Jennifer's Diary - Anne Fine [0]
Jennifer’s Diary
Anne Fine was born and educated in the Midlands, and now lives in County Durham. She has written numerous highly acclaimed and prize-winning books for children and adults. Her novel The Tulip Touch won the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year Award; Goggle-Eyes won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal, and was adapted for television by the BBC; Flour Babies won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year Award; Bill’s New Frock won a Smarties Prize, and Madame Doubtfire has become a major feature film.
www.annefine.co.uk
Some other books by Anne Fine
Books for Younger Readers
Care of Henry
Countdown
Design-a-Pram
The Diary of a Killer Cat
The Haunting of Pip Parker
Loudmouth Louis
Notso Hotso
Only a Show
Press Play
Roll Over Roly
The Same Old Story Every Year
Scaredy-Cat
Stranger Danger?
The worst child I ever had
Books for Middle-range Readers
The Angel of Nitshill Road Anneli the Art Hater
Bill’s New Frock The Chicken Gave It To Me
The Country Pancake
Crummy Mummy and Me
How to Write Really Badly
A Pack of Liars
A Sudden Glow of Gold
A Sudden Pujj of Glittering Smoke
A Sudden Swirl of Icy Wind
ANNE FINE
Jennifer’s Diary
Illustrated by Kate Aldous
PUFFIN BOOKS
PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
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First published by Hamish Hamilton 1996
Published in Puffin Books 1997
23
Text copyright © Anne Fine, 1996
Illustrations copyright © Kate Aldous, 1996
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN:978-0-14-192794-7
Chapter One
“IOLANTHE.”
“What?”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m writing, aren’t I? You can see I am. Here’s the paper in front of me. This is the pen in my hand.”
Jennifer sighed.
“I know you’re writing, Iolanthe.
I just want to know what you’re writing.”
“Why?”
“Because it might give me an idea.”
That’s the trouble with Jennifer. No ideas. Two legs, two arms, a pretty face – but no imagination. None at all.
“I’m writing a story about a sheep called Hector who’s suddenly realized he’s going to be eaten.”
Jennifer peered over my shoulder, and read aloud.
And so I lay forlornly in my sheep pen, reflecting on the sad fate of all who had lain there before me.
“That’s very good.”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s why I want to get on with it.”
She sighed again.
“I can’t think of anything to write.”
She never can.
“I haven’t even started.”
Surprise, surprise.
“You think of something for me.”
“Jennifer!”
She shut up for a bit. I carried on, through Hector’s desperate dawn escape, his daring capture of the farmer and his wife, the barbecue, and then the visit from the farm inspector.
“And how are Mr and Mrs Crool?”
“Excellent,” said Hector. “Very, very tasty. I think the ducklings got the sauce just right.”
Now Jennifer was leaning over my arm again.
“Have the