Books for Keeps 230 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 230 - May 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. Thanks to Usborne Publishing for their help with this May cover.
Digital Edition
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BfK No. 230 Articles

Editorial 230

Get ready for Empathy Day: Miranda McKearney looks forward to 12^thJune

Rebels with a Cause: Fen Coles on The Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction

Rebels with a Cause: Fen Coles on the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction

How do we measure up?

Children’s books as a mirror to society, how do they measure up? asks Chitra Soundar

Authograph 230 Brian Conaghan

Brian Conaghan interview by Joy Court

Windows into Illustration: Kate Hindley

Windows into Illustration: Kate Hindley

11 of the best football reads for children

Ten of the Best: the best football books chosen by Jim Sells of the National Literacy Trust

Beyond the Secret Garden ‘In Times of Peril’: Britons, Asians, Muslims

Part three in Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor’s series looking at representations of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic voices in children’s books.

The CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist 2018

The Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 shortlist appraised by Derek Brazell

The CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist 2018

The Carnegie Medal shortlist appraised by Nicholas Tucker

Hidden: from page to stage

Miriam Halahmy on the new adaptation of her novel Hidden

An interview with Lauren St John

Michelle Pauli interview Lauren St John

Two Children Tell: Filling in the Gaps

Two Children Tell: Filling in the picture book gaps

I Wish I’d Written: Sarah Govett

I Wish I’d Written… Sarah Govett chooses

Good Reads 230

Good Reads for Empathy Day, chosen by primary school pupils

Classics in Short No 129: The Little Grey Men, Last of the Little People

The Little Grey Men, Last of the Little People

The Little Rebels Award in 2018

Judge Darren Chetty reflects on the 2018 Little Rebels Prize.

A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH JULIA GRAY, AUTHOR OF LITTLE LIAR

The author answers questions on her novel Little Liar

AN INTERVIEW WITH 2018 CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER GERALDINE McCAUGHREAN

The 2018 Carnegie Medal winner interviewed by Nicholas Tucker

Editor's Choice

The Electrical Venus

Julie Mayhew

(Hot Key Books)

Mim’s life is with Grainger’s Side Show along with a “dwaff”, a learned pig and Alex, a boy who has only one arm. Welcome to the world of Georgian entertainment. But this is also the Age of the Enlightenment when scientific discoveries and...

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

(Usborne Publishing Ltd)

A beautiful and original take on the Tale of Baba Yaga.

Marinka has lived with her grandmother, Baba Yaga all her life, helping her to lead the dead through The Gate to the stars and to enjoy one last wonderful meal together and hear the...

Under 5s
Ages 5-8
Ages 8-10
Ages 10-14
Ages 14+

Under 5s

The Rhythm of the Rain

Grahame Baker-Smith

5
Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert

Morag Hood

5
The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily

Cressida Cowell

5
Colour My Days

Ross Collins

4
Baby Bird

Andrew Gibbs

4
Is it a Mermaid?

Candy Gourlay

3

Ages 5-8

The Rhythm of the Rain

Grahame Baker-Smith

5
After the Fall. How Humpty Dumpty got back up again

Dan Santat

5
Space Tortoise

Ross Montgomery

5
Juniper Jupiter

Lizzy Stewart

3
The Nothing to See Here Hotel

Steven Butler

3

Ages 8-10

Noah Scape Can’t Stop Repeating Himself

Guy Bass

5
Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home

Mark Lowery

5
Happyville High: Geek Tragedy

Tom McLaughlin

4
Kat Wolfe Investigates

Lauren St John

4
The Secret of the Night Train

Sylvia Bishop

4
HerStory: 50 women and girls who shook the world

Katherine Halligan

4
She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History

Chelsea Clinton

4
Dog Town

Luize Pastore

3
The Nothing to See Here Hotel

Steven Butler

3

Ages 10-14

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

5
Rebound

Kwame Alexander

5
The Goose Road

Rowena House

5
Rose Rivers

Jacqueline Wilson

4
The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day

Christopher Edge

4
The Wild Folk

Sylvia Linsteadt

4
A Good Day for Climbing Trees

Jaco Jacobs

4
Child I

Steve Tasane

4
Flamingo Boy

Michael Morpurgo

3

Ages 14+

Stranger

Keren David

5
Me Mam. Me Dad. Me.

Malcolm Duffy

5
In Paris With You

Clementine Beauvais

5
Skylarks

Karen Gregory

4
The Electrical Venus

Julie Mayhew

4
The Girl in the Broken Mirror

Savita Kalhan

4
On a Scale of One to Ten

Ceylan Scott

4
Ash Princess

Laura Sebastian

4

BfK News

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.

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.

Tom Palmer

Poet Zaro Weil was today announced the winner of the annual poetry award, CLiPPA (Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award) for her collection of nature poems, Cherry Moon, published by ZaZaKids Books/ Troika Books and illustrated by Junli Song.

CLiPPA winner

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Shadowers’ Choice Awards, voted for by children and young people, have been announced.

The Black Flamingo

LONGLISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 UKLA BOOK AWARDS

UKLA award

Eva Eland has won the 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize for the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. She won for her book When Sadness Comes to Call (Andersen Press), in which a young child opens the door to an unexpected visitor, Sadness, personified as a semi-transparent amorphous shape.

Jhalak Prize logo

Branford Boase Award logo

Every two years, IBBY invites nominations from national sections for its international list of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. The final list is selected from these by the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Young People with Disabilities, based in Toronto. Because of its international content, the list is unique in the children’s book world. It is a huge voluntary undertaking as every country is encouraged to submit up to twelve titles across the three categories.

Books for Keeps 230 - the children's book magazine online

Digital version – browse, print or download

BfK Newsletter

BfK No. 230 Articles

Editor's Choice

The Electrical Venus

New Talent

The House with Chicken Legs

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 230

Under 5s

The Rhythm of the Rain

Sophie Johnson: Unicorn Expert

The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily

Colour My Days

Baby Bird

Is it a Mermaid?

Ages 5-8

The Rhythm of the Rain

After the Fall. How Humpty Dumpty got back up again

Space Tortoise

Juniper Jupiter

The Nothing to See Here Hotel

Ages 8-10

Noah Scape Can’t Stop Repeating Himself

Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home

Happyville High: Geek Tragedy

Kat Wolfe Investigates

The Secret of the Night Train

HerStory: 50 women and girls who shook the world

She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History

Dog Town

The Nothing to See Here Hotel

Ages 10-14

The House with Chicken Legs

Rebound

The Goose Road

Rose Rivers

The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day

The Wild Folk

A Good Day for Climbing Trees

Child I

Flamingo Boy

Ages 14+

Stranger

Me Mam. Me Dad. Me.

In Paris With You

Skylarks

The Electrical Venus

The Girl in the Broken Mirror

On a Scale of One to Ten

Ash Princess

BfK News