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
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
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.
