Product Description

Introducing Tracy Beaker, 10-year-old girl-wonder and the daughter of a famous Hollywood actress . . . sort of.

Tracy Beaker’s not exactly sure what her mother does, because Tracy has been in foster care for as long as she can remember. She has a picture of her mother, who’s pretty enough to be in movies, so maybe she is. And maybe one day Tracy’s mother will show up and reclaim her long-lost daughter, and together they’ll have fabulous adventures. Then again, maybe she won’t. In the meantime, Tracy’s doing everything she can to take care of herself–even though she has to share her birthday cake with silly Petey Ingham just because they have the same birthday . . . and even though the other girls she lives with are mean and nasty and rude and horrible. Mostly. Then a journalist shows up to write a story about their orphanage, and she and Tracy strike up a special friendship.

In a story written with humor and sensitivity, Tracy emerges as a spirited girl who’s not quite as tough as she lets
everybody think she is.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #422155 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-28
• Released on: 2006-11-28
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.69" h x .44" w x 5.19" l, .28 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Sandi Toksvig reads Jacqueline Wilson's The Story of Tracy Beaker in this unabridged three-CD pack.

Shortlisted for the Smarties Prize in 1991, Tracy Beaker's story is told in the first-person by an infuriating and loveable 10-year-old, and is a wonderfully funny and thought-provoking slice of life in a children's home. Tracy, as she herself tells us, has had a hard time. She's been fostered a number of times but it's never worked out. Now she dreams of her glamorous mother coming to fetch her and spends her time, when she's not quarrelling with the other children, writing her life story. And then one day, Cam, a real writer, visits the home and after a rocky start, she and Tracy really hit it off. Wilson is a highly accomplished, prolific, prize-winning author, outstandingly successful in dealing with painful social and personal problems in a realistic, funny, touching and highly memorable way. This is a must for 7-11 year-olds.

Running time is two hours 40 minutes. --Tamsin Palmer

From Publishers Weekly
Wilson (Double Act; Bad Girls) presents an insightful portrait of 10-year-old Tracy in the girl's own words. Readers initially make her acquaintance through entries in a fill-in book entitled "My Book About Me." Her revelations are by turn caustic, funny and heartbreaking. Living in a group home for children after two unsuccessful stints in foster homes, Tracy repeatedly expresses her fervent hope and pitiable conviction that her roaming, much-idolized mother will appear to take her away. "There's not much point making friends because I expect to be moving on soon," resolves the heroine, whose tough-kid veneer is wrenchingly transparent. An aspiring author, Tracy takes solace in her autobiographical writing and her new friendship with Cam, a writer who visits the home while researching an article. Despite Tracy's passionate attempts to persuade Cam to take her in as a foster child, her fate is uncertain at the close of the novel. Yet her indomitable spirit and grit leaves little doubt that she will end up on top. Sharratt's drawings help to keep the mood light, as Wilson again shapes a convincing and memorable heroine with a snappy, fresh voice. Ages 8-12.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6-A first-person narrative about a bright and feisty girl. Tracy has spent most of her life in the British foster-care system, always fantasizing that her mother will come back for her. When Cam, a writer, comes to the home to do research for an article, she and Tracy connect. Not intimidated by the angry 10-year-old's tantrums and fibs, Cam exerts a positive influence on Tracy, who finally makes overtures of friendship to some of the other kids. Tracy is at times a tough character to like-she is rude, sarcastic, and unfriendly. However, perceptive readers will quickly see beneath the outrageous tales and bravado a vulnerable youngster desperate to be loved. The book ends rather abruptly, with Tracy asking Cam to be her foster parent, but readers will be glad to know a sequel is imminent. Sharratt's witty cartoonlike drawings enliven this universal tale of a child struggling to belong. Readers will root for Tracy, who never admits to tears, only to attacks of hay fever. A well-paced and involving novel in which a memorable character learns to cope better with her very real problems.
B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.