Jacqueline Wilson fans rejoice – we have some very exciting news! The best-selling author has revealed that she is writing a new Tracy Beaker novel, with the popular character returning as a single mum living in London with her nine-year-old daughter, Jess. The book, My Mum Tracy Beaker, will be told from her daughter's perspective, with Jacqueline telling The Observer that the idea came about after seeing mums encouraging their own children to read their copies of The Story of Tracy Beaker, having read it themselves when they were younger.
Jacqueline Wilson first wrote The Story of Tracy Beaker in 1991
"It’s stimulating to think about how people develop as they get older," she said. "Tracy has been a character that’s haunted me. She’s the sort of person who sticks in your mind. When I realised just how long ago it was since I wrote the first Tracy Beaker book, I thought: if we were in real time, Tracy herself would be in her 30s. And I’ve always thought that, even though Tracy had lots of problems in her life and a pretty rubbish mum who was never there for her, Tracy herself would be a good mum, no matter what."
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The book will be once again illustrated by Nick Sharratt, and follows Tracy raising her own child in a materialistic world, while trying to make ends meet. Jacqueline was inspired by her own upbringing, living in a council flat in south-west London. She told the publication: "It's a setting I feel really comfortable in." Set to be released in October, Jacqueline teased: "It's a chunky, meaty book."
The Story of Tracy Beaker was made into an award-winning TV series, which ran on CBBC from 2002-2005, starring Dani Harmer as lead character Tracy. After being turned into a film, spin-off series The Dumping Ground then aired in 2013, focusing on the lives and experiences of young people and their care workers.
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