Sunday, October 20, 2013

Greet Jacqueline Wilson's Hetty Feather + a Giveaway!

You can access Jacqueline Wilson's website right here!
         You cheeky little varmint!  I've just saved you from drowning. You might at least say thank you!  shows the sometimes fiery, sometimes lonely, always courageous Hetty, heroine of Jacqueline Wilson's Hetty Feather adventures. Until recently, Jacqueline Wilson had published three books about Hetty's life, but now there is a fourth.  They are Hetty Feather, Sapphire Battersea, Emerald Star and Diamond.  The stories chronicle, in first person, the story of Hetty Feather, a child brought up in the Foundling Hospital in London in the age of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Celebration, almost at the end of the 19th Century.  According to information offered at the end of the first book, this was the first special children's charity in the UK.  Anyone could bring their child to the hospital, where over 27,000 abandoned children were cared for.  As you can see from the book's story, care was not always the best  given.  I'll review the entire series Monday, Oct 28th


          I can't seem to do anything right here.  I don't seem to belong at all. keeps Emerald Star's plot lines constant, showing still another of the many sides of Hetty.  I don't like to give away information from plots, so cannot give specific details of Emerald Starbook number three.  Hetty has grown to age fourteen in this third book, still petite, and travels alone on her way to discover anything she can about her father.  The courage to travel alone during that time period (on trains), the severe hardships Hetty faces, and her willingness to jump right in to learn and to "endure" hard times is admirable.  Wilson takes us inside this child's mind where we see both a strong, and helpful "stiff upper lip" as well as a yearning for a real home with those who love and cherish her.  Hetty's actions sometimes appear self-centered, even selfish, yet one can imagine having that trait ingrained as a kind of armor, a way of survival.  When she wants compliments for her excellent darning and sewing, her ability to work hard at any kind of work, and her accomplishments already at this young age, it is only because she has had so few of them in her earlier years. 
          By the time the stallholder came back from the alehouse, I'd shifted practically a "mile" of material and created such a buzz around his staff that the other end of the market was empty.  Hetty's inability to settling for less than making her dreams come true, at times not even knowing what they are, gives readers a complex character.  It is both interesting and thrilling to live with her for a while as I read her stories.  I imagine young, but advanced, readers falling in love with these books, those who are already reading books beyond their age peers, wanting involved plots and exciting characters, yet these readers are just too young for young adult books.  Each book is now available as an e-book.  I hope you'll check out the book trailers on Jacqueline's website. And there is also a youtube video for each book.  Here is the one for the latest adventure, Diamond!

BELOW:  READ ABOUT JACQUELINE WILSON, CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN HEAR HER TALK ABOUT HER WRITING, AND SHARE WITH OTHER FANS AROUND THE GLOBE!

Tweet:  @JWilsonebooks and @FansofJWilson

       Jacqueline Wilson, known throughout Britain as the most popular writer for girls aged 7-15 has sold over 35 million copies of her books in the UK.  She was appointed as the Children’s Laureate from 2005-7 and received an OBE from the Queen in 2002 for services to literacy in schools.   In 2008 she was further awarded a DBE in the Queen’s New Year Honour’s List, making her Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Her books contain universal themes popular with children all over the world.  Family life, friendship and bullying are regularly featured and her characters often find themselves in difficult circumstances.  Her books have been praised for their unique blend of realism and humor, and she is loved by children and parents alike for her non-patronising approach to writing for children.

                                        See More Here!                  
Entry mechanisms are

a)      Answer the question “If you win, which of the new Jacqueline Wilson ebooks will you read first?”
b)      Follow @JWilsonebooks on Twitter
c)       Tweet “Win a mini iPad +10 ebooks from the UK's bestselling middle grade author Jacqueline Wilson! @jwilsonebooks”


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Random House Uk.for furnishing the books!

4 comments:

  1. So glad you are doing this, Linda! I've passed by the Foundling Hosital when I lived in London - it's a museum these days - many a time. Hard to imagine the lives of all those children. I have ordered the series for my classroom - definitely a time period and subject matter my kids will be interested in.

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    1. Terrific that you know about this. I had never heard of it before, but guess it was both good and bad as a foundling. The books tell a good story!

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  2. What a great giveaway! Sounds like such a wonderful series - I would have to read the first one first and then would have to keep reading!

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    1. I hope you will enjoy these, Beverley. They are such fun! Thank you, & nice to see you again!

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