Jacqueline Wilson also made the 1999 Whitbread Awards shortlist. "The Story of Tracy Beaker" won the 2002 Blue Peter People's Choice Award. "Girls in Tears" was the Children's Book of the Year at the 2003 British Book Awards. Two of her books were "Highly Commended" runners-up for the annual Carnegie Medal: "The Story of Tracy Beaker" (1991) and "Double Act" (1995). In June 2002, Wilson was appointed an OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she served as the fourth Children's Laureate. In that role Wilson urged parents and child-care providers to continue reading aloud to children
The Story of Tracy Beaker was very young and does not appear to have an interest in her daughter's life. Tracy is unhappy because she has not had any contact with her mother for a long time. She seems to miss her mum a lot and it results in her sitting by the same window hoping her mum would come and pick her up. She has difficulty getting along with the staff and the other children at the care home (especially a girl named Justine Littlewood). Another reason Tracy is frustrated and angry is because she was rejected by a couple called Julie and Ted