Jacqueline Wilson - girls in ... books. Ok for dd (8)?

[sparkysparkysparky]

We haven't really got into JW until recently when Dd enjoyed a JW opening story in a "paws and claws" anthology as our bedtime read. Courtesy of my kindle, a JW "Girls in" book was suggested. I think this one is In Trouble and is heading towards coverage of an eating disorder. We downloaded a sample and dd quite liked it. I'm not against her reading about tricky topics, especially if I am actually reading with her ( we can discuss ). If dd gets bored she will just drop the book. dd has just turned 8 and still loves fairies and kittens as stories. I'm trying to broaden her horizons.
Any thoughts on this series? - I just had deflect a bit that cast doubt on Father Christmas but that's not a problem - it is an inevitability!

DD2 (11yo) loves JW books, she's read most of them, she started reading them about 7yo. They do cover difficult issues, and they do have her in tears at times.

However I did remove the girls in love series from her. I've only ever removed two books* from any of my children when they wanted to read, and that was one of them. I think it was the one you mention, in fact the way the eating disorder was handles by the main girl, I felt was unhelpful for an impressionable girl (which dd2 is). I could see her considering it as an option. They are afaik aimed at the teenage market, whereas she does have books more suitable for younger readers.

I'd recommend JWs like "Hetty Feather" which is historically set or I think it's "The Lottie Project".

*The other book I removed was a ghost story that would have given her nightmares.
However also if I'd seen in time I would have removed one she got out from the school library, which was also a JW, albeit an early one, which has the main character (aged about 16) having an afair with one of her teachers. And, what I saw of it, it was written as a love story. Can't imagine it's still in print though, certainly isn't in our school library any more.

Thanks. I'll give dd the option of carrying on now we've started. But I will try and direct her to the others you suggested.

Serves me right for cursing those bloody Rainbow Fairies.

I'd agree that the Girls In...books are for teens. I think 8, especially just turned 8, is definitely too young for them. Yy to the Hetty Feather books and maybe the Tracy Beaker books (despite people slamming Tracy on here for being a brat - well, yeah, she's been dumped by her mother and is very defensive).

I feel your pain re: Rainbow Fairies

I'm pretty lax about age suitability in books. I tend to think if a child can read and understand a book, then they're ready to read it. But I really wouldn't allow an 8 year old to read the 'Girls in..' series - I think it's reasonable to explain to your dd that it's a teenagers book. I think this is especially true in the case of JW teen books because they're actually pretty simple to read, short, and with a fairly limited vocabulary. Soften the blow by providing 'Hetty Feather' or 'Double Act'.

In general, I'd check all JW books before allowing your DD to read them.

FWIW, I think Tracy Beaker is fine as a book - yes, she's badly behaved, but the books make it clear that this is a consequence of her upbringing, whereas the TV series basically laughs at her bad behaviour. I think this is why Tracy Beaker is generally unpopular on MN.

I've just realised my first paragraph is a garbled mess - what I'm saying is, JW's teen books are written in fairly simply language, and can therefore be read by children who are far too young to understand the concepts and topics that JW is writing about. So, although I think many 8 year olds could read the 'Girls in...' series, they aren't actually ready for the contents.

I hope that's a little clearer.

Thanks to all. My instinct was that she isnâ??t quite ready for this but (to be frank) as an older Mum whose own parents were pretty restrictive, I wanted to check I wasn't totally wide of the mark.

"Girls under pressure" is the one in which the main character develops eating problems. I read it when I was 13 (and struggling with anorexia) and used it for tips and as some weird kind of motivation ??

"Girls in trouble" has quite adult themes I think. I seem to remember the main characters boyfriend pressuring her into becoming more sexually active (she doesn't). And then he kisses her best friend at a party and all sorts of drama ensues. Her boyfriend is a proper abusive twit in it, we'd all be telling her to ltb, but they end up happy and in lurv at the end of the book. There is also a sub plot of one of her friends being groomed by an old man online.

Age appropriate (for an eight year old) Jacqueline Wilson:

How to Survive Summer Camp
The Bed and Breakfast Star
Suitcase Kid
Double Act
Sleepovers

DD is 9 and has read quite a few Jacqueline Wilson books. She has loved the Hetty Feather ones especially. I think at least one of the "girls in" books is somewhere around here and I've said she's not old enough yet.

I'm in much the same quandary with dd1. After reading on here about the story if the student/teacher relationship (iirc, child is accused of leading teacher on??!!) I've been v cautious, but dd really wants to read jw. I've got her hetty feather and another historical one whose name I forget! I was also looking at opal plumsted for her next. She also adores otteline and goth girl, and I've found some other books in the same vein. Shes just started on Harry potter, I hope that's ok. But the jw recommendations are brill.

Luke others here, I am fed up with rainbow fairies, and I have another 3 dds after dd1! I've got to do this 4 times!!!

Jacqueline Wilson actually has age guides on her website I think, unlike a lot of book publishers.

Checked out the website. DD will probably like. We moved over to "Sleepovers" and I moved the Girls In book into the Cloud and off my kindle and phone. For another time.
She's enjoying Sleepovers - thanks for the recommendation.