Dancing the Charleston

Jacqueline Wilson's Dancing the Charleston is a story for 9 year olds about a chatterbox girl whose aunty won't tell her a single thing about her mother.

What happens

Mona lives with Aunty in the old gatekeeper's cottage on Lady Somerset's estate. Aunty is a dressmaker. She's strict and proper, and she thinks reading stories is a waste of time (which tells you a lot about how well they get on!).

Mona can't sit still, hates sewing and asks questions all day long.

What she most wants to know about is her mother. Once she found a pale pink satin dress with silver beads hidden at the back of Aunty's wardrobe. When she went back to look, it had vanished and Aunty said she must have dreamt it.

Then Lady Somerset falls very ill and sends for Aunty, and Mona has to go too. The old lady doesn't want a shroud, so Aunty offers to make her a white and gold robe to be buried in. In twenty-four hours!

Aunty also asks the old lady a favour for Mona's sake, and the lady's maid is horrified. Mona can't work out why she was brought along at all.

Reading it is like listening to Mona talk. She's cheeky and funny. She greets the yew trees in the churchyard with "pleased to meet yew" and giggles at her own joke. Next minute she's feeling awful about slamming the door on Aunty after a row over a boiled egg.

Her best friend Maggie teaches the whole playground the Charleston (Mona reckons she looks like a hen flapping about). And there's a boy called Peter Robinson with a very nice smile.

It's worth knowing that Mona's mother died before the story starts, and her father died in the war. Mona visits her mother's grave on the way home from school. She lies on the grass and talks to her, and imagines her mother talking back. Aunty slaps her more than once, and there's a sickroom scene with a dying old lady.

For a child who has lost a parent, those graveside chats might feel very close to home. If you've got a reader who loves a big emotional story with lots of jokes along the way, this is a lovely one to get lost in.

What to read next

If they're after another fiery girl who can't stop wondering about her mother, try Hetty Feather. Hetty was handed over as a tiny baby to be brought up as a foundling, and she's absolutely sure she can remember her mother's arms.