It's 1953, the year Elizabeth is crowned Queen of England. Elsie Kettle can't wait to go to London with her nan to see the celebrations on Coronation Day. Elsie lives with Nan – her mum works as a showgirl, so she's not around very often. Spirited and imaginative, but often lonely, Elsie longs for a best friend.
Author Biography

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 was the author most borrowed from British libraries in the last decade. ‘A brilliant writer of wit and subtlety’ THE TIMES ‘She should be prescribed for all cases of reading reluctance’ INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ‘Has a rare gift for writing lightly and amusingly about emotional issues’