Nicholas Tucker is honorary senior lecturer in Cultural and Community Studies at Sussex University.


Hilary McKay’s Binny Bewitched is one more precious offering from this most gifted of authors. Unfailingly wise as well as witty, this is story-telling at its most beguiling. The late Mal Peet’s Beck, completed after his death by Meg Rosoff, is the rough, tough and unforgettable story of a teenage orphan a hundred years ago surviving harsh conditions after leaving Britain for Canada. And Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood and Co: The Creeping Shadow, more stories about young


Lucy Carlyle and her ghost-hunting activities, is so good it almost reads itself.


Ann Lazim, Literature and Library Development Manager, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education


In a year in which the politics of migration continue to preoccupy the world, this human story stands out. Francesca Sanna’s stunning first picture book The Journey draws on the experiences of recent refugees from many countries. Each spread features a carefully chosen colour palette, depicting the variety of landscapes, real and emotional, through which a family passes, escaping conflict and seeking sanctuary. The book ends on a hopeful note but makes it clear that most refugees live with continued uncertainty, even when they hope they have reached a place of safety.


The Singing Bones: Art Inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Shaun Tan, Walker Studio, 978-1-4063-7066-9 , £19.99 hbk


The Wolves of Currumpaw by William Grill, Flying Eye, 978-1-909263-83-3, £14.99 hbk


We Found a Hat, John Klassen, Walker Books, 978-1-4063-4751-7, £12.99 hbk


Alpha, Bessora, illus Barroux, the Bucket List, 978-1-9113-7001-7, £12.99 pbk


Welcome, Barroux, Egmont, 978-1-4052-8052-5, £6.99 pbk


The Journey, Francesca Sanna, Flying Eye, 978-1-9092-6399-4, £12.99 hbk


Saint Death, Marcus Sedgwick, Orion Children’s Books, 978-1- 4440-0052-8, £10.99 hbk


Un Grand Jour de Rien, Beatrice Alemagna, Albin Michel Jeunesse, 978-2-2263-2937-0


Hilda and the Stone Forest, Luke Pearson Flying Eye Books, 978-1-9092-6374-1, £12.95 hbk


Binny Bewitched, Hilary McKay, Hodder Children’s Books, 978-1- 4449-2543-2, £12.99 hbk


Lockwood & Co. The Creeping Shadow, Jonathan Stroud, Corgi Children’s Books, 978-0-5525-7315-3, £7.99 pbk


Beck, Mal Peet and Meg Rosoff, Walker Books, 978-1-4063-3112-7, £12.99 hbk


Books for Keeps No.221 November 2016 7


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