book cover

Dancing the Charleston

by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt

Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 9+

Published by Doubleday, 2019

  • Coming-of-age
  • Historical

About this book

Mona lives in a little cottage on the edge of the grand Somerset Estate with her aunt, a dressmaker. Her days are spent whiling away the time at school, visiting her mother's grave and eating bread and dripping with her best friend Maggie – but is all that about to change?

When Lady Somerset dies and a new member of her family inherits the house, Mona is suddenly moving in very different circles – going on glamorous trips to London, attending balls, and meeting bohemian new friends (who raise a few eyebrows in the village).

But while she's entering an exciting new world, she may find it difficult to leave her past behind...

Dancing the Charleston is another triumph from Dame Jacqueline Wilson, whose delicious descriptions will transport you right back to the 1920s; you'll practically be able to taste the mouth-watering food, while events like Mona's first trip to Harrods and the grand London Exhibition come to life vividly as you read.

But at the heart of the story are family and friendship, as Mona struggles with the changes taking place in her life and begins to uncover some astonishing secrets.

A charming coming-of-age tale full of Dame Jacqueline's trademark insight and humour - and a couple of surprises, too.

Dame Jacqueline Wilson on writing Dancing the Charleston

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, and spent her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, where she still lives today. She started her writing career as a teenage journalist with D.C. Thompson, writing for the teenage magazine Jackie which was named after her. Today her popular books for children have sold millions of copies and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Jacqueline's books include The Story of Tracy Beaker, which has become a hugely successful BBC TV series; Girls in Love, which together with its two sequels was filmed for ITV television; and Double Act, which she adapted for Channel 4 and which won the Royal TV Society's Best Children's Fiction Award. As the fourth Children's Laureate (2005-2007) she promoted the importance of sharing books, and reading aloud together.

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