

Editorial - January 2008

News and comment from the Editor.
Ethical Book Production

Caroline Horn investigates environmental and social issues.
Reading in the Middle Years (9-11): Texts and choices: reading non-fiction in the middle years

Suzanne Maile explores the role of non-fiction.
Teachers as Readers

Teresa Cremin, Eve Bearne, Prue Goodwin and Marilyn Mottram report on their research.
Why Do We Really Tell Stories?

Neil Philip challenges the notion of seven basic plots.
Authorgraph No.168: Sally Grindley

Sally Grindley interviewed by Clive Barnes.
Laureate Log - January 2008

Michael Rosen reports on his laureateship.
Hal’s Reading Diary - January 2008

Roger Mills on tactics to help Hal enjoy reading.
Classics in Short No.67: A Traveller in Time

Brian Alderson on Alison Uttley's A Traveller in Time

Editor's Choice

The Snow Goose
Paul Gallico
(Hutchinson (RHCP))
5

Gallico’s The Snow Goose was first published in 1941 and culminates in the death of its hero, the ‘hunchback’ artist Philip Rhayader, at the evacuation of Dunkirk after many successful forays to lift men off the beaches. It’s a...

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New Talent

The Mousehunter
Alex Milway
(Faber & Faber)
3

Illustrated with his own line drawings, Milway’s The Mousehunter is a first novel of the most ambitious scope (and length). Incident is heaped upon incident as the plot becomes more and more convoluted and what seemed to make...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 168

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

Under 5s

  • Wendel's Workshop
    Chris Riddell
    5

  • The Life of a Car
    Susan Steggall
    4

  • I Love You, Sleepyhead
    Claire Freedman
    4

  • The 108th Sheep
    Ayano Imai
    4

  • "The Trouble with Dogs"
    Bob Graham
    4

  • Ted, Bo and Diz: The First Adventure
    Jason Chapman
    3

  • Small Knight and George
    Ronda Armitage
    3

  • Perky Little Penguins
    Tony Mitton
    3

  • Patrick Paints a Picture
    Saviour Pirotta
    3

  • Happy Birthday, Winnie!
    Valerie Thomas
    3

  • Butterfly Girl
    Simon Puttock
    3

  • Shine Moon Shine
    David Conway
    2

Ages 5-8

  • See How It's Made
    Penny Smith
    Lorrie Mack
    5

  • Peter Pan and Wendy
    J M Barrie
    4

  • One Well
    Rochelle Strauss
    4

  • Mungo and the Spiders from Space
    Timothy Knapman
    4

  • Lila and the Secret of Rain
    David Conway
    4

  • Leonardo the Terrible Monster
    Mo Willems
    4

  • Baby Brains and Robomum
    Simon James
    4

  • Around the World in 80 Tales
    Saviour Pirotta
    4

  • Tales of Enchantment
    Lucy Coats
    3

  • Sir Gadabout Out of Time
    Martyn Beardsley
    3

  • Princess Grace
    Mary Hoffman
    3

  • Happy Birthday x 3
    Libby Gleeson
    3

  • Freckleface Strawberry
    Julianne Moore
    3

  • Boobela and the Belching Giant
    Joe Friedman
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Worst Witch to the Rescue
    Jill Murphy
    5

  • This is the Blackbird
    John Mole
    5

  • The Snow Goose
    Paul Gallico
    5

  • Forever Rose
    Hilary McKay
    5

  • Dog Lost
    Ingrid Lee
    5

  • Cleopatra
    Adèle Geras
    4

  • Born to Run
    Michael Morpurgo
    4

  • Trolls on Hols
    Alan MacDonald
    3

  • My Hindu Community
    Kate Taylor
    Henna Parekh
    3

  • The Mousehunter
    Alex Milway
    3

  • A Farming Almanac
    Chris S Stephens
    3

  • Waste and Recycling
    Carol Inskipp
    2

  • Stardust from Space
    Monica Grady
    2

Ages 10-14

  • Red, Cherry Red
    Jackie Kay
    5

  • Outcast
    Michelle Paver
    5

  • Holocaust
    Angela Gluck Wood
    5

  • The Gallow Glass
    Brian Keaney
    5

  • The December Boys
    Michael Noonan
    5

  • The Witness
    James Jauncey
    4

  • Wilderness
    Roddy Doyle
    4

  • 'Luuurve is a many trousered thing…'
    Louise Rennison
    4

  • Kaï-ro
    Graham Marks
    4

  • The H-Bomb Girl
    Stephen Baxter
    4

  • Feasting the Wolf
    Susan Price
    4

  • The Chimera's Curse
    Julia Golding
    4

  • The Wrong Boy
    Anna-Louise Weatherley
    3

  • Thora and the Incredible Crystals
    Gillian Johnson
    3

  • this is what I did:
    Ann Dee Ellis
    3

  • Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac
    Gabrielle Zevin
    3

  • Lucky Star
    Cathy Cassidy
    3

  • Jack Flint and the Redthorn Sword
    Jack Donnelly
    3

  • The Great Escape
    Natalie Haynes
    3

  • The Cure
    Michael Coleman
    3

  • The City of Spirits
    Paul Bajoria
    3

  • Cat O'Nine Tails
    Julia Golding
    3

  • The Beggar of Volubilis
    Caroline Lawrence
    3

  • Battle Fleet
    Paul Dowswell
    3

  • African and Caribbean Communities in Britain
    Hakim Adi
    3

  • Wicked Lovely
    Melissa Marr
    2

  • Religious Freedom
    Sean Connolly
    2

  • The Geat: The story of Beowulf and Grendel
    2

Ages 14+

  • Slam
    Nick Hornby
    5

  • Before I Die
    Jenny Downham
    4

  • Ruby Red
    Linzi Glass
    2

  • The Declaration
    Gemma Malley
    0

Books About Children's Books

  • Irish Children's Writers and Illustrators 1986-2006: A Selection of Essays
    4

  • Beatrix Potter: Sources of her Inspiration
    3

BfK News

STRUAN MURRAY AND HIS EDITOR BEN HORSLEN WIN THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

Branford Boase Award logo

Struan Murray and his editor Ben Horslen have been named winners of the 2021 Branford Boase Award for the year’s outstanding debut novel for children for Orphans of the Tide.

read more...
2021 WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE WINNER

Elle McNicoll has been named Overall Winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2021 for her debut novel A Kind Of Spark. Now in its seventeenth year, the Prize consists of £5,000 and the promise of ongoing commitment to the winners’ writing and illustrating careers, making it one of the most valuable and prestigious children’s book awards in the UK.

read more...
SCHOLASTIC UK ANNOUNCE LOLLIES 2022 SHORTLIST OF FUNNIEST BOOKS IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, today announced the shortlist for the 2022 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies). The Lollies, created by Scholastic UK, celebrate the funniest children’s books and this will be the fifth year of the awards after a hiatus in 2021.

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THE 2021 UKLA WINNERS

The 2021 UKLA Awards, the only national awards judged by class teachers, will always be remembered as the year when the entire judging process had to be conducted online, with the judging panel only meeting and discussing the titles virtually. Yet despite this the impassioned discussions demonstrated yet again the impact that quality texts can have upon the teacher judges and the students in their classes.

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CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY AWARD WINNERS 2021

The winners of this year’s CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals, the UK’s oldest book awards for children and young people, were revealed today. Both winning books were announced at a virtual, daytime event, hosted by University Challenge Star and author Bobby Seagull and livestreamed from The British Library.

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SCHOOL LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR 2020/21 ANNOUNCED

SLA logo

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PATRICE LAWRENCE NAMED WINNER OF 2021 JHALAK PRIZE AWARD

Patrice Lawrence is the winner of the inaugural Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize for her YA novel, Eight Pieces of Silva.

Jhalak Prize logo

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THE 2021 LITTLE REBELS AWARD SHORTLIST

The shortlist for the 2021 Little Rebels Award has been revealed and it is the longest in the award’s history.

Now in its 9th year, the Little Rebels Award celebrates children’s fiction which challenges stereotypes, promotes social justice and advocates for a more peaceful and fairer world.

read more...
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2021 KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE

Klaus Flugge Prize logo

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SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

Branford Boase Award logo

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