Charlie and Lola: My Completely Best Story Collection

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The "Charlie and Lola" books have been translated into Welsh under the name Cai a Lois and into many other languages. For that first book in the series, Child won the 2000 Kate Greenaway All-Medal Trophy from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005) it was named one of the top ten winning works, selected by a 2007 panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite. [2] We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog, Whoops! But It Wasn't Me, My Wobbly Tooth Must Not Ever Never Fall Out, I've Won, No I've Won, No I've Won and Snow Is My Favourite and My Best We Honestly Can Look After Your Dog (TV episode title: We Do Promise Honestly We Can Look After Your Dog)

Charlie and Lola - Penguin Books UK Charlie and Lola - Penguin Books UK

In Child’s series, the focus is completely on the endearing sibling relationship between seven-year-old Charlie and his sister Lola, who is nearly five. As Charlie tells us: My Wobbly Tooth Must Not Ever Never Fall Out (TV episode title: I Do Not Ever Never Want My Wobbly Tooth to Fall Out) E.H. Shepherd was of course the famous illustrator of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, and Child’s characters and stories in many ways echo Milne’s writing as well as Shepherd’s illustrations. Like Milne, she captures the humorous idiosyncrasies of human nature, in characters who appeal to both children and adults. She is often described as having a fascination with childhood, yet it is more than this, for it encompasses an exploration of human nature as a whole. Child’s titles, particularly those in the ‘Charlie and Lola’ series, appear at first glance to be toddler-like statements, yet they also capture the ‘inner child’ that most adults (if they are being honest) will recognise in themselves. I Will Not Ever, Never Eat a Tomato (2000), But Excuse Me That Is My Book (2005) and I Absolutely Must Do Colouring-In Now (2006) encapsulate both child-nature and adult-nature with the same comical insight that is evident in Eeyore’s glumness, Piglet’s excitability and Pooh’s pondering. Perhaps the delight of such books, and the reason they appeal to adults as well as children, is that they bridge the gulf between childhood and adulthood, encouraging adults to identify and embrace their own childlike qualities, while also celebrating those qualities in children. The stories explore the way in which Charlie and Lola use their imaginations and creativity to deal with these everyday dilemmas, and their sibling relationship is founded on the way they help each other to do this. Thus, the absence of adult presence enables Child to highlight this element of their relationship. In I Will Not Ever, Never Eat A Tomato, Charlie use his imagination to persuade Lola to eat her vegetables:

Success!

That’s true,” says Lola. “Well I might just try one if they’re all the way from Jupiter. Mmm, not bad,” she says, taking another bite.'

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola) I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola)

Most of these things are just bigger for children because they haven’t learnt to deal with those situations so they seem much more scary. But I think pretty much everything, even the fussy eater […] carries on applying at any age.' Speaking to the Guardian, Child pointed to Martin Amis’s comment that he would only write a children’s book if he “had a serious brain injury”, because “I would never write about someone that forced me to write at a lower register than what I can write.” Lauren Child cites her artistic inspirations as E.H. Shepherd, Quentin Blake, Carl Larssen (the Swedish illustrator) and Ludwig Bemelman’s Madeleine books. Other characters who feature in the stories are Charlie’s best friend Marv (who lives in the flat downstairs) and his sausage dog, Sizzles; Lola’s best friend Lotta; and Lola’s imaginary friend, Soren Lorensen. Her manifesto is launched the week after a six-year project from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education found that using picture books in primary schools, and making drawing part of the learning process, improves children’s writing and reading skills. The Power of Pictures project saw over 7,000 children and 318 schools across the UK take part in a course designed to help teachers use picture books, understand the process that goes into developing picture books and foster relationships between authors and schools. The project resulted in higher reading scores, and higher writing self-efficacy and writing creativity scores for children in the programme.Charlie’s efforts are not only creative and amusing, but are also evidence of how much he cares for his little sister. The love between the two children gently suffuses every story, while the quirky humour and mischievous behaviour ensure that it is never depicted in a sentimental manner. Child decided that each Charlie and Lola story would focus on the small, everyday issues that feature in the lives of young children and yet resonate with adults as well, such as likes and dislikes, envy and fear: She studied Art at Manchester Polytechnic and London Art School, after which she worked in a variety of jobs, including assistant to Damien Hirst. She also started her own company, 'Chandeliers for the People', making exotic lampshades. The Princess and the Pea; The Secret Garden; Who Wants to be a Poodle? I don't!; Maude, the Not-So-Noticeable Shrimpton; Clarice Bean; Ruby Redfort One might as well suggest that shorter books hold less meaning than longer ones, or large paintings are better than small. Nevertheless, the view prevails, something which leads one to wonder: what unhappy reality does its existence reveal about the way many view our children, and our child selves?”