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Books for Keeps 146 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 146 - May 2004

Cover Story
This issue's cover illustration is from Jenny Nimmo's The Blue Boa. Jenny Nimmo is interviewed by Julia Eccleshare. Thanks to Egmont Books for their help with this May cover.

BfK No. 146 Articles

Editorial - May 2004

News and comment from the Editor.
Words About Pictures: Beginning the Conversation

Ghislaine Kenyon on the Words About Pictures seminar.
Words About Pictures: The Primacy of Text

Brian Alderson on the principles of critical assessment.
Words About Pictures: Judging Illustration

Joanna Carey on what a reviewer needs to know.
Words About Pictures: Continuing the Conversation

Martin Salisbury on challenging illustration.
Novels in Verse, for Better or Worse

Peter Hollindale on the verse novel.
Authorgraph No.146: Jenny Nimmo

Jenny Nimmo interviewed by Julia Eccleshare.
BfK Profile: Gene Kemp

Philippa Milnes-Smith talks to Gene Kemp
BfK Briefing - May 2004

News * Awards * Letter to the Editor * Events
I Wish I'd Written... Thursday’s Child

Theresa Breslin chooses Sonya Hartnett's Thursday's Child.
Good Reads: The William Allitt School, Swadlincote, Derbyshire

Reviews from pupils of The William Allitt School, Swadlincote, Derbyshire.
Useful Organisations No.33: Children's Literature in Education

International journal about children's books.
Hal's Reading Diary - May 2004

Roger Mills on telling stories to Hal.
Classics in Short No.45: The Winter Sleepwalker

Brian Alderson on Joan Aiken's The Winter Sleepwalker.

Editor's Choice

Girl, 15 Charming but Insane
Sue Limb
(Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)
5

Readers of The Guardian will remember how her hilarious column starring Dulcie Domum, wife, mother and romantic novelist, led to Sue Limb's career as the chronicler, in a number of tongue in cheek novels, of the contemporary female...

read more

New Talent

Once Upon a Time, Upon a Nest
Jonathan Emmett
(Macmillan Children's Books)
4

Painterly texture expressively applied ensures that every spread in this engaging picture book is full of movement and life and every slight curve of a beak or inclination of a neck convey the emotions of Father and Mother Duck as they worry...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 146

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

Under 5s

  • Misery Moo
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • Caribbean Animals
    Dawne Allette
    4

  • Have You Fed the Cat?
    Michèle Coxon
    4

  • Once Upon a Time, Upon a Nest
    Jonathan Emmett
    4

  • Oww!
    Michael Rosen
    4

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
    Bill Martin Jr
    3

  • SCOOP the Digger!
    David Wojtowycz
    3

  • Traffic Jamboree
    Sue Nicholson
    3

  • Can You Cuddle Like a Koala?
    John Butler
    2

  • Bunny and Bee's Playful Day
    Sam Williams
    2

  • Shape Up Goz
    Steve Weatherill
    1

Ages 5-8

  • Where Willy Went...
    Nicholas Allan
    5

  • The Conquerors
    David McKee
    5

  • Angus Rides the Goods Train
    Alan Durant
    5

  • Looking After Louis
    Lesley Ely
    5

  • Rocks and Minerals
    Caroline Bingham
    4

  • Now We Have a Baby; When Goodbye is For Ever
    Lois Rock
    4

  • The Most Magnificent Mosque
    Ann Jungman
    4

  • Strike!
    Rob Childs
    3

  • The Generous Rabbit and other animal stories; Why Dogs Chase Cats... and other animal stories
    Bob Hartman
    3

  • The Princess Knight
    Cornelia Funke
    3

  • And The Good Brown Earth
    Kathy Henderson
    2

  • The Big Ugly Monster and the Little Stone Rabbit
    Chris Wormell
    2

Ages 8-10

  • Mysteries & Marvels of Nature
    Elizabeth Dalby
    4

  • The Head in the Sand: A Roman play; Bombs and Blackberries: A World War Two play
    Julia Donaldson
    4

  • Humble Tom's Big Trip: A Tudor play; Cruel Times: A Victorian play
    Kaye Umansky
    4

  • Lily Quench and the Dragon of Ashby
    Natalie Jane Prior
    3

  • The Legend of Spud Murphy
    Eoin Colfer
    3

  • Errand Lass
    Theresa Tomlinson
    3

  • Greece; Egypt
    Shahrukh Husain
    2

Ages 10-14

  • If the World Were a Village
    David J Smith
    5

  • Lirael; Abhorsen
    Garth Nix
    5

  • No Shame, No Fear
    Ann Turnbull
    5

  • The Tale of Despereaux
    Kate DiCamillo
    5

  • Girl, 15 Charming but Insane
    Sue Limb
    5

  • Pocket Guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs
    Richard Parkinson
    4

  • The British Museum Ancient Egypt Pop-up Book
    James Putnam
    4

  • Last Train from Kummersdorf
    Leslie Wilson
    4

  • Al Capone Does My Shirts
    Gennifer Choldenko
    4

  • As Good as Dead in Downtown
    Neil Arksey
    4

  • The White Rider
    Chris Priestley
    4

  • Dusk
    Susan Gates
    4

  • Trash! On Ragpicker Children and Recycling
    Gita Wolf
    Anushka Ravishankar
    3

  • Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt; Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
    Neil Morris
    3

  • Piratica
    Tanith Lee
    3

  • The Stowaway
    Karen Hesse
    3

  • The City of Ember
    Jeanne DuPrau
    3

  • Ruby Tanya
    Robert Swindells
    3

  • Freedom Flight
    Bernard Ashley
    3

  • Secret City
    Jan-Andrew Henderson
    3

  • Agent Z Meets the Masked Crusader; Agent Z Goes Wild
    Mark Haddon
    3

  • Other Echoes
    Adèle Geras
    3

  • Kamo's Escape
    Daniel Pennac
    3

  • My Mum's from Planet Pluto
    Gwyneth Rees
    2

  • Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
    Michael Rosen
    2

  • The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials
    Mary Gribbin
    John Gribbin
    1

Ages 14+

  • Unique
    Alison Allen-Gray
    5

  • Walking Naked
    Alyssa Brugman
    5

  • Black Mirror
    Nancy Werlin
    4

  • How It Works
    Graham Marks
    4

  • The Lost Boys' Appreciation Society; The Defender
    Alan Gibbons
    4

  • Now That I've Found You
    Rex Harley
    3

  • Dating Hamlet
    Lisa Fiedler
    3

  • Love, Hate and My Best Mate: poems about relationships
    2

Books About Children's Books

  • Where Next, Peter Rabbit? Beatrix Potter Studies X
    3

BfK News

JESSICA LOVE NAMED WINNER OF THE KLAUS FLUGGE PRIZE 2019 FOR JULIAN IS A MERMAID

Jessica Love

read more...
LOLLIES 2020 SHORTLIST THE YEAR’S FUNNIEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Michael Rosen, children’s novelist, poet and former Children’s Laureate, has announced the shortlist for the 2020 Laugh Out Loud Awards (The Lollies), the awards that celebrate the funniest children’s books.

Lollies logo

read more...
HOOD, RUNDELL AND REYNOLDS UKLA BOOK AWARD WINNERS 2019

Morag Hood, Katherine Rundell and Jason Reynolds have been announced as the winners of the UKLA Book Awards 2019 for I Am Bat, The Explorer and Long Way Down respectively.

read more...
CATHERINE JOHNSON WINS LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Radical Fiction is Catherine Johnson for her book, Freedom (Scholastic 2018).

Catherine Johnsonn photo Andy Donohoe

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CRESSIDA COWELL ANNOUNCED AS NEW WATERSTONES CHILDREN’S LAUREATE

‘Books are transformative because of their unique ability to develop three key magical powers: intelligence, creativity and, most important of all, empathy. Words are power; let’s take magic seriously.’ Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate

read more...
STEVEN CAMDEN WINS CLiPPA 2019

Steven Camden photo by Ellie Kurttz

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SLA School Librarian of the Year 2019 Announced

Ros Harding School Librarian of the Year

Ros Harding of The King’s School Chester has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2019. 2019 YA Book Prize winner Sara Barnard presented Ros Harding with her award at a special ceremony at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London Kensington on 27 June.

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MUHAMMAD KHAN WINS 20TH BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The winner of the 2019 Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel for children is Muhammad Khan for his YA novel I Am Thunder. Set up in memory of author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase who both died in 1999, the award also recognizes his editor Lucy Pearse of Macmillan Children’s Books.

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The Children's Book Award 2019

Earlier this month, Arree Chung was named overall winner of The Children’s Book Award 2019. His book Mixed, which he wrote and illustrated, also won the Books for Younger Children category before going on to win the overall prize.

read more...
WINNERS OF THE 2019 CILIP CARNEGIE AND KATE GREENAWAY MEDALS

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals have been announced at a ceremony at The British Library, hosted by broadcaster and writer Konnie Huq.

read more...
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