4. Search for Identity – The Story of Tracy Beaker

I never heard of the book of Story of Tracy Beaker before, and wasn’t really excited to read it. When I started reading this book I was actually surprised how good it was. I had seen some parts of the TV show ( I knew there was a show of it, didn’t know it was based on a book) , but that didn’t appeal to me at all. It was very boring, stupid and childish. The book however was a different think, and I loved every bit of it.

What I liked about the book was that it was written like it was some sort of diary. The drawings in the book and writing style made it feel that way. It is also not a typical children’s book, even though it does look like one, because there is no harmony restored at the end of the story. This is why the book is also nice to read for older students. I didn’t like the fact that the book doesn’t have a happy ending. It doesn’t fit in the writing style of a children’s book. Somehow I also kind of like it when children read books which don’t end happily, because its life. I’m just very fond of happy endings, that’s why I disliked that part of the story. Another part of the story I did like was the storyline with Tracy. She tried to be tough and all. It was really nice to read.

In class we discussed about the nice parts of the book. There also was a discussion about the not happy ending. This is very rare, what I already thought, for a children’s book. This is maybe why the book is a good book, because children see and learn that not everyone has parents and are capable of taking care of children. There was also a theory that the writer wanted children to be more happy with their own home and parents. I could really understand that theory and I’m interested if it really works that way. Children age 8 to 10 are maybe not able to understand such things.

Now that I said a certain age, I think this book is suitable for children aged 8 to 10. It is absolutely a children’s book, but it is maybe too sad and too hard to understand for children aged under 8. Above the age of 10 is possible, but I think 13 year olds would find the book boring and childish already.

I wouldn’t recommend this book for my students, or read this book in class, because I think they wouldn’t like it and think it is a very childish and uncool story. I think my students wouldn’t find it very interesting to read.

On the internet I couldn’t really find theories about the book. The other books of this course were actually very easy to find theories, but this one is maybe not popular enough. I tried to find some other meaning behind the pictures in the book, the drawings, and paid some time reading a blog about the TV show. I decided to watch the show once more, and surprisingly I liked it a lot.