Product Description

April knows she was found in a dustbin fourteen years ago as a new-born baby. And now she's fairly happily settled with her foster mother, Marion. But she's desperate to recall what happened in the intervening years, and to see if she can find out where she really came from in the first place. This is a highly moving but very accessible novel, in Jacqueline Wilson's unique, acclaimed and adored style.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5240 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Tessa Peake Jones reads Jacqueline Wilson's Dustbin Baby in this unabridged double-cassette audio book. Jacqueline Wilson is the diva of dynamic writing for children, and in Dustbin Baby--possibly her best book since The Illustrated Mum--she proves yet again that she is a force to be reckoned with.

April Showers (so called because of her birth date, April 1, and her tendency to burst into tears at the drop of a hat) was unceremoniously dumped in a rubbish bin when she was only a few hours old. Her young life has passed by in a blur of ever-changing foster homes but as she enters her teens she decides it is time to find out the truth about her real family.

As ever, Wilson breaks through the barriers and brings one of her trademark feisty females to life in an original, unforgettable and often very funny story that is sure to make you weep. She tackles the big emotional issues with one foot firmly on the ground, allowing her characters to thrive against a backdrop of sadness. But she never lapses into melodrama or schmaltz and ultimately showers the reader with an overwhelming feeling of hope.

The story is suitable for ages nine and above and running time is three hours and 15 minutes. --Susan Harrison

From the Back Cover
April Showers.
That’s my nickname now. It’s better than April Fool.
It’s much, much better than Dustbin Baby.

April started out in life as a dustbin baby, unceremoniously abandoned in a rubbish bin on 1st April. Now she’s turned fourteen, April is determined to find out where she came from. If only she could remember her birth mother or, maybe, even find her . . .

'Jacqueline Wilson at her compasionate best'
GUARDIAN

'This is a book that will resonate with many teenage girls'
DAILY TELEGRAPH

It’s not going to be easy but can April forget the old labels and discover who she really is?

About the Author
Biography for Jacqueline Wilson JACQUELINE WILSON is an extremely well-known and hugely popular author. THE ILLUSTRATED MUM was chosen as British Children's Book of the Year in 1999 and was winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2000. Jacqueline has won the prestigious Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award for DOUBLE ACT, which was also highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. Jacqueline was awarded an OBE in 2002. * 'A brilliant young writer of wit and subtlety' THE TIMES * 'Hugely popular with seven to ten year olds: she should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY * 'Has a rare gift for writing lightly and amusingly about emtional issues' BOOKSELLER Biography for Nick Sharratt Nick Sharratt has written and illustrated many books for children and won numerous awards for his picture books, including the Sheffield Children's Book Award and the 2001 Children's Book Award. He has also enjoyed great success illustrating Jacqueline Wilson books. Nick lives in Brighton.

Customer Reviews

One of Jacqueline Wilson's best books yet.
The story is about 15 year old April, who was dumped in a dustbin by her mother when she was born. She takes a day off school to try and find her biological mother, ands also all the foster mothers she has been placed with since she was born.

She has no luck, but along the way she finds Frankie, the man who found her in the dustbin. She makes a new friend, and meets an old one along the way.

I have read all Jacqueline Wilson's books and this rates among the best. I couldn't put it down and read it in two days. I would recommend it to any J.W. fans out there.

BRILL BOOK
The story plot of the book
April is left in a dustbin straight after her birth...

About the author of the book
Jacqueline Wilson is one of my favourite authors and she wrote this book! She has her own personal collection of over 15,000 books and I've about a thirtieth of that (500)!

About the awards and sequel for the book:
This book is not part of a series of books; it hasn't won any awards either. However, it is by a hugely popular and well-known author, Jacqueline Wilson, who has won many, many different awards including the Children's Book Award (she has won that a lot of times) and the Smarties Prize (for Double Act).

My awards for the book
I would rate this brilliant book 10/10; I really, really enjoyed this book, to prove that I really, really enjoyed this book I couldn't put it down until the very end! I would recommend it to anyone who really likes Jacqueline Wilson's books - just like me, especially older girls.

The best Jacquelin Wilson book I have ever read.
I got this book for my birthday and it was one of the best present I recieved. It is about a girl who was dumped in a dustbin when she was only a few hours old. The book starts with April's birthday and she feels sad because that day 14 years ago she was dumped in a dustbin. She decides to go on a quest to find her real mother. She starts by bunking off school and tries to find all the other carers who fostered her. She then decides to go to the place she was dumped and oddly there is a message for her saying 'Please call baby' with a phone number. When she rings it she finds it is the person who found her 14 years ago. When April rings the number she finds the person is a man named Freddy and they arrange to meet.