Branching Out: Books for Fans of Jacqueline Wilson

This is an uplifting story about self-belief, heritage and community.

Sunshine feels utterly ordinary, especially when a special school assembly challenges everyone to showcase what makes them unique. Surrounded by vibrant family members, particularly her effervescent Grandad, Sunshine struggles to find her own special talent. As everyday stresses mount, Sunshine grapples with a growing sense of inadequacy. The story follows her journey to follow Grandad’s advice to seek her own adventures, stand proud and shine.

Sunshine begins to embrace her unique identity and rich Jamaican heritage, making this an assured and wonderfully readable debut with an interesting cultural backdrop. Author GM Linton visited our blog to tell us more about how the Windrush Generation inspired the series.

Told with heart and humour, this relatable read will go down a treat in Year 5.

The Little Match Girl Strikes Back reimagines the traditional ‘Little Match Girl’ story and sheds light on the rich-poor divide in Victorian London.

The story is written in the first person with Bridie talking to the reader about her experiences selling matches on the street to support her ill mother. Bridie understands that there is massive inequality in her home city and can see how the rich people around her are made richer by exploiting their poorer neighbours. Author Emma Carroll conveys this in a way that is accessible for younger readers to understand and engage with.

The story is filled with stark black, white and red illustrations which are unmistakably Lauren Child but are far from the light-hearted images we associate with the artist. The book would be a perfect class novel to support ‘Victorians’ topics and would be suitable for KS2 upwards.

This exciting, well-written book would be great for children in KS2 and lower KS3.

The story follows Gemma and her family, delving into a secret that Gemma does not know about. This modern story intertwines themes of friendship, family relationships, courage and tennis are gripping throughout. Getting to know Gemma throughout the book, the reader comes to understand the emotions that the character is feeling. There are relatable themes and characters in the book that add to the excitement. This book could be relatable to children who may not have close relationships with their wider family or have close bonds with one main caregiver.

Getting to find out the family secret and how Gemma deals with this shows the sensitivity and courage of her character. The book is full of funny moments that a wide variety of children will enjoy. It is a lovely read and one that could be used as a class novel or recommended to a wide range of readers. As the story centres around tennis and learning more about the sport, this would be a great book to encourage children who have an interest in sport or during Wimbledon. It was a great read and is highly recommended.

The Skylarks’ War by Hilary McKay is a lovely story set in the midst of the First World War. We know how harrowing this war was and how tough it was on the men sent to the front lines, but also for those at home. Clarry is a wonderful main character who has boundless hope. She shows true determination throughout the story of her, her brother Peter and her cousin Rupert.

Most suitable for ages 10-13, this is such a beautiful story of love and hope in the face of adversity. I was laughing in places with the stories from Rupert and had tears streaming down my face in others. The author captures some intense moments of battle, fear and agony in such a way as to make it understandable for children reading the book. I was captivated throughout the whole book. I loved the characters, the storyline and the ending!

Sometimes you meet a character in a book who you not only like a lot, but also think that if you met them in real life you would want to be friends with them. So it is with Effie in ‘Vote for Effie’, a very real twelve year old girl, starting at a new school part of the way through Year 8. Most children have anxieties about starting secondary school or any new school and this book explores this fear in a lively and fast paced story. But Vote for Effie is more than just a story about starting a new school, as it covers injustice and women’s rights as well and is immensely readable.

Effie ends up, almost by accident, running for School Council and the story takes the reader through her campaign, against a seemingly unpleasant adversary. Effie is at first friendless, but then joined by a group of entertaining and interesting individuals as she challenges the status quo. The book is full of humour and delightfully illustrated by Mirelle Ortega.

I particularly liked that the central character is of Greek origin, as, living and working in an area where there are a significant number of Greek Cypriot children, I feel they are underrepresented in books.

I’d never read anything by this author before, but this book was so enjoyable I want to read more. As a reader you find yourself cheering Effie on and living the ups and downs with both Effie and her companions. I would vote for Effie!

Ella on the Outside is a superbly honest debut from Cath Howe, with authentic characters and important themes of friendship, loyalty, self-acceptance and parental responsibility – all told with appropriate warmth and humour. 

The narrative voice is hugely relatable and the theme of friendship is addressed with due recognition that sometimes there are no easy answers when it comes to human relationships, but that loyalty, integrity and time investment are important foundations on which good friendships are built. Cath Howe has set this story in an honest reflection of a world in which children and adults alike are flawed and struggle deeply with life’s ups and downs.

As well as the themes of friendship and loyalty, the book also addresses issues of parental responsibility, childhood eczema, mental health and the impact of having an absent parent. This is a gripping and emotive read filled with warmth.

When new girl Nadima arrives at school speaking very little English she struggles to make friends until Jas reaches out a hand of friendship by sharing her chocolate. Nadima’s experiences as a refugee are incredibly difficult for her friends to relate to, they can never truly understand what her life was like in Syria. This thoughtful story cleverly captures the fear and brutality she has experienced in a powerful and moving way.

An authentically-told story that poignantly portrays life during dark times for twelve-year-old Izzy. After a traumatic car accident, Izzy’s mum is in a coma in hospital and Izzy struggles to keep up good relationships with family and friends. While Izzy tries to act bravely and hold everything inside, something even darker is happening inside her mind. Sometimes emotions become so tangled that they are too difficult to put into words and what I liked about this book is how the author weaves into the plot a number of ways of visually representing some of the associated feelings, like the painted mural on Izzy’s bedroom wall whose colours fade one by one. Powerful emotional experiences are handled in a compassionate way, characters are authentically nuanced and the plot is compelling. I recommend this book for Years 5-6+ for opening up important conversations about mental health.