The Mum-Minder

by Jacqueline Wilson

I’m Sadie and I’m nearly nine. Mum’s a childminder, but she doesn’t have to mind me. I can mind myself, easy-peasy. Lucky for Mum, because now she’s got the flu, so I’ve got to mind her — and help with all the babies!

The Mum-Minder is a hilarious, lively and warm-hearted account of a chaotic week in the life of a young girl.

“Jacqueline Wilson, whose books just keep getting better, always puts children at the centre and is also an expert on tweens.”–The Times

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Young Adult, Audiobook, Novels

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Karolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mum-Minder written by Jacqueline Wilson is a book that would mostly appeal to KS2 girls. It tells the story of a girl called Sadie; Sadie is nearly nine and considers herself very independent, helpful and mature. Although Sadie is a very young child, she finds herself in a situation where she has to act like an adult. Sadie’s mum is a child minder and one day she comes down with flu. That is when Sadie becomes a mum-minder! She takes on her mum’s responsibilities and takes care both of her ill mum as well as a group of children. Other mums help as well- they take Sadie and other children to their workplaces! The children find out how it is to be a police officer, office worker and shop assistant. It turns out to be a very interesting experience for the children and a bit shocking for the adults. The children get to know different responsibilities involved by various occupations while trying to turn workplaces into playgrounds at the same time. The book has an interesting structure as it is written in a form of a diary. The action takes place during Sadie’s half term brake from Monday to Sunday. Before her holidays, she was given homework of writing a diary entry every day. However unfortunate her mum’s illness might have been, it definitely made Sadie’s holidays eventful and her diary interesting. Sadie is a good role model for those who read the book; it teaches responsibility, care and empathy. The book itself is a good example of diary writing and can be followed by English lessons about writing in a diary structure.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fab story about a young girl whose mum is ill. Her mum is a child minder so throughout the week of her mum's illness Sadie helps to look after the children and also her mum! Great book for young readers to read as the chapters are short and its easy to read! Another fun Jacqueline Wilson book!

[carlee loveday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as a child, a teen and a adult. These books are my comfort blanket and I will always come back to them. Couldn’t recommend highly enough xxx

[Guguk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku ini adalah laporan yang ditulis Sadie untuk tugas sekolahnya (o^-^o) Kalau semua tugas sekolah seperti ini, aku mau banget jadi gurunya (≧◡≦)❤

Bacaan yang ringan, menyenangkan, sekaligus menyentuh. Karena memang merawat anak-anak 'ndak ada mudah-mudahnya~
Dan, seperti gaya berceritanya di beberapa buku lain, Ms. Wilson mengisahkan 'petualangan' Sadie merawat para balita sementara ibunya sakit ini dengan nada ceria, optimis, dan kocak~ σ(≧ε≦σ) Suka sekali!

[Tara O' · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review of The Mum-Minder by Jacqueline Wilson.

This book is about a little girl called Sadie who is 9yrs old and her mom is a childminder. The book is written through Sadie’s perspective, in a diary format from Monday to Sunday, as part of her school project for half term break.

On Monday her mom starts to feel ill with the flu. Sadie steps up to the plate, by helping her mom with the children and really reverses her role as a child by tucking her mom up into bed by the end of the day.
On Tuesday, Sadie reckons that she is well capable of looking after the four kid’s that her mom minds: 3yr old Gemma, 2yr old Vincent, baby Clive and Sadie’s own little sister Sara, but in the end the children’s mothers decide to take turns bringing all the kids to their work places for a few days. Sadie is annoyed that she isn’t being seen as an adult but volunteers to go and help out with the children anyway.
On Wednesday Gemma’s mum takes them the police station, on Thursday they visit Vincent’s dad’s office and on Friday they spent their day at Clive’s moms chocolate shop. Sadie and the rest of the children really enjoy their time exploring each workplace and the younger kid’s create some bit of chaos everywhere they go, which adds to the humour of bringing children to work.
At the end of the book, Sadie begins to think about her future career as a police officer, a person who works in a fancy office or in a nice chocolate shop. She isn’t quiet sure which would best suit her but she is sure of one thing, she wouldn’t like to be a childminder after her lively week running around after the all the rascals.
Throughout the book, Sadie mentions that her dad hasn’t been around in a while and her nana helps her mom out minding the children quiet a lot. I really admired how Jacqueline Wilson picked a typical single parent household situation and writes about it with such positivity and humour. It is very important for children to read about others who are going through the same experience, and what a fantastic way to get this message across, only in a great book! Also I applaud Wilson for the underlying message in this story; how important it is for children to help their parents, even if it means giving up some play time.
Overall, I really liked this book; it was a very entertaining account of one week in the life of a young girl.

[Holly Rosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

so true[my mums a child minder]

[TheBabyGarnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice little book that I really enjoyed a lot! can’t pick what book to read next but you don’t have to much time before going to school, work, or dinner with your friends? Pick the mum minder by Jacqueline Wilson! It might be a little book but it sure is a good one. With reasonable chapters to get through and ninety four pages of the mum minder is a good book to read if you have a hour before having to go somewhere and you want to read something that is short and doesn’t make you think. My thoughts over the mum minder is very much a five star as I loved reading it and I was intrigued to see what happened. Nice five star book to get through!

[Janay Brazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this quickly to see if it was suitable for the children I work with.

[Sinead · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of faves as a child, and (for the most part) holds up really well. Would definitely still be enjoyable for children today.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 **

[Fiona Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story and enjoyed I imagined by all children.

[Gabriella Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little story about helping out your mum when she's ill. I thought it might be about a young carer for some reason but it's a short term thing, still a good message and a good narrative voice of a child.

[Jennifer Fannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mum-Minder is among one of Jacqueline Wilson’s famous books. Jacqueline is one of my favourite children’s authors. She creates humour in this heart-warming novel. I think that this novel would mostly appeal to girls. However boys and girls aged seven to eleven years who are in key stage two.
The Mum-Minder tells us about the story of a girl called Sadie who is nine years old and her mother is a child-minder. Sadie considers herself to be mature and independent. One day Sadie’s mum feels unwell with the flue. This is when the roles of mother and daughter are reversed and Sadie become the mum minder! Sadie takes on her mother’s responsibilities looking after her sister and her mother. In addition she takes care of a group of children that her mother minds during the week. However there are four children to look after and during the week the children’s parents take it in turn bringing all of them to work with them on different days. One day they go to the police station, the next day they go to an office and the last day the go to a chocolate shop. Sadie thinks about her future career at the end of the book and one thing she does not want to be is a child-minder after her busy week of running after the children.
The book is written in diary format as part of Sadie’s school work for half term. I think that this would be a good exercise for children in key stage two to help with their writing skills. Furthermore there is a message in this book for children that it is important to help their parents. In addition it highlights a single parent household situation where the father is not around but nana helps out regularly. Children would be able to relate to this who are going through the same experience as Sadie.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which has a humorous story line.

[Sinta Nisfuanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Adikku Sara sendiri saja sudah cukup merepotkan. Tetapi kalau ada Gemma dan Vincent dan si kecil Clive juga, maka jadinya mana tahan deh." (Sadie-h.12)

Masih menyoroti dunia anak dengan segala pemikiran dan celetukannya, kali ini buku Jacqueline Wilson bercerita tentang Sadie yang harus menjaga bayi dan balita karena Mamanya terserang flu. I love Sadie.

Mama bekerja sebagai pengasuh anak, dan Sadie merasa harus selalu membantu Mama supaya tidak terlalu capek. Usia Sadie 9 tahun dan dia tidak suka dianggap masih anak-anak. Beragam tanggung jawab dia ambil saat melihat Mamanya sedang kerepotan mengurus bayi-balita yang dititipkan padanya.

Sampai suatu hari Mama kecapekan dan sakit flu. Sebagai anak yang sudah 'jago' berhadapan dengan balita, Sadie ditugaskan membantu para ibu bayi-balita di tempat aktivitas mereka masing-masing. Akhirnya Sadie berkunjung di kantor polisi, kantor Ayah Vincent, dan Toko Cokelat Mama Clive. Tak disangka, kesemuanya memberikan petualangan dan pengalaman yang menyenangkan untuk Sadie.

Cerita dituturkan oleh Sadie melalui tugas sekolah, semacam buku harian yang harus menceritakan pengalaman masa liburannya. Sehingga cerita lebih terasa keluar dari pikiran anak-anak dengan segala kesok-dewasaan dan ceplosannya. Dan, saya dibuat tertawa menbaca akhir ceritanya.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a village!

====== Jacqueline Wilson Rereads 2025 ======
For some reason I got a real hankering in 2025 to reread Jacqueline Wilson. Here's all the reviews so far:
1) Best Friends
2) The Story of Tracy Beaker
3) The Dinosaur's Packed Lunch
4) Double Act
5) Bad Girls
6) The Mum-Minder
7) Girls in Love
8) Girls Under Pressure
9) Girls Out Late
10) Girls In Tears
11) Think Again
12) Glubbslyme
13) The Suitcase Kid
14) The Bed and Breakfast Star
15) Cliffhanger

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This heart-warming and humorous story is an excellent read for children between the ages eight and twelve years. It describes the adventures that nine year old Sadie gets up to when she helps take over her Mum's job of looking after four young children.

Sadie’s Mum is a Child-minder, who looks after Gemma, Vincent, Clive and Sadie’s sister, Sara. During the half-term holiday Sadie's mum falls ill with the flu and Sadie finds herself taking care of her mum and also helping to mind the younger children. The other mums help out by taking their turn to look after the children. However, at such short notice they have to bring all five children with them to work. On Wednesday Gemma's mum takes them to the police station, on Thursday they go to an office and on Friday they go to Clive's mum's chocolate shop.

The story is divided into chapters by the days of the week, and each day Sadie informs the reader of the adventures and encounters they experience each day. This story is a very enjoyable read with a wonderfully humorous story line throughout.

[Veneice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mum minder by Jacqueline Wilson appeals to children in KS2. Sadie is a girl, who considers herself as an independent, helpful young girl, is suddenly faced with an unexpected turn of events. She has to now take on the full responsibility of looking after her mother, as well as looking after the children. Although there are a few struggles Sadie is determined to carry on. This heart overwhelming story presents a real life situation in a fun and approachable way. When reading this book children engage and empathise with the character, whilst understanding other children's diverse ways of living. This book is engaging, funny and exciting. Jacqueline Wilson successfully brings enjoyment in reading, and through this children learn about the life of a childminder.

[Erin Bothwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It only took me under half an hour to read this but I loved it so much

[Iman]

This was a book that brings back many memories and always made me smile. It is about a girl called Sadie which is eight years old she is on half term and her mum is a childminder. During the holiday Sadie’s mum catches a flu and Sadie takes full responsibility of the babies. As her homework from school she has been asked to complete a holiday diary which turns out to be exciting and full of different experiences. The book is written from Sadie’s perspective and in diary form which makes it easy to ready and overall funny. Sadie Also acts as a good role model for girls and encourages them to be helpful, responsible and independent. This can be used for English particularly KS2 when learning different structures for writing.

[Ossy Firstan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mama Sadie adalah pengasuh anak-anak, suatu hari di kala libur sekolah, mama Sadie malah terserang flu, .pilek tiada henti-hentinya. Sang beruang tidur dan tak ada yang berani ganggu dia.. Sadie, sebagai anak yang baik, ingin membantu mamanya bekerja dengan mengasuh adik balitanya, dan 3 anak tetangga. Akhirnya, secara bergiliran Sadie membawa 4 balita itu ke tmpt kerja ortu masing-masing. Lumayan seru mengikuti Sadie ikut bu Polwan mengasuh anak, besoknya mengasuh di kantor, besoknya di toko kue.
Tulisan Jacq yg kubaca dahulu si Sapphire, lalu aku sempat kaget mengapa ini fontnya gede-gede buanget, ya mgkn saja ini memang target bacanya utk anak-anak usia 8-10 tahun yg baru lancar membaca. Ilustrasinya juga lutju.

[Demi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I’d recapture my youth by reading one of my favourite authors as a child. Unfortunately this book was terrible, the layout was unimaginative and over done. Yes children do have a diary as homework but this was boring. The amount this child seemed to do would have concerned me as a teacher and I would have called social services. Oh what a surprise the dad wasn’t around *rolls eyes*. It felt like she was having a go at doing femininism but it came across as anti man.

No where near as good as illustrated Mum or Tracy beaker. Maybe she should stop writing.

The illustrations were excellent though.

[Dancer.Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tato knížka byla moc hezká. Sice byla zase pro mladší čtenářky, jenomže jsem v mých mladších letech jaksi nestihla přečíst všechny ty kratší knížky od této autorky, tak je čtu teď, protože i tak chci přečíst všechny knížky od Jacqueline Wilsonové. Sadie mi byla sympatická a hlavně byla moc hodná a obětavá, že se dokázala skoro sama postarat o čtyři zlobivé děti a to jí vlastně bylo teprve osm. Byla taky hodně vtipná. Líbilo se mi na té knížce taky to, že si to vlastně Sadie psala jako deník a ten poslední odstavec mě opravdu pobavil: ,,Pokud zítra nepůjdu do školy, nebudu moct odevzdat svůj prázdninový deník. A co z toho vyplývá? Že jsem tenhle tlustý sešit popsala úplně zbytečně! " :D.

[megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mum-Minder is told in the form of 9 year old Sadie’s diary as she writes about her half term holiday for a school project. But with her childminder mum in bed with the flu, Sadie has to make sure the children don’t run riot.

This book differs slightly from the majority of Jacqueline Wilson’s book as it doesn’t necessarily cover grown up issues. But instead we see glimpses into a number of careers such as the Police, in an officer and a chocolate shop owner. It is the ideal book for younger fans who want a nice and quick story that details the joys and struggles of looking after kids whilst learning about different career paths.

[Bobbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light-hearted, short story with cute illustrations throughout that would make it enjoyable for a younger audience to read.

The plot didn't personally engage me and the amount of work that Sadie is made to do seems unreasonable considering she is only 9 years old. She is made to seem more competent and mature than the adults at times; this is something I found amusing and silly whilst rereading this as an adult, but I'm sure it was a mindset I related to as a child.

It's presented in the form of a holiday diary, which is an effective format that enhances the style of writing. Overall, this is a decent read, but not particularly interesting or memorable.

[Angelina]

This is a very good read, but rather short. It's about a young girl called Sadie, who's almost nine. Her mum is a child minder and looks after loads of toddlers and little ones! But the baby Sadie loves most is her own little sister, Sara. When Mum gets ill, Sadie must take on doing an important task by looking after all of the babies. Sadie must look after her mum as well as all the little ones. How will she manage? And will Sadie and the little ones go on an amazing adventure? Will Mum get better? Well read this short and incredible story to find out!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadie is a 9 year old girl whose mum is a childminder who mainly looks after very young children. But then when she falls ill, it’s down to Sadie to step in and look after the children.

I don’t quite know why a nine year old girl is having so much put on her like that but I do remember this story resonating with me when I was younger so who knows what I actually saw in it!

Again, like a lot of Wilson’s books, it’s a cute story that is ideal for younger readers, especially because it does introduce them to scenarios that they may encounter in their own lives.

[Rebecca Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for older primary school aged children - a light read about a brilliant young girl called Sadie. Reading as an adult, I couldn't help but notice the subtle commentary on how nearly all care responsibilities fall on women - when Vincent's dad is left with a gaggle of toddlers he sends them off to the ladies of the typing pool and the tea lady, and Granddad needs to be looked after by Grandma because he has the flu... but Grandma's daughter and granddaughters have to cope as best they can when they have the flu. The 'us girls stick together' motto is bittersweet.

[Jade Elouise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favourite of mine that I used to listen to on audiotape almost every night, and that I practically knew all the words to upon re-reading.

A wonderful kids book in the sense that Jackie takes a very simple story line and turns it into an imaginative and emotive adventure. This book just sparks joy for me and I’ll always love it!

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book; the diary of Sadie (9 years old) during half term. During the week Sadie helps her childminder mum as she gets the flu - quite a funny twist at the end. I liked how this book managed to turn fairly mundane things into something worth writing about - the perspective, most of the time, seemed genuinely that of a 9 year old.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet short story about a 9 year old girl who has to help with her mum's child-minding when she comes down with the flu. There's a bit of commentary if you want to look for it on juggling childcare and a career as a working parent.

Lots of illustrations and humour, so I think younger readers would enjoy this one. This is a new one to me, I seem to have missed this as a child.