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Books for Keeps 231 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 231 - July 2018
BfK 231 July 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from Supertato Veggies in the Valley of Doom by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet. Thanks to Simon and Schuster 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 231 July 2018.

BfK No. 231 Articles

Editorial 231

Carnegie medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean praises words
Celebrating 20 years of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

The key competition for young poets.
Rhythm and Poetry: Karl Nova, CLiPPA winner 2018

An interview with the 2018 CLiPPA winner
Reflecting Realities in children’s literature: my reality and fictional reality

Professor Vini Lander reports on Reflecting Realities, the new study into ethnic representation in children’s literature, and draws on her own personal experiences.
Authorgraph 231 Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet interviewed by Michelle Pauli
Windows into Illustration: Bruce Ingman

Windows into Illustration: Bruce Ingman
Ten of the Best Island Stories

Ten of the Best: a summer special on the best books set on islands, chosen by Tricia Adams
Beyond the Secret Garden? Portrayals of Mixedness

The latest in our new series looking at representations of BAME characters in children's literature
IBBY UK and books about disability

Choosing the IBBY List of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities, by Rebecca Butler
Two Children Tell: ‘I Weigh Infinity Metres’

Two Children Tell: Virginia Lowe describes her children’s early understanding of numbers
I Wish I’d Written: Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett selects books that inspire her.
We wish we'd written: Honor and Perdita Cargill

Double whammy! The mother and daughter team choose a book they both wish they'd written.
Good Reads 231

Chosen by children in the Petts Wood Library Chatterbooks groups
AN INTERVIEW WITH CATHERINE DOYLE

Catherine Doyle talks about her new book The Storm Keeper's Island
Classics in Short No 130: Peep Behind the Scenes

A Peep Behind the Scenes 

 
A Q&A INTERVIEW WITH JANINA RAMIREZ

The author of Riddle of the Runes answers our questions.
AN INTERVIEW WITH JASON REYNOLDS

The American author Jason Reynolds interviewed by Imogen Russell Williams.
AN INTERVIEW WITH PAOLA PERETTI

The author is interviewed by Ferelith Hordon.

Editor's Choice

The Weight of a Thousand Feathers
Brian Conaghan
(Bloomsbury YA)
5

Bobby Seed will soon be 18. But he is still 17 – and the weight of the world lies on his shoulders. He is the carer for his mother who is in the final stages of MS. His younger brother, Danny also needs to be cared for. But Bobby longs for a...

read more

New Talent

Boy Underwater
Adam Baron
(HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks)
4

Cymbeline Igloo (his father was an actor, hence the name) can’t swim. His mother appears to have an aversion to the sea, swimming pools, any kind of expanse of water and has never allowed him to have swimming lessons. Not that that stops Cym from...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 231

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

Under 5s

  • Something Fishy
    Polly Dunbar
    5

  • Dinosaur Firefighters
    Sarah McIntyre
    4

  • Cannonball Coralie and the Lion
    Grace Easton
    4

  • Zeki Gets a Checkup
    Anna McQuinn
    4

  • Cinderella of the Nile
    Beverley Naidoo
    4

  • Long Dog
    James Davies
    4

Ages 5-8

  • If All the World Were
    Joseph Coelho
    5

  • Hansel and Gretel
    Bethan Woollvin
    5

  • Big Bunny
    Rowboat Watkins
    5

  • My First Piano Book
    Genevieve Helsby
    Jason Chapman
    4

  • Our Kid
    Tony Ross
    4

  • Rusty the Squeaky Robot
    Neil Clark
    4

  • Baby’s First Bank Heist
    Jim Whalley
    4

  • Rosa Draws
    Jordan Wray
    4

  • Rose’s Dress of Dreams
    Katherine Woodfine
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Boy Underwater
    Adam Baron
    4

  • Embassy of the Dead
    Will Mabbitt
    4

  • The Storm Keeper’s Island
    Catherine Doyle
    4

  • Riddle of the Runes
    Janina Ramirez
    4

  • Ella on the Outside
    Cath Howe
    4

Ages 10-14

  • Mud
    Emily Thomas
    5

  • Suffragette, The Battle for Equality
    David Roberts
    5

  • The Boy Who Hit Play
    Chloe Daykin
    5

  • The Family Tree
    Mal Peet
    5

  • Boy Underwater
    Adam Baron
    4

  • Embassy of the Dead
    Will Mabbitt
    4

  • The Storm Keeper’s Island
    Catherine Doyle
    4

  • Bone Talk
    Candy Gourlay
    4

  • Fighting Fantasy: The Gates of Death
    Charlie Higson
    4

  • In the Mouth of the Wolf
    Michael Morpurgo
    4

  • The Starman and Me
    Sharon Cohen
    4

  • Boy Meets Hamster
    Birdie Milano
    3

  • The Mystery of the Colour Thief
    Ewa Jozefkowicz
    3

  • My Messed-Up Life
    Susin Nielsen
    3

  • Lucky Break
    Rob Stevens
    3

Ages 14+

  • The Weight of a Thousand Feathers
    Brian Conaghan
    5

  • Theatrical
    Maggie Harcourt
    5

  • The Lost Witch
    Melvin Burgess
    5

  • Little Liar
    Julia Gray
    4

  • White Rabbit, Red Wolf
    Tom Pollock
    4

  • The Survival Game
    Nicky Singer
    4

  • Jiddy Vardy
    Ruth Estevez
    3

  • Behind Closed Doors
    Miriam Halahmy
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • A History of Children’s Books in 100 Books
    Roderick Cave
    Sara Ayad
    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.

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.

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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

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

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