| The Story of Tracy Beaker | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Jacqueline Wilson |
| Illustrator | Nick Sharratt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | 14 February 1991 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 129 pp |
| ISBN | 0385400756 |
| OCLC Number | 59149372 |
| Followed by | The Dare Game |
The Story of Tracy Beaker is a British children's book first published in 1991, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.
Contents |
The book is the "autobiography" of Tracy Beaker, a ten-year old tomboy. Tracy is living in a children's residential care home (nicknamed "the dumping ground") where she has been placed as a result of neglect. She is unhappy because she hasn't seen her mum for a long long time, she doesn't get on well with the staff or the other children at the care home, (especially a girl called Justine Littlewood) and has been rejected by two couples who tried fostering her. From an adult's point of view, Tracy has "behavioural problems" and she is always telling tales. A recurring story that Tracy likes to tell is that her mother is a glamorous Hollywood movie star, and that she is coming to collect her someday. Among other things, Tracy's autobiography details her life so far, her being "deprived and abused" in the children's home (for example, she is deprived of Mars Bars and Smarties) and the types of revenge she would like to take upon her enemies. She is very imaginative and believes that her mum will come home one day. She often portrays a deep and complicated mind.
In 2002 the book was voted the winner of the Blue Peter People's Choice Award. Jacqueline Wilson has written three sequels to the book, The Dare Game, Starring Tracy Beaker, and Tracy Beaker's Thumping Heart (a Red Nose Day Special).
A TV adaptation of the book was made by the BBC. There have so far been five series of the TV programme, which mainly airs on CBBC, starring Dani Harmer in the role of Tracy Beaker. Montanna Thompson plays Justine Littlewood, Tracy's worst enemy and Nisha Nayar, her social worker, Elaine 'the pain' Boyack. There are many characters in the TV adaptation that did not feature in the book itself. The TV adaptation has several series, and towards the end, some episodes do not feature Tracy. The TV programme expands on the lives of the children's daily affairs, whereas the book ends with Cam fostering Tracy and her living happily ever after. In the TV programme, Tracy has disagreements with Cam (the filthy animal) and ends up back in the Dumping Ground but maintains a strong relationship with Cam. Cam gets married to Gary at the end of the series and the last we see of her is talking to Justine on the steps of the 'dumping ground' after being told she will be adopted by them. Having heard this, Justine decides to give living with her dad another go.
A new series of Tracy Beaker entitled Tracy Beaker Returns began on 8 January 2010. A second series was also announced by BBC. It began on 7th January 2011 and concluded on 25th March 2011. Series 2 aired every Friday between those dates and took 12 weeks to fully air because the first week was a double entitled, 'Fallen'.
In 2006, Tracy Beaker Gets Real a musical version of The Story of Tracy Beaker toured up and down Britain in various theatres.