I Was Only Trying To Help by J.J. Strong, illustrated by Catherine Brighton, 1984.

My Mum bought me this book when I was probably about seven. It’s about a girl who tries earnestly to help out, but always seems to get things wrong and make things worse. My Mum said she chose it because it reminded her of me. I like to think it was because the character had long plaits and a cat that looked like ours, and not because I was a complete klutz 🙃

I never knew at the time, but J.J. Strong was an early pen name for Jeremy Strong – who went on to write lots of children’s books, including one of my early favourites, Fatbag, the Demon Vacuum Cleaner.