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Books for Keeps 233 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 233 - November 2018
BfK 233 November 2018

This issue’s cover illustration is from The Afterwards by A.F. Harrold illustrated by Emily Gravett. Thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for their help with this November cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 233 November 2018 .

BfK No. 233 Articles

Editorial 233

Editorial comment
Fairy Tales: holding the old stories tight by Deirdre Sullivan

Fairy Tale special

Books of the Year 2018

The best of 2018 selected by a BfK panel
Books for Giving 2018

What to put under the tree
Books for Giving Christmas 2018 book list

A list of the books we are recommending for Christmas giving 2018
Authorgraph 233: A.F. Harrold

A.F. Harrold interviewed by Charlotte Hacking
Ten of the best: films of children’s books

A celluloid special by Laura Fraine
Windows into Illustration: Fabi Santiago

Fabi Santiago

‘We English’: Nonfiction and Belonging in Children’s Literature

Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O'Connor
I Wish I’d Written: Candy Gourlay

Candy Gourlay chooses
Good Reads 233

Chosen by Saint Wilfrid’s C of E Academy in Blackburn
Two Children Tell: Growing up with John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury

By Virginia Lowe
Voices from the Past: Tom Palmer on writing the Great War

The author of Armistice Runner on creating his new book
Never Such Innocence: young people’s responses to the Great War

Review of two books published by the official First World War Centenary charity
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR HILARY MCKAY

Philip Womack interviews Hilary McKay about The Skylarks' War
Classics in Short No 132: How about spending Christmas with the Savages?

A festive special
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR DAVID ALMOND

David Almond discusses his new book, the Costa shortlisted The Colour of the Sun
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR CANDY GOURLAY

The author discusses her Costa shortlisted book Bone Talk
AN INTERVIEW WITH GARTH NIX AND SEAN WILLIAMS

The authors discuss their new fantasy series with Philip Womack
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA SHORTLISTED AUTHOR MATT KILLEEN

The author of Orphan Monster Spy interviewed by Michelle Pauli.
MY MUM TRACY BEAKER - THE LAUNCH

Rebecca Butler reports on the launch celebration for My Mum Tracy Beaker
AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER BROWN

Peter Brown's complete robot

Editor's Choice

The Afterwards
A.F. Harrold
(Bloomsbury Children's Books)
5

December (or as she is usually called, Ember) and Ness are the very best friends. Then Ness dies. Ember’s life has an empty hole. Ness was so alive and she should be alive. Ember decides she must rescue Ness. There will be consequences ... but...

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New Talent

Maybe the Moon
Frances Ives
(LOM Art)
4

Frances Ives won the 2016 LOM Art prize, and this is her debut picture book. Based on her own experience of moving to the city from the countryside, she shows the happy life of Eric in the country as he helps his mother in their...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 233

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

Under 5s

  • I Was Made For You
    David Lucas
    5

  • Little Robin Red Vest
    Jan Fearnley
    5

  • Santa Claus vs the Easter Bunny
    Fred Blunt
    5

  • The Pooka Party
    Shona Shirley Macdonald
    4

  • Maybe the Moon
    Frances Ives
    4

  • My Bed is an Air Balloon
    Julia Copus
    4

  • You're Snug with Me
    Chitra Soundar
    4

  • The Lost Property Office
    Emily Rand
    4

  • Mini Rabbit: Not Lost
    John Bond
    4

  • Counting Blessings
    Emma Dodd
    3

  • Mummy Time
    Judith Kerr
    3

Ages 5-8

  • Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Parents
    Lauren Child
    5

  • Me and my Fear
    Francesca Sanna
    5

  • Once Upon a Snowstorm
    Richard Johnson
    5

  • Happy: A Children’s Book of Mindfulness
    Nicola Edwards
    5

  • Santa Claus vs the Easter Bunny
    Fred Blunt
    5

  • Inside the Villains
    Clotilde Perrin
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • The Pooka Party
    Shona Shirley Macdonald
    4

  • Armadillo and Hare
    Jeremy Strong
    4

  • Two Kings
    Emma Lewis
    4

  • The Dog That Saved Christmas
    Nicola Davies
    4

  • Sonam and the Silence
    Eddie Ayres
    4

  • The Truth Pixie
    Matt Haig
    3

  • Once Upon a Magic Book
    Lily Murray
    3

  • Ten Nasty Little Toads
    Steve Cole
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Clockwork Crow
    Catherine Fisher
    5

  • The Afterwards
    A.F. Harrold
    5

  • Alastair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers
    Alastair Humphreys
    5

  • Corey’s Rock
    Sita Brahmachari
    5

  • My Mum Tracy Beaker
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • Blazing a Trail: Irish Women Who Changed the World
    Sarah Webb
    4

  • Wiggott’s Wonderful Waxworld: Terror Train
    Terry Deary
    4

  • Into the Jungle Stories for Mowgli
    Katherine Rundell
    4

  • Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Blue Moon
    Sally Gardner
    4

  • A Dangerous Game
    Malorie Blackman
    4

  • Picklewitch and Jack
    Claire Barker
    4

  • Sonam and the Silence
    Eddie Ayres
    4

  • The Missing Barbegazi
    H.S. Norup
    3

  • The Pony with No Name
    Tracey Corderoy
    3

  • The Girl, the Cat and the Navigator
    Matilda Woods
    3

Ages 10-14

  • The Skylarks’ War
    Hilary McKay
    5

  • Louisiana’s Way Home
    Kate DiCamillo
    5

  • My Mum Tracy Beaker
    Jacqueline Wilson
    5

  • Drawing Europe Together
    Various Illustrators
    5

  • Wiggott’s Wonderful Waxworld: Terror Train
    Terry Deary
    4

  • She is Fierce
    Ana Sampson
    4

  • The Blue Cat
    Ursula Dubosarsky
    4

  • Race to the Frozen North: the Matthew Henson story
    Catherine Johnson
    3

  • Firebird
    Elizabeth Wein
    3

  • The Lost Magician
    Piers Torday
    2

Ages 14+

  • The Key to Flambards
    Linda Newbery
    5

  • The Chaos of Now
    Erin Lange
    5

  • Glass Town Wars
    Celia Rees
    5

  • Only the Ocean
    Natasha Carthew
    4

  • She is Fierce
    Ana Sampson
    4

  • The Punk Factor
    Rebecca Denton
    3

  • The Price Guide to the Occult
    Leslye Walton
    3

Books About Children's Books

  • Reading & Rebellion. An Anthology of Radical Writing for Children 1900-1960
    Kimberley Reynolds
    Michael Rosen
    Jane Rosen
    4

BfK News

NATASHA FARRANT WINS 2020 COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD

Natasha Farrant

Writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant has won the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, a book which the judges described as ‘pure heavenly escapism and a purely joyful read.’

read more...
ROBIN WALKER WINS THE 2020 ALCS EDUCATIONAL WRITERS’ AWARD FOR BLACK HISTORY MATTERS

The winner of the 2020 ALCS Educational Writers’ Award is Black History Matters: The Story of Black History, From African Kingdoms to Black Lives Matter. Written by acclaimed Black historian, Robin Walker, the 2020 judges praised this accessible, comprehensive and inspiring book which provides a timely introduction both to Black history and the Black Lives Matter movement.

read more...
IBBY UK nominate Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2022

IBBY UK has announced that Marcus Sedgwick and David McKee will be the UK nominations for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

read more...
SHORTLIST FOR THE COSTA CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Debut authors Darren Charlton and Jenny Pearson join Natasha Farrant and Meg Rosoff on the shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award.

The shortlist for the 2020 Costa Children’s Book Award has been announced. No less than 146 books were submitted and from those the judges have chosen a shortlist of four. They are:

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton (Little Tiger)

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BOOKTRUST’S REPRESENTS INTERIM RESEARCH & CLPE REFLECTING REALITIES SURVEY 2020

CLPE Reflecting Realities Report 2020

read more...
SHORTLIST FOR THE 2021 BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS REVEALED

The six books shortlisted for the 2021 Blue Peter Book Awards have been announced.

Blue Peter Book Award logo

read more...
Happy National Non-Fiction November 2020

It’s National Non-Fiction November! Organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, National Non-Fiction November is an annual celebration of the power of non-fiction to inspire children and celebrate readers who have a passion for information and facts. 2020 is the 10th anniversary of National Non-Fiction November.

read more...
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.

Little Rebels logo 2020

read more...
OU AND MACMILLAN CHILDREN’S BOOKS LAUNCH BOOK CHAT SCHEME

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.

read more...
TOM PALMER WINS THE CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD 2020

Tom Palmer

read more...
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