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The
excitement was intense, the expressions awed and there wasn't a
pop star in sight.
Instead,
this was a book signing - for such is the potency of the Jaqueline
Wilson pen.
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(02'26) |
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Hundreds
of fans of the author of titles such as The Illustrated Man and
The Story of Tracy Beaker had turned up in force to meet their literary
heroine.
"Sometimes as an adult, you tend to forget the things you agonised
over as a child," says the silver-haired 60-year-old who wrote
her first novel when she was only nine years old.
| "For
some reason I can't really remember what I did last week, but
I can remember what it's like to be a child..." |
| Jacqueline
Wilson on her inspiration |
"For
some reason I can't really remember what I did last week, but I
can remember what it's like to be a child. So I put all that in,
and the things that make children laugh and the things that really
upset them."
With
characters such as Tracy Beaker a mainstay of children's television,
more young people are discovering the gritty world of Jacqueline
Wilson's characters.
For
the second year running, Wilson is the most borrowed author from
British libraries. 20 million books sold suggests children are identifying
with their themes.
role-model
"The
books are very funny," admits 11-year-old Letitia Davies, "I
have them all at home and I've read most of them apart from Grubslime."
 |
|
For
the second year running, Jacqueline Wilson (left) is the most
borrowed author from British libraries
|
Yvette
Sinclair, her companion at the book signing for Wilson's new novel
Clean Break, is also a fan. "Her
books tell you about everyday life. They're interesting and not
like the boring books that old people read."
Does
Wilson perceive herself to be a role-model to her young readers?
"If
I go to a book signing and there is a long, long queue of children,
and they turn around and go 'It's her!", it's as if you're
somebody special," she says.
"This
is what every middle-aged woman really needs because you reach the
age when most people just ignore you, and then suddenly lots and
lots of children want to come and talk to you, and that's wonderful."
delicate
subjects
The
million selling author continues to live in Kingston-on-Thames,
where she spent her formative years, and maintains a close link
with Wimbledon's
Polka Children's Theatre.
| "When
you reach middle age most people just ignore you, and now lots
and lots of children want to come and talk to you, and that's
wonderful..." |
| Jacqueline
Wilson on her fame |
A
new stage production of her novel Bad Girls has enjoyed a successful
run there, giving its youthful audience plenty of opportunities
to spare their blushes on delicate subjects such as fostering, shoplifting,
bullying and boys.
What
does she hope her readers derive from her work?
"if
they actually come away from reading a book and understand what
it's like to be the odd one out, that's marvellous," she says.
"If
they understand that maybe a child at school who goes into a corner
and cries, or comes in looking a bit grubby and dishevelled, that
there's a reason for this and perhaps they're a bit kinder or more
understanding, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Jacqueline
Wilson's latest book Clean Break was published in March 2005 by
Random House. Bad Girls is at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon until
9 April.
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