My life in books Jacqueline Wilson

Acclaimed author Dame Jacqueline Wilson has shaped many childhoods, having written more than 100 books. Here she tells us which titles have shaped her

MY FAVOURITE BOOK AS A CHILD WAS…

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I adored this story of three adopted sisters going to stage school. One wants to be an actress, one a mechanic, and the other a ballerina. I used to pretend I was their fourth sister and danced around with them in my bedroom in my pink slippers.

THE CHARACTER I MOST RELATE TO IS…

Jane Eyre. She’s little and poor and plain, but she has a feisty spirit when required. She also has a very vivid imagination. However, I’d never fall for Rochester – he’s not my cup of tea at all.

THE BOOK THAT GOT ME THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME WAS…

The Millstone by Margaret Drabble, a novel about a single academic mum having a baby. I found this immensely comforting when I was coping with a young baby myself, my detective husband hardly ever home. I cheered as the heroine wins a battle to visit her small daughter in hospital.

MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER FROM A BOOK IS…

Jo March, from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. She’s so funny and forthright, and even her faults are endearing. She’s passionate about reading and writing and is painfully fond of her sisters, even the youngest, Amy, who deliberately destroys Jo’s precious story.

THE ONE BOOK I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ IS…

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It starts with a memorably scary scene in a graveyard and continues at a tremendous pace, introducing extraordinary original characters like Miss Havisham and proud Estella (who said Dickens doesn’t write well about women?) It’s the wisest and most wonderful of all his novels.

MY FAVOURITE LINE FROM A BOOK IS…

also from Great Expectations. Dear, loyal Joe Gargery says, ‘What larks,’ so tenderly, forgiving the adult Pip when he has behaved horribly to him. It’s so painful and so touching and yet expresses so much in two simple words.

THE LAST BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY IS…

When The Sky Falls by Phil Earle. It’s a children’s book, but I think all adults would find this wartime story about an angry boy and a silverback gorilla very moving. I almost never cry at books – but this one had me in tears by the end.

MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITE BOOK IS…

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, about a bright young girl’s mental breakdown. Its sharp style and superb similes make your nerves jangle. It also has the most disconcertingly funny description of a naked man showing off his body.

Baby Love (Penguin) by Jacqueline Wilson is out 17th March