ENGLAND'S favourite children's author Jacqueline Wilson came to Huddersfield.

Jacqueline - who was voted English children's favourite writer in a recent poll by Mori - was guest speaker at an event organised by Kirklees and Calderdale Children's Book Group, Kirklees Libraries and The Children's Bookshop in Lindley.

It was held at Salendine Nook High School and attended by children from a number of schools.

Jacqueline spoke about her many books, including her new title Clean Break and her popular Tracy Beaker books, which have been turned into a BBC children's television series.

Dianne Hird, Kirklees reading development librarian, said: "This was a very special event for us. We were thrilled to have such a huge name in children's literature coming to speak."

Jacqueline, 60, has sold more than 15m books in the UK and in 2002 she was awarded an OBE for services to literacy in schools.

Jacqueline is also the author whose books are borrowed most from Britain's libraries - with her titles being borrowed two million times between July 2003 and July 2004.

She wrote her first `novel' aged nine and went to work for teenage magazine Jackie when she was 17.

Although Bath-born Jacqueline has written books for adults, for the past 20 years her work has focused on children.

She is well-known for tackling tough subjects such as divorce in her children's novels.