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Books for Keeps 243 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 243 - July 2020
BfK 243 July 2020

This issue’s cover illustration is from Hello! A Counting Book of Kindnesses written by Hollis Kurman and illustrated by Barroux. Thanks to Otter-Barry Books for their help with this July cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 243 July 2020.

BfK No. 243 Articles

BOOKS FOR KEEPS: AN APPEAL

Make a contribution and help us develop the website and preserve the unique Books for Keeps archive.
How to be an anti-racist librarian

Zoey Dixon has ways to make your library anti-racist.
Ten Essential Books for Children

Ten essential books for young readers chosen by Carnegie Medal winner Anthony McGowan
Windows into Illustration: Catherine Rayner

Catherine Rayner on the making of Arlo
Authorgraph: Joshua Seigal

Joshua Seigal interviewed by Liz Brownlee
Light and Shade: the books on the shortlist for the 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize

The books on the shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize appraised by Derek Brazell
Sharing Tales from the Inner City

Kate Greenaway Medal winner Shaun Tan interviewed by Jake Hope
What MORE Is There To Say About 'Alice'?

Peter Hunt reflects on writing another book about Lewis Carroll’s Alice books
Beyond the Secret Garden: Life and Literature in Lockdown

What does it mean to be a writer of colour during a pandemic and a global movement protesting systemic racism?
School Book Clubs Gone Virtual

Rebecca Butler has advice
I Wish I’d Written Michelle Robinson

Michelle Robinson chooses
Navigating the Information Jungle

Susan Martineau asks how we can equip children to deal with ‘fake news’
In close-up: the Bloomsbury Readers series

Discover the new Bloomsbury Readers list
From Sports Journalism to Children’s Fiction

Sports journalist Joe Wilson reflects on writing his first novel for children.
Classics in Short No 142: Walkabouts in the Australian Desert

Walkabout by James Vance Marshall
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH JULIA GREEN

Julia Green answers our questions on her new novel, The Children of Swallow Fell.
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH ALEX ENGLISH

The author of Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond answers our questions.
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH AISHA BUSHBY

Aisha Bushby answers our questions on her new book, Moonchild.
AN INTERVIEW WITH HARRIET MUNCASTER

The creator of Isadora Moon introduces her new character, Mirabelle.
AN INTERVIEW WITH LAURA DOCKRILL

The author and poet interviewed about her new book, Butterfly Brain.
AN INTERVIEW WITH KATIE AND KEVIN TSANG

An interview with the authors of Dragon Mountain
AN INTERVIEW WITH BRANFORD BOASE AWARD WINNER LIZ HYDER

An interview with the winner of the 2020 Branford Boase Award.

Editor's Choice

Hello! A Counting Book of Kindnesses
Hollis Kurman
5

This is a counting book with a difference. The opening pages reveal a family escaping war and danger. We are invited to imagine what this might be like and reassured all will be well - because of the kindness of...

read more

New Talent

Dangerous Remedy
Kat Dunn
4

France, during the revolution is a very dangerous place and fortunes can change in the blinking of an eye. A small group of young people, led by a girl named Camille have set themselves the task of rescuing people from the guillotine. They are a...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 243

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

Under 5s

  • Hello! A Counting Book of Kindnesses
    Hollis Kurman
    5

  • My Nana's Garden
    Dawn Casey
    5

  • Nervous Nigel
    Bethany Christou
    4

  • Arlo the Lion Who Couldn't Sleep
    Catherine Rayner
    4

  • Wild
    Sam Usher
    4

  • Tiny Ant
    Claire Freedman
    4

  • Big Green Crocodile: Rhymes to Say and Play
    Jane Newberry
    4

  • Like the Moon Loves the Sky
    Hena Khan
    4

  • Mrs Noah's Garden
    Jackie Morris
    4

  • Bloom (Hope in a Scary World)
    Anne Booth
    4

  • My Friend Earth
    Patricia MacLachlan
    4

  • Everybody Has a Body
    Jon Burgerman
    3

  • Samuel and the Monster
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Where Happiness Begins
    Eva Eland
    5

  • The Longest Strongest Thread
    Inbal Leitner
    5

  • Say Goodbye, Say Hello
    Cori Doerrfeld
    5

  • The Perfect Shelter
    Clare Helen Welsh
    5

  • Child of Galaxies
    Blake Nuto
    5

  • The Walloos' Big Adventure
    Anuska Allepuz
    5

  • Meet the Grumblies
    John Kelly
    5

  • Meesha Makes Friends
    Tom Percival
    5

  • It's OK to Cry
    Molly Potter
    4

  • Nervous Nigel
    Bethany Christou
    4

  • Mirabelle Gets up to Mischief
    Harriet Muncaster
    4

  • Albert Talbot: Master of Disguise
    Ben Manley
    4

  • The Wishing Star
    Emma Beswetherick
    4

  • A New Green Day

    Antoinette Portis
    4

  • Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle
    M.G. Leonard
    4

Ages 8-10

  • Saving Winslow
    Sharon Creech
    5

  • Mirabelle Gets up to Mischief
    Harriet Muncaster
    4

  • A Climate in Chaos
    Neal Layton
    4

  • You Can Write Awesome Stories

    Joanne Owen
    4

  • Once Upon an Atom: Questions of Science
    James Carter
    4

  • Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes
    Sophie Deen
    4

  • The Time Traveller and the Tiger
    Tania Unsworth
    4

  • What Stars Are Made Of
    Sarah Allen
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Time Travel Diaries Adventures in Athens
    Caroline Lawrence
    5

  • The Arrow of Apollo
    Philip Womack
    5

  • The Short Knife
    Elen Caldecott
    5

  • The Book of Mysteries
    J R Wallis
    5

  • Wonderscape

    Jennifer Bell
    5

  • Night Forever
    Ali Sparkes
    4

  • Midnight's Twins
    Holly Race
    4

  • Viper's Daughter
    Michelle Paver
    4

  • The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates
    Jenny Pearson
    4

  • Storm
    Nicola Skinner
    4

  • Dragon Mountain
    Katie Tsang
    Kevin Tsang
    4

  • The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley
    Amber Lee Dodd
    3

Ages 14+

  • The Enigma Game
    Elizabeth Wein
    5

  • The Great Godden
    Meg Rosoff
    5

  • Eight Pieces of Silva
    Patrice Lawrence
    5

  • Dangerous Remedy
    Kat Dunn
    4

Books About Children's Books

  • The Making of Lewis Carroll's Alice and the Invention of Wonderland
    Peter Hunt
    4

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.

read more...
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.

read more...
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.

read more...
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR 2020/21 ANNOUNCED

SLA logo

read more...
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

read more...
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

read more...
SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

Branford Boase Award logo

read more...
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