The Mum-Minder (8 page)

THIS ISN'T JUST
a holiday diary. It's a huge great blockbusting
book.
I ought to get a gold star for extra effort at the very least (hint hint). Maybe I ought to be a writer when I grow up. Though I think I'd sooner have my own chocolate shop. I'd still like to be a policewoman too. And you get lots of money if you work in an office, so that you can buy ten or twenty ice-creams on the trot without fussing. But I know one thing. I'm never going to be a childminder. I've done enough of that to last me six centuries.

I've finished being a mum-minder too. My mum's completely better.

She took Sara and me to the Leisure Centre this afternoon. It was absolutely great. Rachel from up the road was there too, and we went in the big pool and splashed in the fountains and screamed non-stop when they switched the big wave on. Mum went in the baby's pool with Sara. Sara splashed and screamed a lot too, and kicked her fat little feet about. I played with her for a bit while Mum had a swim. I swooped her up and down so she had her own little wave. She didn't half like that.

But after a bit she started to get shivery. So did I. So we all got out
and Mum wrapped us both in big towels and then when we were dry and dressed we went and had a hot chocolate in the cafe. (Sara just had a teaspoon of froth off the top.)

Funny though. I still couldn't get properly warm. Sara started sneezing on the way home.

‘Oh no,' said Mum. ‘Don't say Sara's got my flu. Poor little poppet.'

Then I sneezed six times without stopping.

‘Oh no,' said Mum again.

‘Oh yes,' I said. ‘Poor little Sadie!'

‘Poor little me,' said Mum. ‘It looks like I'm going to have my hands full nursing you two.'

‘Let's hope Gemma and Vincent and baby Clive haven't caught it too. Then it won't just be your hands – you'll have two arms and a leg full as well,' I said.

Later

I am still sneezing. I am still shivery. My head hurts. I do not feel very well at all. I think I definitely do have flu. I am not pleased. Although wait a minute. If I've got flu I won't be able to go back to school tomorrow. So I'll have more holiday, even though it looks like I'll be stuck in bed.

Later still

If I don't go back to school tomorrow I won't be able to hand in my holiday diary. So what does that mean? I've filled up all this great long book for nothing!

Jacqueline Wilson is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author who served as Children's Laureate from 2005-7. She has been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the British Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award (for
The Illustrated Mum
), the Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award (for
Double Act
, for which she was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal). In 2002 Jacqueline was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools and in 2008 she was appointed a Dame. She has sold over thirty-five million books and was the author most borrowed from British libraries in the last decade.

NICK SHARRATT knew from an early age that he wanted to use his drawing skills as his career, so he went to Manchester Polytechnic to do an Art Foundation course. He followed this up with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design at St. Martin's School of Art in London from 1981–1984.

Since graduating, Nick has been working full-time as an illustrator for children's books, publishers and a wide range of magazines. His brilliant illustrations have brought to life many books, most notably the titles by Jacqueline Wilson.

Nick also writes books as well as illustrating them.

Published in Corgi Pups, for beginner readers:

THE DINOSAUR'S PACKED LUNCH

THE MONSTER STORY-TELLER

Published in Young Corgi, for newly confident readers:

LIZZIE ZIPMOUTH

SLEEPOVERS

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Yearling Books:

BAD GIRLS

THE BED & BREAKFAST STAR

BEST FRIENDS

BURIED ALIVE!

CANDYFLOSS

THE CAT MUMMY

CLEAN BREAK

CLIFFHANGER

THE DARE GAME

THE DIAMOND GIRLS

DOUBLE ACT

DOUBLE ACT (PLAY EDITION)

GLUBBSLYME

THE ILLUSTRATED MUM

JACKY DAYDREAM

THE LOTTIE PROJECT

MIDNIGHT

THE MUM-MINDER

SECRETS

STARRING TRACY BEAKER

THE STORY OF TRACY BEAKER

THE SUITCASE KID

VICKY ANGEL

THE WORRY WEBSITE

Available from Doubleday/Corgi Books, for older readers:

DUSTBIN BABY

GIRLS IN LOVE

GIRLS UNDER PRESSURE

GIRLS OUT LATE

GIRLS IN TEARS

KISS

LOLA ROSE

LOVE LESSONS

Join the official Jacqueline Wilson fan club at

www.jacquelinewilson.co.uk