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Books for Keeps 223 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 223 - March 2017
BfK 223 March 2017

This issue’s cover illustration features a selection of books by Jane Ray. Thanks to Boxer Books, Hachette Children’s Books and Walker Books for their help with this March cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 223 March 2017.

BfK No. 223 Articles

Editorial 223

Editorial comment
Drawn to Reading: the importance of pictures and visual literacy

by Mairi Kidd of Barrington Stoke
Now or Neverland: Peter Pan and the Myth of Eternal Youth

Nicolette Jones on the boy who never grows old.
Windows into Illustration: Meg McLaren

Meg McLaren on Pigeon P.I.
Authorgraph 223 Jane Ray

Jane Ray interviewed by Clive Barnes
Ten of the Best Utopias in Children’s Literature

Utopian children’s fiction chosen by Imogen Russell Williams
EmpathyLab - building empathy through stories

A report by founders Miranda McKearney and Sarah Mears
Obituary Dick Bruna

Nicholas Tucker remembers the creator of Miffy
Obituary Dahlov Ipcar

The influential illustrator remembered by Nicholas Tucker
Two Children Tell: Nicholas and Raymond Briggs

Nicholas discovers Raymond Briggs
Spotlight on Matt Griffin

In the Spotlight: Matt Griffin
A brand new life for Mr Toad

Tom Moorhouse and Holly Swain reinvigorate a favourite character
Good Reads 223

Chosen by pupils at Cambourne Village College, Cambridgeshire
I Wish I’d Written: Lyn Gardner

Lyn Gardner chooses
Classics in Short No. 121: Maria Edgeworth

Brian Alderson on Maria Edgeworth

AN INTERVIEW WITH L A WEATHERLY

The author discusses her Broken trilogy.
A DAY IN THE WRITING LIFE OF DAN WALKER

The author of Sky Thieves takes us through his writing day.
AN INTERVIEW WITH HELEN PETERS

Helen Peters interviewed about her new book Evie's Ghost

Editor's Choice

A Village Is a Busy Place
V Geetha
(Tara Books)
5

This village is a very busy place as it prepares to celebrate a wedding. However, everyday life must also go on; there is grain to be cleaned, bread baked, rice planted or perhaps a train to catch. The place is a hive of activity even as night...

read more

New Talent

The Elephant Thief
Jane Kerr
(Chicken House)
5

This is storytelling at its best.  From the vivid and dramatic opening scene, the reader is gripped by the amazing story of orphan pickpocket Danny who in 1872 rode an elephant from Edinburgh to Manchester.

The novel is based on the...

read more

All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 223

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

Under 5s

  • I’m in Charge!
    Jeanne Willis
    5

  • Nanette’s Baguette
    Mo Willems
    5

  • The Elephant's Umbrella
    Laleh Jaffari
    4

  • Dave’s Rock
    Frann Preston-Gannon
    4

  • My Pictures after the Storm
    Eric Veille
    4

  • When Grandad Was a Penguin
    Morag Hood
    3

  • Frog and Beaver
    Simon James
    3

Ages 5-8

  • The Everywhere Bear
    Julia Donaldson
    5

  • The Island and the Bear
    Louise Greig
    5

  • A Village Is a Busy Place
    V Geetha
    5

  • Jamal’s Journey
    Michael Foreman
    4

  • Adelaide’s Secret World
    Elise Hurst
    4

  • Swashbuckle Lil The Secret Pirate
    Elli Woollard
    4

  • Mr Bunny’s Chocolate Factory
    Elys Dolan
    4

  • When Grandad Was a Penguin
    Morag Hood
    3

Ages 8-10

  • The Elephant Thief
    Jane Kerr
    5

  • Seeking Refuge
    Irene N.Watts
    5

  • The Bookshop Girl
    Sylvia Bishop
    5

  • How to Be a Tiger
    George Szirtes
    5

  • Frogkisser
    Garth Nix
    5

  • The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart
    Stephanie Burgis
    4

  • Cass and the Bubble Street Gang The Clubhouse Mystery
    Erika McGann
    4

  • Hilo: The Boy who crashed to Earth
    Judd Winick
    4

  • His Royal Whiskers
    Sam Gayton
    4

  • Sky Thieves
    Dan Walker
    4

  • Lots
    Marc Martin
    3

Ages 10-14

  • Fish Boy
    Chloe Daykin
    5

  • When Morning Comes
    Arushi Raina
    5

  • A Dangerous Crossing
    Jane Mitchell
    5

  • Who Let the Gods Out?
    Maz Evans
    4

  • Rose Campion and the Curse of the Doomstone
    Lyn Gardner
    4

  • Optimists Die First
    Susin Nielsen
    4

  • The Liar’s Handbook
    Keren David
    4

  • What Not to Do if You Turn Invisible
    Ross Welford
    4

  • Exploring Space
    Martin Jenkins
    4

  • The Spiral Path
    Matt Griffin
    4

Ages 14+

  • Mind the Gap
    Phil Earle
    5

  • When Morning Comes
    Arushi Raina
    5

  • We Come Apart
    Sarah Crossan
    Brian Conaghan
    5

  • Whisper to Me
    Nick Lake
    5

  • Optimists Die First
    Susin Nielsen
    4

  • Open: A Toolkit for how magic and messed up life can be
    Gemma Cairney
    4

  • Room Empty
    Sarah Mussi
    4

  • Goodbye Days
    Jeff Zentner
    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

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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

read more...
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