Showing results by author "Jacqueline Wilson" in All Categories

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Jacqueline Wilson's favourite character, Tracy Beaker, who lives in a children's home. Ten-year-old Tracy is smart and full of energy but more than anything she wants love. In The Story of Tracy Beaker, Tracy doesn't know where her mum lives but that doesn't stop her having long imaginary conversations with her. She's had two foster families before which haven't worked out but hopes a woman named Cam will be her next foster mum.

Ella's mum is in a deep coma, having just had a new baby. That means Ella has to live with Jack, her hopeless stepfather, and cope with her tiny newborn brother, as well as worrying about Mum. The only thing that's going right is her school project. It's all about whales and how they sing out to each other to attract a mate – sometimes for hours. Maybe a whale song could reach Mum, wherever she is, and bring her back to Ella and baby Samson. Surely it's worth a try?

Lots of Jacqueline Wilson's characters are well-known and well-loved by thousands of listeners: Hetty Feather, Ruby and Garnet, Pearl and Jodie, Elsa, Lily and, of course, the brilliant Tracy Beaker! But how much do you know about Jacqueline herself? Jacqueline takes a look back at her own childhood and teenage years in this captivating story of friendships, loneliness, books, family life and much more. She explores her past with the same warmth and lightness of touch that make her novels so special.

A wonderful new story starring old friends and new from the much-beloved Victorian world of Hetty Feather. Rose Rivers lives in a beautiful house with her artist father, her difficult, fragile mother and her many siblings. She has everything money can buy - beautiful dresses, horse-riding lessons, books - but she’s not satisfied. Why can’t she be sent away to a good school like her twin brother? Why can’t she learn to become a famous artist like her father or his friend Paris Walker? Why is life so unfair for people who were not born rich?

Quiet, cautious Pearl has always adored her bold, brash, bad big sister Jodie. When their parents get new jobs at a grand, fusty old boarding school, Melchester College, the girls have to move there – and when they arrive, things start to change. Jodie has always been the leader – but now it's Pearl who's making new friends. Jodie just seems to be getting into more and more trouble – arguing with Mum, scaring the little children, flirting with the gardener.

Ellie is nearly 13, in Year Nine, and desperate to have a boyfriend. Her best friends Magda and Nadine (both prettier and thinner) have boyfriends, but the closest she can get is Dopey Dan, who is younger and a real swot. Find out all her secrets, squirm at her most embarrassing moment, have a laugh, and discover more about boys!

When Dad tells Luna and her little sister Aurora that they're moving to live in a real tower, it's almost like they've stepped inside a fairytale. But everything is not as magical as it first seems. The tower needs patching up, Dad still doesn't have a job and they're not even allowed in the room up at the very top. When it's time to start at their new school, Luna quickly finds a friend, but six-year-old Aurora absolutely hates the children in her class. She prefers to spend her time with her imaginary friend Tansy.

Sunset lives a life of luxury with her beautiful ex-model mum, her world-famous ex-rocker dad, and two little celeb siblings. But life on the red carpet is no compensation for rowing parents, constant nagging, intensive media scrutiny, and no real friends. Destiny, on the other hand, is an only child living on a rundown estate with a sickly but devoted mum who constantly tells her she's really the daughter of a famous former rock star...

Ruby and Garnet are ten-year-old twins. They're identical, and they do everything together, especially since their mother died three years earlier – but they couldn't be more different. Bossy, bouncy, funny Ruby loves to take charge, and is desperate to be a famous actress, while quiet, sensitive, academic Garnet loves nothing more than to curl up with one of her favourite books.

Dolphin adores her mother, Marigold. She's got wonderful clothes, bright hair and vivid tattoos all over her body – a colourful lady, to match her colourful life. But Dolphin's older sister, Star, is beginning to wonder if living with Marigold's fiery, unpredictable moods is the best thing for the girls.

When life with Jayni's violent-tempered father becomes too frightening to cope with, Jayni, her mum and her little brother Kenny are forced to escape in the middle of the night. Slipping out of the house unseen, travelling up to London by train and checking into a hotel – it's almost like playing an elaborate game. They even make up false identities to protect their secret, and Jayni becomes the glamorous-sounding Lola Rose.

Hi! I'm Charlie (DON'T call me Charlotte – ever!). History is boring, right? Wrong! The Victorians weren't all deadly dull and drippy. Lottie certainly isn't. She's eleven – like me – but she's left school and has a job as a nursery maid. Her life is really hard, just work work work, but I bet she'd know what to do about my mum's awful boyfriend and his wimpy little son. I bet she wouldn't mess it all up like I do ...

I'm Tracy Beaker, the Great Inventor of Extremely Outrageous Dares – and I dare YOU not to say this is the most brilliant story ever! I've bought a big fat purple notebook for writing down all my mega-manic ultra-scary stories in. But especially for my own story. Of how my foster-mum, Cam, has turned out to be a real meanie. No designer clothes, when I really need them. A pokey flat, and a horrible new school. No wonder I keep bunking off ... Still, it will have to do until my real mum comes and gets me. And until then, no-one is going to be better at the Dare Game than me!

Since leaving the Foundling Hospital, Hetty has seen her fair share of drama, excitement, tragedy and loss. After the death of her beloved mama, she sets off to find a real home at last – starting with the search for her father. But Hetty is no longer a simple country girl, and begins to fear she’ll never truly belong anywhere. And even when she is reunited with her beloved childhood sweetheart Jem, Hetty still longs for adventure – especially when an enchanting figure from her past makes an unexpected reappearance. Could a more exciting future lie ahead for Hetty?

Do you like the way you look? Because Ellie, Magda, and Nadine don't. In this moving and funny sequel to Girls in Love, the friends all try to change their looks - with disastrous consequences! These girls are under pressure!

I'm Sadie and I'm nearly nine. Mum's a childminder, but she doesn't have to mind me. I can mind myself, easy-peasy. Lucky for Mum, because now she's got the flu, so I've got to mind her – and help with all the babies!

Lizzie refuses to speak. She doesn't want to talk to Rory or Jake, her new stepbrothers, or Sam, their dad or even her mum. She’s totally fed up at having to join a new family and nothing can coax her into speaking to them. Not football, not pizza, not a new bedroom. That is, until she meets Great-Gran – a member of the new family who is even more stubborn than her – and has had a lot more practice!

Diamond wasn’t always a star. Born to penniless parents who longed for a son, she was a dainty, delicate daughter – and a bitter disappointment. Discovering she has an extraordinary natural gift for acrobatics, Diamond tries to use her talent to earn a few pennies. A mysterious stranger spots her performing on the street, and makes a deal with her father. Diamond is sold and is taken to become an acrobat at Tanglefield’s Travelling Circus.

Is anything bothering you? Problems in class or at home? Don't know where to turn for help? Log on to the Worry Website! Type in your worry and wait for the good advice to flow in. At least that's the plan when Mr Speed sets up his super-cool new Worry Website for the class. Holly, Greg, Natasha and the rest feel that they've got shed loads of worries but, as they find out, sometimes the best advice comes from the most unexpected place.

Verity adores her cat, Mabel, and is desperately sad when she dies. Remembering her recent school lessons about the Ancient Egyptians, Verity decides to mummify Mabel and keep her hidden. Verity's dad and grandparents can't bear to talk about death, having lost Verity's mum in childbirth, but when they eventually discover what Verity has done with Mabel, the whole family learns that it's time to talk.