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Books for Keeps 245 - the children's book magazine online

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BfK No. 245 - November 2020
BfK 245 November 2020

This issue’s cover illustration is from The Day I Fell into a Fairytale by Ben Miller, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini. Thanks to Simon and Schuster 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 The BfK Poetry Guide October 2020 .

BfK No. 245 Articles

Fairytale Adventures

Michelle Pauli interviews Ben Miller about his new book.
Christmas Gift Guide

The best books to give this year selected by Urmi Merchant of Pickled Pepper Books
Changing The World One Book At A Time

Onjali Q Ráuf interviewed by Clare Zinkin
Windows into Illustration: Thiago de Moraes

Windows into Illustration: Thiago de Moraes.
Ten Books Every Child Should Read

Selected by James Mayhew
Authorgraph Jennifer Donnelly

Jennifer Donnelly interviewed by Joy Court
Happy Blooming Christmas

An extract from Nicolette Jones' new book about Raymond Briggs.
Beyond the Secret Garden: Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Tidings of Comfort and Joy a seasonal round upfrom Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O'Connor
Christmas Present: A New Dogger

Shirley Hughes interviewed by Nicolette Jones
Books of the Year 2020

Books of the Year: our panel’s choice
I Wish I’d Written: Sarah Lean

Sarah Lean chooses a book that transcends fashion
Obituary Jill Paton Walsh

Jill Paton Walsh remembered by Jon Appleton
Classics in Short: Hebridean Treasures on the Isle of Mist

Hebridean Treasures on the Isle of Mist
The Long Song of the Nightingale

The creation story of The Song of the Nightingale by Tanya Landman.
Obituary: Alec Davis 1944-2020

Books for Keeps founder Richard Hill remembers his friend, Alec Davis, the original Books for Keeps designer.
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED DARREN CHARLTON

John McLay meets Darren Charlton, author of Wranglestone.
AN INTERVIEW WITH NATASHA FARRANT

Michelle Pauli talks to Natasha Farrant about her new book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, which is now shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award.
AN INTERVIEW WITH COSTA BOOK AWARD SHORTLISTED AUTHOR JENNY PEARSON

Part of our spotlight on the authors shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award, Clare Zinkin interviews Jenny Pearson.
Summer with Meg

Meg Rosoff interviewed by Nicolette Jones

Editor's Choice

The Midnight Guardians
Ross Montgomery
5

Col is miserable. He has been separated from his beloved older sister, evacuated to stay with an aunt who does not welcome him- and treats him accordingly. When, as a final straw, he learns that the longed-for Christmas promised by Rose is not...

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New Talent

A Clock of Stars The Shadow Moth
Francesca Gibbons
4

It’s always worth celebrating fresh new voices in fantasy writing and Francesca Gibbons’s debut novel A Clock of Stars reveals her to be an accomplished world builder, a dab hand at controlling plot and action, and the creator of...

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All Children's Book Reviews in BfK No. 245

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

Under 5s

  • Julian at the Wedding
    Jessica Love
    5

  • The Hospital Dog
    Julia Donaldson
    5

  • It’s Only Stanley
    Jon Agee
    5

  • Special Delivery
    Elliot Kruszynski
    5

  • The World Made A Rainbow
    Michelle Robinson
    4

  • All Sorts
    Pippa Goodhart
    4

  • The Leaf Thief
    Alice Hemming
    4

  • Today I'm Strong
    Nadiya Hussain
    4

  • Will You Be My Friend?
    Sam McBratney
    4

Ages 5-8

  • Julian at the Wedding
    Jessica Love
    5

  • It’s Only Stanley
    Jon Agee
    5

  • While You’re Sleeping
    Mick Jackson
    5

  • Who’s Your Real Mum?
    Bernadette Green
    5

  • Vampire Peter
    Ben Manley
    5

  • The Song of the Nightingale
    Tanya Landman
    5

  • Pirate Stew
    Neil Gaiman
    5

  • Dog Gone
    Rob Biddulph
    5

  • Coming to England
    Floella Benjamin
    4

  • The Little War Cat
    Hiba Noor Khan
    4

  • The Tindims of Rubbish Island
    Sally Gardner
    4

  • An Engineer Like Me
    Shini Somara
    Catherine Coe
    4

  • Jeremy Worried About The Wind
    Pamela Butchart
    4

  • Last: The Story of a White Rhino
    Nicola Davies
    4

  • Bibbit Jumps
    Bei Lynn
    3

  • The North Pole Picnic
    Emma Beswetherick
    3

  • My Shadow is Pink
    Scott Stuart
    3

Ages 8-10

  • Lori and Max and the Book Thieves
    Catherine O Flynn
    5

  • The Midnight Guardians
    Ross Montgomery
    5

  • The Song of the Nightingale
    Tanya Landman
    5

  • Pirate Stew
    Neil Gaiman
    5

  • Migrants
    Issa Watanabe
    5

  • Fearless: The Story of Daphne Caruana Galizia

    Gattaldo
    5

  • My Life As A Cat
    Carlie Sorosiak
    5

  • Voyage of the Sparrowhawk
    Natasha Farrant
    5

  • Owl Or Pussycat?
    Michael Morpurgo
    5

  • Victoria Stitch: Bad and Glittering
    Harriet Muncaster
    5

  • Jungledrop
    Abi Elphinstone
    5

  • Fearless Fairy Tales
    Konnie Huq
    James Kay
    4

  • The Tindims of Rubbish Island
    Sally Gardner
    4

  • Cally and Jimmy: Twins in Trouble
    Zoe Antoniades
    4

  • The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat
    Philip Ardagh
    4

  • The Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat
    Philip Ardagh
    4

  • The Silver Arrow
    Lev Grossman
    4

  • Skunk and Badger
    Amy Timberlake
    4

  • Tinsel
    Sibéal Pounder
    4

  • Mary Seacole: Bound for the Battlefield
    Susan Goldman Rubin
    4

  • The Wolf's Secret
    Myriam Dahman
    Nicolas Digard
    4

  • Eco Warrior: Understand, Persuade, Change, Campaign, Act!
    Catherine Barr
    4

  • A Life Story: David Attenborough
    Lizzie Huxley-Jones
    3

  • Ballet Bunnies: The New Class
    Swapna Reddy
    3

  • Boot: The Creaky Creatures
    Shane Hegarty
    3

Ages 10-14

  • The Tigers in the Tower
    Julia Golding
    5

  • The Midnight Guardians
    Ross Montgomery
    5

  • Boy, Everywhere
    A.M. Dassu
    5

  • Wuthering Heights: A Retelling
    Tanya Landman
    5

  • Pages & Co: Tilly and the Map of Stories
    Anna James
    5

  • The Ghost of Gosswater
    Lucy Strange
    5

  • The Haunting of Aveline Jones
    Phil Hickes
    5

  • The Lost Spells
    Robert Macfarlane
    5

  • A Clock of Stars The Shadow Moth
    Francesca Gibbons
    4

  • A Secret of Birds & Bone
    Kiran Millwood Hargrave
    4

  • Elsetime
    Eve McDonnell
    4

  • The Silent Stars Go By
    Sally Nicholls
    4

  • Kicking Off!
    Eve Ainsworth
    4

  • The Castle of Tangled Magic
    Sophie Anderson
    4

  • Rescue
    David Long
    4

Ages 14+

  • Cane Warriors
    Alex Wheatle
    5

  • Witch
    Finbar Hawkins
    5

  • Just Another Little Lie
    Eve Ainsworth
    5

  • The Wolf Road
    Richard Lambert
    5

  • The Bridge
    Bill Koningsberg
    5

  • Reynard the Fox
    Anne Louise Avery
    4

  • Love Frankie
    Jacqueline Wilson
    4

  • Poisoned Jennifer Donnelly
    Jennifer Donnelly
    4

  • Breathless
    Jennifer Niven
    4

  • The Deep Blue Between
    Ayesha Harruna Attah
    4

  • A Snowfall of Silver
    Laura Wood
    4

  • A Telling of Stones
    Neil Rackham
    4

BfK News

LONGLIST FOR THE 2021 BRANFORD BOASE AWARD

The longlist for the 2021 Branford Boase Award has been announced. Set up in memory of award-winning author Henrietta Branford and her editor Wendy Boase, one of the founders of Walker Books, the Branford Boase Award is given annually to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children.

read more...
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

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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.

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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.

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