Title: Rent a Bridesmaid
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Doubleday Children’s

Teacher Review

Rent a Bridesmaid is a new release from the ever-popular Jacqueline Wilson, and is sure not to disappoint her legion of fans.

Tilly has always dreamed of being a bridesmaid. She has a wardrobe full of beautiful bridesmaid dresses. Imaginary bridesmaid dresses. But it’s her best friend, Matty, who is asked to be a bridesmaid and fulfil Tilly’s dream of walking proudly down the aisle behind the glowing bride at the perfect white wedding.

The one wedding Tilly would really love to attend is her Mum and Dad’s. Concerned that it’s never going to happen, Tilly makes a decision - she’s going to hire out her services as a professional bridesmaid and make her dreams come true.

I really loved the strong theme of friendship that ran through the story. Tilly and Matty are great friends despite being real opposites - Matty can think of nothing worse than wearing a frilly pink dress, whereas it would be Tilly’s idea of heaven. Tilly is neat and generally quite sensible; Matty generally isn’t.

Another strong theme was the obvious bond between Tilly and her Dad. I think the fact that Tilly lives with her Dad rather than her Mum rings true of the home situations of more and more children nowadays, and it’s refreshing to see it portrayed in a story.

Joanne Cummins is literacy manager at Chalk Ridge Primary School in Hampshire. She tweets as @BookSuperhero2

Pupil Reviews

There were squeals of delight when I revealed what book we would be reading. Here’s what the children thought:

I really liked the fact that Tilly lived with her Dad just like I do. Rent a Bridesmaid might look a bit girly but I think boys or girls would enjoy this book because it’s so funny.
Seb, 10

Rent a Bridesmaid is an amazing book! You only mean to read one page, then end up reading the whole lot! It’s so phenomenal you’ll want to read it again and again.
Elmie, 9

There are loads of great characters in this book. My favourite is Tilly’s best friend, Matty. She is such a lively, funny girl who always looks after her best friend. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.
Hannah, 10

My favourite part is where Tilly and her Dad go to a castle and discover there’s a wedding going on. I would recommend this to a friend, because when you get to an exciting part you just want to carry on reading.
Kiera, 9

I was so excited to be able to read the brand new Jacqueline Wilson book before anyone else. I’d like Matty to be my best friend as I think she’s really kind and funny. I would give this book five stars.
Lydia, 9

If you or your class would like to write a review for TES, please contact Adi Bloom, on adi.bloom@tesglobal.com

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