Ask me for my favourite childhood author and Jacqueline Wilson is always on the shortlist. I read my way through her catalogue growing up, and a lot of it has stayed with me ever since.
Jacqueline Wilson really did such an amazing thing as an author and in many ways was quite ahead of her time with the themes she touches on in her books. She makes things like foster homes, mental health issues, single parent families, self-harm and death accessible to children and understandable in a way that won’t make them petrified to grow up.
My mum was the one who introduced me to these books. And as an adult I can understand why because she (my mum) was a social worker and these books really helped me to understand the kind of things she was doing on a day-to-day basis.
Now, I’m not saying her books should be considered mandatory reading. BUT in my experience as a reader who enjoyed them and a teacher who recommended them, they do encourage very real and important conversations.
She’s written more than a hundred books, so the question isn’t whether your child will find one to love. It’s where on earth to start. So here are the best Jacqueline Wilson books, ranked, with recommendations of ages thrown in too. But most of them sit right in the middle of our books for 9 year olds shelf. So if that’s not right for your little one, maybe check out another article.
The best Jacqueline Wilson books, ranked
1. The Story of Tracy Beaker
The Story of Tracy Beaker
I feel like she needs no introduction but in case you didn’t grow up HATING Justine and praying Tracy would be whisked away from the ‘dumping ground’ (AKA the foster home), here’s a little bit about it…
Tracy is ten, lives in a children’s home, and is writing a book about herself because nobody else would get it right. She’s funny, furious and desperate for a real home, even if she’d never admit it to your face.
Decades on, this is still the one to hand over first. It’s the whole Wilson formula in one book. You laugh, then something catches in your throat, then you laugh again. Age 8 up.
Also, if you like to indulge in a bit of 00’s nostalgia (like myself), I recommend the TV series. It’s a good representation of the book(s) and also hits all of the right 00’s kid references.
2. The Illustrated Mum
The Illustrated Mum
Dolphin thinks her mum Marigold, covered in colourful tattoos, is the most beautiful woman alive.
Her big sister Star has stopped believing it. When Marigold’s moods finally tip into a breakdown, the girls have to work out who is actually looking after whom.
This one is a personal favourite of mine. But it’s also one of Wilson’s heaviest, so save it for a mature 10 or 11 year old rather than the 8 year old who loved Sleepovers.
3. Sleepovers
Sleepovers
Daisy is the new girl in a friendship group whose initials run A to E, and the birthday sleepovers are coming round one by one. She’s dreading her own. Partly because Chloe can be VERY unfriendly, mostly because she’s worried what the others will make of her older sister.
Short chapters and a story that feels like it happened at your child’s own school. The easiest one for 7 and 8 year olds.
4. Lola Rose
Lola Rose
When her mum wins £10,000 on a scratchcard, Jayni’s family runs. A new city, new names, a fresh start far away from her dad, and Jayni becomes Lola Rose. Then the money starts to run out.
It’s about being brave when the grown-ups are struggling, and children adore it. Goodreads voters rank it her number one, and I’m not going to argue with that. For 9 to 11.
5. Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby
April was abandoned in a dustbin as a newborn, fourteen years ago.
She’s settled with her foster mum Marion now, but the not-knowing has got too loud, and she sets off to piece together where she really came from.
Keep tissues within reach. This one will definitely get you in all the feels (in the best way) and is one for the 10 and 11 year olds.
Which Jacqueline Wilson book for which age
For 7 and 8, start with Sleepovers and Tracy Beaker. From 9, add Lola Rose and Dustbin Baby, plus Katy, her modern take on What Katy Did with a daredevil heroine and a life-changing accident. At 11, go for The Illustrated Mum and Vicky Angel, about a girl whose best friend dies and then refuses to leave, which is somehow both sadder and funnier than it sounds.
A word about the heavy stuff
Wilson writes about care homes, divorce, money worries and mums who aren’t coping, and she was doing it long before it was fashionable. That honesty is exactly why children trust her. The books never wallow, and her narrators always find their happy ending. If you’re weighing up whether yours is ready for the heavier ones, our guide on how to tell what age a book is for was built for this exact judgement call.
When they’ve read the lot
It happens faster than you’d think. When it does, our books like Jacqueline Wilson list picks up the baton with authors who write the same real-life warmth. And her own back catalogue runs deep. Our Jacqueline Wilson author page has the full shelf (Hetty Feather spin-offs included).
Little Reads is a hand-picked library of 3,000+ books for children aged 5 to 11, and Wilson’s shelf is one of the busiest in it.
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We’re a library, not a classroom, so if your child is still learning to read, a phonics app is the better first stop.
But if yours is the kind who reads Tracy Beaker and tells everyone to bog off for a week afterwards, they’ll fit right in.