To ban all things Jacqueline Wilson in my house

[Normalisavariantofcrazy]

Off the back of the shit that is Tracey Beaker?

I've yet to hear positive things said about her books by any parent.

I'm happy to be convinced otherwise (although the kids are non plussed about her books)

I think some are better and more sensitive than others, though none is especially well-written. Hetty Feather, and the 'Girls' series have their moments.

But there's so much black-and-white characterization, and they're so identikit ('I was sooooo upset when mum and dad got divorced and mum married a really bad man and even though he bought me some hairclips at Claires mum was soon on the vodka again') - and Nick Sharrat's smiley face/sad face binary illustrations just exemplify that.

I think Love lessons is v dodgy - it's all the girl's fault the teacher falls in love with her, and she moves school so he doesn't have to etc. And the deus ex mac ending is very lame.

But mainly I don't find them a bad influence or too gritty, just rather lame and uninspiring.

It infuriates me that JW used to write very complex and quite dark books for older teens when I was one - I loved her stuff, but all those more cerebral texts are long out of print. I think she realised with Tracy Beaker how easy it was to make ££££ and all her complex bookish heroines vanished from the scene.

I think they appeal to many children who may not be the most confident readers - because there is strong storytelling and quite straightforward characterisation.

Anne Fine is a lot more subtle and more quirky, blending seriousness and humour - but perhaps for that reason she hasn't achieved the massive popular success that Jacqueline Wilson has.

I've only read one - Tracey Beaker, which I had bought for my 7 yo. I thought it was brilliant. It had me in floods of tears commuting to work! I thought it would be brilliant to read with her, but unfortunately can't persuade her away from Enid Blyton!

The books I would love to eliminate from our house are the Beast Quest ones. DS however loves them, and is working his way through the entire collection. I won't stop him, as at least he is reading, but they're so repetitive, badly written etc.

We have some JW books but he won't even countenance the idea of reading them.

I've gone on to the Jacqueline Wilson and looked at the titles listed for the 7-9 age range.

You can get there via www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk/library.php

None of them appear to deal with anorexia/anoxeria or depression.

I think there is a real problem with JW books being read by children younger than the target age group, because the writing is so accessible and the style of the illustrations often means that careless librarians shelve them wrongly. I've found teenage ones in the younger readers (ie not even the 9-12) section in our local library. You would expect proper librarians to know this but increasingly libraries are using untrained staff to save money.

I read my DS 'The Werepuppy' when he was 7. No depression/anorexia etc in that. The story of a boy in a house full of girls, who is a little sensitive (which his Dad doesn't really like), who gets a puppy and convinces himself it is actually a werepuppy. He stands up to the nasty kid at school and develops a lovely bond with his puppy, enabling him to grow as a person.

It's a funny story, but touches on some issues that younger kids (especially boys) may have to deal with. Great book - totally suitable for younger readers.

Not all JW books are the same.

No, I'm not Jacqueline Wilson! I just think there are Far Worse Things. And that in many respects she is a Good Thing.

because of the colourful dust jackets/cartoon illustrations I just assumed they'd be suitable for 7/8 year olds.

LaQueen! Don't you know you should never judge a book by its cover?

Shame on you

Tunip I think you have summed it up. They are easy-reading so children too young for the topics can easily latch onto them.

LaQueen I can relate to your situation. I don't read every book before my daughter to vet them either! lol She reads 3 books a week. I don't have time for that! I depend on the covers, blurbs and fact that they are in the right section of the library.

I don't think JW is the end of the world. But I agree there is better stuff out there. JW books are sort of Soap Operas. They are good for getting older, reluctant readers started. So they do have their place. Parents of young, precocious readers should approach with caution.

Which authors?

LaQueen, have you actually read them? They really aren't 'candyfloss' reading at all - quite the opposite.

If you are going to censor books with bad behaviour in, you're going to be censoring an awful lot of books.

Are you this anal/controlling in all aspects of your life, OP, or just in your parenting?

I don't think it's JW's fault if books are read by those too young to understand them. It's up to school/libraries to band them correctly. And also if you have a good reader, as a parent you should also have a quick squizz of the content of the book to make sure the subject matter is something they can cope with.

It wasn't Judith Krantz' fault that I read Mistral's Daughter, Till We Meet Again and Princess Daisy when I was 13 (secretly)!

I don't care if not everything they read has a high literary value though and certainly want DDs to be aware of issues that affect other people in an age appropriate way.

If you had read them, rather than just flicked through you might have found them less lurid. Though if these were the teen-aimed ones, you might have a point.